CHRISTINA DEVEREAUX
PHD, LMHC, LCAT, BC-DMT, NCC
ABOUT
Christina is a Licensed Creative Arts Therapist, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapist, and a National Certified Counselor. She specializes in using alternative outlets for expression supporting children, adolescents, adults and families in moving through emotional difficulties. She has extensive clinical experience with a variety of populations including children with severe emotional disturbance and with pervasive developmental disorders, victims of abuse and neglect, families in crisis, adults with mental illness and dual diagnosis, and supporting healthy attachment with mother/infant dyads.
For 20 years she has specialized in clinical supervision specifically for therapists in training, established therapists, post-degree, who are seeking to hone their clinical case conceptualization skills, their understanding of what they are bringing to their work.
MIND-BODY INTEGRATIVE APPROACH
Attending to the Whole Person
My goal is to provide consultation that give you the tools for deeper awareness and insight. In addition to 1-on-1 and group clinical supervision sessions, I regularly host workshops and seminars for people who are interested in developing clinical skills to integrate mind-body approaches in clinical work.
CLINICAL SUPERVISION
I work with therapists-in-training and established therapists, post-degree, who are seeking individual or group clinical supervision and/or case consultation.
Clinical supervision provides ways to learn more about clients, but perhaps more importantly, a safe place to explore what the therapist is bringing to his or her clients, and how to help the therapist become more effective. Supervision is one way to identify what old patterns of belief, emotion and response are being brought forward into the therapist's work, and how the therapist can begin to identify these patterns, set them aside, and enter the real-life clinical encounter more fully. When therapists can achieve this level of self-awareness, they find that they are providing very high levels of care to their clients, and their therapy work is quite powerful and effective
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
As a recognized scholar and national and international presenter in mind-body approaches to psychotherapy, I offer speaking engagements for training opportunities in both small and large venues. I specialize in:
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dance/movement therapy with
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attachment disorders
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autism spectrum disorders
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trauma
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clinical supervision
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mind-body integration
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embodied understanding of neurobiology
WORKSHOPS & PRESENTATIONS
As a recognized scholar and national and international presenter in mind-body approaches to psychotherapy, I offer workshops and presentations in both small and large venues. I specialize in:
-
dance/movement therapy with
-
attachment disorders
-
autism spectrum disorders
-
trauma
-
-
clinical supervision
-
mind-body integration
-
embodied understanding of neurobiology
What people are saying...
As a therapist, supervisor, and teacher, I’m passionate about helping others and guiding them into a new phase of their lives. I work hard on developing a personal, open and transparent relationships with my clients, colleagues, students, and supervisees. The honest and authentic feedback that I have received about my work is incredibly important to me. Below are some statements from others about their experiences in our work together.
Christina is a nationally recognized scholar and educator in the field of dance/movement therapy. She is a vocal advocate for leveraging movement to provide restorative healing, therapeutic supports, and as a means to support .... Christina's students respect, admire and seek to emulate her. She lifts them to become more than they believe they can be, she challenges and supports their evolution as future therapists... and she ensures that they remember that it is their responsibility to reach and support others with their gifts. She is one of our best kept secrets.
Former Vice President for Academic Affairs
Antioch University New England
Melinda Treadwell, PhD
Christina is especially nurturing of students and also knows how to demand the best of them, in large part by serving as such an admirable role model. Her determination to approach training holistically, moreover, helps ensure that her students are grounded in the skills, good judgment, and ethical capacity needed to enter the profession with the competence to serve as well-informed, empathic beginning therapists.
- David Alan Harris, MA, LCAT, LPC, BC-DMT, NCC
Dr. Devereaux has the incredible gift to be fully present with each and every one of her students and colleagues. She listens to and encourages her students and truly embodies a meaningful and authentic way of being with others. This modeling is one of the best gifts that a mentor could have given me on my journey to become a therapist. Without a doubt, Dr. Devereaux is the most inspired and inspiring mentor I have ever had the privilege of working with.
Former Student and Supervisee
SELECTED MEDIA & PUBLICATIONS
Featured Presenter: ADTA Talk
DANCE/MOVEMENT THERAPY & AUTISM: DANCES OF RELATIONSHIP
"The major strength that dance/movement therapy has in working with people with autism is its ability to produce treatment outcomes in the area of social relatedness, especially in the formation of relationships."
