Sensory Integration and Mental Health: 
Building Relationships through Dance, Movement and Play

A Conversation with
Yael Beth-Halachmi, M.A. Dance Movement Therapist

  • Moderated by Erin Flynn, MS, OTR/L 
  • Level: Introductory

  • Access: All parts of the course, including assignments, must be completed within a 7 week viewing window.

  • Contact Hours: 1.0 contact hours or 0.1 AOTA CEUs
  • AOTA Areas: Occupational Therapy Service Delivery: Evaluation, Intervention and Outcomes.
  • Audience: OT, OTA, PT, PTA, SLP, Psychologist, Educator, Parent
  • Completion Requirements: To earn contact hours or AOTA CEUs for this course participants must view this course in its entirety, and successfully complete the quiz accompanying each lesson.
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Course overview

Movement is a key component of Sensory Integration intervention. Yael Beth-Halachmi has developed an evidence-based intervention approach to marry Parent-Child Dyadic Model of therapy and Dance Movement Therapy in order to help build relationships and connections between parent and child and therapist. Yael will discuss her research with a Parent-Child ASD Program in Montreal and how she developed a series of Semi-Structured Play Interactions. These interactions have been developed into a deck of cards that can be used in intervention sessions and by parents at home. Videos will be used during the talk to illustrate how the interactions work.

References are provided.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course participants will be able to:

Identify the underlying principles of Dance Therapy and the connection with Sensory Integration Therapy.

Describe Semi-Structured Playful Interactions.
Identify how to incorporate relational-dance therapy techniques into Occupational Therapy treatment sessions.
Yael Beth-Halachmi, M.A.

Dance Movement Therapist

Yael has a Dance-Therapist certificate from INECAT, Paris, France (2003)and Seminar-Hakibuzim, Tel-Aviv, Israel (2007).She has graduated the Infant Parent Mental Health Certificate program (IPMH), at UMass, Boston in 2019. Her M.A. research project for the Music and Dance Academy in Jerusalem, Israel, under the title : “The Choreography of the Parent-Infant Relations ” was presented at the IARPP conference in Rome, 2016. Her experience as a therapist working with young ASD children and their families following the Haifa Dyadic Therapy Model integrated with her knowledge in Improvisational Dance and Movement Notation systems has set the ground for developing a model for relational-movement based observation and intervention called ‘Trio’. Her workshop: “Dance-in-Connection” will be presented as part of the WAIMH 2021 Congress. When facing challenges such as ; anxiety, depression or risk for delays in social-communicational development, Relational Dance-Therapy supports the parent-child relationship through movement, dance, play and talk, promoting the development of early joyful and safe relationships from the very beginning of life. Yael lives in Montreal and is a mother of three boys.

Erin Flynn, MS, OTR/L
Moderator

Erin is a certified and licensed occupational therapist and registered with NBCOT with a specialty in pediatrics. She received her MS in occupational therapy from Sacred Heart University and a BA in psychology from College of the Holy Cross. She has worked with children in a variety of settings including public/private schools and Boys & Girls Clubs and has run community-based parent/child sensory motor groups. She is certified in the Program of Essential Competencies in Sensory Integration. She is also trained in the SOS oral motor program, iLs: Integrated Listening Systems home programming, and trauma informed care. She completed the Infant Parent Mental Health Fellowship program at UMass Boston in 2019. She is on the IRB board of SPIRAL Foundation and is a former SPIRAL Foundation Education Coordinator. Being a parent herself, Erin is passionate about working with children and their parents to build positive relationships and understanding.


Disclosure: Erin was compensated for these talks as part of her regular SPIRAL duties. Guest speakers generously donate their time, however, they may benefit if learners choose to enroll in additional courses or programs with them.
ADA/Section 504: If you require special accommodations, please contact courses@thespiralfoundation.org

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Continuing Education: Occupational Therapy Practitioners/ Occupational Therapy Assistants: SPIRAL Foundation is an Approved Provider of Continuing Education for occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants by the American Occupational Therapy Association. The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA

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