Clinical Psychotherapy Specializing in the Challenges of Performance for Dancers, Actors, and Singers
"....When what you DO is Inseparable from WHO you ARE..."
Diana G. Knight, LCSW, MFA
LEARN HOW TO:
IDENTIFY Repetitive thought patterns which create
limiting tensions in your body
UNDERSTAND How these Mind/Body habits prevent you from being in your Optimal Mind/Body Relationship with your Art Form
REDIRECT Your thought patterns
RELEASE Physical tensions and postural habits
FREE AND DIRECT Your Energy to be used in a Compassionate, Powerful, Productive Relationship in Your Creative Process and with the Artists with whom you perform
Upcoming Events
Mar 18, 2018
Chelsea Studio / Manhattan
J&J Rhythm Camp
Dance Relationships: Habits of the Heart
Nov 26, 2017
Chelsea Studio / Manhattan
J&J Rhythm Dance Camp
Chelsea Studios Manhattan
10-11 AM
Sep 10, 2017
Chelsea Studio / Manhattan
Introductory Workshop to the Methods of Psychotherapy for The Performing Artist
J&J Rhythm Dance Camp with World Rhythm Champions Jose DeCamps & Joanna Zacharewicz
Strictly Rhythm (Group)
Other Clinical Services
Individual Sessions Treating:
- Anxiety and Depression
- Attachment (Repetitive) Relationship Issues
- Trauma Recovery
- Grief Counseling
- Life Transition Challenges
Psychotherapy for the Performing Artist
My Private Clinical Practice in Central Manhattan has a new focus to help Dancers, Actors and Singers reach their Full Artistic Potential. I guide the Mind/Body through a growth process that fosters an enhanced awareness of past and current mental and physical patterns of emotions, bodily responses and behaviors that impact performance.
Understanding how one's thoughts, genetics, and past experiences connect to current emotional/physical states can support Professional Growth in your Art Form and Personal Growth in Relationship with Yourself and Others with Whom You Perform.
The Psychic Dance -
How you Move Shapes How You Think
How You Think Shapes How You Move...
Endorsements
Nikolai Shpakov
Ballroom Dance Professional
Diana Knight is an intuitive dancer in every aspect: technically, physically and emotionally. In the four years that I have danced with her as her coach and partner, Diana’s progress has been measurable and impressive. She is a fiercely committed and focused student who channels her unique point of view and personal identity into the expression of the dance. Her emphasis on the mind/body connection makes her a stand-out among her peers and is no doubt the secret to her success and continued growth as a competitor and performer.
About
I began teaching Workshops with Diana Knight starting in 1986. She is an astute, inspiring, illuminating movement teacher, as well as a deft, sensitive, and enlightening psychotherapist.
As a teacher and therapist Diana has the seasoned training and magnetic ability to help her clients work with their minds and physical bodies as a way to facilitate their creative processes.
Diana has an exceptional ability to analyze body movement patterns and postures. In this way she helps her clients become more aware of how their conscious and unconscious thought processes are generated, and influenced by the ways that they physically move through the world. Clients learn to use their bodies as a means of improving their awareness of patterns in their thinking. In this way one is inspired to gain further access to the insights that deepen and enhance creativity.
Cassandra Medley
Playwright and Professor of Playwriting
Sarah Lawrence College and New Federal Theatre
Contact
Diana G. Knight is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with Twenty Years of Experience. She has Private Practices both in New Jersey and in Midtown Manhattan at The Center for Optimal Performance.
An Equity Actress and Recipient of the Greer Garson Award for Excellence in Acting, Ms Knight brings a wealth of performance and training experience to her Clinical Services. Her Artistic Journey continues to this day as she studies and competes in International Latin Dance.
Her teaching skills were honed as a Professor of Movement and Acting at Trinity University. Coupled with her Certification as a Developmental Somatic Psychotherapist, Ms. Knight has a profound depth of knowledge of the Workings of the Body/Mind and the Impact of these Factors on Artistic Performance.
Diana Knight is a masterful clinician known for her work with adult clients with trauma and more recently, with individuals working in the performing arts. Her background in acting and dance inform a comprehensive, holistic approach to psychotherapy that attends to the emotional, cognitive, physical and behavioral aspects of her clients’ lives. She is a consummate listener and skilled observer blending traditional psychotherapy techniques with her certification in Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy. Her applied knowledge of the interactions of emotional and mental health on physiological health offers her clients an alternative approach to traditional talk therapies.
Performing artists are vulnerable to unique life stressors due to auditions, practice and performance schedules, pressure to provide perfection in their chosen art on a daily basis, and must often work through physical injuries or psychological trauma. Finding a psychotherapist who understands the uniqueness of work and task demands can be challenging. Diana has the rare combination of personal background and skills to address the particular needs of working performers.
I have known her for over 20 years and can attest to her compassion, insight, and attentiveness – a truly mindful practitioner who works to optimize wellness.
Meryl Marger Picard
PhD, MSW, OTR
I can say without exaggeration that I knew Diana Knight to be one of the most gifted actors working in New York in the 1980s. She has a rare talent, which was evident to everyone who witnessed her ability to bring to life the emotional truths of the characters she played. As someone who was fortunate enough to work with her, though, I saw that she took nothing for granted, never resting on talent alone. Rather, talent was a seed to be nurtured with her powerful work ethic, great attention to detail, and extraordinary compassion and humanity.
Andrea Wolper
Vocalist, Songwriter, Teacher
INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS - ARTISTIC PARTNERSHIPS COUPLES SESSIONS - SMALL, INTIMATE GROUP WORKSHOPS