What is EngAge and how did it come to be?
As a dance/movement therapist with over 24 years of clinical experience specializing in aging, dementia and care partner wellness, I support meaningful engagement that is relational, evidence- and strength-based.
Moving has so many benefits for our physical, emotional and brain health, and for our overall well-being. Even subtle movements, such as eye contact and breathing patterns, can offer a way in and support a therapeutic exchange.
For individuals living with dementia, the rich interactions and connections are the dance. I use a person-centered, movement and sensory hybrid approach to meet individuals and communities where they are, tailored to specific abilities and needs in the moment.
In 2010, to help promote brain-body wellness and empowerment for these individuals on a broader scale, I established my (primarily solo) business, EngAge. I offer therapeutic movement experiences, SenseAble creative suggestions for support and empowerment, and therapeutic, evidence-based recommendations to help communities, individuals, and their care partners navigate life changes and move towards wellness.
I love to involve care partners in this engaging process and to offer creative sparks that they may personalize to help strengthen their partnerships. I feel strongly that imagination, celebration and choice be a part of this interaction, regardless of a diagnosis.
What initially inspired you to grapple with dementia?
I have been a dementia and care partner advocate for decades, given my work, training and up-close-and-personal interactions with many individuals navigating these changes. I advocate for affordable health care and cost-effective, sustainable and meaningful programming. I support creative approaches and nonpharmacologic interventions that complement conventional medical treatments.
I feel strongly the creative arts therapies are part of the solution. I am a proponent of consistent and robust programming for individuals living with dementia, their care partners, and their communities that supports:
• Autonomy
• Empowerment
• Outlets for productive expression of a range of emotions and feeling states
• Connection
• Sense of purpose
What message would you like your advocacy and work to convey?
When we engage our senses, our imaginations and our emotions productively, such as through the creative-expressive process, our truths and feeling states bubble up to the surface, are acknowledged, and then explored.
Creative exploration might involve improvisation and play techniques or music accompaniment and supportive, sensory (sometimes nostalgic) items to enhance the process. Engagement in such processes often invites us to revisit the scenes in our memories, express our personal narrative, viscerally respond to internal and external stimuli and be validated.
In these ways, creative, movement-based, and sensory intervention helps to engage the mind-body-spirit simultaneously and to be effective for individuals living with dementia (and their care partners and communities).
How has movement-based therapy been received?
The communities and clients I have worked with over the years have shared that they feel heard, supported and well when they are able to express themselves and be in community sharing, connecting, and feeling moments of joy; either while moving, speaking, listening to music together, and/or engaging with sensory support.
During and after my movement sessions, my clients appear more relaxed, engaged, and expressive! They sing, laugh, share and communicate more easily and with an openness.
This work is dedicated to: All individuals living with dementia, their care partners (past/present/future), and care communities everywhere!
Find more from Natasha Goldstein-Levitas on LinkedIn and EngAge on its website. Natasha is currently offering dance/movement therapy and wellness sessions for individuals living with dementia and their care partners in the Philadelphia region as part of ARTZ Philadelphia’s Care for Care Partners and Creative Connections program.
