DMTCB By-Laws

I. Mission

II. Statement of Purpose

III. Description

IV. DMTCB Agreement with ADTA

V. Voting Members

VI. Board Structure

VII. Scope of Operations

VIII. Ethics

IX. Credential Structure

X. Recertification

XI. Liability Issues

DANCE/MOVEMENT THERAPY CERTIFICATION BOARD BY-LAWS

(revised 2018)

I. MISSION:

The Dance/Movement Therapy Certification Board recognizes individuals qualified in the use of dance/movement therapy through utilization of the best possible criteria in order to promote high standards of care for clients and the promotion of continuing education in the of Dance/Movement Therapy.

II. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE:

Dance/movement therapy is a profession that developed in the 1940s that requires specialized training on the master’s level. The DMTCB was created in 2009 and continues to develop and expand on a registry process that was instituted by ADTA in 1971. This process was extended to a 2-level system in 1984, and vetted by the National Board of Certified Counselors in 1998.

The purpose of the DMTCB is to assess the knowledge and skills underlying the professional practice of dance/movement therapy for entry-level and advanced dance/movement therapy practitioners. The DMTCB provides certification and recertification for dance/movement therapists. It is comprised of a diverse group of experts in dance/movement therapy and a public member knowledgeable of certification processes. The DMTCB has a national and international scope, and blends both academicians and clinicians for the purposes of establishing rigorous standards that have a basis in real world practice, and enforcing those standards for the protection of consumers of dance/movement therapy services and the public.

III. DMTCB DESCRIPTION:

The DMTCB is an independent affiliate of the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) which was incorporated in 1966 to organize and develop standards, training and communication for the profession of dance/movement therapy.

The DMTCB By-laws specify its structure, organization, and scope of operations. The DMTCB Policies and Procedures specify guidelines for requirements, application, assessment, and awarding of credentials for dance/movement therapists. As specified in the By-laws, the DMTCB holds complete authority to revise the By-laws relating to qualification, examination, and certification of dance/movement therapists. The DMTCB By-laws are not subject to approval by any other organization, and revisions require a three-fourths vote of the DMTCB.

IV. CONDITIONS OF FORMAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN ADTA AND DMTCB:

The DMTCB (herein sometimes referred to as Board) is an independent affiliate of the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA). A formal agreement entered into between the Board and ADTA specifies:

The Board may employ ADTA National Office staff when needed to carry out administrative office operations and use the mailing address as its location.
The Board will use the ADTA National Office to maintain a list of credentialed individuals and house confidential Board records.
The Board may use a specially designated area of the ADTA website to post application forms and information required by applicants for credentialing and renewal of certification for certificants.
The ADTA National Office manages all financial records of the DMTCB. Finances are established as separate banking and accounting records that may only be accessed by the ADTA National Office Operations Director and the DMTCB Chairperson. These two individuals will be co-signatories on all accounts.
The Board will lease credential service marks (service marks for dance/movement therapy credentialed professionals – R-DMT, BC-DMT) from ADTA, the owner of the service marks. The Board may not register or create any other service marks.
No Board member may serve as an officer, employee, director, or Trustee of American Dance Therapy Association or Marian Chace Foundation of American Dance Therapy Association concurrent with their term on the DMTCB. No DMTCB Board member may be a director or chairperson of a dance/movement therapy educational program.

V. DMTCB VOTING MEMBERS:

The voting members of the DMTCB will be those who have attained certification by DMTCB.

The Certificants will elect the Board of Directors of DMTCB after the first initial Board has served its term.

VI. DMTCB BOARD and BOARD STRUCTURE:

The affairs of the DMTCB will be managed by a Board of Directors that will be appointed initially by the Initial Directors named in the articles of incorporation. Thereafter, the Board will be elected by the DMTCB Certificants, as noted above, and will be made up as follows.

The Board will consist of nine (9) members: a Chairperson, a Public Member, a Compliance Coordinator and two (2) panels: (i) The Dance/Movement Therapist Registry (R-DMT) Panel, and (ii) the Dance/Movement Therapist Certification (BC-DMT) Panel

