DMT Register

Annie is a Dance Movement Therapist and registered Arts Therapist. With a passion for working with children in various contexts over the past 15 plus years, Annie provides DMT for groups and individual clients, in both clinical and community contexts, as well as within schools. Her clinical experience spans a diverse range of populations including neurodiverse children, teens, and adults; children with high and complex needs; anxiety; autism; and older adults with dementia. She adopts a client-centered, relational, and trauma-informed approach, nestled in developmental psychology and polyvagal theory. Fundamentally, Annie seeks to promote a non-judgmental and compassionate space for clients to explore, facilitating support through embodiment, movement, breath, creative expression, presence, and play.

Barbara did her main dance movement therapy training in Munich Germany at CITA in Integral Dance, Expression Therapy and Authentic Movement in 1993 and later in Auckland New Zealand at DTNZ in 2015. She studied and experienced working with all ages and abilities in different settings, including childcare, schools, health centres and nursing homes. Alongside her teacher Wilfried Guertler ( CITA) she built up a training school in Vienna, Austria and Budapest, Hungary to introduce and teach the positive effects of dance movement therapy. Before she came to New Zealand she taught and studied in India, USA, and Europe. Barbara works mainly in high schools where she set up group work in creative arts therapy using dance, movement, storytelling, arts and music for students with learn difficulties, intellectual,physical and mental disabilities. She offers workshops to different organisations to learn how to integrate dance movement therapy in their everyday work.

Bex comes with over 12 years of experience working in the disability sector. She has extensive experience working with people of all abilities including complex needs. She has worked with Children, Teens and Adults, in both group and individual settings. Her key populations are Teens and Adults, with a preference for group work in either a face to face setting or online. Growing up in New Zealand she has a rich respect for indigenous culture, which she endeavours to bring into her practice and teaching, while mindfully navigating her role as Tangata Tiriti.

Bex operates from a Social Model of health, with a critical perspective that recognises intersectionality and social systems as factors to be aware of when working with groups of people. Bex has experience working with mixed ability groups and utilises movement, art and music in groups, as carrier activities to support connection, relationship, social, emotional and life skills. A key consideration of her work is always ‘how can I make this accessible and meaningful to everyone present.’ Her current research thesis endeavour involves compassion. Her special interest areas are ADHD, intersections between mental health & disability and Dance Movement Therapy adaptions for wheelchair users. Her practice is influenced by her background in circus and performance arts. She is one of the trainers on the DMT Diploma course through Dance and Arts therapy NZ.

"The body says what words cannot." - Martha Graham.
"Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keeping what is worth keeping, and them with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away." - George Eliot.

After receiving her qualification from the ‘International Yoga Teacher Association’ in 2006, Doreen began her movement career teaching yoga and working with people of different ages and many walks of life. Later she deepened her knowledge as a student of Donna Farhi’s Advanced Teacher Training in 2012. Subsequently, the study of Dance Movement Therapy became a natural extension. In the DMT training, she found a deeper understanding of our physical movement integrations as well as the psychology within our mental and emotional body. Since graduating from DTNZ and completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts Therapy Whitecliffe 2020. Doreen’s Body – Mind work provided many opportunities for a variety of populations. Currently, Doreen is active as a DMT therapist working with children through the “Stars”, “Dance 4 Us” and “Dance 4 All” program in Christchurch (DTNZ). Additionally, she provides DMT therapy, where she utilizes Arts Therapy within individual sessions at her home studio.

Dance/movement therapy has been a cornerstone in supporting my well-being, and I bring these lived experiences into my private practice. My vision is to foster meaningful transformation—helping individuals find strength, connection, and freedom through the art of movement.

My approach focuses on integrating evidence-based research and practices related to embodiment mindfulness, positive behavioral support, and person-driven strategies. I offer sessions to those with mental health challenges (depression, anxiety, PTSD, addictions, anger management), intellectual development disabilities as well as professional supervision.

While actively contributing to the health and disability sector in Aotearoa/New Zealand, I collaborate with local schools and service providers. My most recent project explored preference assessments within Dance Movement Therapy for individuals with Autism and related disabilities.

