ridDANCE has quickly become one of The Dorm’s most sought-after groups—and for good reason. ridDANCE is a new Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) modality, created specifically to meet the needs of our clients who may feel hesitant about traditional therapy, or have difficulty processing experiences that are difficult to put into words.
The treatment modality is based on the understanding that our emotions don’t just live in our minds, but are also stored in our bodies. For many of our young adults, DMT offers an alternative way to engage in treatment that feels more accessible and less intimidating.
We sat down with Ladonna Matchett, MA, R-DMT, LPC, Senior Therapist at The Dorm, Washington, D.C., and certified DMT therapist who facilitates ridDANCE. In her time leading the group, Ladonna has seen how even small changes in movement can lead to significant shifts in how clients feel and relate to themselves.
Key Article Takeaways
What is Dance/Movement Therapy?
Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) is a somatic, movement-based therapeutic practice. People often hear “dance” and think that’s all it is, but there’s so much more that’s taking place.
DMT is a form of psychotherapy that uses movement and dance as tools for emotional, cognitive, physical, and social integration. It is based on the idea that our bodies and minds are connected, and that our movements can both reflect and influence our emotional states.
Can you tell us about ridDANCE and why you brought it to The Dorm?
Ladonna Matchett, R-DMT: ridDANCE is a DMT group I lead at The Dorm. My passion for both dance and therapy inspired me to bring this modality to our community. In previous DMT groups I led, I saw how movement helped people in profound ways. The group members learned to self-regulate through grounding techniques, built connections with others who had similar movement styles, and accessed emotions they struggled to put into words.
Seeing this impact firsthand made me want to bring ridDANCE to The Dorm. I wanted to help our clients discover their bodies as resources for healing—teaching them to ground themselves and regulate emotions through movement while exploring new ways of being, both emotionally and physically.
How Does Dance/Movement Therapy Work?
Dance/movement therapy works on the principle that the body and mind are interconnected, and our movements both reflect and shape our emotional states.
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One key component of DMT involves assessing a client’s movement patterns across spatial planes and physically modeling alternative ways to move. For example, if someone’s affect appears flat and constricted, we encourage the opposite effect— introducing vertical alignment and upbeat pacing to shift their physical and emotional states. Similarly, if someone feels stagnant or wants to curl up into a ball, we encourage them to stand up tall and move with intention. Essentially, we’re using the body as a tool to transform how we think and feel.
Stillness also plays an important role. Sometimes it’s simply about creating moments to be present in the body and feel safe. For clients who rarely feel safe in their environments, this practice helps them rebuild trust within themselves.
DMT also focuses on boundaries and relational dynamics, exploring how movement changes in relation to others. This includes noticing how proximity affects our comfort level (how close we’re willing to stand near someone familiar compared to a stranger) and recognizing how those relational dynamics change depending on our relationship with someone.
Through this work, clients become more comfortable setting boundaries and consenting to physical contact.
What are common techniques used in Dance/Movement Therapy?
Some common techniques used are:
- Mirroring: The therapist matches others’ movements to show empathy and validate their experience. This technique helps establish trust and nonverbal connection, allowing participants to feel seen and understood.
- Authentic movement: Moving with eyes closed while being observed by another person non-judgmentally helps build inner awareness.
- Movement metaphor: Symbolic gestures or movements represent feelings, relationships, or life situations, making abstract emotions more concrete.
- Grounding techniques: Focusing on connection with the floor and body awareness to cultivate presence and stability.
- Co-regulation: The therapist uses their own regulated presence and attuned movement responses to help support the other person’s nervous system regulation.
Who can benefit from Dance/Movement Therapy?
Dance/Movement Therapy can benefit clients across a wide range of diagnoses and needs—from anxiety and depression to trauma and emotional regulation challenges.
For young adults at The Dorm, we have already seen its impact on clients who have experienced trauma, which causes them to disconnect from their bodies through dissociation, depersonalization, or derealization. When trauma happens in the body, that’s where healing also needs to happen. Our goal is to help individuals reconnect with their physical selves in the present moment, move through past experiences, and learn to feel safe and at home in their bodies.
DMT is also valuable for clients who struggle with body image or are survivors of sexual abuse. Through a sequence of facilitated movement exercises, they can reconnect with their bodies and rediscover what safety feels like. As clients become more attuned to their bodies, they’re able to engage more deeply with somatic healing practices.
Beyond trauma and body image issues, DMT also helps people dealing with anxiety, depression, eating disorders, autism spectrum disorders, dementia, and chronic pain.
When you look back at your work with ridDANCE, what makes you most proud?
There are so many things, but what resonates the most is hearing clients express relief.
Following our sessions, they say, “I haven’t been able to move this part of my body since I experienced xyz,” or “I never thought I would feel comfortable in my body this way.”
Hearing their affirming statements and watching their transformations happen in real time is incredibly rewarding. Seeing them relax, their tension melt away, and the work they do with one another in the space—those are my proudest moments.
Given ridDANCE’s growing popularity, how are you planning to bring it to more clients at The Dorm?
I am thinking about creating a group specifically for female-identifying clients. From working with women who have experienced sexual trauma, I recognized that having male-identifying individuals in the space can make it difficult to establish safety. When clients are being vulnerable with their bodies and movements—especially when we’re exploring consent in an embodied way—that sense of safety is important. Creating a female-identifying group allows us to set parameters and boundaries that help participants fully explore and heal in a way that feels supportive for them.
Why do you think ridDANCE is especially valuable for young adults?
I would say one of the core benefits is the sense of community. There’s an opportunity for young adults to connect and share experiences with others when they are feeling vulnerable. Through movement exercises, they also have opportunities to both lead and be led by others. Having the space to explore both of those roles is an important part of their development—they learn when to step forward and when to trust and follow others.
Is there anything else you want people to know about ridDANCE?
I want people to know that ridDANCE is for everyone, and that movement therapy doesn’t require any prior dance experience or expertise.
It’s about exploring different ways of moving and being, and it can be as simple as turning your head or walking through a space. The movement is very much centered around an individual’s comfort level, and clients have full agency to modify their movements in ways that feel good to them. It’s a space where self-advocacy is encouraged, where people can connect with one another, and where they can learn how to use their bodies as a resource and see it as a friend.
Dance/Movement Therapy at The Dorm
At The Dorm, we believe that integrating the mind and body through everyday functional movement helps young adults learn to connect with themselves and others. By integrating movement into our therapy programming, we provide young adults an alternative and powerful way to express and process their emotions.
Dance/movement therapy helps individuals access emotions they struggle to put into words, regulate their nervous system through intentional movement, and form authentic connections through shared practice. This approach is especially beneficial for young adults who have experienced trauma, struggle with body image, or find it difficult to articulate their feelings in traditional therapy settings.Whether you’re a young adult seeking support or a parent exploring treatment options, we’re here to help. Learn more about who we treat and our unique community model.