The Dance/Movement Therapist Registry (R-DMT) Panel will consist of three (3) members. One member is appointed by the Board and two (2) are elected by current certificants (R-DMT and BC-DMT) via ballot. Each member serves a three (3) year term, and may serve 2 consecutive terms. Panel members must represent the Eastern, Central, & Western regions of the US, and must be a Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapist (BC-DMT). Panel members must have maintained board certification annually for a period of at least five (5) years and must have been recertified.
The Dance/Movement Therapist Certification (BC-DMT) Panel will consist of three (3) members. One member is appointed by the Board and two (2) members are elected by current certificants (R-DMT and BC-DMT) via ballot. Each member serves a three (3) year term, and may serve 2 consecutive terms. Panel members must represent the Eastern, Central, & Western regions of the US, and must be a Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapist (BC-DMT). Panel members must have maintained board certification annually for a period of at least eight (8) years and must have been recertified to sit on the panel.
The Chairperson will be appointed by the Board from among individuals who have served either the R-DMT or BC-DMT panels and is the overall chairperson for a three (3) year term, and may serve 2 consecutive terms. She/he serves as a consultant to both panels and collaborates with the Compliance Coordinator to adjudicate all formal ethics complaints. The Chairperson must have maintained board certification annually for a period of at least eight (8) years and must have been recertified to qualify as Chairperson.
The Compliance Coordinator will be elected by the ADTA membership for a three (3) year term and may serve 2 consecutive terms. Candidates must be individuals who have maintained Board Certification as a dance/ movement therapist for at least ten (10) years. She/he will coordinate the annual re-certification and continuing education audit. The Compliance Coordinator will be the primary contact person and coordinator for the adjudication of formal Ethics Complaints and Violations that are referred to the DMTCB by the Standards and Ethics Committee of the ADTA.
The rotation of the Chairperson and panel members will be planned so that there is always a knowledgeable and experienced member on each panel (See Appendix A).
The Public Member should be knowledgeable of certification processes, but may not be a credentialed dance/movement therapist, creative arts therapist, counselor, or member of ADTA. The Public Member will be identified and appointed by the Board for a four (4) year term and may serve multiple terms. The Public Member as defined by NCCA standards represents the direct and indirect users of certificants’ skills and/or services. The Public Member can have been, or be a potential, consumer of certificants’ skills or have experience with public advocacy. The DMTCB public member may be asked to attend one (1) meeting per year and travel expenses will be paid for meeting attendance.
The Board may also maintain a panel of five (5) Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapist (BC-DMT) consultants who are identified and appointed from the list of individuals who are board certified Dance/Movement Therapists. Consultation Panel members are consultants and may not vote. They must have maintained board certification annually for a period of at least five (5) years and must have been re-certified in order to serve. The consultants may assist the Board with review of qualifications, examination, certification of dance/movement therapists, and may serve on Appeals Boards. No consultant may serve as an officer, employee, director, or Trustee of American Dance Therapy Association or Marian Chace Foundation of American Dance Therapy Association concurrent with serving as a panelist on the DMTCB.

Each Panel will be chaired by the member who has served the longest term; the Panel Chairpersons will change annually. Each chairperson assumes responsibility immediately in September. Panel policy is that the job of chairperson rotates, giving the panel members the job for at least one year.
The overall chairperson and the panel chairpersons may not be the head of an academic dance/movement therapy program however this requirement may be waived in the event that a sitting member becomes a chairperson or director of a DMT program during their term on the DMTCB. Consistent with this waiver, if the director or chairperson of a DMT program is serving on the board in any capacity, they will recuse themselves from participating in the review of any applications specific to their department/program.
No individual may simultaneously serve on the ADTA Board of Directors and on the DMTCB. If someone presently serving on the ADTA Board of Directors is elected or appointed to the Dance/Movement Therapy Certification Board, that individual must relinquish his/her ADTA Board position.
The former overall chairperson may be used as a panelist or consultant to the chairperson if he or she meets the requirements specified for panelists.
The DMTCB may, through a majority vote of its Board of Directors, remove members of the Board of Directors and may appoint individuals to fill any vacancies that arise by way of resignation or otherwise (e.g., failure to perform duties as specified in the Policies and Procedures or Training Manuals).
A general position description for Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapist members of the DMTCB includes professional communications skills, the ability to function as a team member, and the ability to participate as a fair and unbiased reviewer of application materials.
The Board Chairperson is responsible for Board budget and finances. The Chairperson will present all budget issues to the Board at the annual meeting.

VII. DMTCB SCOPE OF OPERATIONS:

The DMTCB Policies and Procedures specify guidelines for requirements, application, assessment, appeal, recertification, and ethics standards of credentials for dance/movement therapists.
The DMTCB Bylaws may be amended by the DMTCB Board of Directors at a meeting duly called for that purpose. The DMTCB By-laws are not subject to approval by any other organization.
All other documents produced and owned by DMTCB are subject to amendment only by the DMTCB Board of Directors.
Revisions and/or amendments to DMTCB By-laws, and policies and procedures relating to qualification, examination, appeal, ethics violations procedures, certification, and recertification of dance/movement therapists require a three-fourths affirmative vote of the DMTCB.
Appointments to the position of Chairperson, Compliance Coordinator and panel positions that are not elected by certificants require a three-fourths vote of the DMTCB Board of Directors.
The DMTCB will conduct elections for Board positions as needed and specified (V. 1. a, b). Those eligible to vote will be all current certificants (R-DMT and BC-DMT). The DMTCB will make all appointments as needed and specified (V. 1. c, d, e, f).

