Dance Movement Therapy Commons^™

African American Adolescents At Risk: Their Stories Revealed Through Dance/Movement Therapy, Alicia Marie Williams

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

The purpose ofthis study was originally to support the voices of African American adolescents and the emergence of their stories through the use of mentors hip, dance/movement therapy, and the production of an artistic performance. But what I truly found was that through parallel processing this study turned into an artistic inquiry that helped me uncover more insight about my own story: a story ofloss, isolation, rejection, recovery, independence, support and acceptance, and confidence.

As a result of the artistic inquiry I was able to see the value of my knowledge from integrating my experiences. I developed confidence in my …

The Effects Of A Single Session Of Dance/Movement Therapy With Adults In Crisis Stabilization: A Mixed Methods Study, Ashley Duquette

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to identify the effects of a single session of dance/movement therapy (DMT) for crisis stabilization with adults in a short-term residential facility. Over the course of 14 weeks (14 sessions) surveys were administered before and after each session to participants who were new to the group. These surveys, along with the researcher’s observations and written notes about the group were collected in order to gain information about the participants’ experience of symptoms and wellbeing before and after the group. The change in symptoms and wellbeing was analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively through the use of …

Using The Body To Investigate The Impact Of Verbal And Physical Aggression While Working On An Acute Psychiatric Unit: An Artistic Inquiry Through Movement, Kimberly Brooke Kaufman

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

The purpose of my research is to investigate how adverse experiences can be a source of emotional positive transformation and growth. Using artistic inquiry, I hope to address the questions, “How can I maintain a sense of safety in an unsafe and ever-changing environment such as the inpatient psychiatric unit” and “How does my passion for dance/movement help me to survive and nurture self under these circumstances?” Using movement as my primary expressive medium, I will explore common themes and patterns that may arise through videoing and journaling my processes in response to these questions. Through an understanding of my …

The Emotional Road To Recovery: Tracking The Mind And Body Experience Of Shame In Women Recovering From Drugs And Alcohol, Nicole Dibacco

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

The purpose of this thesis project was to identify the emotional experiences of women who are in recovery for addiction on a verbal and non-verbal level and determine if shame is a predominant emotion. Through the combination of phenomenological and clinical case study methodologies, this thesis examines the verbal disclosures and movement responses of women within dance/movement therapy groups, through video recording and journal entries. Content analysis resulted in the identification of primary themes, which included circumstances related to relationship and responsibility, shame related to responsibility, goals for their relationships and for self. The resulting implications for dance/movement therapy methods …

A Heuristic Investigation Of Intuition In Dance/Movement Therapy Practice, Jessica Melville Goodin

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

This thesis is a heuristic examination of my experience of intuition as a new dance/movement therapist. The purpose of this investigation was to provide an inceptive inroad into the little explored but recently popular subject of intuition, specifically as it relates to dance/movement therapy and the use of the dance therapist’s intuition as a therapeutic resource. Creating a journal that captured my contemplation of intuition and my experiences of intuition, both in clinical dance/movement therapy work and in creative and personal experiences, was the primary method of data collection. My journaling was augmented by interviews with two practicing dance therapists. …

Multidimensional Analysis: A Video Based Case Study Research Methodology For Examining Individual Dance/Movement Therapy Sessions, Amanda Mitchell

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

Multidimensional Analysis, a video based case study research methodology, was created by this author to examine multivariable qualitative data and develop an understanding of the therapeutic value and relational characteristics of auditory, visual and contextual components in individual dance/movement therapy sessions. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the benefits and limitations of Multidimensional Analysis based on its development and use in a preliminary study. Multidimensional Analysis involved an examination of individual dance/movement therapy sessions as a whole, as differentiated moments, and again as a whole. Videotaping each session was the primary form of data collection from which all …

Strengthening The Therapeutic Relationship Through Mirroring In A Dance/Movement Therapy Group For People With Alzheimer's Disease: A Descriptive Study, Jennifer A. Pierce-Knapp

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

The purpose of this research was to explore the dance/movement therapy intervention of mirroring within a Chacian modality and its effects on creating, maintaining, and deepening a therapeutic relationship between two women who are living with Alzheimer’s and the researcher/facilitator, a dance/movement therapy intern. This research project was part of an internship at an adult day center for people living with Alzheimer’s. Six, half-hour, videotaped dance/movement therapy sessions were devoted to this thesis study.

The indicators, which exemplified that a therapeutic relationship was created, maintained, and deepened were changes in facial expressions and postural shifts. These indicators were noted through …

Support For The Supporter: Dance/Movement Therapy With Community Dwelling Spouses Of Long Term Care Residents Diagnosed With A Dementia Related Illness: A Clinical Case Study, Karla Jean Karpowicz

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

This thesis is the summation and findings of a clinical case study regarding dance/movement therapy with community dwelling spouses of long term care residents who have been diagnosed with a dementia related illness. The intention of this research was to raise awareness of the underserved population of supporters, and to examine how dance/movement therapy could serve to aid in the treatment of the issues community dwelling spouses face. Due to the scarcity of the literature on the primary topic, various relevant topics were examined. Research was found proving that anxiety, depression, and stress are the most prevalent issues being faced …

Emerging Therapist, Growing Child: Developing A Relationship With A Child With Reactive Attachment Disorder, Kirsten Young

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

Children who have had severe early childhood experiences of neglect, abuse, and/or abrupt separation from their caregivers between the ages of six months and three years are at risk for developing reactive attachment disorder. In one form of reactive attachment disorder, known as the inhibited type, the child fails to initiate interactions and positively respond in social situations. Such behaviors make it challenging for therapists to establish therapeutic relationships with children who have been diagnosed with the inhibited type of reactive attachment disorder. The purpose of this case study is to present the challenges, successes, and reactions of a neophyte …

