Practitioners from a wide range of disciplines, including dance, education, occupational therapy and physical education, built on the early work from pioneers, extending Dance Movement Therapy into clinical, community and educational settings, often working with marginalised groups.
Key early contributors included Chloe Gardiner, an occupational therapist, and Audrey Wethered, a musician and Jungian analyst, who both trained with Laban and worked in psychiatric hospitals between the 1940s and 1960s (Wethered, 1973). Veronica Sherborne (1990), a physical educationalist, also trained with Laban and adapted his ideas for children with severe learning difficulties. Helen Payne, who originally trained as a physical education specialist, further developed her practice through LMA studies at the Laban Centre in the 1970s and introduced DMP into hospitals and special schools (Payne, 1979, 1981, 1984a).
From 1978, Helen led the strategic direction for the formation of an organisation, and in 1982 the Association for Dance Movement Therapy (ADMT) was founded as a limited company (Payne, 1983, 1984b) with Lynn Crane as Secretary and Catalina Garvey as Treasurer. For seven years as Chair, Helen led the Association from firm professional roots into its early growth. A regular newsletter, a code of ethics, summer schools, peer support groups, and supervision were all in place from the outset.
The professionalisation of DMP continued through the 1980s. In 1988, the first postgraduate diploma/MA in DMT was accredited by the then Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA), further strengthening the field’s academic and clinical standing. The course was developed by Helen at the Hertfordshire College of Art and Design (now amalgamated with the University of Hertfordshire) (Payne, 1985). Some of the early pioneers from ADMT were amongst the final validating panel in 1988, including Sarah Holden, Jeannette MacDonald, and Bonnie Meekums.
In 1996, following a number of years of students graduating as qualified therapists from the first post-graduate programmes, the register for senior and basic practitioners became fully ratified, marking an important step in establishing professional standards.
DMP has grown in its evidence base due to the foundations provided by the sustained efforts of a few early pioneers including Helen Payne, Bonnie Meekums, and Vicky Karkou in the area of research in the 1980s and 1990s. These firm early foundations in the training of researchers has helped to strengthen the credibility and recognition of the profession, with continued research development by subsequent generations of practitioners.
In 2008, ADMT became The Association for Dance Movement Psychotherapy UK (ADMP UK), reflecting the evolving identity of the profession.
ADMP UK became a founding member association of the European Association of Dance Movement Therapy (EADMT) in 2010, and an organisational member of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) in 2015.
Today, ADMP UK continues as a thriving, progressive and visionary organisation.