Explorations Into Continuity: An Heuristic, Artistic Inquiry into the Interplay Between Work as a Dance/Movement Therapist and Service within the Bahá’í Community

The purpose of this thesis was to explore the concept of integration between two main aspects of my life: my professional career as a dance/movement therapist on an inpatient adolescent behavioral health unit, and service guided by Bahá’í teachings in a neighborhood-based setting. Literature reviewed encompassed instances of Rudolf von Laban’s Effort elements found in the Bahá’í Writings, as well as research on the integration between the mind, body and spirit, the history of religion and mental health, and the current relationship between religion and mental health. Both artistic inquiry and heuristic methodologies were used to guide my research. Through Moustakas’s method of data analysis – immersion, incubation, illumination, explication, and creative synthesis – certain themes surfaced that shed light on my personal embodied experience of integration, and its implications both in a dance/movement therapy (DMT) and religious vein. Two major themes included the role of improvisation in integration and the shift from fragmented language and movement to bodily integration found through utilization of the Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) Body category, in place of Effort. This study informs not only my own orientation towards integration, but also provides a platform from which both dance/movement therapists and any faith-based mental health practitioners can conceptualize integration and make it a more conscious part of their work