Welcome to my Kingdom

Movement has an energizing and life-proclaiming value, which can awaken feelings of aliveness. This case study highlights some ways of using movement therapeutically in the context of individual therapy with a young man struggling with depression and suicidal ideation. The therapist attunes to the client's nonverbal expression, similar to the affective attunement between infant and caregiver, and together they create a safe space where the client's true self can emerge. Within this interpersonal context, the themes of attachment and separation can be enacted and given new meanings to. Relating to the body from a compassionate, non-demanding place can be an antidote to the self-critical attitudes that lead to depression, and it may cultivate greater emotional awareness and a sense of wholeness.