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Integrated Movement Therapy (IMT) is an individual and group therapy approach that combines speech-language pathology, behavioral and mental health counseling , and the practices and principles of yoga.

While it has several elements in common with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, including a focus on changing thoughts to change behaviors, and an emphasis on social learning theory, as well as with Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, which includes an exploration of Eastern contemplative traditions , it is perhaps most aligned with Integrated Psychotherapy in which the inherent value of each person, as well as the person’s multi-dimensionality (including physical body, energy, emotions and spiritual connection) is the foundation of the therapy. IMT also uses yoga’s philosophical, physical and spiritual framework in conjunction with conventional neurophysiological perspectives to address the challenges of being human, from depression and anxiety to degenerative conditions and life-threatening illness.

IMT was first developed for children with developmental challenges, including autism spectrum, Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy, as well as adult stroke and traumatic head injury survivors by Molly Lannon Kenny, MS-CCC, a speech and language pathologist and yoga educator in the late 1990’s.

Lannon Kenny made several crucial observations about her clients that led to the development of IMT, including the relationship between self-esteem and learning and the relationship between movement and learning readiness and retention. She also noted a significant increase in communication skills when her clients were moving, as evidenced in co-treatment with occupational and physical therapists.

In 2002, Lannon Kenny published her first scholarly article on IMT in the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, in which she described IMT as an effective intervention for Autism Spectrum and related disorders by relating each one of the core principles of IMT to a particular aspect of Autism.

Using the six core principles and three overarching philosophies of Integrated Movement Therapy as described in the original article, practitioners of IMT began applying to an increasingly wider array of life challenges, from early childhood disorders to end of life. IMT is now practiced widely in the US and abroad. As a therapy framework rather than a prescriptive model, it can be successfully implemented in any therapeutic or educational context, and with any diagnosis or challenge, setting it apart from conventional psychotherapy and yoga therapy models.

Overview:

Integrated Movement Therapy® foundations:

1. It is the orientation of who we are and how we connect with others

2. It has three overarching philosophies which create the context for therapy

    *°The student is already perfect and whole
    *°The student and teacher are both unlimited in their potentials and abilities to heal
    *°No part of the body/mind/spirit complex, and no part of the brain, works alone

3. The actual therapy techniques are informed by six core principles

    *°Structure and continuity
    *°Language stimulation
    *°Physical stimulation
    *°Self-calming
    *°Social interaction
    *°Direct self –esteem building

4. The sessions are always framed in the optimal learning environment

    *°Valued
    *°Competent
    *°Comfortable
    

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