Apply for Our Fall 2024 Cohort!
The application process is required for Alternate Route DMT classes beginning in Fall 2024.* The application process takes approximately two weeks. Any questions? Reach out to us at embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com.
*AR-DMT classes are still available for individual purchase, however, priority will be given to our committed, cohort students.
The Dance/Movement Therapy Alternate Route track (AR-DMT), seeks to inspire, develop and educate students in an age-old paradigm—the use of dance and movement as a tool for healing the body, mind, and spirit. The AR-DMT program is tailored to current and future therapists who seek to advance their practical knowledge of psychotherapy and the therapeutic relationship using the creative process involved in the art of dance. The AR-DMT offers a sequential curriculum, taught by expert faculty, fulfilling the requirements set forth by the American Dance Therapy Association. The student that successfully completes AR-DMT coursework in addition to a Master’s in counseling or related field, will obtain the body of knowledge necessary to apply to the Dance Movement Therapy Certification Board for the R-DMT credential.
Please view our student contract here.
Scroll down for course descriptions and registration instructions.
Listen to Stacey Hurst, EEIC Founder discuss EEIC's AR-DMT program. Click here
Click here to listen to an EEIC student's testimonial
Course Offerings (all courses listed are in central time zone)
Prospective AR-DMT students are responsible for contacting individual course instructors to ascertain additional admission requirements for all courses. Courses are $425/credit (28 total credits). Payment plans available on line.
A sequential curriculum is outlined below, however, if you have taken courses elsewhere, you are permitted to join higher level courses at any time.
Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7458. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Embodied Education Institute of Chicago is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
WINTER/SPRING 2025:
- AR-DMT Spring Group Consultation-Jan. 9th; 6-7pm CST
- Cultural Humility & Responsibility*-virtual-class cancelled
- Experiential Anatomy/Kinesiology-in person (online option)-Jan. 24-26 (not approved for NBCC credit)
- LMA I: Observation - In-Person (Online Option)-Feb. 8&9
- DMT with Substance Use Dependency Recovery*-In person- Feb. 15&16
- DMT: Intro & Invitation - Online/hybrid-Feb. 17-April 21 (one class optional in person)
- LMA II: Body & Effort* - In-Person (Online Option)-March 14-16 & April 11-13
- DMT & Trauma* - In-Person -March 21-23 & May 2-4
- DMT w/ Older Adults* - In-Person (Online Option)-May 30-June 1
- Neuroscience of Embodied Presence - In-Person-May 16-18 & May 23-25
SUMMER 2025:
- AR-DMT Summer Group Consultation-TBD-virtual- May 8th-(not approved for NBCC credits)
- DMT I: The Chace Approach*-hybrid-June 20-22 online, July 18-20 in person
- Human Development: Interpersonal Neurobiology-virtual-June 30 start, 10 week class every Monday
- Intro to KMP*-In Person-June 13-15, 2025
- Experiential Anatomy/Kinesiology (not approved for NBCC credits)-In Person (online option) Aug. 22-24, 2025
Fall 2025:
- AR-DMT Fall Group Consultation-virtual-Aug 7th (not approved for NBCC credits)
- DMT: Intro & Invitation-online/hybrid (one class optional in person)
- LMA I: Observation- In person (online options)
- LMA III: Space, shape and application* - In person (online options)
- Methods of DMT Group Psychotherapy*- (not approved for NBCC credits)-Hybrid
- The Whitehouse Approach - In-Person
Courses above noted with * have a prerequisite requirement. See Course Descriptions below for more details.
Individual consultations available year round.
Contact Laura Allen to plan the start of your internship.
For additional Continuing Education and Wellness courses, click below.
Course Descriptions (Listed Alphabetically)
AR-DMT Group Consultation (not approved for NBCC credits)
Instructor: Laura Allen, BC-DMT, LCPC, GL-CMA
Online Course
Jan. 9th, 2025 6-7pm CST
Cost: $35
Group advisement is an hour long workshop offered every trimester for EEIC students interested in a general orientation to the alternate route process of dance/movement therapy certification, including all the requirements for the application process as well as an opportunity to ask questions.
