Children’s Therapy Service at Sahara Black Women’s Refuge

Leeds Housing Concern (LHC) and Sahara are developing their services and facilities for children with the aim that they will have safe place to play and learn, opportunities to socialise with other children, to have their views heard and to receive emotional support when needed. 

LHC has recently employed a dance movement therapist to provide therapeutic support for children living in the refuge. Expressive therapies allow children to communicate their feelings in ways that are natural to them: using movement, play and art to symbolically express that which cannot be expressed in words. At Sahara, the therapist integrates a range of arts and play media into her sessions according to the child’s age and interests. This work is underpinned by an understanding of movement, focusing not only on the cognitive and emotional experience of the child, but also upon the child’s embodied experience.

The first sense from which we make meaning of our world is the kinaesthetic sense; our physical sense of ourselves. Our movement patterns evolve alongside our cognitive and emotional development. Movement is present when we soothe ourselves, protect ourselves, initiate contact, explore our surroundings, delineate our boundaries and build relationships with others. Dance movement therapists attend to non-verbal as well as verbal communication. They are trained to recognise aspects of movement that reflect the client’s stage of development, emotional state and functioning. This understanding of movement can provide insight into how a child feels about herself or himself and how the child feels in relation to others. It is particularly relevant for children who have experienced violence, as trauma is often manifested on a body level, affecting the development of boundaries, awareness of personal space, body image and self-esteem.

Many children develop defences in response to their experiences of domestic violence. Although at times these defences may lead to socially inappropriate behaviour or impair a child’s relationships and development, they are also coping strategies that have helped the child to survive.

Children who come to the refuge are in crisis, yet their experience of violence may have taught them to hide or reject their own thoughts, feelings and fears. As they and their families achieve greater stability, they may begin to process their experiences. Dance and movement, stories, art and play enable children to express themselves safely through the use of metaphor. Working at a symbolic level, children begin to tell and make sense of their story at their own pace.

Some children demonstrate very aggressive, chaotic behaviour. The therapy sessions can provide a safe outlet and container for difficult feelings. There are times when a child may dissociate to avoid physical sensation or feeling, finding too much contact with the external world and too much self-awareness overwhelming and painful. The dance movement therapist is sensitive to the child’s non-verbal and verbal cues, adapting her interactions around them.

The therapist may gradually support the child in identifying the physical triggers that accompany feelings and behaviour, enabling the child to gain a greater sense of control over their body, thoughts and reactions. This awareness can also support children in re-establishing a sense of their own boundaries, which may have been compromised by abuse.

"Working at a symbolic level, children begin to tell andmake sense of their own story at their own pace."

Because of violence in the home, some children may have taken on caring responsibilities which would otherwise be assumed by their parents. The therapy sessions may provide a time and space where the child can be a child, internalising positive experiences they may not have been able to access as a carer.

Weekly sessions take place in a purpose built therapy room with a clear floor space, ‘soft’ area with cushions and mat, several large props to support gross motor movement, ‘sensory’ props including textured cloths, foam balls and feathers as well as soft toys. Art materials and musical instruments are also available. The room is designed to be uncluttered, creating a neutral space that enables expression without a directive from the environment. Sessions are available on a short term or long term basis, according to need.

The therapist has experience working with young refugees, children at risk, children with learning difficulties and emotional and behavioural difficulties. All dance movement therapists undertake post-graduate training with a substantial clinical practicum and regular supervision. Theory and method are drawn from a range of disciplines, including individual and group psychotherapy, developmental psychology, anatomy, neuro-psychology, movement observation and analysis: combining the art form of dance and movement with psychotherapeutic models. Therapists must also undertake a minimum of two years of personal psychotherapy prior to registration.

FURTHER READING LIST
If you would like more information about the effects of domestic violence upon children, responses to trauma, movement and other creative arts therapies, you may find the following books/articles of interest:

Bancroft, L. and Silverman, J.G. (2002). The Batterer as Parent: The Impact of Domestic Violence on Family Dynamics. USA: Sage Publications

Famularo, R., Kinscherff, R. and Fenton, T. (1990) Symptom differences in acute and chronic presentation of childhood post-traumatic stress disorder. Child Abuse and Neglect. 14: 439 – 444.

Kestenberg Amighi, J., Loman, S., Lewis, P. and Sossin, M. (1999). The Meaning of Movement, Developmental and Clinical Perspectives of the Kestenberg Movement Profile. London: Brunner-Routledge.

Klorer, G. (2000). Expressive Therapy with Troubled Children. London: Jason Aronson Inc.

Malchiodi, C. (1990). Breaking the Silence: Art Therapy with Children from Violent Homes. New York: Brunner/Mazel.

Meekums, B. (2002). Dance Movement Therapy, A Creative Psychotherapeutic Approach. London: Sage Publications.

Mohr, W. and Fantuzzo, J. (2000). The neglected variable of physiology in domestic violence. In

Geffner, R., Jaffe,P., Sudermann, M. (eds.) Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: Current Issues in Research, Intervention, Prevention and Policy Development. USA: Haworth.

Rossman, R. and Ho, J. (2000). Posttraumatic response and children exposed to parental violence. In Geffner, R., Jaffe,P., Sudermann, M. (eds.) Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: Current Issues in Research, Intervention, Prevention and Policy Development. USA: Haworth.

Saunders, A., Epstein C., Keep, G. Debbonaire, T. (1995) ‘It hurts me too’ Children’s experiences of domestic violence and refuge life. UK: Alex Saunders, WAFE, NISW, ChildLine.

Silvern, L., Karyl, J. and Landis, T. (1994) Individual psychotherapy for the traumatised children of abused women. In Peled, E., Jaffe, P., Edleson, J., Ending the Cycle of Violence: Community Responses to Children of Battered Women. USA: Sage Publications.

Terr, L.C. (1990) Too Scared to Cry: How Trauma Affects Children…and Ultimately Us All. New York: Basic Books.

van der Kolk, B. A. (1994) The body keeps the score: memory and the evolving psychobiology of posttraumatic stress. Harvard Review of Psychiatry. 1(5): 253 – 265.