- Dr. Christina Devereaux
Featured: Mind Your Body Podcast
THE POWER OF PAUSING
Featured in "Mind Your Body" podcast, Christina discusses why it is essential for human bodies to rest in the midst of our fast-paced lives and how we can learn to trust the “pause.”
Leader in Advocacy and Action
ONE BILLION RISING
Spearheading the participation in the global mass action "One Billion Rising" on the campus of Antioch University New England. View our participation in this movement. To learn more about this movement visit
Featured: Mind Your Body Podcast
Featured Guest: National Public Radio (WNPR)
REAL STORIES OF DANCE/MOVEMENT THERAPY
Featured in "Mind Your Body" podcast, Christina has over 20 years of stories to share as a dance/movement therapist and DMT supervisor. In this episode, you’ll hear “front lines” in the field and the most valuable advice she gives to dance/movement therapy students and supervisees… now shared with all of you!
Why do we dance? Dancing has served a multitude of functions for various cultures throughout history, and there is even evidence to suggest we, as a species, are biologically hard-wired to dance. Whether it's for social, for spiritual , or even psychological reasons (yes, dance therapy is a thing), humans have been dancing since the very beginning. In this hour of NPR's The Colin McEnroe show, all things dance from ancient history, to modern, Hollywood dance movies are discussed. Christina Devereaux is featured guest. http://wnpr.org/post/shall-we-dance
THE COLIN McENROE SHOW: SHALL WE DANCE?
Educator Perceptions of the Inclusion of Dance/Movement Therapy in the Special Education Classroom
This qualitative study examined educator perspectives of the influence of group dance/movement therapy (DMT) sessions on their students’ behaviours, symptoms, and academic engagement within their special education classroom. Audio-recorded and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 educators who had observed and/or participated in their students’ group DMT sessions at one public school in an urban region in the United States. Results of the interviews revealed four overarching themes: (a) The process of a DMT session is perceived to improve regulatory behaviour; (b) DMT can meet individual needs as a part of a group experience; (c) DMT techniques and tools utilised can influence sensory systems (d) limitations in time, duration, and space may influence long-term benefits. While more research is necessary, results suggest that educators value the use of DMT within school settings to assist the children in gaining focus, modulating energy, and supporting healthy social engagement skills.
An Interview with Stephen W Porges
During the 51st American Dance Therapy Association conference, Dr. Stephen W. Porges , Distinguished University Scientist at the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University Bloomington and Research Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, gave the keynote address, Connectedness as a Biological Imperative: Understanding the Consequences of Trauma, Abuse, and Chronic Stress through the Lens of the Polyvagal Theory. Post-conference, Dr. Porges spoke with this author in an audio-recorded interview, summarized portions of his address, and described the supporting neural mechanisms involved in optimizing mental and physical health. This unique interdisciplinary collaboration aids the profession of dance/movement therapy in understanding the principles for establishing safety and stabilization of the Autonomic Nervous System and, in particular, reciprocal movements with social engagement behaviors—a core mechanism in dance/movement therapy. This article is an edited transcription of the original audio.
Untying the Knots: Dance/Movement Therapy with a Family Exposed to Domestic Violence
Domestic violence affects not only the battered victim, but all members of the family. Dance/movement therapy, through its active and metaphorical pro-cess, can provide a new therapeutic approach to assist families exposed to domestic violence . This paper provides a case illustration of the use of dance/ movement therapy with a family exposed to domestic violence, as the primary therapeutic intervention. It is grounded in theories of attachment, on the primary hypothesis that dance/movement therapy offers not only a way to address the physical and emotional patterns of immobilization but also, as a reparative tool, it assists victims in integrating healthy self-regulatory capacities that have been stunted by trauma experienced through the body. The case illustration highlights how dance/movement therapy provided a direct approach to addressing specific symptoms of abuse that appeared in particular individuals in this family, as well as how ‘‘re-choreograph-ing’’ the family dynamics and relationships dysregulated by the domestic violence was pivotal in helping this family to learn new ways to self-regulate.
CONTACT
If you are interested in individual or group supervision, contacting me about a specific speaking engagement or to offer a workshop or presentation, please fill out the below fields below. I look forward to speaking with you more about your needs.
