Dance Movement Therapy Commons^™

Dance/Movement Therapy As An Intervention In The Treatment Of Internet Gaming Disorder, Andrea Sandahl

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

This paper illuminates how the field of dance movement therapy can expand its reach to different populations in need of kinesthetic empathy. This heuristic review discusses the treatment option of dance/movement therapy for Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). Dance/movement therapy is unique in the way it addresses the personal unconscious through creative non-verbal communication. Video gaming is a worldwide pastime that is captivating and fun for millions of people although the present concern is when video gaming becomes an uncontrolled behavioral addiction. Dance/movement theorist Trudy Schoop asserted, “It is only through the body that humans experience reality.” It is this researcher’s …

Moving On/Moving With: Healing Transgenerational Trauma Through Dance/Movement Therapy With Iraqi-American Jews, Adriana Phillips

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

Bicultural identifying people like Iraqi-American Jews have a unique cultural experience. This thesis discusses the mental health challenges that bicultural identifying people experience and distinguishes this identity from the immigrant experience, highlighting the experience of Iraqi- American Jews. This thesis also explores the causes for the transmission of trauma from one generation to the next as it relates to bicultural Americans. The thesis aims to outline why dance/movement therapy is a fitting treatment method for those experiencing intergenerational trauma like Iraqi-American Jews. This thesis suggests potential dance/movement therapy interventions to aid in symptom relief for those experiencing transgenerational trauma.

Dance/Movement Therapy And Its Implications In A Studio-Based Dance Program: A Community Engagement Project, Akeila Sharp

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Adolescent females often struggle with emotional regulation, developing relationships, and poor body image. Research indicates that taking dance classes or participating in dance movement therapy sessions can be an effective technique to improve in these areas. However, there is limited research on the use of both in one setting. Therefore, this capstone explored the impacts of dance on adolescent females and the implications of dance/movement therapy (DMT) in a studio-based dance program. The objective of this project was to examine how restructuring a dance class using DMT interventions could improve problem areas such as low self-esteem, lack of communication skills, …

How Dance And Music Stimulate Therapeutic Change In A Personal Movement Ritual, Cassidy Bingham

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis investigates the therapeutic effects of the researcher’s own arts practice or personal movement ritual, which is based in her tacit knowledge and intuition. The researcher is also the participant of this study. Her personal movement ritual, which was formalized as the method, was conducted before the literature review in order to prioritize tacit knowledge before introducing the influence of other scholars. In the literature review, Ellen Dissanayake’s and other scholars’ rationale for the emotional and cognitive changes that take place during rituals through music and dance are explained. These rationales, or the five constructs of entrainment, “ …

Healing The Hallways: Survivors Of School Shootings Reclaim The Body And Academic Space Through Dance/Movement Therapy, Jamie Florence Lastihenos

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

As the number of school shootings in the United States accelerates, there has been a gap in conversation, debate, and the responses to these shootings. In the aftermath of a school shooting, the publicized conversations generally center around the shooter, the shooter’s motivation, gun reform and prevention. Survivors of school shootings, in contrast, have been left in the dark. For those managing this unique trauma, it can be incredibly difficult to verbally express what they have experienced and how they have been coping. The magnitude and specificity of the trauma survivors of school shootings face calls for a therapeutic modality …

Abortion And Dance/Movement Therapy: A Mind-Body Approach To Healing, Jacqueline Mcnally

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

Abortion is one of the most common procedures in the United States with roughly a quarter of the female population receiving the procedure before the age of 45. Abortion is often an emotionally significant event that changes the course of someone’s life. For some of those women, negative physical and psychological symptoms can emerge post abortion. Grief, depression, trauma-based disorders, and concealable stigmas may accompany the range of physical changes. Communication is 55% nonverbal, therefore using a body-based modality for expression and healing is crucial. Dance/movement therapy is a body based modality that’s core principle uses the body as a …

Tango And Dance/Movement Therapy: A Partner Dance, Natalia E. Rosado Cofresí

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

This thesis aims to explore the parallels that are present between Argentine social tango and dance/movement therapy. Through a personal embodied inquiry of both the dance form and the therapeutic modality, the author draws a comparison of therapeutic elements such as collective and shared experience, attunement and the therapeutic relationship, expansion of movement repertoire, presence in the here-and-now, and integration of the whole self. The analysis demonstrates that while each form is distinct, there is also commonality and a shared language that grounds them both at the center of movement as a form of therapy. Tango is a social dance …

