Erin K. Scott-Haines

MA
Dance/Movement Therapist

Following a full scholarship for a psychology bachelor’s degree, Erin planned to continue her studies of human behavior, mental processes, and addiction by pursuing a doctorate. A power higher than her own, however, had primary plans for a life-changing master’s degree in dance/movement psychotherapy and counseling.

Knowing Erin was a professional dancer, dance teacher and director of a prominent dance company in her hometown of Chicago, a college instructor suggested she combine her gifts and scope out Columbia College to learn more about their movement psychotherapy program. To her pleasant surprise, the degree turned out to be not only creative expression as a catalyst for elevating mood, but moreover, three years of learning to read body movement a means to unveil unconscious thoughts while integrating the functions of the mind, emotions stored in the body, and spiritual truth.

Dance/movement psychotherapy (DMT) draws on the science of mirror neurons in the brain and how they are patterned based on attachment systems and life experiences, such as trauma. Interventions include bringing awareness to this expression of the body via kinesthetic attunement, fight/flight responses, and details seen not only in what body parts move, but how they move, such as their effort dynamics, shaping tendencies, and spatial preferences. This modality has been found especially beneficial for those in recovery due to implicit relapse triggers and core motivations for substance abuse that can be brought into explicit consciousness via body/mind awareness. Erin combines her knowledge of psychology, movement, and addiction with her positive energy and faith in both creative expression and 12-step philosophy to heal the holistic being: body, mind, and spirit.