Mary Whitehouse: Theory

 

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Unit: Mary Whitehouse

Theme: Theory

 

Introduction

 

Authentic Movement, developed by Mary Starks Whitehouse, incorporates movement to promote self-exploration and improved mental health. This innovative type of therapy can be used by dance movement therapists with individuals, couples or in group therapy sessions. Authentic Movement is believed to be especially beneficial for those who have difficulty processing their issues verbally through traditional forms of therapy such as talk therapy.

 

 

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Learning Objectives 

• Understand Mary Whitehouse's authentic movement theory
• Explain how authentic movement differs from other forms of therapy
  
• Gain an awareness of the importance of authentic movement therapy
  
• Experience the creation of one's own individual journey using authentic movement style
  

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Check In

 

 

IV

Main Lesson 

 

1

 

READING

TEXTBOOK LINK:

Dance Movement Therapy: A Healing Art by Fran J. Levy

Go to the link above and scrawl down to page 70.
Skim through from pages 70 -77

 

 

Questions 1 & 2

 1. Please summarize the main aspects of Whitehouse's Theory.

 2. Please, explain what she meant by "authentic movement"?

 

 

 2

 

Whitehouse's Approach to Dance and Movement Therapy

 

1. Kinesthetic Awareness: the individual's ability to make a subjective connection with how it feels to move in a certain way. Whitehouse thought of the body as the subject/organism which personally reacts and responds to everything that happens.
   
2. Polarity: Whitehouse believed, along the lines of Jungian thought, that polarity is present in all aspects of life and emotions. Whitehouse said that physically applied, no action can be accomplished without two sets of muscles, one contracting and one extending. She thought this polarity was inherent in movement patterns and put emphasis on how it affected the body and the mind, as polarized drives emerged during the dance and movement therapy processes. However, she stressed that nothing is black and white in life, and that while we may be forced to use one form of expression over another, the one not chosen for conscious expression does not go away; it simply goes unrecognized. Moreover, in its disguised and unconscious state, it continues to exert pressure and create conflict. Given that dance inherently engages opposites, a dancer does not stop to think of curve/straight, close/open, narrow/wide, up/down, heavy/light movements. Instead, the dancer engages in polarized expression. Hence, the modality of dance and movement, as therapy, are perfect for the spontaneous release of opposing drives.
   
3. Active Imagination: A Jungian method of freeing one's associations to allow in all levels of conscious and unconscious experience, active imagination was applied by Whitehouse in the dance/movement therapy process. In the same way that following the visual image is active imagination in fantasy. For Whitehouse, active imagination in movement was the inner sensation that allowed the impulse to take the form of physical action. It is in this process that the most dramatic psycho-physical connections are made available to consciousness. This allows the psycho-analytic practice of releasing unconscious repressed material through the process of loosening and relaxing the ego's defenses against spontaneous expression.Whitehouse also supports Jung's concept of the personal unconscious being united with an unconscious that extends beyond the personal self to a universal or collective unconscious. On the other hand, she points out the conscious self as the ego that observes and participates, but  does not censor or control the individual's physical expressions. She describes the process of building the powers of the observing ego through the mechanism of freeing associations by way of body movements. In summary, she describes a spiritual process of expressing universal forms which would not normally be part of one's conscious movement repertoire. Active imagination can be experienced as long as it is expressed on a level of movement that is not consciously directed and this level of movement is what Whitehouse called "authentic movement."
   
4. Authentic Movement: According to Whitehouse's direct quote, "at the core of the movement experience is the sensation of moving (I move) and being moved (I am moved). Ideally both are present in the same instant and it may be literally an instant. It is a moment of total awareness, the coming together of what I am doing (I move) and what is happening to me (I am moved). It cannot be anticipated, explained, specifically worked for, nor repeated exactly. The antithesis of authentic movement (I am moved), which is one of the polarities, is invisible movement (I move) or movement that is controlled and fails to express underlying (authentic/active imagination) emotions and thoughts. Authentic movement is to "I am moved" what invisible movement is to "I move." Whitehouse's aim was not to guide clients to one extreme end of the movement continuum, but to help them find a point along the continuum or even transcend it by having the client experience both, "I move" and "I am moved" simultaneously.
5. Therapeutic Relationship/Intuition: Whitehouse put emphasis on the therapeutic relationship between the therapist and the client added to the therapist's intuition. Her approach to the therapeutic relationship was first to trust her own intuition to then help the client develop his/her own intuition. Finally, she emphasized the therapist's ability to begin at the level of readiness that the client presented. By this she meant that the therapist has to be ready to be anonymous in favor of observing quickly and without barriers, what is available to that individual.

 

Question 3

How do the concepts above, combined, can be used to design a therapeutic session?

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Methodology

 

Whitehouse's  intervention style, similar to the other pioneers in the field was directly/externally prompted, non-directive/internally prompted or a combination of both.  This depended on the clients' readiness and needs. The quality of the therapeutic relationship influenced the degree to which the therapeutic movement process would take place successfully. The role of the therapist was that of a mediator and mirror to a client whose movement needed to be observed. This would allow the client to let go, close his/her eyes and just move.

