How to Bend Without Breaking
Josh Spell on Normalizing Mental Health Discussions in Dance
By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor
Photo by AJ Ragasa
When people envision dancers, they often think of physically strong individuals who are capable of pushing their personal limits to create beautiful art. There is an assumption that they can propel through the physical and mental challenges they experience to be the best dancers they can be. While these assumptions can help instill discipline and drive in dancers, they can also help create an environment that’s unconducive to productive conversations about mental health. Through Flexible Mind Counseling, Josh Spell strives to help dancers become vulnerable about the challenges they’re facing, speak up for themselves, and cultivate a curious mind that can bend without breaking.
Josh was first exposed to dance through his grandmother’s senior dance group, the “Happy Steppers,” in which he would fill in for dancers when they were absent as a child. It was clear that Josh had a natural talent for picking up choreography and musicality so he enrolled in tap and later ballet. After a few years, it was clear to Josh that this is what he wanted to pursue. At age 16, he trained at the School of American Ballet in New York City before getting hired by Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle at 19 years old.
After a decade of dancing with PNB, Josh took a brief break and later did some freelance work, including Oklahoma! at The Fifth Avenue Theatre with Donald Byrd, while also studying interior design. He later danced with Kansas City Ballet for a couple of years as well.
Within the ballet world, Josh found himself placing restrictive rules on his mind and body to be what he thought was the best dancer he could be. This eventually manifested itself into a struggle with his body image. “I was equating my worth as a dancer [with] what my body aesthetically could present,” Josh reflects. That’s when Josh realized he needed some space from the professional dance scene for a while.
“I noticed that there were a lot of differences in the ways I viewed myself,” Josh says of his break from dance, noting that he experienced a newfound sense of self. Upon returning to dance at Kansas City Ballet, Josh noticed his perfectionism start to intensify again. He decided to speak with a therapist about some of the body image and disordered eating challenges he was facing.
It was around this time that Josh began to realize that mental health is deeply connected to how dancers show up for their performances, their relationships, and themselves. However, few mental health resources were available for dancers and their specific needs. Josh earned his Master of Social Work degree from the University of Washington, with a heavy focus on studying eating disorders, later working at an eating disorder clinic. During the pandemic, he also stepped in as a consulting therapist at the PNB School before starting his own practice, Flexible Mind Counseling.
“We are people first and dancers second”
“My mission is to support dancers and their personal growth inside and outside of the studio to produce better performance outcomes and a more sustainable dancer long-term,” Josh says of his goal behind Flexible Mind Counseling. Through individual and group therapy sessions, Flexible Mind Counseling provides clients with “a bridge back to understanding [their] authentic needs.”
Josh shares that individual sessions are nuanced, but he generally works with dancers on being more vulnerable, releasing control, and using direct communication to voice their needs and set boundaries. He helps dancers develop a mindful attitude and identify beliefs that may prevent them from being their most authentic selves. Josh’s group sessions follow similar themes, usually centering on one topic, such as self-compassion, internal vs. external motivation, body image, self-care, or perfectionism. After a topic is presented, a group discussion emerges, in which Josh helps provide dancers with tools and knowledge to handle challenges relating to the session’s main theme. “You get to learn from other folks in the space,” Josh says of the benefits of group sessions. Group sessions can also help cultivate a studio space that feels safer and more open to sharing vulnerable thoughts and emotions.
A mental health misconception that Josh has witnessed in the dance world is the idea that mental and physical health are separate. He points out that mental and physical health can influence one another, neither exists in a vacuum. “It’s really difficult to care for your body without caring for your mind and vice versa,” he shares.
Josh also shares that there is a pervasive stigma surrounding mental health. Many people assume that if you’re struggling with your mental health, that’s a sign of weakness, which prevents people from opening up about their challenges. As with physical health, there is an assumption that dancers must push through their mental health challenges on their own. “You don’t have to do everything on your own,” Josh stresses.
Through his efforts, Josh hopes to see mental health discussions become normalized in the dance sphere, in the same way that conversations about physical health have. He thinks the road to mental health normalization will require greater visibility of mental health professionals with dance experience. It’s also important to expose dancers to preventative and regular mental health care, not just when a crisis strikes.
“We are people first and dancers second,” Josh declares.
Josh will be our special guest speaker at the next DWC Teacher’s Seminar June 26th 10:30am-11:30am at the Green Room, DWC Renton, spaces are limited so register today!
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