[Adta] Comments & Question Re: Liljan Espenak

[Danielle Fraenkel]

Whenever I think about dance/movement therapy theory and practice, I 
turn to Liljan Espenak's seminal text, Dance Therapy: Theory and 
Application (1985). Espenak was prescient. She had the foresight to 
develop a coherent approach, not only to treatment, but to assessment as 
well. She could also explain how dance/movement therapy was different 
from both verbal and other movement oriented approaches. She understood, 
for example, why technique, was a critical component of healing and 
building the "intact sense of self. As a follower of Alfred Adler and 
Alexander Lowen, Espenak was especially interested in the biological and 
physiological influences on psychological development and in the 
significance of social feeling. She focused on these long before dance 
therapists turned to other theorists and researchers such as van der 
Kolk and Schore for support. With these concepts in mind, Espenak 
combined her interests in culture, science, and psychology, with her 
commitment to the healing power of dance. The result was a cogent,  
realistic, and unique three-part treatment approach that included 
evaluation and diagnosis, restructuring, and integration. 

Each chapter in Espenak's book has important information for those of us 
who think about dance/movement therapy theory and practice. Yet, with 
the exception of a few articles in the journal on her life and Levy's 
chapter on Espenak, as a field, we seem to have forgotten about her. 
That was certainly true at the October conference. There was no one to 
represent Espenak at the Friday evening event honoring the pioneers. 
This was especially surprising to me because Espenak's work, and her 
book, in particular,  presents topics that are especially relevant today 
(e.g. body image, music, assessment, cultural influences, group 
processes, contraindications, etc.). She also created a dance therapy 
program at New York Medical College, Flower and Fifth Avenue Hospitals' 
Mental Retardation Institute and Developmental Disabilities Clinic, and 
was one of our first educators to run a structured training program in 
dance therapy.

The forewords in Espenak's book speak to the impact her work had on 
distinguished clinicians such as Alexandra Adler and Alexander Lowen. 
They understood the value of Espenak's dance therapy program and 
respected her treatment approach. It was applicable to all, yet 
carefully modified to meet individual needs. The clarity of Espenak's 
decision making processes as she balances the needs for both empathy and 
adaptation is especially impressive. Why, then, I ask, do we as a 
profession forget to honor or learn from Espenak?

I raise this question for two reasons: (1) Espenak was not included in 
the ADTA conference event honoring the pioneers and (2) people have not 
been registering for the Espenak course we are offering this January. 
Kinections is offering the January series as a labor of love, out of 
commitment to a field that, all too often, tends to absorb new 
information from others and ignores the power of what dance therapists 
have already offered. Espenak's work should not be forgotten by 
seasoned, practicing, or student dance/movement therapists. Fortunately, 
Dr. Nana Koch, one of Espenak's students, can share Espenak's work with 
us. 

<>Who is Dr. Koch?
Dr. Nana S. Koch, Ed.D., ADTR, LCAT, NCC, LPC, CMA, was a student of 
Espenak's in the training program at the Mental Retardation Clinic of 
Flower and Fifth Avenue Hospitals. She continued to have a close 
professional and personal relationship with Espenak until her mentor's 
death in 1988. An Associate Professor in the Department of Health, 
Physical Education and Movement Science at Long Island University in New 
York and evaluator for arts education programs in New York State, Dr. 
Koch was the Coordinator of the Hunter College Dance/Movement Therapy 
Masters Program before it closed in 1996. She has also been the Chair of 
the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) Credentials Committee and 
is a long-standing member of the ADTA Approval Committee. The author of 
several articles on dance/movement therapy that have appeared in ADTA 
journals, she teaches the work of Liljan Espenak in the United States, 
Japan and Costa Rica.  <>

<>Course Description
Psychomotor Therapy: The Liljan Espenak Approach to Dance/Movement Therapy
Wednesday, January 10-Friday, January 12 (24 hours)
Other information on our website:  www.kinections.com

This experiential and didactic course introduces students to Espenak's 
system of psychomotor therapy. Attention is paid to the ways in which 
she used expressive dance and diagnostic movement tools to facilitate 
integration, the ideal body, and feelings of well-being. Adler and 
Lowen's influence on Espenak's work is discussed, along with concepts 
inherent in psychomotor therapy and its areas of application. By 
acquainting students with Espenak's concepts of diagnosis, evaluation, 
restructuring, and integration, students will learn how she used 
particular exercises to help patients express the four emotions, develop 
muscle-memory, and experience catharsis, all leading to behavioral change.




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