Susan Scarth

UKCP EMDR RSMT/E SP (level 1) Dip.Sup. (1:1 & group) CMA MCAT

I have 37 years experience of combining teaching and practicing Movement Psychotherapy. I started my professional life as a social worker with an interest in mental health, going on to community rehabilitation projects for people surviving strokes, followed by a period in psychiatric nursing at The Maudsley Hospital, South London and community mental health care with MIND in London and Worcester. MotionHouse dance company inspired me in the 1980s when they introduced me to the value of dance and improvisation with people who rarely left their wheelchairs. The atmosphere of that residential was electric - the energy, hope and sheer joy that the participants experienced - including myself, was dynamic. I went London to train as a Dance Movement Therapist achieving an MA from the Laban Centre/Drexel University in 1990, and later completed the Certificate in Movement Analysis at the Laban/Bartenieff Institute for Movement Analysis in New York (2008). My MA thesis based on group work undertaken in a women’s refuge was the beginning of developing an accessible and relevant service to support survivors of abuse and neglect. In 2009 I completed Level 1 of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy training from the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute (SPI USA) and Trauma Training in Scotland (TTiS). This study ensured I could practice safely and effectively with clients who are challenged every day from the impact and fallout from trauma. Since 2015 I have engaged in further studies in BodyMind Centering (BMC) – an intensive experiential anatomy training devised by Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen. These latter studies help me understand the depth and breadth of the body’s physical systems and how they interface with our mindful self.

In addition to therapeutic skills I hold a Certificate in Reflective Practice and Creative Supervision in 2014 & 2025; Diplomas in Individual and Group Supervision using creative methods. I further qualified in EMDR in December 2024.

The Movement Psychotherapy practice in Leith keeps me pretty busy, and I combine this with teaching in Croatia on a post-masters DMP programme. I was one of the team who developed the European Association Dance Movement Therapy (EADMT) which was inaugurated in 2010, and since then held the role of President for 6 years and now continue my work with them as Consultant on the Training Standards Committee.

As a Registered Professional Member of UKCP and ISMETA I meet their Standards of Practice and uphold their Code of Ethics for both institutions. For more information visit https://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/ or https://ismeta.org/