My work supporting individuals with learning disabilities and mental health challenges has deepened my commitment to exploring holistic and individualized therapeutic experiences that best meet each unique needs, honoring their inner world and unspoken stories.

Outside of my professional work, I enjoy music and DANCE! 🙂 Reading a good book, and spending quality time travelling with my partner.

Email: cmtherapynz@gmail.com

Jenny has offered group and individual dance therapy to adults and young adults with disabilities including Down syndrome, intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, autism spectrum, depression, and more, and yoga to young women with mild schizophrenia. She regularly offers yoga, therapeutic dance, and community dance to neuro-typical kids and adults. She has experience guiding a therapeutic drum group, and enjoys integrating rhythm activities into her group DMT sessions. Jenny loves to support clients in a journey of self-discovery to facilitate pathways toward greater ease, flow, and joy and weaves her knowledge of yoga, mindfulness, and rhythm into her therapy practice. She has a personal interest in the use of gentle mobilisation and breath integration for healing chronic pain and anxiety.

A DMT practitioner since 2006, work across Taiwan, Aotearoa New Zealand, and internationally; I believe in the knowings from/within body, the power of authenticity, and the flow of dynamic harmony in our body-mind-cultural-spiritual self.

I draw from transcultural consciousness and responsive practice to support clients' unique journey for wholistic wellbeing. My work is relational, intuitive, and grounded with both psychology and creative processes. I work with adults with childhood relational trauma, young people (and their family) with disabilities, attachment issues, and complex trauma (C-PTSD). I practice mindful presence and mindfulness in movement and bring them into our work as resources and regulation tools. A wide range of theories and practices informs my work. They DMT specific approaches, such as Bartenieff Fundamentals, KMP, Moving Cycle (by Christine Caldwell), Ways of Seeing (trained with Dr Suzi Tortora) for family and young children, Trauma-informed Restorative Body psychotherapy (trained with Dr Amber Gray), and The BodyMind Approach, TBMA (trained with Dr Helen Payne) for medically non-explained symptoms; as well as frameworks from psychodynamics and somatic psychotherapy.

Lesley has extensive experience as creative wellbeing practitioner with individuals and groups. She began her dance movement training when young in Christchurch then London. Her early experience included contemporary dance, improvisation, and Body-Mind Centering with teachers Patricia Bardi, Katya Bloom, Linda Hartley, and foundation DMT training with Helen Payne. Returning to NZ she collaborated with Amanda Levey learning the Halprin Life Art Process. An opportunity to study Dance Movement Therapy in Melbourne enabled her to both immerse herself in healing dance and formalise her dance movement therapy training. She initially applied her skills in aged care and women’s health with independent group work, then worked primarily in the public mental health field as a counsellor/social worker incorporating a body-centred, creative and integrative approach, and where possible offering DMT. In recent years she has begun her own private Dance to Life practice with a focus on supporting people with trauma and advanced her DMT skills in this area including training with Amber Gray. She’s also been based in a medical clinic as a Health Improvement Practitioner (HIP) supporting “patients” with holistic wellbeing. Her passion is developing Dance Movement Therapy as a life enhancing creative wellbeing modality. This year learning SpinPoi as a fresh movement modality that can be both a cultural and professional bridge between her HIP and Dance Movement Therapy worlds.

After a BA in Dance Movement Therapy in The Netherlands, Maud started her journey from working as a dance teacher to starting her own practice and offering DMT for different populations. Maud has worked with neurotypical children, teens and adults; elderly with dementia & Alzheimer; adults diagnosed with a personality disorder and/or depression, and women who were affected by cancer. She provides DMT in groups and individual sessions. To continue the adventure of learning about DMT she moved to New Zealand. After several years of working for DTNZ to gain experience in working with adults with disabilities, neurodiverse children and other populations, Maud is currently Course Manager for the Dance Therapy Training Aotearoa (DTTA) and facilitates individual sessions for women recovering from sexual trauma.

Renee is a musician and experienced primary trained teacher with over ten years’ experience working in special education. She completed her Diploma in Dance Movement Therapy in 2023 and works with children, teens and adults individually, and in groups.

Working with DMT since 2021 with children and youth with special needs.