Dance Therapy

What is Dance Therapy?

Dance therapy, also known as dance/movement therapy (DMT), is a therapeutic approach that uses movement to help individuals improve their emotional, cognitive, physical, and social well-being. It is based on the belief that movement and emotion are interconnected, and that expression through dance can promote healing and growth.

How Does Dance Therapy Work?

In dance therapy, individuals engage in movement-based activities that allow them to express emotions, release tension, and explore their thoughts and feelings through their bodies. The therapist helps guide these movements, encouraging creative expression and providing a safe environment for exploration.

Benefits of Dance Therapy

Dance therapy can be beneficial for individuals of all ages and backgrounds. It has been shown to improve:

  • Emotional regulation and mood.
  • Body awareness and self-esteem.
  • Stress management and relaxation.
  • Social interaction and communication skills.

What to Expect in Dance Therapy Sessions

Dance therapy sessions often begin with simple movements or stretches to help individuals feel comfortable and connected with their bodies. As the session progresses, individuals are encouraged to move freely, expressing their emotions through dance. The therapist may provide prompts or themes to guide the movement.

Is Dance Therapy Right for You?

If you enjoy movement and are looking for a therapeutic approach that integrates physical expression with emotional healing, dance therapy may be a suitable option. It can be especially helpful for individuals who struggle with verbal expression or who are seeking a more holistic approach to therapy.

Therapists in Brighton & Hove

Browse our verified therapists — many work across a range of approaches and may be able to help.

Imogen Salt Brighton

Imogen Salt

Humanistic Psychotherapist

I offer one-to-one humanistic counselling, for adults and young people within the Brighton & Hove area. I prioritise face-to-face therapy, but offer online where needed. I am experienced, thoughtful, intuitive and warm.

NCPSAccredited

Jaz Stroe Brighton

Jaz Stroe

Therapist / Counsellor

A Registered Member of the BACP, I've trained extensively in psychodynamic psychotherapy and counselling, working with the past, memories, dreams and the unconscious. I also volunteer with two leading mental health organisations and benefit from bi-weekly supervision to deepen my knowledge and approach.I’m also a third-culture person. I grew up in the UK with mixed Romanian and Serbian heritage. I know what it's like to perform versions of yourself while quietly feeling like someone else. Cultural identity, migration, belonging and othering are all woven into my psychology and therapeutic practice.I aim to maintain a genuinely inclusive space across culture, identity, sexual orientation, relationship structure, faith, and background. I don't work from a single script of what a person, a relationship, or a life should look like. I work within an ethic of non-harm, to self and to others, and I ask the same of the therapeutic space we share.Ultimately, I came into this work wanting to understand and aid my own mental wellbeing. I've had personal therapy for over a decade. I can only take you as far as I've gone myself, and I've gone deep. In other words, you're in safe hands, and you will be held week after week, for as long as you keep showing up.

BACPRegistered

Joanna Miller Brighton

Joanna Miller

Integrative Psychotherapist

I’m an accredited psychotherapist with 15 years experience.I believe that the counselling relationship should be a creative space for both parties. It should feel comfortable and open enough to be free from anxiety and pressure in which new perspectives can emerge. In my view most mental activity takes place below the level of conscious awareness and my role is to help people gain access to it and insights from it.As an accredited therapist I am affiliated with several private healthcare companies including BUPA and AXA. I have an up-to-date DBS certificate which is registered on the update service. As well as working with individual adults, including trainee therapists, I have many years' experience working with children, couples and families. I have been a university counsellor so have a lot of experience working with students and young people and have also worked in secondary schools.  

BACPAccredited

Tony Austin Brighton

Tony Austin

Integrative psychotherapist

Common feelings such as anxiety, a lack of self-worth or sadness colour our experience and often leave us feeling we have lost our way. Sometimes we can feel like our own worst enemy, giving ourselves a hard time because others can manage, so why can’t I?I chose to train as a psychotherapist after being in therapy myself. Through the process of talking with a skilled therapist I was able to reflect on how my past had shaped my present, understand myself better, value myself more and create a happier, more fulfilled life and I want to help others do the same. Nothing gives me greater satisfaction than having a client say they feel “unburdened” at the end of a session or, at their final session, seeing them leave with greater confidence ready to make the changes necessary to create the life they want.After completing my training as a counsellor at Lambeth College, I worked for an NHS counselling service in West London. I helped many clients dealing with anxiety, depression, relationship breakdown and many other common issues and seeing so many people find positive solutions fuelled my passion for therapy and I would like to help you.  I believe everyone deserves to be heard and with the right support can create positive, lasting change. Through our work together, I can help you reduce anxiety, rebuild your confidence, learn how to recognise unhelpful habits such as “people pleasing”, or “self-sabotage” and create better relationships with yourself and others.If you want to learn more about how counselling can help you, get in touch through the link at the bottom of this page and take the first step to happier, more fulfilling life.

BACPAccredited

Jonny Lindsay Brighton

Jonny Lindsay

Counsellor / Psychotherapist

You might be feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or quietly struggling while appearing to cope on the outside. Many people come to therapy when they’re tired of going round in circles, overthinking, or carrying things on their own.I work with adults who want a space that is calm, honest, and grounded, where they can slow things down, make sense of what’s happening, and begin to feel more like themselves again.Therapy with me is relational and thoughtful. I will listen carefully, but I will also gently challenge patterns that keep you stuck.I often work with people experiencing anxiety, low self-esteem, relationship difficulties, feeling stuck, shame, and life transitions. This includes people who appear to function well outwardly but feel disconnected or overwhelmed internally.ExperienceAlongside my private practice, I work as a qualified supervisor, offering reflective supervision to counsellors and trainees. I have also worked as a mentor for young people through the YMCA and as both a counsellor and assessor for a well-established low-cost counselling charity in West Sussex.This experience has involved working with adults and young people from diverse backgrounds and with a wide range of presenting concerns.I also bring a depth of life experience into my work, which helps me offer grounded, compassionate, and thoughtful support tailored to each individual.

BACPRegistered

Stephanie Fortescue Brighton

Stephanie Fortescue

Psychotherapist & Counsellor

I offer both short-term and open-ended therapy, online or face-to-face. We can talk about what might suit you best during an initial consultation.My approach is relational, trauma-informed and neurodiversity-affirming. I work particularly with adults who are autistic, ADHD or AuDHD, including people who have been diagnosed or identified as neurodivergent later in life. I also work with anxiety, depression, relationship and attachment difficulties, low self-esteem, emotional overwhelm and the impact of difficult or traumatic experiences.I originally trained psychodynamically, so I am interested in how our earlier experiences and relationships can shape the way we understand ourselves, relate to other people and respond to situations in the present. However, my way of working has developed considerably over the years and now draws on a wider understanding of trauma, attachment, neurodivergence, emotional regulation and the nervous system.This means we might explore patterns in your relationships, experiences from childhood, difficult emotions or beliefs you hold about yourself. But we might equally think together about sensory overwhelm, executive functioning, masking, burnout, rejection sensitivity, emotional regulation or why everyday demands can sometimes feel disproportionately difficult.I don't believe that every difficulty needs to be traced back to childhood or that distress should automatically be viewed as something within the individual that needs to be “fixed”. Sometimes understanding your brain, nervous system and environment — and recognising where you have spent years trying to function in ways that don't suit you — can be just as important.

BACPRegistered


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