For more information, email: embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com
See and hear Laura talking about this consultation group HERE.
Cultural Humility and Responsibility through the Power of Story
Instructor: Ebony Nichols, MA, LCAT, BC-DMT
Online Course - Two Weekends
Class Cancelled
Fridays 6-9pm CST; Sat/Sun 10-5pm CST
Cost: $850
In this course, students will explore how power, privilege, oppression, and collective liberation intersect with our work as dance/movement therapists. Students will explore how key features of oppression show up on societal/cultural, institutional, interpersonal, and individual levels. By observing and making contact with the ways in which we have been affected by dynamics of privilege and oppression, we can begin to re-pattern habitual ways of being that may interfere with cultivating connection with others.
2 credit hours / 30 classroom hours - Approved by the ADTA & NBCC CEs offered for additional $25
AR-DMT theory & practice course
For more information, email: embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com
Dance/Movement Therapy: An Introduction and an Invitation
Instructor: Kim Rothwell, BC-DMT, LCPC, GL-CMA
Hybrid - 10 Week Format, one class optional in person
Virtual: Feb. 17th-April 21st, 2025 4-7pm CST
Cost: $850
This course provides a survey of the field of dance/movement therapy (DMT), including an introduction to the early developers of the profession, the historical context within the United States that lead to the development of the profession and the ADTA, and contemporary applications of DMT in today’s global world. The approach to teaching is embodied, self-reflective, and relational, offering an invitation for students to learn in ways that embed both the theory and the practice of DMT into the present moment lived experience. Early DMT developers will be acknowledged, and explored in an experiential manner recognizing psychological and movement/dance backgrounds. The historical situatedness of the profession of dance/movement therapy will be examined, while acknowledging the broader global context in which the use of dance and movement has been used across generations and cultures. By exploring the contemporary applications of DMT in the fields of psychology, wellness, rehabilitation, education, and childhood development, this course highlights the unique healing processes of DMT, in relationship to other mind/body approaches and to the creative arts therapies. In the end, this course will equip students to develop a working definition of DMT for themselves within historical, cultural, and personal contexts.
2 credit hours / 30 classroom hours - Approved by the ADTA
AR-DMT theory & practice course
For more information, email: embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com
Listen to Kim discuss her class at this link.
Dance/Movement Therapy I: The Chace Approach
Instructor: Laura Allen, LCPC, BC-DMT, GL-CMA
Hybrid Course* - Two Weekend Format- virtual & in person
Dates: coming summer 2025
Fridays 6-9; Sat/Sun 9-4pm
Cost: $850
This course provides an introduction to the historical and theoretical contributions of dance/movement therapy (DMT) founder, Marian Chace. Chace’s framework for DMT sessions, her four core concepts (body action, symbolism, therapeutic movement relationship, and group rhythmic action), and the historical/cultural/healthcare context from which her approach emerged will be addressed in depth. Students will examine the strengths-based nature of Chace’s approach paired with various psychological theories and consider its limitations as well. Through various experiential learning approaches, DMT facilitation skills will be introduced and applied.
*Hybrid: One week online and one weekend in-person
2 credit hours / 30 classroom hours - Approved by the ADTA
AR-DMT theory & practice course
For more information, email: embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com
Hear Laura talk about this course at this link
DMT with Older Adults
Instructor: Laura Allen, LCPC, BC-DMT, GL-CMA
Cost: $425
May 30-June 1, 2025
Friday 6-9 & Sat/Sun 9-4pm
Location: in person w/virtual options
Course description: This course provides an introduction to a clinical focus on older adults for the dance/movement therapist. Students will examine theoretical and practical concepts related to aging, including typical, healthy aging issues and pathology more commonly encountered with this sub-population (i.e. neurocognitive decline). Thomas Kitwood’s Person-Centered Care paradigm will be taught as a framework through which to view DMT interventions and the therapeutic movement relationship as a whole. Awareness of elder abuse will be promoted via review of its definition and our obligations as mandated reporters. Through various experiential learning approaches, DMT facilitation skills emphasized in work with older adult clients will be introduced and applied.