Question 4

When discussing Whitehouse's methodology, on what circumstances does the therapeutic movement process depend?

 

 

4

 

Review

 

 Hero's Journey

In 1949, Campbell published The Hero with a Thousand Faces, a book in which he discusses his theory of the mythological structure of the journey of the archetypal hero found in world myths. The Hero's Journey refers to a wide-ranging category of tales in which a character ventures out to get what he/she needs, faces conflict, and ultimately triumphs over adversity. The Hero's Journey is divided into two big halves: the ordinary world and the special world. The journey has 12 stages (See the diagram below). 

Question 5

From the point of view of positive psychology, why is # 8 (Ordeal, Death & Rebirth) an important part of the hero's journey?

5

Watch Video

(3:10 min)

Hero's Journey Stages

1. The Ordinary World: The audience meets the Hero in the ordinary world.
2. The Call to Adventure: The Hero receives the call to adventure: a challenge, a quest or a problem that must be faced.
3. Refusal of the Call: The Hero expresses fear and is reluctant or refuses the call.
4. Meeting the Mentor: A meeting with the mentor provides encouragement, wisdom, or magical gifts to  push the Hero past fear and doubt.
5. Crossing the Threshold: The Hero finally accepts the challenge and crosses the threshold into the special world.
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies: The Hero learns about the special world through tests, encountering allies and enemies.
7. Approach to the Inmost Cave: The Hero makes the final preparations and approaches the innermost cave.
8. The Ordeal: The hero endures the ordeal, the central crisis in which the Hero confronts his greatest fear and tastes death.
9. Reward: The Hero enjoys the reward of having confronted fear and death.
10. The Road Back: The Hero takes the road back and recommits to completing the journey.
11. The Resurrection: The Hero faces the climactic ordeal that purifies redeems and transforms the Hero on the Threshold home.
12. Return with the Elixir: The Hero returns with the elixir to benefit the ordinary world.

Question 6

Re-arrange the steps of the hero's journey by doing one of three things: naming them in your own words, diagramming them your own way or drawing them in a way they make sense to you. 

 

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A Note to Remember

 

 Authentic Movement, rooted in Carl Jung's concept of "active imagination" was developed in the 1950s by dance therapist Mary Starks Whitehouse. First named “movement in depth,” authentic movement got its start through Whitehouse's expressive movement work with the people she treated early in her psychotherapy career. She believed that the therapist was at different times a teacher, a mediator, a witness.

VI

Case Study

 

 

 Video

 

Being Moved - Authentic Movement - Dance Workshop Interview with Lindsay Sworski

 

Question 7

 Write your reflection about this interview and explain the concept of "being moved" based on Sworski's explanation.

VII

 

Activity

 

Students will create a movement phrase based on their own hero's journey.

 

Students work in pairs. Then, they share their phrase with a partner.

They switch. Finally, they give each  feed back.

They work in pairs to create a common narrative in movement. They share their work with the rest of the class.

Question 8

Reflect on the activity above from the point of view of the therapist and the client.

VIII

 

Glossary 

 

Mary Wigman (1886 - 1973): She was a German dancer and choreographer, notable as the pioneer of expressionist dance, dance therapy, and movement training without pointe shoes. A student of Rudolph Laban, although the two later split over differing ideas on the meaning of dance, she is considered one of the most important figures in the history of modern dance. Whitehouse was most strongly influenced by Wigman in the modality of dance-movement-improvisation. 

 

psychic probing: it means to get information from clients/patients, revealing information that they are themselves not consciously aware of.

 

movement-in-depth:  created by Whitehouse, it means to delve unselfconsciously into the deeper layers of one's own personality through in-depth spontaneous movement expression that cannot not be reproduced or repeated. Due to her exposure to Jungian psychoanalysis and Wigman's dance-movement-improvisation, Whitehouse developed a unique theoretical and practical approach to dance and movement therapy.

 

Jungian psychoanalysis: it is an in-depth, analytical form of talk therapy designed to bring together the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind to help a person feel balanced and whole. Jungian therapy calls for clients to look at the “real” self rather than the self they present to the outside world.

 

Carl Gustav Jung (1875 - 1961): He was a Swiss psychiatrist active in the early 20th century. Jung was Sigmund Freud's chosen protege, although the two later split over differing ideas on the subconscious. Along with Freud, Jung is one of the most famous people in the history of psychology. His ideas have influenced many of today’s therapy types, as well as the fields of art, film, music, and culture more generally. The concepts of “introversion” and “extroversion” come from Jung, as does the idea of having a “complex.”

 

 

 

 

IX

Journaling

 

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Sources

 

Authentic Movement. https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/authentic-movement

 

Jungian Therapy. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/jungian-therapy

 

Carl Gustav Jung: A Short Biography. 

https://chmc-dubai.com/articles/carl-gustav-jung-a-short-introduction/

XI

 

Students' Work