Darcey Bussell and former child protection worker team up to get social workers dancing

Dance classes created by a former child protection worker are aiming to help social workers combat stress.

Balm for Burnout harnesses the power of dance to enable social work professionals to connect with their emotions, foster a deeper resilience and protect them from burnout.

Creator Angela Hill, a social worker turned positive psychology and resilience coach, explains: “The classes blend evidence-based findings from positive psychology with simple movements anyone can learn, specially designed to promote wellbeing.”

The dances in Balm for Burnout were designed by former Royal Ballet principal Dame Darcey Bussell and dance psychologist Peter Lovatt. 

Angela discovered their Move Assure programme online after being asked by a client to incorporate dance into a wellbeing session.

“It springboarded me into thinking more about using movement in my workshops,” she says. “I started using dance breaks and movement. 

“Then I did the full Movement in Practice training with Dr Peter Lovatt - they have a whole framework and theory about wellbeing and dance.”

Angela’s own background means she is well-placed to deliver sessions to social workers. She was herself a social worker in child protection in Haringey, has a master’s in positive psychology and coaching psychology, and specialises in training and coaching students and professionals in emotional resilience. 

Balm for Burnout incorporates six dances from the Move Assure programme, to create a package blending positive psychology with dance which Angela describes as ‘a bit like Couch to 5k’.

“It’s all based on the NHS Five Steps to Wellbeing – you sign up and get three dances a week. You try them out, and there's wellbeing tips alongside, and it's all online.”

Over six sessions, social workers can learn how to find time and space to connect with colleagues, explore their emotions, and learn about ideas from positive psychology to boost wellbeing and release tension.

Where her course departs from other wellbeing offers is in the emotional depth. 

Angela says: “When we consider emotion regulation and overwhelm, the first step in regulating our emotions is being able to name them. So we have a ‘name and tame’ approach, with a scale of how we're feeling at the beginning of each session. 

“So what we practice in each session is how you're actually feeling. 

“You’re doing it with other people, within a community that you build up over time. 

“It's about connection with other people. It's having a space where you can actually say, ‘This is how I'm feeling, having the words for what you're feeling, and new ideas about how you might think about the world.”

Course starting soon

Angela has a course of online classes about to start on Eventbrite on 9 April, held via Zoom. Classes will run for six weeks on Wednesday evenings. Themes include dancing for hopefulness, releasing tension, and dancing for social connection.

Each session costs £10 plus Eventbrite fees.

Find out more about Angela and her work at www.thesocialworkcoach.co.uk