1 credit hours/15 contact hours ADTA approved
AR-DMT theory & practice hours
For more information, email: embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com
Hear Laura talk about this course at this link.
DMT in Substance Use Recovery
Instructor: Jessica Young, MA, BC-DMT, LCPC, GL-CMA
In person
Location: 1802 W. Berteau suite 205, Chicago, IL
When: February 15&16, 2025 9am-6pm
Cost: $425
DESCRIPTION: This course examines the integration and application of dance/movement therapy (DMT) theory and techniques in substance use counseling. It is grounded in the principles of harm reduction, trauma informed and healing centered care, and motivational interviewing. The ability to effectively facilitate the recovery process for those who use alcohol and/or other drugs in ways that are detrimental to their well-being is essential to the practice of DMT given the extraordinarily high correlations between substance use and mental illness as well as substance use and trauma. This course will afford you the opportunity to increase your own bodily awareness and understanding of experiences and concepts related to substance use while also equipping you with the knowledge and skills to facilitate DMT interventions to support the recovery process.
Prerequisites: At least 15 credits of master’s education in a clinical program AND
At least one DMT course AND
At least one movement observation and assessment course
1 credit hour / 15 classroom hours Approved by the ADTA
AR-DMT theory & practice course
For more information, email: embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com
DMT & Trauma
Instructor: Melissa Schleicher Park, LCPC, BC-DMT, GL-CMA
Cost: $850
Upcoming Date: March 21-23 & May 2-4, 2025
In person w/online options
Location for in person: 1802 W Berteau suite 205, Chicago
Course Description: This course provides an overview of the field of traumatology in conjunction with historical and contemporary dance/movement therapy (DMT) techniques. Beginning with an introduction to the history of trauma treatment in Western psychology, students will gain an understanding of how this history has shaped the current research and treatment of trauma through lecture and discussion. History will work in conjunction with experiential learning experiences of current neuroscience, reflecting the effects of trauma on the body and mind through the embodiment of empathic reflection and response. Through these embodied and self-reflective interventions, students will focus on ways in which body-based, somatic and DMT methods can enhance the experience of healing from post-traumatic stress, development trauma and acute stress conditions. In sync with contemporary traumatology theory, students will also be challenged to think broadly in terms of how DMT interventions can further the discussion and practice of trauma-informed care in a variety of clinical settings; combining verbal therapy, body-based intervention and a thorough understanding the brain and body’s interwoven experience of trauma.
2 credit hours/30 contact hours ADTA approved
AR-DMT Theory & Practice hours
For more information, email: embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com
Listen to Melissa talk about this class at this link.
Experiential Anatomy/Kinesiology (not approved for NBCC credits)
Instructor: Kristina Fluty, MA
In Person with Online options
Location: 1802 W. Berteau suite 205, Chicago
January 24-26, 2025 Friday 6-9, Sat/Sun 9-4
Cost: $425
For movers, dancers, movement practitioners/artists, dance/movement therapists, teachers, and anyone who wants to deepen their embodiment and understanding of the amazing ways our bodies move. Engaging experiential and somatic modes of learning this course will cover basic human anatomy and kinesiology with an overview of bones, major muscle groups, and general workings of the musculoskeletal system. Students will begin to understand the complexities of the body through movement, reading, drawing, discussion, writing, video, and touch exercises. We will integrate what we learn from tuning into our individual sensed experience, observations of the world (and bodies) around us, and material information from the fields of anatomy and kinesiology. It is important to note that study of “the body,” our bodies, does not exist outside of the particular societies and cultures in which we live. Our work in this course acknowledges the impact and influence of culture on traditions of teaching anatomy, and the importance and relevance of our individual experiences of gender, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, ability, on lived embodied experience and body knowledge.
