November 1, 2012

Liv Marie Leirvåg lived in Manayunk while she completed her Dance Movement Therapy degree at Drexel in 2001. She received an award because she was the first to write about dance/movement therapy and child neglect. A native of Bergen, Norway, Liv Marie returned to her home country to begin practicing as a dance/movement therapist. In October this year, she founded the first-ever dance/movement therapy association in Norway, which she now leads in addition to teaching in Oslo. The two major goals of the association are to spread awareness of this type of therapy and to establish programs in dance/movement therapy at the Bachelor’s and Master’s levels.

“My degree from Drexel was essential to reaching this point, especially because we do not yet have the ability to earn a Master’s Degree in dance therapy in Norway. Without my Master’s this would not have been possible!” Liv Marie said. “To have our own Dance Movement Therapy Association is essential to spread dance/movement therapy in Norway. We think that our association will help people be aware of the existence of dance/movement therapy and to understand that it is a modality for the treatment of many psychological illnesses. We need this modality to focus on our bodies and the resources within each individual,” she continued. Liv Marie is one of less than 10 individuals in Norway with a Master’s degree in dance/movement therapy. These Norwegian citizens had to leave their homes and attend programs in either the United Kingdom or United States in order to fulfill their career ambitions.