VIII. ETHICS:

The DMTCB promotes high ethical standards for dance/movement therapists and recognizes the Code of Ethics and the Ethical Standards of Practice of American Dance Therapy Association as the appropriate code for DMTCB-credentialed therapists. All applicants to the DMTCB, credentialed individuals paying annual renewal fees, and those complying with recertification procedures will indicate via signing the Code of Ethics that they will uphold the Code and Standards.

Complaints –All complaints from individuals who believe ethical standards have been violated will be filed with the ADTA Standards and Ethics Committee. If it is determined by both the Chair of Standards and Ethics and the Compliance Coordinator of the DMTCB to be a violation of Ethical Standards related to the credential, the complaint will be referred to the Compliance Coordinator for follow up. The Compliance Coordinator will use Ethics Case Procedures outlined in the DMTCB Procedural Guidelines.
Code of Professional Practice – the DMTCB maintains conditions for eligibility for and continued maintenance of DMTCB certifications that require candidates or certificants to:
1. Comply with DMTCB standards, policies and procedures including appeal procedures.
2. Submit complete and truthful applications with required fees and notify DMTCB within sixty (60) days of changes in personal information or facts bearing on eligibility or certification including legal events (e.g., filing of criminal charge, indictment, or litigation).
3. Agree that an individual convicted of a felony directly related to dance/movement therapy practice or public health and safety shall be ineligible to apply for certification or recertification for a period of seven (7) years from the exhaustion of appeals or final release from confinement (if any), whichever is later.

IX. CREDENTIAL STRUCTURE GUIDELINES:

Credentialing is a two-level process conducted by the Dance/Movement Therapy Certification Board. The two levels represent an individual’s educational and clinical preparedness to practice dance/movement therapy.

Level One – Registered Dance/Movement Therapist (R-DMT), stands for an attainment of a basic level of competence, achieved through the completion of dance/movement therapy education and training (see Policies & Procedures section X). The R-DMT signifies both the first level of entry into the profession and the individual’s preparedness for employment as a dance/movement therapist within a clinical and/or educational setting.
Level Two –Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapist (BC-DMT), stands for the advanced level of dance/movement therapy practice (see Policies & Procedures section X). The BC-DMT signifies both the second level of competence for the profession and the individual’s preparedness to provide training and supervision in dance/movement therapy and engage in private practice.
Credentials requirements are set by the Dance/Movement Therapy Certification Board. Final interpretation of the criteria is determined by the Board.
DMTCB does not provide approval (accreditation) for educational programs nor does it provide a course of study leading to certification. The DMTCB does not provide approval for individual courses or groups of courses. DMTCB accepts candidates for the R-DMT who graduate from ADTA approved educational programs based on official transcripts. Educational programs approved by the American Dance Therapy Association satisfy the requirements for the entry-level credential. Candidates from other educational programs must submit accepted documentation to meet the requirements for the R-DMT.

X. RECERTIFICATION

1. The Compliance Coordinator, in collaboration with the National Office, will be responsible for sending out Recertification Notices annually. The Compliance Coordinator will conduct the annual mandatory audit of 10% of R-DMT and 10% of BC-DMT expiring certificants.

XI. LIABILITY ISSUES:

Liability for DMTCB is discussed in the agreement between DMTCB and ADTA. The DMTCB can consult legal counsel when needed. The DMTCB Board of Directors will also abide by the recommendations below to avoid situations in which they become liable.

“Obviously there is no iron-clad rule for insulating directors or officers from personal liability. But if he or she seeks to fulfill his or her corporate responsibilities, the following checklist represents areas of possible danger, and a prudent director should have responsibilities which include:

Making sure that all technical requirements of law have been met before the corporation commences to do business.
Keeping informed of the general activities of the corporation and the general business area in which it functions.
Assuring complete and accurate disclosure of the details of all transactions involving the sales of securities.
Avoiding self-dealing in any matters relating to the corporation’s business.
Attending director’s meetings regularly; if meetings must be missed, being sure the records show a valid reason for absence.
Registering dissent when in disagreement with board action, and being sure it is made a matter of record in the minutes of the meetings and that he or she has checked the accuracy of the minutes.
Having a competent knowledge of the duties of his or her office.
Avoiding any contract to serve his or her own interests or to assume any position to bring his or her interests in conflict or competition with the interests of his or her company.
Keeping informed of the provisions of the articles of incorporation, code of regulations and by-laws which relate to his or her powers and duties as a director.
Exercising the utmost good faith in all dealings with and for his or her corporation and being prepared to prove that he or she has done so.
Obeying all statutes which prescribe specific duties to be performed by directors. Avoidance of litigation by accepting the advice of legal counsel, as evidence of the good faith of the persons affected.” Lippman, Mininberg, & Hart