PTSD: What a Belly Dance Teacher Should Know

We've had all sorts of women coming through our doors for all sorts of reasons. Divorce, depression, cancer, infertility, body image, self image and just to dance. Dance teachers often become more than just dance teachers. They become an ear, a friend and a counsellor.

Last year, Mel and I decided that in order for us to do our job (and passion) better, we needed to be educated in how to handle the counselling part of being dance teachers. We run our studio as a community and family, and we needed to be prepared for whoever walks in and support our students as best we can. So we enrolled in a lay counselling course. We both have found it very useful in not just dealing with our students' life problems but also how to approach them with criticism and correction.

This article written by Talia, (cofounder of Omi Mahina) is all about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and how you as a teacher can help. Her tips can be applied to nearly any dancer and a variety of mental illnesses, or even someone who is just having a hard time.

https://bellydanceu.net/teachers-lounge/ptsd-what-a-belly-dance-teacher-should-know/

Image attribution: By Storebukkebruse via Flickr