DANCE MOVEMENT PSYCHOTHERAPY
Sometimes words are not enough…
An embodied and creative way to explore your experiences through movement, art and inner listening. In person in Bristol and online, in English and German.
"The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change."
CARL RODGERS
What is Dance Movement Psychotherapy?
Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) is psychotherapy that uses movement and creative, non-verbal forms of expression. I work from the understanding that our experiences and emotions are held in the body and that body movement reflects inner states of being.
DMP is an experiential, embodied way of working that can help to unlock our inner resources, find alternative perspectives, and realise our sense of safety within the body. It can be especially supportive with early life experiences, as we work directly with body memory, giving space to what lies beneath language. We work with both verbal and non‑verbal processes to support you in connecting with different parts of yourself, cultivating self‑awareness, self‑expression and personal development.
your own way home to yourself
This might be for you if…
You'd like a more creative, embodied approach to therapy.
You feel disconnected from yourself or your body.
You're drawn to exploring through the body, whether or not you've ever done anything like this before.
You want support with emotional regulation
Your body holds tension, overwhelm or emotional memories
You don’t need any prior experience with dance, movement or creative arts. You’re warmly welcome, just as you are.
Dance Movement Psychotherapy can help you…
Understand patterns held in the body and explore how they relate to thoughts and feelings.
Explore relationships and boundaries through embodied, creative interaction.
Inhabit your body more fully.
Express feelings that are hard to put into words through movement, art, play or sound.
Discover new parts of yourself, and new patterns of being with yourself and in relationship with others.
Reconnect with creativity and imagination as pathways to healing and insight.
Explore developmental or relational themes in a gentle, embodied way.
Feel more resourced, grounded and at home in yourself,
Hi, I’m Mareike
I'm a fully registered Dance Movement Psychotherapist (MA, ADMP UK) and certified Focusing Practitioner (BFA), with over ten years' experience across schools, mental health organisations and charities. Originally from Germany, I've been living and practising in Bristol since 2016.
I believe deeply in the power of creative, embodied and non-verbal processes to reveal what words alone sometimes can't reach. My approach is person-centred, and at the heart of my work is the simple act of being present with another person, offering a warm, safe space where your inner world can unfold in its own time, in its own way.
DANCE MOVEMENT PSYCHOTHERAPY (MA, ADMP UK) · FOCUSING PRACTITIONER (BFA) · CHILDREN’S FOCUSING COMPANION · RADICAL ALLOWING PRACTITIONER · BSC PSYCHOLOGY
SESSIONS
60 minutes,
weekly or fortnightly
INVESTMENT
£65
per session
WHERE
In-person in Bristol
& online
LANGUAGES
English
& German
Would you like to work together?
If you'd like to begin, or you're simply curious, send a few details below and I'll be in touch to arrange a free consultation. Share only as much as feels comfortable.
A few questions you might have
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Not at all. There's nothing to prepare and nothing to be "good at." Many people come having never worked this way before, and we begin gently, from wherever you are.
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Movement can be the smallest, quietest gesture, or no movement at all. Everything is an invitation, led entirely by you and what feels right in the moment.
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Yes. Many people come precisely because talking alone hasn't taken them as far as they'd hoped. Working through the body can open pathways that words sometimes can't reach.
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Dance Movement Psychotherapy is usually an ongoing therapeutic relationship, unfolding at a pace that suits you. We'll find a rhythm together, with no fixed end point.