Digital Commons Network^™

Self-Applied Touch To Promote Self-Regulation In Adolescent Males With Problem Sexual Behaviors: Development Of A Method, Nicole Krzeminski

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Adolescents who have experienced problematic attachment relationships in infancy often have difficulty with self-regulation and therefore may cope using destructive means such as harmful sexual behavior. Self-regulation is the ability to calm the mind and body and manage emotions appropriately. Dance/movement therapy (DMT) may be a beneficial treatment tool for adolescents with problem sexual behaviors (PSB) to teach self-regulation techniques that may have not been developed due to early traumatic experiences. Self-applied touch is a DMT intervention that may assist individuals with self-regulation that was missed during critical developmental periods. This Capstone project implemented a self-applied touch warm-up with six …

A Dance Movement Therapy Warm Up Method In Bereavement Peer Support Groups For Children, Amanda Moffitt

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Every year in the United States, millions of children experience the death of a parent (Owens 2008; Stikkelbroek, Prinzie, de Graaf, ten Have, and Cuijpers 2012). Parental death in childhood can lead to severe impairments in physical and mental health, as well as overall life satisfaction, because of the potential traumatic nature of the event (Li, Vestergaard, Cnattingius, Gissler, Bech, Obel, & Olsen, 2014; Marks, Jun, & Song, 2007; Perkins & Harris 1990). Children have previously been neglected in regards to grief theory and the traumatic experience such loss impacts children. Recently, research has demonstrated that self-regulation is instrumental in …

Examining Ritual In Dance/Movement Therapy, Jessica Michele Flores

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Ritual practices have long been a part of numerous cultures’ history as mind-body actions performed for healing. Modern day rituals can be observed in baptisms, weddings, or funerals. Rituals have also been adapted into various psychotherapy approaches as effective, time-limited transformative additions through Van Gennep’s transition phases among varying populations. Ritual and dance/movement therapy are established as effective healing processes through similar concepts including sociality, dance, non-verbal communication and being body-based approaches. This literature review revealed the inner workings of ritual performance and dance/movement therapy through neuroscience. This literature review intends to present relevant research on the unique molding qualities …

Cross-Lateral Movement To Promote Motor Functioning And Executive Functioning In Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Courtney Chow

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This capstone project sought to explore the relationship between dance/movement therapy and autism spectrum disorder by designing and implementing a cross-lateral movement method. Cross-lateral movement is oppositional locomotion that activates a diagonal pattern of connectivity (ex: top left to bottom right). Participants (n = 41) consisted of students aged 18-22, in a college-based transition program, who presented with a variety of intellectual and developmental disabilities including ASD. Participants were divided into three groups; the first two groups performed the method twice and the third group performed the method once. Outcomes observed included positive changes in participants’ self-report of affect, motor …

The Efficacy Of Dance/Movement Therapy For Trauma Affected Youth: A Literature Review, Caitlyn Goggin

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

As the quantity of trauma affected children rises so does the need for effective treatment interventions to resolve trauma symptomatology so children may resume successful development. Up until now, the most popular interventions to aid children who have experienced trauma, have been “top down approaches” such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Top down approaches focus on processing and altering thought content to alleviate symptoms of trauma. However, recent research indicates that top down approaches do not relieve the somatic and biological symptoms of trauma that account for a majority of trauma symptomology. The research of Duros & Crowley (2014) suggests …

Discovering How Dance/Movement Therapy And Movement-Based Therapies Aid Children Experiencing Embodied Grief, Laura Remillard

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Current studies in children’s grief and bereavement suggest that creative arts therapies support children through their healing process after experiencing the loss of a loved one. However, there is not much research to support the use of dance/movement therapy (DMT) or movement-based therapies with this specific population. This literature review explored children’s grief and bereavement and focused specifically on embodied grief--how and where grief is held in the physical body. Furthermore, this literature review expanded more on the use of DMT and movement-based therapies with children experiencing embodied grief, as well as expanded upon body-based approaches to help these individuals …

Using Dance/ Body Movement Therapy With A Trauma Population, Katrina Guittar

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This literature review reveals how the inclusion of a body based, dance/movement therapy treatment to a trauma exposed population can unveil and help integrate underlying patterns of dysregulation, dissociation, attachment, and stored body sensations. It describes highlights of a clinical application combining movement observation and therapy with knowledge of neurological and somatic symptomology within the individual with post-traumatic symptoms. Methods addressed included, traditional cognitive based therapies (top-down), and body-based therapies (bottom-up) focusing on dance/movement therapy. It is concluded that further implementation, research, and knowledge in the field of Dance/Movement therapy is needed.

Dance Movement Therapy (D/Mt) And The Use Of Music For First Grade Students With A History Of Trauma At An Urban School, Ruinide Danger

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper describes a therapist intern’s work in creating a dance/movement therapy group with the use of music to help support students in an urban school. The therapist intern worked with a group of first grade students with a history of trauma who presented with behavioral issues with the classroom. The work consisted of three 30 minute sessions of dance/movement therapy group that implemented music as a tool to help support students in this setting. Based on the observations on the data collected, a theme of a sense of self began to emerge within the group. Insight on this project …

Rhythmic Movements And Feeling States, Melanie Johnson

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study was conducted to test the validity of a theoretical framework in developmental psychology of body movement analysis, the Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP). Motor patterns associated with needs and foundations for affect expression, the tension flow rhythms (TFRs), were examined. Recent research examined the validity of the TFRs in nonclinical adults and found preliminary support for some of the KMP’s assumptions associating smooth (indulging) rhythms with indulgent affects and sharp (fighting) movements with assertive or aggressive affects. This study aimed to test the TFRs associated with the first two years of development—the sucking, biting, twisting, and strain/release rhythms. The …

The Somatic Experience Of White Privilege: A Dance/Movement Therapy Approach To Racialized Interactions, Wendy Allen

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the somatic experience of White privilege in participants who were committed to developing a nonracist White identity. It postulated that there are somatic cues and expressive signatures of White privilege that, once identified, could be addressed through basic dance/movement therapy interventions used at the intrapersonal level. Awareness of these cues may help White people navigate their privilege in racialized interactions thereby reducing further enactments of racism.

Using Critical Race Theory and Whiteness Studies as conceptual frameworks and building on research exploring the impact of oppression on the body, this study sought to answer the following questions: …