“Psychomotor development means the identification of movement (the person’s motor behavior) with soul (the person’s character arising from their experience and emotions). In every human being there is an intense activity in their internal world which is externally demonstrated through their motor behavior.” (E. J. Kiphard)
Psychomotor education as an approach aims at the full development of the child and is highly applied and accepted in the area of education, especially in young ages. The psychomotor development of the child is closely related to writing since its learning is a complex procedure, the successful production of which depends on cognitive and psychomotor factors whose relationship with writing has been considered to be important by many researchers.
Play and psychomotor development groups are a unique way of learning and obtaining experiences for children. Psychotherapy through dance movements and the specifically organized play contribute significantly to the mental-cognitive, motor and social development of the child. Apart from the above benefits, psychotherapy through dance movements forms a part of occupational therapy which is particularly important in the rehabilitation of motor, developmental – and not only – difficulties setting the goal to provide help and support to every individual in order to acquire an independent, productive and satisfactory life.
The specific benefits of psychomotor development suggested by Veronica Serborne are as follows:
- Develops child’s self-confidence.
- Improves emotional and physical education.
- Evolves and enhances communication and develops creativity.
- Builds learning ability, the way of thinking and improves the way of addressing problems.
- Supports child’s visual, hearing and visual-kinesthetic perceptual ability.
- Develops writing skills.
- Creates paths helping the child perceive their actions as personal achievements.