Chakra Self-Care: A Heuristic Exploration, Alexandra L. Starrett

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

Therapists are vulnerable to a number of stressors that may affect them professionally and personally. It is critical that they engage in appropriate self-care activities and develop selfawareness to not only avoid boredom and burnout, but to maintain motivation and creativity in their work. The purpose of this study was to explore the use of the chakra system as a dance/movement therapist’s clinical self-care technique. The research was heuristic and transpersonal, and specifically aimed to discover what effects a consistent self-care tool focusing on one’s chakra system might have on one’s presence and work as a clinician/therapist. The research utilized …

See The Path: Using Laban's Movement Scales To Address Spatial Awareness After Brain Injury, Kristina Fluty

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

This single-participant quasi-experimental thesis study was an investigation of the implementation of Rudolf Laban’s dimensional and diagonal movement scales in individual dance/movement therapy sessions with an adult female recovering from brain injury. The main research question was “How will the implementation of Laban’s movement scales affect the participant’s general awareness of space?”

The Santa Barbara Sense of Direction Scale was used as a pre-test and post-test to record the participant’s self-reports of her spatial awareness. Eleven sessions were video-recorded and the participant’s movement during the scales was observed and notated by the primary researcher and a hired analyst using Laban …

Teacher Attunement To Kestenberg Movement Profile Tension Flow Attributes In Preschool Transition Planning, Anna Carolyn O'Connell

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

Using the action research methodology, the purpose of my project was to develop transition tools based on the Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP) tension flow attributes (TFA) that could improve the working relationship between preschool children and their teachers during specific transition times in their daily routine. The data collection, via videotape, written observation, discussions with the teachers, and the data analysis was an ongoing process from the beginning of the study until each plan had been put into practice for a few weeks. I analyzed each of the videotapes, my written observations, and the ideas discussed in meetings with the …

The Space Between Us: The Experience Of Relationship In The Argentine Tango, Greta Polo

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

The purpose of this thesis project was to gain an in-depth understanding of the various dimensions of relationship experienced by Argentine tango dancers. The project’s underlying aim was to serve as a springboard for developing future applications of relationally oriented tango work for singles, couples, and groups as a form of dance/movement therapy. The participants consisted of three male tango “leaders” and three female “followers” of various experience levels. The research was conducted by video recording the participants dancing tango with one another and then interviewing them separately, using a customized video for each as a prompt to foster discussion …

A Dance/Movement Therapist's Experience Of Vicarious Trauma And Burn-Out: An Autoethnography, Elliotte Munnell Trif

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

This thesis is an autoethnography investigating how the dance/movement therapist can experience and recover from vicarious trauma and burn-out. The purpose of this research is to provide an example of how theories from the latest research have played out in real life and to call for further research and education on the topic in the dance/movement therapy (DMT) field. The author outlines in narrative form significant moments from her master’s internship work with a traumatized child to demonstrate this phenomenon. What is found is that two core components of DMT, somatic attunement and empathy, contribute to the acquisition of vicarious …

Finding My Feet: A Dance/Movement Therapy Intern's Heuristic Inquiry Of Clinician Self-Care, Megan J. Blazek

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

This study is a heuristic exploration of the internship experience of one dance/movement therapy intern and the search for effective self-care methods to assist in maintaining a sense of calm and stability, as well as a sense of focus during the final academic year of a dance/movement therapy master’s program. Themes of personal and emotional stressors such as premenstrual dysphoric disorder, balancing personal and a newly emerging professional life, fitting personal religion into a secular field, trying to find self-confidence in a new creative and therapeutic role, and determining how much self-care is too much are all discussed. Previous research …

Reminiscence Of An Elderly Woman: An Artistic Inquiry, Cathy Gamby-Weideman

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

This thesis explores the clinical value to the elderly population of combining reminiscence and dance. This five month collaboration between a recently widowed elderly female and a dance/movement therapy intern culminated in a 13 minute choreographed dance performance. Themes that emerged during this art-based study were her relationship with her husband, her role as his primary caregiver and her grief after his death. Eric Erikson identifies integrity vs. despair as the struggle or crisis to be grappled with in the last stage of human development, old age. This theoretical framework has been incorporated in this study.

Dance/Movement Therapy And Responsive Classroom: A Theoretical Synthesis, Shawna L. Solsvig

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

This theoretical synthesis combines concepts from Chacian dance/movement therapy and the Responsive Classroom approach to teaching and learning, and suggests a proactive behavioral management style for dance/movement therapists that incorporates aspects from these two frameworks. For this synthesis, Chacian dance/movement therapy and Responsive Classroom techniques were adapted and implemented. Through combining these two methods, the researcher suggests a unique treatment model as a way to prevent and confront violent and aggressive behaviors of children that present in a dance/movement therapy session.

Inviting Consciousness: Authentic Movement And The Injured Brain, Ande Welling

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

This thesis is guided by curiosity regarding the possibility of incorporatingAuthentic Movement into a neuro-rehabilitation treatment program. Using Authentic Movement as part of one client's dance/movement therapy treatment, this qualitative case study explores and documents how mover consciousness, the first layer of Authentic Movement, develops and is taught to one client surviving brain injury. Data includes the researcher's journal entries, embodied knowledge, and notes written using a technique called embodied writing, as well as client journal entries, verbal responses, and the art work produced during each session. Data were analyzed by reviewing the material, embodying the data in my personal …