Dance/movement therapy pedagogy with Japanese psychology graduate students: facing ‘haji’

Abstract

The Japanese cultural trait, haji can manifest as a barrier to self-expression in dance/movement therapy (DMT). Fifteen DMT groups were facilitated with three Japanese clinical psychology graduate students over eight months to cultivate Japanese psychology graduate students’ empathic, bodily, nonverbal interactions. A cultural protocol was developed to attend to the participants’ sense of haji: (1) Creating Ba (safe place), (2) Repetition of activities with kata (forms), and (3) Acquiring Kamae (embodied preparedness). The case study illustrates how the manifestation of haji can be used as an indicator to confirm a sense of safety. The importance of conveying the essence of DMT in a manner that takes into account the cultural protocols of the trainees are discussed. The authors recommend that educators pay attention to the blending of various influences in culture rather than dichotomising knowledge and practice.

Keywords:

• Dance/movement therapy
• haji
• graduate students
• case study
• critical pedagogy

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Izumi, Ryoko, and Haruka for participating in the study group.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that the authors have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Miho Yamada

Miho Yamada is an associate professor at the Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences, Ochanomizu University, Japan. After working as a clinical psychologist in medical and welfare facilities, she began her career as a university faculty member in clinical psychology and received her doctorate from Gakushuin University, Japan. Her research and professional interests include the psychotherapeutic and educational uses of dance and movement for Japanese people.

Tomoyo Kawano

Tomoyo Kawano is an associate professor and director of the Master’s in Dance/Movement Therapy Program with a concentration in Couple and Family Therapy program at Antioch University. She worked primarily with adults and adolescents with mental illness, addictions, and dual diagnoses in inpatient and outpatient settings. Her publications and presentations reflect her interest to critically interrogate dance epistemology, dance/movement therapy curricula and pedagogy.