MBC Moves offers complimentary movement therapies for MBC patients to impact healing and whole-person care.
Nancy Herard-Marshall is an African-centered dance/movement psychotherapist, authentic movement practitioner, Kemetic reiki practitioner, Kukuwa® African dance fitness instructor, and mother living in NYC. Nancy uses her various life experiences to empower and foster healing.
As a licensed creative arts therapist, she has clinical experience working with diverse populations such as inpatient acute psychiatric care, outpatient co-occurring addiction and mental health conditions, HIV/AIDS and chronic illness, special needs populations, and behavioral disorders. She has worked with individuals suffering from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety, autism, ADHD, depression, sexual abuse, dementia and Alzheimer’s.
In 2013 Nancy was diagnosed with DCIS and completed aggressive treatment. However, in 2020 during the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic, to her and her family’s devastation, she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.
Moving into patient advocacy, Nancy looks forward to extending her work to include the metastatic breast cancer community through this groundbreaking endeavor: MBCmoves!
Nancy is empathic, motivated, compassionate, and provides a positive outlook throughout treatment. She believes that each individual possesses self-healing powers and will work to guide you in harnessing yours to optimal capacity in order to create and achieve attainable goals.
Professional Credentials
NYS License in Creative Arts Therapy (LCAT #002347)
Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapist (BC-DMT #1401)
Education
MS, Dance/Movement Therapy (Pratt Institute)
BA, Multicultural Dance and Theatre in Education (SUNY Empire)
Professional Affiliations
American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA)
Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi)
DANCE/MOVEMENT THERAPY
AND SOMATIC WELLNESS
Utilizing dance/movement therapy, other expressive arts, and somatic wellness experientials, and verbal sharing. MBCmoves! provides group sessions, both virtual and in-person, in the metastatic breast cancer community in order to help heal the whole person affected by the diagnosis. Nancy’s sessions are a holistic and complementary therapeutic approach that can;
Reduce feelings of isolation
Create an outlet for self-expression
Build self-confidence and body confidence
Enhance mood
Help improve lymphedema symptoms
Help improve functional capacity
Enhance integration of healing the
body, mind, and spiritEnhance Quality of Life (QOL)
Note: No dance experience
is necessary
In virtual and in-person conscious dance sessions participants move to a playlist of songs that encourage self-expression as there’s no choreographed movements. Songs are a mix of dance music typically consisting of house, afrobeat, electronic music, etc. Conscious dance sessions provide a safe space to be yourself and experience healing energy through a personal and collective movement meditation. Sessions can:
Reduce anxiety and depression
Help reduce stress
Provide a natural mood booster by releasing dopamine
Provide a natural pain killer - releases endorphins
Note: No dance experience is necessary
CONSCIOUS DANCE FOR MBC
MBC CREATIVE ARTS THERAPY RETREats FOR BLACK AND BROWN BODIES:
(In Development)
Address issues black women/men face in general and amplified while navigating a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis and treatment
Enhance healing through integration of the body, mind, spirit connection
Culturally appropriate healing sessions utilizing dance/movement, music, art and other healing therapies
Reduce feelings of isolation
All facilitators are members of the the African Diaspora
Retreat is located in the Poconos, NY at a beautiful retreat space that caters specifically to the African Diaspora
“A healer does not heal you. A healer is someone who holds space for you while you awaken your inner healer so that you may heal yourself.”
— Maryam Hasnaa
CONNECT WITH NANCY
Join us. Ask questions. Get Answers. Let’s move.