Right brain, the unconscious and uncovering metaphorical meaning through movement.
Megha Deuskar,
Assistant Professor,
Department of Psychology,
Fergusson College, Pune.
Recent advances in neuroscience have begun to draw parallels between the functioning of the right hemisphere of the brain and Freud's conception of the unconscious mind. The holistic processing of the right brain as against the linear processing of the left brain, the tendency to gain knowledge through acquaintance rather than through verbal processing and the capacity of the right hemisphere to be creative all liken it to the concept of the unconscious mind. Analytically speaking some of our most deep seated distresses and emotional material from the remote past lies buried in the unconscious mind. Carl Jung also pointed out that archetypal wisdom lies buried in our collective unconscious mind. This wealth of deeper meaning can be accessed through dreams or through art. Dance can be particularly helpful in uncovering meaning. Movement activates the right brain and allows clients to express themselves symbolically. A dance movement therapist who can stay sensitive to metaphors expressed by their clients through movement can greatly help them to find meanings that extend far beyond traditional verbal forms of therapy. This paper elaborates on some such metaphorical meanings derived through body movement related exercises by various dance movement therapies. It also aims to highlight the importance of theoretical soundness for the dance movement therapist.
Megha Deuskar,
Assistant Professor,
Department of Psychology,
Fergusson College, Pune.
Recent advances in neuroscience have begun to draw parallels between the functioning of the right hemisphere of the brain and Freud's conception of the unconscious mind. The holistic processing of the right brain as against the linear processing of the left brain, the tendency to gain knowledge through acquaintance rather than through verbal processing and the capacity of the right hemisphere to be creative all liken it to the concept of the unconscious mind. Analytically speaking some of our most deep seated distresses and emotional material from the remote past lies buried in the unconscious mind. Carl Jung also pointed out that archetypal wisdom lies buried in our collective unconscious mind. This wealth of deeper meaning can be accessed through dreams or through art. Dance can be particularly helpful in uncovering meaning. Movement activates the right brain and allows clients to express themselves symbolically. A dance movement therapist who can stay sensitive to metaphors expressed by their clients through movement can greatly help them to find meanings that extend far beyond traditional verbal forms of therapy. This paper elaborates on some such metaphorical meanings derived through body movement related exercises by various dance movement therapies. It also aims to highlight the importance of theoretical soundness for the dance movement therapist.
