Customer Reviews

Dance Therapy and Depth Psychology: The Moving Imagination

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This book isn't an easy read: the autobiographical first section is straightforward and engaging; however, in the second section, when she outlines the theoretical background and underpinnings of her method, it becomes rather heavy going. (The book was based on her dissertation, and it shows here. At least the chapters are fairly concise, but, if you start getting bogged down in this section, skip to the last 4 chapters.) However, in the final section, everything comes together and makes sense: the discussion of the various "movement themes," what they signify, and where they originate in the mover's psyche, is clear, understandable, and applicable in practice. For the reader with an academic background in psychology, this is a good introduction to the subject of dance therapy; if you come to the book from a dance perspective, it will increase your understanding of why certain movements are powerfully evocative, and perhaps give you some insight into what your own dance style expresses.

Ms. Chodorow does an excellent job of introducing and summarizing Carl Jung's concept of "active imagination" and its importance in becoming an "individuated" person. I'm currently bogged down in the middle of the book, though, due to the Jungian-ness of it all. (I've never found Jung's terminology to be straight forward or easily understandable...maybe it's just me.) I've jumped ahead and read other portions that seem more practical and have given me a much better idea of what the field is about. This would be a good textbook for a dance therapy program, but as a dancer, I sometimes felt it was too much up in the head (too intellectual) and not enough in the body

Joan Chodorow has done a masterful job of bringing together Jung's work on active imagination in a book that ranges from the extremely dense material typical of Jung to the very practical and "moving." I found myself dipping in and out rather than trying to absorb it straight through.

This title is simply great. Many important and depth conceptions os psychotherapy and psychology in only one book. It helps me a lot at my everyday work.