Member of the Counseling Honor Society
Why Stephani chose Rider
After taking a 10-year hiatus from her work in art administration to care for her children, Stephani decided it was time to fuse her love for dance and nurturing nature, and explore the idea of dance/movement therapy (DMT). Stephani had heard about dance/movement therapy and she decided to search the internet for more information. She found the American Dance Therapy Association’s website, which directed her to Rider University. She then learned that Rider was the only college in New Jersey to offer DMT as a program and Stephani was eager to enroll in the inaugural DMT class.
“Within a month I had auditioned and was enrolled,” she says.
Rider welcomed me with open arms.”
Clinical Mental Health Counseling, M.A. with a concentration in Dance/Movement Therapy
Rider’s impact on Stephani
For most, returning to school at the age of 38 can be intimidating, but Greenleaf says the support she received from everyone in the program made the transition easy, especially considering the many challenges presented as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There was such a sense of care and community that I hadn’t experienced before in my previous undergrad or graduate experiences.”
Greenleaf credits Dr. Eri Millrod, the director of the DMT concentration, as having an especially profound influence on her.
“Dr. Millrod was always open to exploring different ideas and allowing me to get creative with what dance therapy would mean for me and not necessarily trying to fit a mold, but rather using the theory to create a modality that’s authentic to me,” she says.
I am not the same person that entered this program, I am much more globally, socially and personally aware.... It really opened my eyes and I am more self assured, a little more flexible and a little bit more compassionate.”
Clinical Mental Health Counseling, M.A. with a concentration in Dance/Movement Therapy
Continued success
After completing her practicum at the Pinelands Recovery Center in Medford, New Jersey, Greenleaf was offered a job conducting movement-based programming with their residential clients. “I still have an awesome relationship with them to this day and I will go in and support them when they’re short staffed.”
Greenleaf earned her Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling from Rider University in 2021, as part of the first cohort to graduate with the program’s new dance/movement therapy concentration.
Today, she works in private practice, where she treats clients implementing both traditional mental health counseling approaches as well as dance/movement therapy. She says the two forms of treatment go hand in hand. “I love practicing both and I feel like my education at Rider has prepared me for both of those spaces.”
Greenleaf explains that she sometimes incorporates DMT into her traditional counseling sessions in order to help patients express themselves in ways they otherwise would not be able to, or to address issues of trauma or repressed memory.
“A lot of times people describe physical symptoms that may accompany things like anxiety, depression or panic attacks. Other times, they can’t even verbalize what they’re feeling,” she says. “So we do guided movements and exploratory practices that allow them to reflect on and express those feelings. We spend so much time in our heads that sometimes that narrative gets stuck. When you transfer it into the body, it allows for a fresh perspective, a new insight or a deeper understanding.”
As she continues to grow in her counseling career, Greenleaf is excited about what the future holds for her personally as well as in the field of dance/movement therapy.
“Our profession is very much in demand,” she says. “Here I am, a recent graduate of the program, and my caseload is already full and I have a waiting list. I think that shows the power of what people need right now, and having creative, less traditional ways of supporting people can only be helpful.”