Happy Retirement Jeanine!
It is with gratitude and cheers that we announce Jeanine Kiss’ retirement from 33 years working at the Hancock Center (HC) and from her lifetime career as a dance/movement therapist.
Jeanine earned her Master of Arts in Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) from the University of California, Los Angeles and since became a nationally board certified and state licensed dance/movement therapist in Wisconsin. Jeanine knows how the use of the body in the dance/movement therapy process can develop a supportive platform for change. She sees how it informs and strengthens a client’s relationship to self and others, enriching a person’s self-esteem and self-acceptance. For her, the practice of DMT and journeys with her clients has been fulfilling.
Jeanine began her work at Hancock Center facilitating groups of older adults in movement and socialization classes at senior centers in Madison, Janesville and Beloit. She then focused her work in the center’s child and family program providing individual, group and family dance/movement therapy.
Beginning in the 1990s Jeanine participated in the Hancock Center’s response to the more intense needs of trauma survivors in our community, developing programs alongside fellow therapists that would serve these children, adolescents, and their families. In 1993, along with other HC dance/movement therapists, Jeanine began providing therapy in the Madison public schools for young students who had experienced or witnessed abuse.
For 27 years Jeanine continued working with the individuals and small groups of children and adolescents at several schools working closely with school psychologists and social workers, building trust, connection, and healing to support the students and creating positive collaborations with other school personnel. At the same time, Jeanine also led classes for HC’s in-school program teaching the Violence Prevention through Movement curriculum to many classrooms of children.
Jeanine has worked in dance/movement therapy with children from all walks of life and circumstances. Her clients have been children on the autism spectrum or with other neurological issues, children living with emotional challenges, abuse and trauma history, family change, or social skills challenges. She has presented on her work at training seminars and workshops and has supervised student interns training in dance/movement therapy.
For us, her co-workers, Jeanine is our rock in the Hancock family. She has immense calm, patience, and warmth. She has been unshakeable and dependable as a friend and colleague, reminding us of what’s present and important. We will also miss her sense of fun, playfulness and delight in life’s pleasures! All these attributes no doubt informed her rapport with both clients and colleagues manifesting in the many positive connections she made. She has been a huge support to so many of her clients and their families.
This month we gathered to celebrate Jeanine in fine dining style! Please join us in wishing her a happy and healthy retirement and lots of love forever.
Jeanine’s message: “I feel so very grateful to have worked as a dance/movement therapist at Hancock Center. I value the opportunities I have had in this profession and to have served so many children, parents, and families at the center and in the Madison community. I also treasure having collaborated with so many outstanding professionals in the Dane County area over the years and appreciate having worked together on teams through service agencies and public schools.”
If you’d like to send good wishes and thanks to Jeanine, we will forward them to her. Just contact us at the HC. (laura@hancockcenter.net or 608-251-0908 ext. 10)