PSYCHOMOTRICITY STUDIES

Prospective students, learn more here about the Psychomotor Therapy program at our Faculty: admissions, curriculum, changing majors, career opportunities, and more…

Overview CAREER MEDIA Contacts

Previous Next

PSYCHOMOTRICITY

PARAMEDICAL STUDIES

Access Information
Admission tothe psychomotor therapy program requires a high school diploma.

Prospective students must have applied for this program through theParcoursup platform.
Admission to this program is subject to areview of the applicant’s records based on the criteria specified on the platform.

They must provide proof of a baccalaureate, a DAEU, a French or foreign diploma that qualifies as an exemption from the baccalaureate, or a qualification or experience deemed sufficient in accordance with the provisions of Article L613-5 of the Education Code.
Place of study

Atthe University of Montpellier, students can enroll in the psychomotor therapy program and thus take all the courses for this year of study at the School of Medicine(Arnaud de Villeneuve Health Campus in Montpellier).
Duration of Studies

The psychomotor therapy program lasts three years.
Contents
The program spans 6 semesters. The modules taught include:

– interdisciplinary subjects taught in lecture format: psychiatry, psychology, anatomy, pediatrics, education, pharmacology, physiology, medical pathologies, public health

– Courses that focus more directly on psychomotor therapy: theoretical, theoretical-clinical, and practical modules in psychomotor therapy. Internships at institutions or in private practices with practicing psychomotor therapists complement the theoretical and practical instruction to provide a work-study program that ensures a high-quality transition into the workforce. The program’s curriculum is structured across the three years of the program.

First year: Semesters 1 and 2

In addition to acquiring the fundamentals of each discipline, the focus of the first year is on the functioning of the healthy individual at all stages of life. Basic concepts of pathology are introduced, and therapeutic approaches are outlined.

Second year: Semesters 3 and 4

The second year focuses on introducing students to clinical assessment and treatment methods. Through clinical placements, students have the opportunity to observe and assist a professional in their work, both with children and adolescents and with other professionals on the multidisciplinary team.

Third year: Semesters 5 and 6

The third year focuses on the process of professional development. Students deepen their understanding of psychomotor therapy for adults and older adults. During clinical placements, students gain hands-on experience applying their knowledge, interpersonal skills, technical skills, and therapeutic tools. Coursework is geared toward real-world professional situations, including clinical case studies, the development of treatment plans, and case summaries.
Career Opportunities
The possibilities for continuing studies at the master’s and doctoral levels are currently being explored as part of efforts to redesign the program leading to the State Diploma.

Psychomotor therapists can practice in private practice, as employees in the public sector (e.g., hospital services) or private sector (e.g., clinics, rehabilitation centers), or in a hybrid practice combining private and salaried work. With a steadily increasing number of students and a shortage of training opportunities highlighted in several regions, including Occitanie, the field of psychomotor therapy is a profession with a promising future. Numerous national initiatives underscore the profession’s relevance: the Alzheimer’s plan, the autism plan, the psychiatry plan, early childhood initiatives, and more. Consequently, job placement rates are considered excellent: in some regions, 80 to 90 percent of recent graduates find employment within a year of earning their State Diploma.

IN BRIEF

Psychomotor therapists are healthcare professionals who work with children, adults, and older adults who have perceptual-motor integration difficulties that impair their ability to adapt.

Psychomotor therapists focus primarily on intentional movement and its constant interactions with the perceptual, psycho-emotional, cognitive, motivational, and motor domains. They are, in fact, professionals of action. Through role-playing exercises and specific perceptual-motor training, they seek to reduce psychomotor disorders or even eliminate them entirely.

USEFUL DOCUMENTS

QUICK LINKS

Becoming a Psychomotor Therapist: Subjects, Education, Careers, and Job Opportunities
An interview with a psychomotor therapy student about her studies, conducted by the student media outlet THOTIS.
CIDJ Job Description
Job Description for Psychomotor Therapists by the CIDJ.

