Shira Musicant, M.A., MFT, ADTR Body-centered marriage and family therapist, and dance/movement therapist P.805.962.7434 About Us    Biography    Publications    New Patients / Clients    Biography Shira grew up in Los Angeles and has lived in Santa Barbara since 1968. She received her clinical Masters level training at UCLA, and continues ongoing training in dance/movement therapy and somatic psychology. She currently practices privately, seeing adults and couples. In addition to her practice, Shira presents at conferences, offers workshops, and publishes on the clinical uses and implications of Authentic Movement. She is co-founder of Healing and Creative Arts Seminars, offering continuing education for therapists in the use of Authentic Movement and the expressive arts. She is on staff at the UCLA Department of Nursing sponsored Circle of Caring retreats, a renewal retreat for health care professionals. Shira’s previous clinical experience includes group dance/movement therapy at Cottage Hospital on the Psychiatric Unit, with acute psychiatric patients, for 11 years. She has also facilitated group and individual dance movement therapy with a chronic psychiatric population at Sanctuary House, Pacific Shores Outpatient Center, and Santa Barbara Women’s Center. She provided consultation, group therapy, family group therapy, and individual therapy for people with chronic pain at The Santa Barbara Pain Center at St. Francis Hospital. She has held adjunct faculty positions at Antioch University and at Pacifica Graduate Institute, teaching dance/movement therapy and Authentic Movement. Her professional affiliations include the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and the American Dance Therapy Association. She is past-Chairperson of the American Dance Therapy Association’s Credentialing Committee, ADTR level. In her own continuing education, Shira has pursued subjects related to dance/movement therapy, Authentic Movement, and somatic approaches in psychology including Hakomi, Existential Humanism, and DreamTending. She continues to study and learn from her own ongoing Authentic Movement practice, from study in somatic psychology and from the people she works with every day.