A Baltimore Love Thing: A Look At Social Dances And Their Connection To Communal Healing Amongst Black People In Baltimore, Naja Cooper

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

This thesis provides insight on the vast effects of systematic racial injustice towards Black people living in Baltimore, Maryland. It highlights the negative effects of racism and the impact of collective shared trauma, while also bringing attention to the resilience long-time and current residents have shown through the action of movement, dance, and simply being. The essence of the Baltimore originated social dance called Rockin’ Off/Shakin’ Off, developed in 2005, provides the chance to dance out lived individual and shared experiences. The discussion sheds light on similarities between key principles of dance/movement therapy and Rockin’ Off/Shakin’ Off, and how this …

Patterns In Wild Places: Approaching Dance/Movement Therapy Through The Lens Of Ecopsychology, Briana Imani Blakey

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

Nature’s connection to the improvement of human well-being is longstanding and has become of growing interest in various health related fields. While certain therapeutic practices have begun to explore a nature-based approach, there is a lack of information and inquiry into the relationship between nature and the field of dance/movement therapy. This thesis investigates the connection between nature and well-being through the lens of ecopsychology, which can be used to understand people and their bond with nature. This thesis posits that there is a parallel relationship between particular elements of nature and the practice of dance/movement therapy, and that this …

Restoring The Body's Ability To Connect: Using Principles Of Contact Improvisation In Dance/Movement Therapy To Process Interpersonal Trauma, Meredith Yuhas

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

Survivors of interpersonal trauma face unique and pervasive challenges following repetitive emotional, physical, and sexual abuse that misuses the social contract of trust in human relationship. The impact of abuse is revealed through the vehicle of trauma, the body, seen through lasting effects such as disassociation, hypervigilance, and difficulty expressing oneself. In an abusive relationship, control is monopolized, and the survivor’s agency is diminished. To restore a survivor’s trust in their body, the relational dance form of contact improvisation is proposed as a relevant tool to be examined in dance/movement therapy. A theoretical analysis of contact improvisation principles and dance/movement …

Setting The Stage For Recovery: A Practical Use Of Dance/Movement Therapy In Late Stage Eating Disorder Recovery, Kaylee Dalaba

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

Recovery from eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder, is a continuous process that spans over a lifetime. The stages of change model used in treating substance abuse is applicable for recovery from eating disorders. This is reflected through the development of adaptive skills and behaviors, such as increased self-awareness, increased frustration tolerance, decreased anxiety, and the establishment of boundaries, as recovery progresses.

Dance/movement therapy is a beneficial therapeutic means to utilize throughout the recovery process. Due to the developmental nature of recovery, dance/movement therapy techniques, such as breath support, rhythm, role-playing, and imagery, are …

Stronger Together: A Case For Partnering Dance/Movement Therapy And Medically Assisted Treatment For A Comprehensive Embodied Approach To The Opioid Crisis, Jayann Chipman

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

An estimated 2.1 million people in the US are estimated to have opioid use disorder. Medically assisted treatment as an approach utilizes medication, counseling, and group therapy for treatment of opioid use disorder and increases the effectiveness of other therapeutic interventions. It has positive effects on treatment retention, and doubles the probability that an individual will one day achieve abstinence. Medically assisted treatment addresses physical symptoms of withdrawal, but it does not include the embodied experience. Dance/movement therapy addresses the multilevel human experience in an approach to wellness. Dance/movement therapy as a bidirectional modality uses movement and body-mind connectivity to …

Building Attachment Between Infant And Caregiver With Postpartum Depression Through Dance Movement/Therapy, Teri Steinberg

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

This thesis discusses the process of fostering secure attachment with infants and mothers

suffering from postpartum depression, through dance/movement therapy. The mother-infant attachment and how it affects the overall lifespan of an individual. The impact of postpartum depression on attachment, and its effect throughout the lifespan is discussed, as well as different treatment intervention for insecure attachment and postpartum depression. Since insecure attachment is a common result of postpartum depression, a dual intervention process is recommended. Dance/movement therapy, with its emphasis on the body and non-verbal relationship building, provides a space to address both of these challenges.