Lectures on the Movement Psychodiagnostic Inventory (MPI) with Dr. Martha Davis

Wednesday, October 18, 2017, 16:00 - 17:30 h, Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln, Senatssaal

Monday, October 23, 2017, 11:30 - 13:00 h, Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln, Senatssaal

Wednesday, October 25, 2017, 16:00 - 17:30 h, Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln, Senatssaal

Registration is required as the number of participants is limited to 30. Please register by e-mail: c.klabunde@­dshs-koeln.de  Registrations will be accepted in order of arrival.

In three 2-hour classes, Dr. Martha Davis will present the Movement Psychodiagnostic Inventory, a method she developed for coding patterns of movement related to psychiatric disorders. Advances in research and clinical assessment require more comprehensive, operational definitions of disordered movement patterns than traditional terms for motor symptoms such as “flat affect” and “psychomotor agitation.” The MPI is a fine-grained, reliable coding of movement patterns identified in videotaped interviews that can contribute to clinical assessment and be used to monitor symptom change over time. It draws on research into the complex ways that nonverbal behavior helps sustain face-to-face conversation and is coded from video recordings of an individual’s interview behavior examined without audio.

The MPI is composed of ten primary categories which were developed from research on nonverbal interaction, concepts and terms of Laban Movement Analysis, and extensive observation of hospitalized psychiatric patients. Dr. Davis will discuss its development, rationale, and assessment of its validity, and focus particularly on the MPI short form to give participants a hands-on experience of its potential for clinical practice. Dr. Hedda Lausberg who has contributed to development of the MPI and is exploring its potential as an addition to the NEUROGES analysis system, will discuss the neuropsychology of the MPI primary categories and their relationship to neuroleptics. Each of the MPI primary categories is composed of several items and within a person’s movement behavior these patterns can range from constant or frequent to very brief and rare to absent altogether, but when a pattern is displayed is not random.   Case examples will be presented of how changes in position and movement can demarcate “brief clinical states” and the MPI signs of disorder can vary with the interview process and topics under discussion.

The classes will be augmented by observation exercises, video demonstrations, slides, and a handout containing selected references, and care will be taken to have sufficient time for participant questions and discussion.

Class 1: Dr. Davis will begin with a review of the nonverbal communication research and coding methods derived from Laban Movement Analysis that have influenced the development of the MPI. She will then demonstrate and draw in classroom exercises to show how nonverbal behavior is essential for sustaining a conversation, followed by an introduction to how these patterns can be disordered in ways that are more serious than common forms of “tense, “awkward” or “restricted” movement. Finally, the structure and rationale of the MPI will be discussed.

Class 2: While facility in MPI coding requires formal observation training, in this session, Dr. Davis will describe each of primary categories and illustrate specific examples with video clips for a general understanding of the instrument. She will then introduce the short form of the MPI and how it is used for clinical assessment and dance/movement therapy practice. In this session participants will have the opportunity to code part of the MPI short form.

Class 3: After Dr. Davis briefly discusses research on the validity of the MPI, Dr. Hedda Lausberg will discuss the neuropsychology of the primary categories and the question of neuroleptic effects. This session will then focus on discussion of the MPI patterns in the context of the therapeutic process.   Case examples will demonstrate how movement behavior in general, and patterns coded with the MPI in particular, can reflect client stress level, development of rapport with the interviewer, and decrease or increase in symptoms within an interview and over a number of sessions
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Martha Davis, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and Movement Analyst certified by the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies. She has conducted research on nonverbal communication at a number of hospitals and universities, among them Hahnemann Medical Center, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York University, and John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. She has published several books on nonverbal communication and numerous articles on the Movement Psychodiagnostic Inventory, clinical state changes in psychotherapy, and nonverbal dimensions of interview behavior.