dmt admissions intro '24

Hello, perspective, dance movement therapy students.

Uh My name is Doctor Valerie Blanc. My pronouns are she her?

And I am the coordinator of the dance

movement therapy program here at Leslie University.

Um And you're receiving this video because you've

engaged in our admissions process and hopefully,

we'll be attending one of our group interviews upcoming.

Um So this will let you know what to expect in that process

and answer a few overarching questions that typically come up within that process.

So,

um

so you've applied to the Leslie program.

Um What's bringing you here here are some of the things that

um we tend to focus on in our program and um

exciting pieces that we love to talk about. So why, why coming to Leslie?

We are um we've been in

the field of Expressive therapy education for 50 years this year.

We're actually hitting our 50th

anniversary of um of the Expressive therapies program.

Um And there's a long legacy of really outstanding

faculty who are leaders in the DMT field,

both in our core faculty and

we have a, a wide adjunct

um

community uh people who are really at the forefront of their

their field and applications in dance

movement therapy and the expressive therapies.

Um

We specialize in this kind of dual identity of clinical mental health counseling

and dance movement therapy. So, students that graduate from our program

are eligible for licensure in the state

of Massachusetts as a licensed mental health counselor

and the RDMT credential,

which is the first level of credentialing

through the American Dance Therapy Association.

Um We also have uh tremendous licensing

consultants and um folks who can support students

who want to be licensed in other states.

Um We have a really strong focus on field work and internship

within your two experiences. Throughout the three year program,

you will have completed 1150 hours of

clinical experience with 240 hours of supervision,

which is a really extensive um amount of clinical experience.

It gives you that opportunity to be

at uh clinical and community sites engaging in the,

the work that you've learned in the classroom.

Um And our classroom sizes, we as much as possible keep as small as possible.

So dance movement therapy courses

usually land around 12 students per class,

only 10 students in our supervision courses which go along with

your internship and 20 is our limit for our counseling courses.

Um

We're also kind of um on the the cutting edge of, of education related to

the formation of our low residency program which started um 11 years ago.

Uh And that's an in-person summer residency that's followed

by online and hybrid courses throughout the year.

Um I imagine folks will have many more questions related to low residency

um in the interviews, if that's a delivery model that you are interested in,

many more,

um much more to be heard about that

moving forward. So you're coming to an interview,

what can you expect?

Um

We will move and we will dance with each other.

Uh Whether you're an in person,

coming to one of our three dance studios or joining us via Zoom,

come ready to move.

So wear clothes that, that feel um you know,

like you can engage in dance and movement.

Uh Don't be afraid to share openly of yourself your passions,

what's bringing you to this work?

Um Please please, please ask questions.

Your question might be someone else's questions. So any question?

No, no question is too small or too big.

Um And I think one of the most exciting pieces for both faculty and

prospective students alike is the ability to connect with other um interested

folks in in the field who could be your colleagues moving forward.

So

that's usually a part that is very exciting for us as faculty and

um equally for

folks who attend our interviews. Um

So

just a brief kind of overview of what the program of study looks like.

We have uh courses related specifically to dance movement therapy that are

um approved by the American Dance Therapy Association. We have

um as I mentioned before,

counseling courses that are related to um treatment planning and um

uh focus of, of treatment from beginning to end.

Uh We also have a, a special piece at Leslie is and we have the expressive therapies.

So we have this uh wide umbrella. So there's opportunities to take courses

um both within your specialization and also understanding the wider

um

lens and landscape of uh the expressive therapies.

And we have uh a wide range of clinical courses that support your internship.

So that's the space where

you are engaging in a smaller classroom.

And you're bringing questions that come up at your internship site.

Uh And you're learning those clinical skills that go along with that. And

we also have a uh

research component with our research and evaluation course and uh thesis seminar

uh for students that want to take that into

um the next step.

So just a kind of a brief overview of some

samples of courses that you might be engaged in.

All right. So

uh we have three

core

DMT faculty

uh myself,

Dr Valerie Blanc, also Doctor Meg Chong and Doctor Wendy Allen

are my amazing colleagues um

that we're all uh have extensive experience in DMT pedagogy and education, but also

um have our own

uh passions related to scholarship and research. And

over the past few years have started um research lab spaces

where students can come and engage with research projects that faculty

are, are working on. So that

in the past has led to presenting at conferences both locally and

um nationally

and also um

research projects that lead to publication. And

we love having students be a part of that.

And it's, it's uh it,

it's such a, a nice space to,

to really push forward those questions that we have related to

um applications of dance movement therapy in the field.

And these are spaces outside of classes.

So it's a space where students can, who are really

interested in learning more about research

um can engage with faculty.

Um And if I don't think I have a slide big enough to have all of our adjuncts,

but we have a wide

um adjunct community

and uh we're engaged in, in constant curriculum revision with our,

our great adjuncts

in the community. So,

so a couple of frequently asked questions that come up

in the application process, uh We do have

three prerequisites for the program. Um One is an anatomy and kinesiology class.

Um If you haven't taken that course yet,

feel free to reach out to either Robin Lasky or myself,

um We have some pretty affordable ways that folks can engage with that material.

And if you have a course that you took um either an undergrad or

um continuing education, feel free to send syllabi

our way and we can let you know if that will count towards the prerequisite.

We also require six credits of um psychology courses.

We usually recommend abnormal and developmental psychology,

but other courses could count.

So again,

uh send those questions our way.

We can absolutely um connect.

Uh a lot of people are asking, where do we dance? Where do we continue that process?

We have a really vibrant dance community in Boston and Cambridge

um

that where you can access different classes with a wide variety of, of dance forms.

Um And we also um have studio space that's open to students

um weekly.

So if there's a project that you're working on or

a choreography that you want to work on with someone,

we have access to that.

Uh throughout the semesters,

dance therapists are working actively um in the field. This is a question.

We get a lot. Um And it's sort of connected to internships as well. Um

People work at schools, people work in private practices,

dance therapists work in um inpatient

and partial hospitalization programs. Um

Dance therapists work with older adults and folks

uh dealing with dementia dance therapists, work in alternative schools,

dance therapist work.

It's, it's really a wide, wide range. Um And

one of the exciting pieces about having our program here is

we have this uh network of access to dance movement therapists that

and then with our low residency program,

that network keeps expanding and expanding.

Um when it comes to time for you to look for an internship,

you may be able to work with one of these amazing

dance therapists in the area or counselors in the area.

We have a field training office that supports students in their internship search.

Um

The certifications available after graduation

um as I mentioned before,

the registration through the Dance Therapy Association as well as licensure.

Um And there are many, many folks who are are engaging with

um integrating dance therapy into other practices so that,

that is happening quite a bit and

can connect through

that, that great network that I was speaking about.

We have a really high, I think this is one of the best uh

pieces of news. We have a really high

um employment rate.

It usually lands the th those studies are done

pretty much every year after graduation and they usually land in the mid nineties.

Um

So there's a lot of need out there and a lot of

space for uh dance therapists and counselors to engage with that.

Um So those are just a few questions, as I said before,

please bring your questions to the interview if you have other specific questions.

Um And you can always reach out to us

um as the three core faculty

or our colleagues in the admissions department headed through Robin

and we're excited to see you either on the screen

or in the studio in the next several weeks,

please stay in connection and let us know

how we can support you.

Thank you so much.

dmt admissions intro '24

Audio TranscriptAuto-generated