1 credit hour / 15 classroom hours
For more information, email: embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com
Human Development: Interpersonal Neurobiology
Instructor: Kris Eric Larsen LCPC, BC-DMT, GLCMA
10 week virtual course
Dates: starts June 30, 2025-August 25, 2025 6-9pm CST
Cost: $850
Dance/Movement Therapy has provided for us a pathway into the expressive nature of movement and its related emotional meaning. Moving the body engages the emotional system (the brain) as mind and body join together on an expressive, and often creative, journey of dance. As dance movement therapists, we have often looked at both the functional and expressive meaning of movement and yet, have we given enough attention to the subtleties found between emotional expression and the related micro-movements of the body/mind interrelationship.
This course introduces students to the intricate world of the brain and focuses upon the interrelationship between mind, body and relationships. Studies of brain development and the ways in which dance movement therapy can assist in repatterning insecure attachments and their subsequent encoded neuronal pathways is necessary in keeping the field up to date. The development of therapeutic interventions that consider developmental, biological and cultural contexts will be discussed as well.
2 credit hours / 30 classroom hours - Approved by the ADTA
AR-DMT theory & practice course
For more information, email: embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com
Hear Kris talk about this class at this link.
Individual Consultation (not approved for NBCC credits)
Instructor: EEIC Faculty
Online - individually scheduled
Cost: $75
Individual consultation gives the AR-DMT student or the professional an opportunity to receive direct coaching from an experienced BC-DMT who can offer perspective, direction and concrete resources for educational and career development. These sessions can be set up directly with the faculty member.
For more information, email: embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com
Intro to KMP (Kestenberg Movement Profile)
Instructor: Stacey Hurst, BC-DMT, LCPC, GL-CMA
in person w/virtual options
Where: 1802 W Berteau Suite 205, Chicago, IL
When: June 13-15, 2025
Cost: $425
The student who attends this course will come prepared with a foundational knowledge of Laban Movement Analysis (LMA). This advanced observation course will acknowledge and give historical context to the inter-relationship between LMA and the Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP). Students will build on their working knowledge of Body, Effort, Shape and Space from LMA and develop an understanding of how the KMP layers a developmental, psychological and relational framework to the Effort and Shape categories within the LMA taxonomy. Through seeing, doing, and writing, students will examine and synthesize foundational theory, principles and basic applications of the Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP) within the context of DMT & Counseling.
1 credit hour / 15 classroom hours - Approved by the ADTA
AR-DMT Observation Course credit
For more information, email: embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com
Laban Movement Analysis I: Observation
Instructor: Stacey Hurst, BC-DMT, LCPC, GL-CMA
in person w/virtual options
Where: 1802 W Berteau Suite 205, Chicago, IL
When: Feb 8&9, 2025 9:00am-6:00pm CST
Cost: $425
Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) and Bartenieff Fundamentals (BF) give dance/movement therapists a common language to study movement and its developmental aspects, informing our relationship to self, other, and the environment. LMA I contexts LMA and BF in history and within the field of dance/movement therapy. This course provides: a framework for how to structure and approach movement observation, an understanding of the cultural and therapeutic implications of Body Knowledge/Body Prejudice and a forum for the student to identify their own movement preferences and limitations. LMA I will also provide a general overview of the core principles of movement and of Rudolf Laban’s taxonomy of human movement. The course will be grounded through both didactic and movement experientials to support multiple learning preferences. LMA I will provide the foundation for all other LMA classes to follow.
1 credit hour / 15 classroom hours - Approved by the ADTA
AR-DMT Observation Course credit
For more information, email: embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com
Listen to Stacey discuss this course. Click here.
