Restoring culture when home is destroyed: dance/movement therapy with survivors of war and political violence

Restituyendo cultura cuando el hogar esta destruido: terapia de danza/movimiento terapia con sobrevivientes de guerra y de violencia política

When refugees flee their home countries, they leave behind family, culture, employment, identity and history. What they do not leave behind are their bodies, and all of the memory, culture and history that their bodies hold. For many survivors of war trauma and political violence, not only is it not safe to return to one's country, but it is not safe to return to fully inhabiting one's traumatized body. Torture and political violence involve the deliberate attempted destruction of a person's body and mind as a continuum. Also involved is the attempted destruction of a person's sense of boundaries and relational ability, as well as the trust in one's culture.

The application of Dance/Movement Therapy and Somatic Therapy is well suited for this population, and yet must be delicately negotiated. We will explore "resourcing" as a therapeutic intervention. By accessing the client's personal and cultural strengths through their beliefs, spirituality and rituals, one can facilitate a non-threatening, culturally sensitive, and empowering healing process. Resources are an inherent part of culture, and are experienced through the body. From the mundane and pedestrian, to the profound and sacred, we experience our lives in the context of our bodies. Our individual bodies are literally and metaphorically shaped by our life experience. We become who we are in response to what we experience. Culture is contained in the body, and therefore reflects our relationship to the natural world.

This presentation will explore culture and nature as a resource, using case material from the Kosovar women's group and the children's group at the rocky Mountain Survivor Center as well as work with street children in Haiti. Techniques draw from the fields of somatic psychology and traumatology, dance, movement, and expressive arts therapies, and social work practice.