Support Cynthia's Next Season of Ministry and healing
“In Him we live and move and have our being.” — Acts 17:28
Graduate School, Masters of Fine Arts in Dance, 1986
Her story
For over 40 years, Cynthia Newland has served as a professional dancer, educator, choreographer, minister, mentor, and leader within the Christian dance community. Through performance, teaching, worship, conferences, retreats, counseling, and creative ministry, she has devoted her life to helping others encounter healing, identity, creativity, and the presence of God through movement and the arts.
In this new season, God is opening the door to a deeper integration of embodied healing, counseling, ministry, and therapeutic movement through the pursuit of formal credentialing as a Registered Dance/Movement Therapist (R-DMT).
This journey builds upon decades of experience in:
• Professional dance and choreography
• Christian ministry and worship arts
• Counseling and mental health support
• Somatic and embodied healing practices
• Teaching and mentoring across generations
Today, Cynthia serves within clinical settings supporting:
• Women’s groups
• Grief groups
• Adolescent and adult trauma-informed IOP programs
• Older adults in memory care
• Individuals seeking holistic healing and restoration
Dance/Movement Therapy is an established mental health profession that integrates movement, neuroscience, psychology, creativity, and embodied therapeutic practices to support emotional, mental, physical, and relational healing.
There are currently only approximately 2,000 credentialed Dance/Movement Therapists in the United States, and approximately 4,000–5,000 worldwide. Among those professionals, very few openly integrate a strong Christian worldview and ministry background into the field in an informed, ethical, and professionally trained manner.
Cynthia believes God is calling her to help bridge these worlds:
• Faith and science
• Creativity and counseling
• Embodied healing and spiritual formation
• Worship, movement, and therapeutic care
The Journey Ahead
“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion…” — Philippians 1:6
Pursuing the Registered Dance/Movement Therapist credential requires extensive graduate-level coursework, supervision, clinical training, and travel.
Cynthia has officially begun this journey through credentialed Alternative Route coursework, including both online and in-person training with leaders in the field of Dance/Movement Therapy.
One significant upcoming opportunity includes a two-week international conference and training experience in Greece, June 23-July 11, 2026. The journey will begin in Athens, where Cynthia plans to spend time in prayer, reflection, and immersion in the early history of the Gospel and the spread of Christianity before continuing to an international conference gathering practitioners from around the world.
During this experience, she will both learn from and contribute to conversations and the development of embodied therapeutic practices, movement, creativity, trauma healing, and faith-informed approaches to care.
Current Educational & Travel Needs
Dance/Movement Therapy coursework ranges approximately from:
- $500–$700 per credit hour
- Approximately 28 credits remain for certification completion
Upcoming Greece Training Estimated Costs:
- Airfare & Ground Travel: $2,200
- Course & Conference Fees: $1,800
- Housing: $1,500
- Food & Living Expenses: $800
Estimated Total: $6,300
How You Can Support
You are investing into:
• Future healing work
• Christian presence within therapeutic spaces
• Embodied ministry and restoration
• Trauma-informed care
• The integration of faith, creativity, neuroscience, and counseling
• Future teaching, workshops, retreats, and ministry outreach
Most importantly, your prayers are deeply appreciated during this season of growth, stretching, learning, and preparation.
If you feel led to partner financially with Cynthia in this next chapter, contributions of any size are greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and partnership. This new season represents not a departure from decades of ministry and dance work, but a deepening and expansion of the calling God has faithfully developed over many years. “See, I am doing a new thing…” — Isaiah 43:19
With gratitude,