Laban Movement Analysis II: Body and Effort
Instructor: Stacey Hurst, BC-DMT, LCPC, GL-CMA
2 weekend format
March 14-16 & April 11-13, 2025
Fri 6-9 & Sat/Sun 9-4
In person with on-line options
1802 W Berteau, suite 205, Chicago
Cost: $850
This course will continue the process of providing knowledge and skill development regarding the use of the Laban Taxonomy of Movement Analysis in order to observe, document, describe, and assess human movement behavior through the lens of BODY and EFFORT categories (SPACE and SHAPE will be taught in LMA III). In addition, students will gain more information about Irmgard Bartenieff’s contributions to LMA and begin to create Laban/Bartenieff informed DMT warm-ups. Students will continue to explore how sociocultural content and psychological defenses manifest in body/movement and how sociocultural background and “protection” informs movement preferences. The written work and verbal discussions will be used, not only to gain knowledge and process experiences, but to practice communicating the material to other professionals outside of our field.
2 credit hours / 30 classroom hours -approved by the ADTA
AR-DMT Observation course credit
Prerequisite: LMA I
For more information, email: embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com
Listen to Stacey discuss this class at this link
Laban Movement Analysis III: Shape and Space
Instructor: Stacey Hurst, BC-DMT, LCPC, GL-CMA
In person w/Online options; two weekend format
Dates: coming Fall, 2025 Fridays 6-9pm, Sat/Sun 9-4pm
Location: 1802 W Berteau, suite 205, Chicago
Cost: $850
Course Description:
The DMT student who successfully completes this course will have a firm grasp of the principles of Laban Movement Analysis with a strong ability to understand the interrelationship of Body, Effort, Shape, and Space within the context of a DMT and counseling setting. This course will specifically focus on the Shape and Space aspects of the taxonomy and will weave principles of Body, Effort, Shape and Space into theoretical application. The student will also be able to create and apply Laban-based interventions within movement labs. In addition, the student will be able to draw together knowledge of human development (functional, expressive and communicative) as it is objectively observed in order to apply contextually and culturally informed interventions within a session.
2 credit hours / 30 classroom hours -Approved by the ADTA
AR-DMT Observation course credit
Prerequisite: LMA 1 & LMA 2
For more information, email: embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com
Listen to Stacey discuss LMA at this link.
Methods of DMT Group Psychotherapy
Instructor: Eve Chalom, BC-DMT
Hybrid; 3 weekend format
Dates: coming fall, 2025
Cost: $1250
Course Description: This course explores in both verbal groups and dance movement therapy groups how the group process allows for more change, growth, and healing than is possible through individual therapy. The student will be taught to become an effective facilitator, and will enhance their knowledge of treatment objectives, plans, and goals, as well as teach them to create a therapeutic container and facilitate dynamics within diverse groups. This will be done through lecture, discussion, assignments, and experiential training groups where the skills are practiced.
3 credit hours / 45 classroom hours- Approved by the ADTA
Group DMT theory course
This class is not approved for NBCC credits
For more information, email: embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com
Listen to Eve talk about this class at this link.
The Neuroscience of Embodied Presence: Moving within the Inter-subjective Realm
Instructor: Kris Eric Larsen LCPC, BC-DMT, GLCMA
In-Person
May 16-18 & May 23-25, 2025
Fridays 6-9pm; Saturday & Sunday 9-4
Cost: $850
Embedded within the intersubjective relationship is the opportunity for present moment experiences of self and other. As dance/movement therapists we are utilizing our bodies as intuitive processors within the therapeutic relationship and thus in need to be conscious of how we create presence in our own bodies for self-care and within the relationship for intervention and healing. Current discoveries in neuroscience and mindfulness find the field of psychology integrating the mind and the body in ways that are both new and creative. This course introduces students to in-roads for creating presence, mindful self-care, identification of personal creative process and critical inquiry of neuroscientific discussions that integrate and navigate the flow of mind and the flow of bodies in movement.
2 credit hours / 30 classroom hours - Approved by the ADTA
AR-DMT Theory & Practice hours
For more information, email: embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com
Hear Kris talk about this class at this link.
