KMP | About KMP

The Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP) provides,

1) a Laban derived method of labeling and categorizing elementary movement qualities,
2) a system for psychological assessment through the observation and analysis of movement,
3) a theoretical framework which guides the interpretation of movement repertoires in developmental terms, and
4) a framework for the prevention and treatment of a wide variety of psychological, physical, and cognitive problems.

Movement qualities studied in the KMP reflect individuals' styles of learning and cognition, expression of needs and feelings, modes of relating, styles of defense, and dynamics for coping with the environment. The psychoanalytically-oriented analyst can use the KMP to access information about drives, object relations, ego development, the superego, and defense mechanisms. However, the KMP is equally accessible to those with other orientations and can be used to pursue varied research goals.

The Importance of Understanding Movement: We Are Embodied

Because both physical and emotional experiences leave long-term traces on the way people hold themselves and move, the study of movement opens a door to the study of patterns of early development, coping strategies, and personality configurations.

The use of movement analysis for psychological assessment and treatment rests on our understanding of the mind, emotions and body as closely integrated, mutually interacting systems. "When traumatic events or obstacles impede the normal growth process, maladaptive [and adaptive] experiences get stored in the body and are reflected in body movement" (Loman and Foley, 1996, p.4). A person who feels rejected may develop a hollow, narrowed body attitude which expresses and reinforces such feelings. A small child whose caregiver has a hollowed torso may accommodate to it and develop a similar body attitude and associated feelings. This mind/body integration means that not only does the way we move reflect the psyche, but the way we move can affect the psyche as well. We have learned, for example, that mental imagery can improve movement skills and that movement can affect cognitive and emotional patterns (Eddy, 1992).

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A History and Portrait of the KMP

The Austrian choreographer and movement educator, Rudolf Laban, conceived of and generated a system of dance notation and movement analysis (1960, 1966). The Laban system provides a systematic means of perceiving and describing elementary components of movement, both qualitatively and quantitatively (Bartenieff and Lewis 1980). Labananalysis (effort/shape) is applicable to many fields of study for it was the process that was fundamental for Laban "not the end product or goal of the action" (Bartenieff and Lewis,1980 p.ix). The movement components described by Laban are readily observable and the interpretive scheme is logical and accessible to the lay person willing to learn.

Reflecting their essentially developmental and psychological interests, Kestenberg and her colleagues elaborated upon the Laban system so that it reflected the ways in which movement patterns evolve within the context of development. In order to facilitate the use of this new profile for psychological assessment, they sought to highlight the correspondences they discovered between movement qualities and Anna Freud's developmental scheme (1965).

Based on long term movement observation of children, clinical practice, and research, Kestenberg and the study group differentiated efforts, described by Laban into four movement clusters: tension flow rhythms (which reflect unconscious needs) tension flow attributes (which reflect temperament and affects), pre-efforts (which reflect immature ways of coping often used in learning and defensive behaviors), and efforts used in coping with space, weight, and time elements (Koch 1997). Similarly they differentiated shape flow into bipolar shape flow (movements which reflect self feelings) and unipolar shape flow (involved in responses to specific stimuli). They added movement qualities which relate to how we move and gesticulate in the kinesphere around us (shape flow design) and developed the developmental and psychological understanding of shaping in directions (used in defenses and learning) and shaping in planes (used in complex relationships).

What emerged was a movement-based profile, consisting of qualitative information and nine diagrams which display more than ninety different possible qualities of movement in an individual's movement repertoire. These nine frequency diagrams of movement quality clusters are arranged to reflect developmental sequences and the alternation of mobilizing and stabilizing qualities in development (see Laban 1960). Comparing diagrams within the profile can illuminate how movements qualities are used in varied harmonious and clashing combinations.

Once a Kestenberg Movement Profile is completed, it serves as a movement portrait upon which to base a developmental assessment, and in clinical contexts, a treatment plan. As described above, it can also be used to assess learning styles, personality characteristics, styles of relationships, creative intelligence, or by comparing two profiles one can discover areas of accord and conflict with between individuals.

The original and primary arena for KMP study has been "primary prevention." This has involved the appraisal of parent and child movement patterns, contributing to the identification of risk and to the development of facilitative and interventive methods appropriate for particular child-rearing situations.

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The Foundations of Maternality in girls and boys

Her study of movement has resulted in Kestenberg's effort to revise the classic schema of phase development. She postulated additional phases characterized by distinct movement patterns, each of which has distinct psychological correlates. One of these phases, the "inner genital phase," an early childhood phase linked to functions of maternality, is characterized by long gradual rhythms which facilitate nurturing, relationship building, and integration (Kestenberg 1967, 1975). The movement and psychological constellations which typify children in this phase occur among boys as well as girls suggesting the biological, maturational preconditioning of both genders for parenting capabilities.

The scope of KMP interpretations and applications has grown over the many years since its germination, and it appears that there is great potential for the KMP to be employed in further clinical, developmental, interactional and inter-cultural research. The next generation of KMP students, dance/movement therapists, clinical and developmental psychologists, educators, anthropologists, and parents, are exploring ways in which the KMP can be integrated with diverse theoretical frameworks and thus offer a bridge to diverse disciplines and interests.