Dance Movement Therapy Commons^™

Dance/Movement Therapy Used As An Intervention To Heal Racial Trauma Within The Black Community: A Literature Review, Jennifer Noboise

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The history of dance within the black community has served an important role while living through a racist and discriminatory society. Dance has been used to express anger, grief, and joy during hardships and moments of rejoicing from the black experience. African American people have endured years of trauma and abuse from oppressive systems. Research has been conducted to demonstrate that dance/movement therapy has been effective in treating those who have experienced a form of trauma since the trauma is stored in the body. Examining trauma symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and substance use, the research found these symptoms diminished …

The Hero's Journey In Dance/Movement Therapy: Answering The Call By Entering Experiences Through The Doorway Of Awe, Rachel Alford

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

The hero’s journey tells the story of an ordinary person leaving their known life, setting out on an adventure into the unknown to fulfill a quest, and returning to their known world with some form of gift for their society. This storyline can be traced throughout myths and legends across time and cultures and is still used in current books and films to this day. The hero’s journey can also be traced throughout the course of an average person’s life and can be entered into at any time as the person encounters and overcomes trials to develop self-trust and resiliency …

Movement As Medicine: Dance/Movement Therapy For Individuals With Autism, Parkinson’S Disease, And Cancer, Alessia Zanobini

CMC Senior Theses

Dance/movement therapy (D/MT) is the psychotherapeutic use of expressive, creative movement to support holistic well-being. D/MT views the human being as a single body-mind unit and movement as a manifestation of life experiences. While typically practiced as a mental health intervention, D/MT can be adapted for a variety of populations. This thesis evaluates scientific data for the non-traditional use of D/MT for three conditions: autism, Parkinson’s disease, and cancer. For individuals on the autism spectrum, D/MT can strengthen attunement skills, provide creative communication outlets, and relieve harmful physical manifestations of autism. For individuals with Parkinson’s disease, D/MT can simultaneously ease …

Epistemic Injustice, Endometriosis And Dance/ Movement Therapy: An Autoethnographic Investigation, Kevana West

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

As the field of dance/ movement therapy evolves to meet the demands of a rapidly changing social landscape, it is imperative that clinicians think critically about the degree to which our work is steeped in oppressive frameworks and ideologies. This investigation uses testimony to explore epistemic injustice as it relates to the author’s experience of living with endometriosis and the pursuit of professional licensure. Considering the limited amount of research on the condition, along with the perceived absence of literature within the field of dance/ movement therapy, further study is warranted. The experimentation phase of this research incorporated the use …

A Taiwanese Perspective: Exploring The Relationship Between Confucian Body Philosophy And Dance/Movement Therapy, Chiu-Yi Chiang

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

This thesis explores the correspondence between dance/movement therapy and Confucian body philosophy. It is inspired by the author’s embodied experiences during her study in the field of dance/movement therapy in America while holding the identity as an international student who came from Taiwan. Because of the cultural differences, the author experienced a learning curve in understanding theories that are mostly developed in Western society. Through embodying foreign principles, the author pursues various perspectives in implementing American ideology while having a greater sense of her Taiwanese self. In these embodied experiences, three significant themes arise when paralleling Confucian body philosophy and …

Stressed Out And Stressed In: Regulating The Stress Response At An Endocrine Level Through Dance/Movement Therapy, Alicia Randazzo

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

This thesis proposes dance/movement therapy as an approach to regulating the stress response from the perspective of the endocrine system. By examining the endocrine system’s role specifically in the human stress response, one can gain clearer understanding of the hormonal components involved in the process of perceiving a stressor, reacting to it, and returning to homeostasis, as well as what happens when that process is interrupted, overworked, or dysfunctional. The impacts of these internal processes can manifest physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and cognitively – making dance/movement therapy well-suited to thoroughly address them. This assertion was made following the investigation of …

Reconciling The Body And The Spirit: A Dance/Movement Therapy Perspective On The Life Of Jesus, Hosanna Tolman

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

This thesis investigates the elements of breath, action, touch, consent, and empathy in dance/movement therapy through the lens of Jesus’ incarnation and life for the purpose of reconnecting the bodily experience to the spirit for Christian dance/movement therapists or those who work with people of faith. For dance/movement therapists who share a Christian faith with their clients, looking to the incarnation of Jesus is helpful and encouraging, as it so closely parallels the therapeutic work they do with the healing work that Jesus did. The relationship between spirit and body and how it can be connected through the Christian faith …

Revelations, In Creation And Choreography: Alvin Ailey’S Application Of Dance/Movement Therapy In Mending Cultural Trauma, Asya Shaw

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

Alvin Ailey’s 1960’s ballet suite, Revelations, utilizes elements of dance/movement therapy theory and practice to inspire and encourage empathetic connection and communal togetherness within the performing arts arena. Through depictions of mirroring interventions and the utilization of blood memory as body memory, Alvin Ailey created a movement narrative of the African American experience to communicate the emotional spectrum of human life. In witnessing both sorrow and joy through performance, audiences journey through emotional polarities to find shared empathy and unification toward mending collective pains from systemic oppressions. Expanding beyond barriers of racism and cultural difference, Alvin Ailey’s Revelations communicates, choreographically …

If I Can't Dance To It, It Isn't My Revolution: The Intersection Of Feminist Theory & Dance/Movement Therapy, Paige Kliewer-Mcclellan

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

Feminism is a social, cultural, and political movement and set of theories which highlight the impact of gender inequality in order to push for equal rights in all spheres. Dance/movement therapy is a method of psychotherapy which utilizes movement rather than verbal language to identify and process emotional material, centering the lived, embodied experience of the client. Both dance/movement therapy as a practice and profession and feminism as a movement and ideology have faced difficulties in being recognized as legitimate, worthwhile areas of focus, and they have also faced similar challenges in embracing diversity and inclusion. The ideological similarities between …

