What is Psychomotor Therapy
Here you will find an explanation of psychomotor therapy, or movement therapy, aimed at social workers and those who are in any way interested in psychomotor therapy. A short text about the content of psychomotor therapy is available in several languages:
For whom is psychomotor therapy / movement therapy ment
Psychomotor Therapy is ment for people with psychological problems.Psychomotor Therapy can be beneficial to people of all ages: children, adolescents, grown-ups and elderly people. The goal of the treatment is to remove, or at least diminish the client's problems.
Is psychomotor therapy the same as psychotherapy?
The psychomotor therapist's field of activity covers the same area as the activities of the psychologist. A psychomotor therapist / movement therapist is a professional who helps people with psychological problems. The difference between a psychomotor therapist and a psychologist is that a psychologist only talks with people, whereas a psychomotor therapist spends part of his/her time actively doing things with people. The things they do are in the area of movement and body experience. Examples of movement are trainingsituations from sports and physical education. Body experience aims at concentrating on the experience of peoples own body, e.g. relaxation, breathing, sensory-awareness, bio energetics, etc. Within a psychomotor therapy / movement therapy the focus is on how people treat and handle themselves, others, the instructions and the material. The goal of psychomotor therapy, as formulated by the NVPMT, is (translated): "To bring about a change in behaviour, or to at least contribute to that, and with that take away or reduce psychosocial or psychiatric problems." Psychomotor therapy offers a safe place to experiment with new behaviour. Also new experiences in the area of feeling and thinking can be discovered. During psychomotor therapy people get the opportunity to get learning experiences and corrective emotional experiences.
Where do psychomotor therapists work?
There are somewhere between 500 and 600 psychomotor therapists / movement therapists in the Netherlands. Some of the area in which psychomotor therapists are working are: psychiatry (e.g. psychiatric hospitals, day hospitals, child and youth psychiatry, etc), care for the mentally handicapped, psychogeriatrics (elderly people), rehabilitation, forensic psychiatry (within jails), care for addicted people and self-employment practices. The level of the psychomotor therapist is that of vocational training + secondary training or the academic level, possibly also with a secondary training
Is there a special education for psychomotor therapists?
There are several preparatory educations in the Netherlands:
* Movement science at several universities, of which the 'Vrije Universiteit' (Free University) in Amsterdam is the most dedicated,
* two dance expression educations (higher vocational education level),
* and the BPMT-BA (bewegingsagogie&psychomotorische therapie), higher vocational edicational level. Bachelor of Health in the Field of Adapted Physical Activities and Psychomotor Therapy, Departement Calo-Windesheim, Zwolle.
These educations train to be 'bewegingswetenschapper' (movement scientist) and 'bewegingsagoog' (movement teacher) / 'bewegings therapeut' (movement therapist). To become a psychomotor therapist, after these educations the 2-year Advanced Education for Psychomotor Therapy (Master PMT) at Windesheim in Zwolle should be done. For addresses in other countries, see the adresses page.
What is psychomotor therapy called in other countries?
Other names for psychomotor and movement therapy are: psychomotor activity (English), psychomotorische therapie, psychomotore therapie (Dutch), psychomotricité (French), psychomotorik, mototherapie, motopaedagogiek / motopädagogiek (German), psicomotricidad, práctica psicomotriz (Spanish), psicomotricità (Italian), kropsterapi, afspaendingspaedagoisk (Danish), psykomotorik (Swedish) and psyhomotoricno (Slovakian). Sometimes you see the word psicomotor as Spanish translation of the English word psychomotor.
A short text about the content of psychomotor therapy is available in several languages:
