In this experiential workshop we will present the findings of HEAL’s Connecting Culture and Movement to Thrive, a trauma informed Dance Movement Therapy Pilot trialed for approximately 30 students with an experience of refugee trauma across St James College (Brisbane) and Marsden State High School (Logan) in 2024.

HEAL is a school-based expressive arts therapy program working across four Queensland schools (Milpera State High School, Yeronga State High School, St James College and Marsden State High School) to support the trauma-recovery of students from refugee backgrounds.

HEAL developed the Connecting Culture and Movement to Thrive Pilot to collect evidence about dance movement as a therapeutic intervention for young people of refugee backgrounds in schools. Dance Movement Therapy uses dance and movement to support physical, emotional, cognitive, social and cultural wellbeing. It is an integrative approach to trauma-recovery, recognising that body and mind are interconnected. Dance Movement therapists combine the elements of dance, movement systems, creative processes, and psychological and social frameworks and theories to address the specific needs of groups and individuals.

The Pilot’s objective was to offer trauma-focused Dance Movement Therapy to secondary students from refugee backgrounds to increase protective factors and healthy development while decreasing the negative impacts of trauma.

This experiential workshop will outline the results of the Pilot, including its evaluation (informed by the Queensland University of Technology) and key learnings about collaboration with schools to deliver therapeutic interventions and increase their capacity to be trauma-informed.

Workshop attendees will have the opportunity to participate in activities used in the program, experiencing an embodied, felt sense of what expressive therapies can do to engender hope and recovery for survivors.

The workshop will explore one of NSW Department of Education's signature teacher professional learning: Teaching students from a refugee background. This NESA accredited professional learning explores how to equip students from a refugee background with the English language and literacy skills they require to succeed in school. The workshop will focus on sharing some of the research underpinning the course, workshop some of the activities in the course exploring how they build English language and literacy skills in students as well as showcasing how teachers have implemented the strategies and EAL/D pedagogy in their teaching practice to create trauma-aware learning environments.