| The purpose of this study was to examine the life and work of Liljan Espenak (1905-1988) and her primary place in the context of dance/movement therapy, an emerging profession. Information regarding Espenak's life and work was gleaned from personal interviews with Espenak's colleagues and former students, mail surveys, books, articles, and other sources. Twenty-two students and five colleagues presented in-depth descriptions of Espenak's character, her style of relating to her peers, students, and patients, her educational and work experiences, her dance therapy clinical approach, and her dance therapy training approach. They described Espenak as having: a strong belief in the power of dance/movement as a psychotherapeutic modality; a determination to ensure widespread promotion of the value of dance/movement therapy; an ability to overcome severe life obstacles; a natural talent as a therapist, teacher, and mentor and an outstanding skill in assuming these roles according to the varied needs of others; a commitment to furthering the dance/movement therapy profession through her efforts as a founding member of the American Dance Therapy Association.;Espenak was the first to institute a year-long intensive postgraduate dance therapy training program in a medical college: the New York Medical College. Espenak's Dance Therapy Theory and Application is one of the first texts in dance therapy; it is a culmination of her many years of clinical experience with varied patient populations. Elements of Espenak's conceptual framework discovered in this study and highlighted in her book are: movement diagnostic tests, basic emotions, physical restructuring and later integration of self through dance improvisation, cultural dance, music, and masks. Espenak's later conceptualization of dance/movement therapy progressed to an in-depth look at the relationships between psyche and soma as revealed in the human walk. This later development in Espenak's thinking occurred several years prior to her death and was discovered by this researcher in her handwritten notes and typed manuscript that were planned to be her second book, Man's Walk: A Study of Human Behavior.;Nine present and past officers of the American Dance Therapy Association responded to the ADTA Survey, the results of which confirmed Espenak's primary place in the growth of the dance therapy profession. ADTA survey respondents confirmed that insufficient research exists on the work of the early dance therapy pioneers.;In addition to substantiating Espenak's professional contributions and influence in dance/movement therapy, this study shows that her pioneering efforts were not fully realized by a profession that, still in flux, is struggling to further its place in the United States. Gradually, more appreciation for Espenak's and other early pioneers' personal-life and work efforts are realized as the profession continues to emerge as a recognized mental health discipline. |
