Reentry experiences of dance/movement therapists in East Asia after training in the United States

Abstract

This phenomenological study explores the transitional experiences of East Asian dance/movement therapists who left the sites of their professional training in the United States to travel back to their countries in East Asia. Semi-structured interviews with six participants were conducted to explore two research questions: 1. How did dance/movement therapy (DMT) returnees describe their experiences of transition from the United States to their home countries? and 2. How did DMT returnees experience the transition to their home countries? The researcher derived three themes from the data: (1) Unwanted return, (2) Not professionally at home in one’s home country, and (3) Inner and outer resources to overcome challenges. These results highlight and explain that the transition period after reentering involves not only physical relocation but also a complicated emotional process, especially as DMT requires full body involvement during training and internship. Transition inadvertently causes great difficulty for those forced to leave their professional homes. It is hoped that the result of this study, in which returnees honestly and bravely share their experiences and discuss how they made great efforts to overcome and readjust during their re-entry transitions back to their native cultures in East Asia, will help readers to better understand the challenges and resilience of DMTs across cultures.