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Ingrid Jennifer Lacey, MA, LPC, BC-DMT, GLCMA, CPCS, NCC, began her dance movement therapy journey teaching dance to at-risk youth and other marginalized populations in Ireland and England twenty-five years ago. After completing her formal dance movement therapy (DMT) & counseling degree and certified movement analysis (GLCMA) training at Columbia College Chicago in 2007, Ingrid was employed as a Rehabilitation Therapist (Dance) at Napa State Hospital (NSH), a forensic psychiatric facility.

During her tenure at NSH, Ingrid developed a variety of innovative treatment groups, including Mind Body Competency for those found Incompetent to Stand Trial. Ingrid served as Rehabilitation Therapy Professional Practice Chair for two years. After completing her board certification (BC-DMT), Ingrid and her colleague Jeanetta Scholefield, MS, BC-DMT, developed the dance movement therapy internship and supervision program at NSH, which remains a source of full-time employment for dance movement therapists.

Ingrid has presented at the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) conferences in 2009, 2016 and 2024 respectively. “Enriching the Qualitative Research Process through Artistic Inquiry Using Poetic Representation,” “From Incompetent to Integrated: DMT with the Forensic Psychiatric Population, A Multicultural Perspective,” and alongside her mentor Dee Wagner, MS, BC-DMT, “Giving Voice to The Journey of Menopause: An Intergenerational Collaboration through Chi for Two.” She was also invited as a conference proposal reviewer for the 56^th ADTA conference in 2021, Dance Movement Therapy: Ancient Healing, Modern Practice. Ingrid, along with Dee Wagner, presented “Giving Voice to the Journey of Menopause through Chi for Two®: A Polyvagal-Informed, Multi-Generational Trauma Healing Method” at the Transformation and Healing Conference at ����Vlog in 2024.

Ingrid served as Government Affairs Chair for the California Chapter of the ADTA from 2012-2014. She started her private therapy practice in Marin County and the Napa Valley specializing in trauma, anxiety and mood disorders, as well as offering structural LMA coaching and LMA teaching for DMT students.  She served as guest lecturer in 2015 for Columbia College Chicago in Forensic DMT. Ingrid was a member and choreographer with The Don’t Quit Your Day Job Dancers for eight years in the Bay Area.

Upon moving to Atlanta in 2016, she was employed at Northside Hospital as a behavioral health clinician specializing in psychiatric triage and assessment and served as Treasurer for the Southern Chapter of the ADTA from 2019-2021.

Currently, Ingrid has a private psychotherapy practice as a somatic psychotherapist, educator and clinical supervisor, and specializes in trauma, anxiety and mood disorders with adults. She recently completed her training as a Chi for Two® Embodiment Coach, a trauma informed practice to facilitate the energetic dance of healthy relationships. Chi for Two is approved as a somatic movement training program by the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association (ISMETA).

Ingrid enjoys integrating elements of expressive arts therapies, Chi for Two, Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Celtic spirituality with clients, students and clinical supervisees. Ingrid serves as adjunct faculty for alternate route dance therapy courses in Atlanta and Chicago. Her teaching philosophy reflects a deeply held belief in the power of embodied consciousness to transform lives and foster a somatically-informed, expansive education for all students.  She is inspired by her lived journey of movement to enhance the learning experience through a multidimensional approach of the physical, psychological and spiritual body. Ingrid enjoys being a part of the diverse dance community in Atlanta.