Psychomotricity
Psychomotricity in Europe reflects a shared understanding across nations, emphasizing the holistic development of the human being and the vital role of movement in fostering relationships.
This unified vision highlights the importance of integrating physical, emotional, and cognitive aspects to promote well-being and social interaction.
Explore key concepts shaping the European approach to Psychomotricity.
Common definition
Psychomotricity is based on a holistic view of human beings, emphasizing the unity of body, mind, and spirit. It explores how cognition, emotion, and movement influence an individual’s development within a psychosocial context.
Psychomotricians / psychomotor therapists are professionals who specialize in the connection between body and mind. They use movement-based approaches to help individuals improve motor skills, emotional regulation, and social interaction. These specialists integrate elements of psychology, pedagogy, educational sciences, medicine, and neuroscience to support people with developmental challenges, mental health issues, or motor impairments.
Through therapy, education, and group activities, they promote body awareness, coordination, and overall well-being, fostering the holistic integration of physical and emotional health.
In order to improve dialogue and mutual recognition of similarities and differences between Psychomotricity in the various countries, the EFP members worked on identifying some key words of Psychomotricity and main psychomotor concepts.
Psychomotor prevention and health promotion as a part of Psychomotricity training and education, uses the same principles about connection between emotion, cognition and actions.
Psychomotor prevention aims at goals that focus on movement and body behaviour and skills that, from a perspective of civilization, prevent the development of health problems (primary), the deterioration of those (secondary) or creating further problems (tertiary).
Psychomotor prevention addresses and minimizes risk factors, whereas personal and social protective factors are strengthened (resilience).
Profile of Competences
The psychomotrician / psychomotor therapist is an expert in the field of movement and body oriented intervention to improve psychosocial functioning and mental health in babies, children, adolescents, adults and elderly people.
The domains of expertise are:
Perception
Praxis
Coordination
Lateralisation
Space and time integration
Body schema
related to body awareness
Body image
related to self
esteem
Emotion
Non-verbal communication
including
tonic-emotional
dialogue
Behaviour of movement
intention,
interaction and expression
Behaviour
at play
Social and object interaction
The European Forum of Psychomotricity takes care to ensure consistency and consolidation of the common professional competences of the psychomotrician / psychomotor therapist, obviously respecting the specific differences of each country.
Diversity of
practices in Europe
Through a selection of articles and testimonies, the EFP aims to promote the diversity of pratices in Europe.
The place of psychomotricity in supporting bereaved children
The association Resiliam ("I'll bounce back" in Latin) offers support to families and more specifically to children and young people aged 0 to 24 who have a re ...
Femmes migrantes: la psychomotricité comme complément à la psychothérapie
Un groupe de psychomotricité pour femmes migrantes a été créé à Genève dans le cadre d’une collaboration entre la Haute école de travail social (HETS), filière ...
Prevention in kindergartens
Le rôle de la psychomotricité dans les structures d’accueil de la petite enfance de la Ville de Genève L'étude Suzanne StoferMadame Suzanne Stofer, sociolog ...
Work with newly diagnosed Alzheimer’s patients
Katrine Gøthche, psychomotor therapist. Works with newly diagnosed Alzheimer's patients Katrine Gøthche, psykomotorisk terapeut. Arbejder med nydiagnosticer ...
Best Pratices by the EFP
Psychomotricity in Europe has a rich history in development, theoretical backgrounds and scientific evidence. In order to be able to give some explanation about the work of these professionals, this card set was created with examples from the different EFP-member countries.
