Deniz Oktay, MA, LCAT, BC-DMT

Teaches at NY Creative Arts Therapists

Deniz's therapeutic approach uses kinesthetic empathy, a body based approach to listening, exploring, understanding and sharing, in her work with children, teens and adults. She is committed to working with each individual in a unique way that suits their comfort level with movement. Her work can range from high energy with a lot of moving and exploring, to the use of breath work or a stress ball while sitting and talking. Her approach integrates cognitive and expressive interventions to create awareness of the ways in which issues such as stress, grief, mood instability, anxiety, and trauma are communicated and experienced both verbally and through the body.

Deniz earned a master’s of science in dance/movement therapy at Pratt Institute and is a board certified dance therapist and licensed creative arts therapist. She has over 15 years of experience working with people in acute states of mental health disorders in a hospital setting. She also has a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts with a major in dance from the University of Michigan, and prior to becoming a dance therapist, she performed professionally with several modern dance companies in New York. She brings with her a passion for creative exploration and humanistic connections based on a holistic approach to the healing process.

Deniz has certificates from the New York Center for the Study of Authentic Movement and the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society. Her article implementing dance/movement therapy on a forensic service at a city hospital was published in 2009.