Dance Movement Therapy Commons^™

Warming Up To Dance/Movement Therapy Through Humor, Amanda E. Ouimette

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis examined the effects humor has on a Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) warm-up intervention in increasing engagement for individuals in a grief setting who are new to DMT practices. Studies have demonstrated the positive effects humor has on individuals’ sense of comfort and there were notable similarities with the benefits of DMT. The healing advantages of humor were thoroughly studied and the comedic principle of the “Rule of Threes” was chosen and translated into a movement warm-up intervention to create a space that allowed for humor and laughter. This humor strategy for the warm-up intervention was used in a group …

Rhythm And Safety Of Social Engagement: Polyvagal Theory Informed Dance/Movement Therapy, Suzanne Weare

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The polyvagal theory has exerted great influence on the field of clinical therapy since the 1990s by proposing an understanding of the psychological expression seen in clients as a reflection of their physiological state of safety or threat of danger. When affect and psychological states are viewed through the lens of the autonomic nervous system directed by neuroception through bidirectional vagal nerve information, therapeutic presence and somatic therapy practices, such as those utilized in the field of dance/movement therapy, become more conceivable as best practices to treat a variety of psychological conditions to include trauma recovery, autism spectrum disorders, and …

Dance/Movement Therapy As A Tool To Improve Social Skills In Children And Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Literature Review, Holly Berlandy

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder diagnosed by the presence of social communication and interaction deficits present in their day to day. The deficits present in this disorder appear within the first three years of life and lead to problems with connecting and interacting with other individuals including their own family members. As a result, children and adolescents with Autism spectrum disorder often experience negative self-image and lack the proper skills to interact with others. Autism spectrum disorder is becoming more commonly diagnosed and yet there remains a gap in interventions and treatment due to the individualized appearance …

Developing A Dance/Movement Therapy Approach To Qualitatively Analyzing Interview Data, Tomoyo Kawano

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

The objective of this research was to develop a model for an embodied-artistic approach to analyzing interview data that could contribute to an enhanced narrative account and/or offer an alternate perspective. A new model was formulated by adapting and/or critically applying a combination of previously developed analytical frameworks. Dance/movement therapy (DMT) skills that encompass ways of listening through an embodied, empathic, aesthetic manner; and a movement observation and assessment tool, Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) were at the core of this explicatory process. The researcher’s movement preferences were identified in the preparatory phase with a certified movement analyst (CMA) as a …