Dance/Movement Therapy: Psychodiagnosis, Movement, and Neurology
Channel: American Dance Therapy Association
Date: 2014-05-05

"Now is the time to start really looking at biological indicators - just like movement - and how that can help psychodiagnosis. Dance/movement therapists have systematic, refined observation skills to bring to this process."
~ Dr. Robyn Flaum Cruz


Robyn Flaum Cruz, PhD, BC-DMT, LPC is Professor of Expressive Therapies in the PhD Program, at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr. Cruz's clinical work has spanned populations such as adults with serious and persistent mental illnesses and children and adolescents with trauma and substance abuse issues. Her doctoral degree is in Educational Psychology with a specialization in Measurement and Methodology. She has worked as a research methodologist and research consultant, taught doctoral students since 1995, and has taught graduate courses in dance therapy, research methods, and statistics to students from many disciplines in the US, Europe, and South America. Her research work and interests include: consolidating and expanding the evidence-base for dance/movement therapy and the creative arts therapies; understanding the relationship between verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors in the patient-provider relationship; enhancing diagnostic specificity using movement assessments; movement disorders; gesture. 

Dr. Cruz is a Past President of the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA), serving four years as Vice President and four years as President of the organization. She is a former editor of American Journal of Dance Therapy, and has served as Editor-in-Chief of The Arts in Psychotherapy since 2002. Dr. Cruz is Chairperson of the National Coalition for Creative Arts Therapies Associations. Her 30+ peer-reviewed publications cross the boundaries of psychiatry, neurology, speech and hearing sciences, and dance/movement therapy. Two of her recent publications are "Feders' the Art and Science of Evaluation in the Arts Therapies" 2nd ed. (2013) and "Dance/movement Therapists in Action: A Working Guide to Research Options" 2nd ed. (2012), both published by Charles C. Thomas.