Joan shares how people suffering from depression can find their life force through dance therapy. Listen for tips on how to engage your body to rediscover inspiration and unleash your creative energy.
Joan was heavily involved in the passage of legislation that licenses creative arts therapy in New York State, serving as liaison from the New York Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies to the Joint Council for Mental Health Services Legislative Coalition for over 10 years. She has served on the New York State Board for Mental Health Practitioners for the past 20 years. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York Art Therapy Association, and an Exceptional Service Award and Outstanding Achievement Award from the American Dance Therapy Association.
Currently Joan teaches nationally and internationally. She has presented and taught dance therapy in Canada, Japan, New Zealand, China, and Korea. She developed and implemented the first dance/movement therapy training program in mainland China, through Inspirees International, and continues to serve as Program Director and faculty. She is on the faculty of Dance Therapy New Zealand, and is the founder and director of the New York Center for the Study of Authentic Movement.
Joan is one of the subjects of a film by the New York Chapter of the American Dance Therapy Association, “Moving Stories – Portraits of Dance/Movement Therapy”. She has published several articles and chapters on a variety of subjects, including Authentic Movement, improvisation as therapy, non-verbal communication in groups, and dance therapy as Buddhist practice.