Pediatric Eating Disorders & OCD: The Body as a Feared Place
Instructor: Kristen Mennona, LPC CEDS BC-DMT RYT GLCMA
Cost: $785
Upcoming Date: TBD
Obsessive Compulsive disorder and eating disorders thrive in an environment of fear, body avoidance and relief seeking behaviors. The body's fear response will be examined from evolutionary, physiological and neurobiological perspectives. Modern-day eating disorders and OCD will be explored as escape strategies for uncomfortable bodily sensations. Dance/movement therapy will be applied as a method to build body trust, instill courage and restore aliveness through a mindful, embodied, improvisational, and playful approach. A special focus on embodying imperfection, practicing gratitude and building a “window of tolerance” for uncomfortable bodily sensations will help students craft a body map of their own fear response system. Forming an embodied relationship to fear allows participants to increase their body threshold for body discomfort. This course centers the practitioner's self-discovery as a guide on how to help others.
Additional Information Available Here
For more information, email: embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com.
Performance as Therapy
Instructor: Kris Eric Larsen, LCPC, BC-DMT, GL-CMA
Cost: $350
Upcoming Date: TBD
Location: 1802 W. Berteau Suite 205, Chicago
Performance involves preparation through engagement on many levels, intrapersonal and interpersonal. It includes being immersed in the creative process, feedback on the emerging creation and its integration. While there is an ongoing reflective dialogue between the process and the product, it also involves active decision making and community building.
As therapists we often ask how we can sustain connection to our creative selves while in the midst of working in a field of suffering. We also wonder how we can engage our clients in new perspectives that are based in creativity and the role of community in group process and healing. Performance as Therapy is a developed framework seeking to expand the practice of creative arts therapies and also that of counseling as it involves many of the techniques found in humanism, group process and positive psychology while bridging the gap between verbal and non-verbal processes. It asks the question “What is the role of self in creativity and how this relationship is fundamental to therapeutic performance, multicultural expression and human existence?”
This workshop will explore the 4 concepts of creative process and art making, developed by the workshop presenters. Participants will be guided through the 4 concepts as they explore the journey from finding the inner impulse to create all the way to community performance.
This course is not approved by the ADTA for credit towards the R-DMT
For more information, email: embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com.
Whitehouse Approach
Instructor: Kim Rothwell, LCPC, BC-DMT, GL-CMA
Cost: $850
Upcoming Date:TBD Fridays 6-9pm, Sat/Sun 9-4pm
Location: 1802 W Berteau, suite 205, Chicago
This course explores the impact of Mary Whitehouse’s approach on the field of dance/movement therapy, including the early development of Authentic Movement (AM) and contemporary practices informed by her work. Students will become familiar with the essential form of AM, including creating a holding environment, moving from within and the development of witness consciousness. Processes of intrapersonal, interpersonal, transpersonal organization and growth will be traced in relation to the practice. Foundational clinical principles underlying the form will be examined in order to establish the somatic, artistic and jungian foundations as well as the developmental, relational and transpersonal grounding in the form. Students will engage in practices that promote understanding and experience of essential clinical skills including establishing a holding environment, tracking somatic processes, identifying somatic countertransference, recognizing projection, practicing embodied verbal witnessing, transition as an opportunity for bilateral integration, cultural humility, and reflection both verbal and nonverbal as a way of holding present moment lived experience. Key figures in the development and practice of authentic movement as well as contemporary practices derived from the work and lineage of Mary Whitehouse will be included as primary sources for ongoing learning.
2 credit hours/30 contact hours ADTA approved
AR-DMT Theory & Practice Course
For more information, email: embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com
Listen to Kim discuss this class at this link.
To register, please visit the Class Registration page and add relevant courses to your cart. Select your trimester and payment option (pay in full or payment plan). Please note that your payment plan deposit is non-refundable*. If you have any questions regarding classes, payment plans, or other concerns, please reach out to embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com.
If you pay in full upon checkout, please use the code "FULLPAY5" for 5% off your order. Due to high exchange fees, international students are not eligible for discounts.
Registration closes two weeks prior to class start date. If you are trying to enter a class within two weeks of the start date, please contact us at embodiededucationinstitute@gmail.com prior to purchasing to confirm your spot.
The student contract is available here.
*If a class is cancelled by EEIC, your deposit will be refunded.