A board certified dance/movement therapist describes her clinical work with a recently resettled refugee and his journey of finding belonging and direction in a new society while coping with chronic mental illness.
Ashley Fargnoli, MA, BC-DMT, LCPC, currently works as a dance/movement therapist and licensed clinical professional counselor with refugees, survivors of human trafficking, and immigrants in Chicago. She has presented her work with these populations at the National Refugee and Immigrant conference, the American Dance Therapy Association, and at the Alliance for Women Scholars and Scientists. Ashley has also taught Expressive Arts Therapy at the School of the Art Institute, Chicago. Ashley has lived in Bosnia and Herzegovina where she implemented numerous dance reconciliation projects, and in Kolkata, India where she worked with survivors of human trafficking. Her current research is focused on evaluating the use of dance/movement therapy to address trauma related pain symptoms and promote wellbeing among Burmese refugees. Ashley is an alumna of the Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling program at Columbia College, Chicago and also holds a M.A. in Cultural Project Management from the Institute of Political Studies (France).
Learn more about dance/movement therapy at www.adta.org
