After training as a movement therapist, you can accompany people in your own practice or in institutions in a process- and conflict-centered way. In process-oriented dance and movement therapy, you have a conflict-centered and process-oriented approach to therapeutic work.

The Higher Professional Examination (HFP) to become an art therapist with a federal diploma can currently be taken in five different specializations, which include music therapy, intermedial therapy, design and painting therapy, drama and speech therapy as well as movement and dance therapy. If you would like to train as a movement therapist, the advanced specialist examination is an interesting and highly regarded further training course at a high level.

With a degree in movement therapy, you have the opportunity to work in the leisure sector, in a psychosocial institution or in your own practice. This means that you can find employment in leisure facilities as well as in schools, clinics or socio-educational institutions, where you can support the development or healing of very different people using movement and dance therapy methods.

Further training in movement therapy can be differentiated as follows:

• In terms of orientation: resource-oriented or process-oriented
• After completion: school certificate, association certificate, EFZ, CAS, DAS or higher professional examination with federal diploma
• Duration: the duration of training can vary greatly depending on the training and therefore also cost different amounts

The choice of courses and training programs in movement, dance or body therapy is very wide, so the admission requirements and prerequisites for the individual training and further education courses also vary. For some courses you do not need any special prior knowledge, such as for training as a dance and movement therapist, but you do need to have completed a vocational apprenticeship, a school-leaving certificate or a higher degree. These courses therefore enable lateral entry as a movement therapist. However, the requirements for this further training may vary from school to school, so it is essential to clarify the admission requirements directly with the training providers beforehand.

As a dance and movement therapist, you work with individuals or groups and can find possible employment in the following places:

• in clinics
• in socio-educational institutions
• at schools
• in the socio-cultural field
• in leisure facilities
• in your own practice

Dance and movement therapy training offers a well-founded combination of theory, self-awareness and practice. The aim is to enable therapeutic work through movement, expression and body awareness and to use these in a targeted manner.

The following topics are covered during the course of the training:

• Fundamentals of dance and movement therapy and insights into process psychology
• Expand your own movement repertoire and physical perception
• Methodology and practical application of dance therapy methods
• Developmental psychological concepts with relevance for everyday therapeutic practice
• Support and design of individual movement processes
• Use of verbal and non-verbal communication
• Working with rhythm, voice and breath as a means of expression
• Conflict-centered approaches in movement therapy
• Body-oriented psychotherapeutic methods
• Psychopathology: basics and therapeutic implementation
• Process-oriented methods to promote emotional expressiveness
• Combining art and therapy as a creative approach
• Psychosomatics and targeted symptom work
• Supervision in real time and based on specific case studies
• Dream work and symbolic forms of expression
• Social dynamics and group experience
• Integration of artistic elements: Movement, painting, voice, theater
• Group processes and the so-called process theater
• Communication concepts and their application in everyday therapy
• Analysis of processes and development of therapeutic strategies
• Documentation and reflection of therapeutic processes

The training offers a multi-layered preparation for professional practice and promotes both personal and professional development. Here, movement is understood not only as a physical, but also as an emotional and creative form of expression.

Please note: The specific content of a dance and movement therapy course can vary from school to school. It is therefore advisable to enquire about the exact curriculum directly with the respective educational institution. You can use our contact form to send a specific inquiry to the desired school. Simply select the school, ask your question and receive a direct answer.

Federally recognized movement therapist training or further training in the field of movement therapy are the apprenticeship training to become a specialist in movement and health promotion with a federal certificate of competence (EFZ), the higher professional examination in art therapy with a federal diploma and the training to become a manager of health tourism and movement with a federal diploma. Nevertheless, you can complete many further training courses to become a movement therapist that are recognized by an association. Please ask the schools directly about the recognition of the individual courses you are interested in.

As CAS and DAS postgraduate courses, people are trained as sports and exercise therapists. This is used for mental illnesses, internal diseases, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. These therapists motivate, accompany and advise patients to exercise and help them to improve their lifestyle.

You should have the following personal prerequisites for training as a movement therapist:

• Completed basic training such as an apprenticeship, high school diploma or University of Applied Sciences or university degree
• Personal responsibility
• creative curiosity
• Mental and physical resilience
• Good time and financial planning
• Age limit: e.g. 25 years

Ask the school about the exact requirements.