OCCUPATION: PSYCHOMOTOR THERAPIST

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE PROFESSION OF PSYCHOMOTOR THERAPIST

A healthcare professional
A psychomotor therapist is a healthcare professional on par with physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, and occupational therapists. They work with children and adults who have difficulty adapting to the world due to impaired perceptual-motor integration. The cause of the deficit may be a psychomotor disorder in the strict sense, but it may also be part of a broader clinical picture in which the perceptual-motor difficulty is only one aspect of the maladjustment.
A career open to everyone
Psychomotor therapists therefore work with people of all ages throughout their lives, providing screening, diagnosis, prevention, support, and rehabilitation services. This definition gives the profession a very broad scope of practice in terms of where they work: daycare centers, hospital departments, private clinics, medical-social facilities, nursing homes, etc.
A rehabilitation specialist
Through role-playing and specific learning activities, the psychomotor therapist seeks to reduce or even eliminate the targeted psychomotor disorder. Failing that, the therapist helps the patient compensate for and integrate their deficits. The therapeutic methods themselves are diverse and extensive. They draw on both basic and applied research for any advances that could benefit the patient. Psychomotor rehabilitation or therapy is one of the approaches that helps restore the individual’s ability to adapt to their environment through psycho-perceptual-motor learning. It is primarily aimed at psychomotor disorders. It examines both perceptual mechanisms—that is, how and how effectively the individual extracts relevant information from the environment to carry out their motor tasks—and motor behavior itself and its characteristics.

Understanding psychomotor disorders is a key focus for this practitioner

Psychomotor disorders manifest themselves both in the way the individual engages in action and in their relationships with others. Psychomotor disorders are neurodevelopmental disorders that affect the individual’s adaptation in the perceptual-motor domain. Their clinical analysis is based on an in-depth understanding of normal development. It requires specific assessments, including a psychomotor examination, to understand the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the individual’s perceptions, representations, and actions.

The main psychomotor disorders are:

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Developmental Coordination Disorder (Developmental Dyspraxia)
Dysgraphia or Writing Disorders
Nonverbal Learning Disabilities
Various disorders of spatial organization (visuospatial disorders, visuoconstructive disorders, spatial navigation disorders, etc.)
Abnormal movements (tics, motor stereotypies, tremors, etc.)
Lateral Dominance Disorders
Muscle tone disorders (synkinesias, paratonias, dystonias, etc.)

The characteristics of these disorders are as follows:

These are perceptual-motor disorders that affect various functions related to exploration (perceptual aspects), action (in the physical environment), communication (particularly nonverbal aspects), and emotional expression.
They manifest as mild neurological signs that indicate the presence of at least some degree of brain dysfunction.
They are associated with a psychopathological complex involving emotional factors that can range up to a full-blown psychiatric disorder, raising the issue of comorbidities.
They call for an analysis of the various dimensions (biological or organic, ecological, intentional, or teleological) to allow for the consideration of etiological diversity.

Beyond psychomotor disorders in the strict sense, psychomotor therapists focus on atypical psychomotor manifestations commonly seen in various neurodevelopmental syndromes (e.g., autism, learning disabilities), psychiatric conditions (e.g., depression, schizophrenia), neurological conditions (e.g., post-stroke sequelae), genetic conditions (e.g., Down syndrome), or neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease). Finally, the relationship between psychological processes and behavior/motor function may be central to the work of the psychomotor therapist, as in the case of patients suffering from anorexia nervosa and/or body image issues (e.g., body dysmorphic disorder).

Psychomotor Rehabilitation

Psychomotor rehabilitation focuses on the individual’s actions. It is generally accepted that therapies for psychomotor disorders are multimodal. These therapies are, on the one hand, specific—defined by a strict scope of application and therefore related to precise indications—and, on the other hand, operate at different levels and are thus complementary. Psychomotor rehabilitation is tailored to the nature of the symptom: a developmental coordination disorder, dysgraphia, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, a motor tic, a nonverbal communication disorder, etc., are not treated using the same methods. A multimodal approach may thus include—in addition to psychomotor rehabilitation proper—pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy, as in the case of tics or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. When there are emotional and social factors associated with the psychomotor disorder—which is almost always the case—that are significant enough, it is advisable to combine psychomotor therapy with another specific form of therapy (e.g., psychotherapy).