Bharatanatyam, An Effective Psychotherapeutic Intervention In Dance/Movement Therapy, Maanasa Marghashayam Bharath

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

Dance/movement therapy is a psychotherapeutic modality that acknowledges the human body as a window to the human mind and spirit. Through creative and dynamic interventions, it fosters a healthy unification of the mind and body to enhance an individual's holistic health. This research focuses on the traditional dance form of India, Bharatanatyam, and its influence on the body and mind of the practitioner. Journeying through the history of the dance form to its relevance in the field of dance/movement therapy, the thesis explores how Bharatanatyam can be useful as an alternate method, in a therapeutic session to facilitate navigation through …

Embodied Medicine: Integrating Dance/Movement Therapy Into Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Sneha Rajan

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) is a field of medicine that addresses a variety of disorders impacting the brain, spinal cord, muscles, and bones. When approaching patient care, the goals of dance/movement therapists are similar to those of physiatrists, because both strive for a holistic approach to treatment that considers more than just physical ailments. Adding dance/movement therapy sessions in parallel with PM&R services would enhance the overall patient experience and quality of life. Previous studies that explore the use of dance/movement therapy with various neurodegenerative diseases, neuromuscular diseases, and sustained injuries are reviewed for potential application in PM&R settings. …

Dance/Movement Therapy In Response To Continuous Race-Based Trauma, Aliesha Bryan

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

Trauma is concomitant with a lack of safety; as such, where there is a threat to safety, there is likely to be trauma. Afrodescendants living in the United States, through an ongoing lack of human regard, are often powerless to ensure their safety, and are regularly subjected to continuous, race-based trauma. Racism is deeply embedded in the nation’s institutions as well as in every relationship, and this deeply pervasive and penetrating ideology influences strongly how individuals of any race interact with others. Race-based aggression, from micro- to macro-, has a profound and continuously traumatizing effect on Afrodescendants, with similarly profound …

Dance/Movement Therapy And A Search For Wholeness Under Capitalism, Autumn Wright

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

Wellness, as it is currently defined in late capitalism, is a luxury good for the ruling class. Capitalism and the commodification of wellness go largely unaddressed in current dance/movement therapy research. In the United States, dance/movement therapists operate within the for-profit healthcare system. The United States is the only industrialized democracy in the world without a national health insurance program. Despite the access to state licensure for the past 20 years, dance/movement therapists still have no guarantee that health insurance companies will pay for their services. Concurrently, there has been a surgency of self-proclaimed wellness coaches. These …

Addressing White Body Supremacy In The Black Body: An Embodied Approach, Alexandra Stewart

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

Oppression, discrimination, and racism are deeply rooted within our country’s institution and are the framework for the ideology, political, social, and economic values that are still upheld today. The enforcement of White body supremacy has caused trauma related mental and bodily distress to develop into anxiety, depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), or Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (PTSS), and other mental conditions manifested in the body. As oppression is not officially acknowledged as trauma, it significantly complicates the process of healing for Black people. Degruy (2005) calls Black people to action to heal the traumas that have been passed down …

Teaching Through Movement, Michaela Laird

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

Within the United States, many children struggle in the public school system to meet the demands required of them. Often the underlying issue stems from a lack of focus around the social and emotional needs of the children. The demand of this issue requires work on multiple levels: the individual, collective, and institutional, and can be met through better understanding and application of nonverbal communication. Dance/movement therapy is an approach that can be applied to address these issues in such a manner. Through the application of dance/movement therapy for students and teachers alike, improvement can be made to further promote …

My Embodied Bicultural Experience And Dance/Movement Therapy, Anisabel Perez

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

Culture is in the everyday. It is embodied in the way people walk, sit, stand, eat, wash, breathe, and otherwise comport their bodies as they go through daily life (Cohen & Leung, 2009). Culture is multifaceted and embedded and embodied within identity. Ignoring emotions and body signals is detrimental to mental and physical health. It is possible for an individual to have a sense of belonging in two cultures without compromising their sense of cultural identity (Kim, 2002). Biculturalism allows culture to be a choice rather than something that requires purging old practices and beliefs from the self for individuals …

Disconnecting From The "Dancer" Identity: Dance/Movement Therapy In Support Of Maintaining The Sense Of Self In Professional Dance, Sandra Ross

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

The culture of the professional dance environment perpetuates an ideal image of the dancer identity. In the pursuit of this ideal, dancers struggle with integrating their own personal identity, creating internal conflict that potentially underlies dance related mental health issues. Dance/movement therapy offers a different therapeutic environment that promotes self-awareness, acceptance, and trust within the body to establish a connection with a deeper sense of self. An examination of the research and documentation of the utilization of dance/movement therapy with dancers suggest it could be beneficial to the issues they face, including maintaining their own sense of identity. This discussion …

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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

Moving Blind Spots: Cultural Bias In The Movement Repertoire Of Dance/Movement Therapists, Ebony Nichols

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis explores the need for cultural diversity in the field of dance/movement therapy and the impact of unconscious bias as it relates to cultural rhythmic patterns, movement styles, and music choices in therapeutic practice. This literature review examines the historical context that has contributed to the field of dance/movement therapy while outlining cultural competency and ethical considerations in practice as it relates to cultural and/or race identity. Common themes are summarized notating the effects of oppression, bias, and trauma on populations of statistically marginalized communities with specific emphases on African American cultural identity. With consideration toward action steps, culturally …