Dance Movement Therapy for Clients With a Personality Disorder: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis

Abstract

Background: People with a personality disorder (PD) suffer from enduring inflexible patterns in cognitions and emotions, leading to significant subjective distress, affecting both self and interpersonal functioning. In clinical practice, Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) is provided to clients with a PD, and although research continuously confirms the value of DMT for many populations, to date, there is very limited information available on DMT and PD. For this study, a systematic literature review on DMT and PD was conducted to identify the content of the described DMT interventions and the main treatment themes to focus upon in DMT for PD.Methods: A systematic search was conducted across the following databases: EMBASE, MEDLINE, PubMed, WEB OF SCIENCE, PsycINFO/OVID, and SCOPUS following the PRISMA guidelines. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme for qualitative studies was used to rank the quality of the articles. The Oxford Center for Evidence-based Medicine standards were applied to determine the hierarchical level of best evidence. Quantitative content analysis was used to identify the intervention components: intended therapeutic goals, therapeutic activities leading to these goals, and suggested therapeutic effects following from these activities. A thematic synthesis approach was applied to analyze and formulate overarching themes.Results: Among 421 extracted articles, four expert opinions met the inclusion criteria. Six overarching themes were found for DMT interventions for PD: self-regulation, interpersonal relationships, integration of self, processing experiences, cognition, and expression and symbolization in movement/dance. No systematic descriptions of DMT interventions for PD were identified. A full series of intervention components could be synthesized for the themes of self-regulation, interpersonal relationships, and cognition. The use of body-oriented approaches and cognitive strategies was in favor of dance-informed approaches.Conclusions: Dance movement therapists working with PD clients focus in their interventions on body-related experiences, non-verbal interpersonal relationships, and to a lesser extent, cognitive functioning. A methodological line for all intervention components was synthesized for the themes of self-regulation, interpersonal relationships, and cognition, of importance for developing systematic intervention descriptions. Future research could focus on practitioners' expertise in applying DMT interventions for PD to develop systematic intervention descriptions and explore the suitability of the identified themes for clinical application. Clients' experiences could offer essential insights on how DMT interventions could address PD pathology and specific PD categories.

Irony detection, implicit and explicit response biases in patients with borderline personality disorder

“…Both findings emphasize the relevance of a shared and open discussion of the possible inferences BPD patients may draw from social interactions. But they also stress the vital role of non-verbal, embodied treatments beyond talking therapies (Fonagy et al, 2017b;Jensen et al, 2021), such as dance movement therapies (Kleinlooh et al, 2021). Explicit mentalization is not a fully abstract process, but inherently interwoven with implicit, bodily intersubjectivity (Fuchs, 2013;Gallese, 2014).…”

Effects of Arts and Psychomotor Therapies in Personality Disorders. Developing a Treatment Guideline Based on a Systematic Review Using GRADE

“…Measurements before and after the therapy sessions showed a significant decrease in depressive symptoms and better recognition of their own feelings. A Systematic Review focused on Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) for personality disorders yielded the inclusion of four articles with opinions of experts ( 40 ). Six overarching themes were found for DMT interventions for PD: self-regulation, interpersonal relationships, integration of self, coping experiences, cognition and expression and symbolisation in movement/dance.…”

Significant Moments in Improvisational Music Therapy

“…Interactional patterns were identified and defined in terms of musical characteristics, relation to the therapist, therapist's feelings and inner thoughts, and the function of the music. Additionally, interpersonal temporal synchronicity be-tween the client and therapist has been used as a method of assessing an individual's ability to relate to another person (Foubert et al, 2017;Kleinlooh et al, 2021). Continued participation in successful interpersonal temporal synchronicity may have implications in improving temporal relational strategies as they impact attachment experiences.…”

“…A large portion of therapeutic work with clients diagnosed with BPD is spent navigating the uncertainties of the client-therapist connection and finding balance between being over-involved or the client withdrawing and resisting the therapist. This is illustrated through the therapist's role and feelings highlighted in each interactional pattern and inconsistencies in temporal relation (Foubert et al, 2017;Kleinlooh et al, 2021;Strehlow & Linder, 2014).…”

“…The structure found in the repetitive form of the music and the safety of the strong therapeutic relationship allowed Alison to connect with the experience and further enabled the significant moment to occur (Gavrielidou & Odell-Miller, 2017). The slight disruption in structure when certain words were emphasized by repeating them propelled us into a unifying affective response and accompanying realization of the impact of that moment (Dillard, 2006;Foubert et al, 2017;Kleinlooh et al, 2021;Scheiby, 2005). Alison confirmed that this moment was significant by identifying the disruption of structure as the most impactful portion of the session and expressing that she had received the message she needed from that interaction.…”