Impact of dance therapy on adults with psychological trauma: a systematic review

Abstract

Background: Dance therapy is thought to improve mental and physical health by activating psychological and physiological processes such as motor coordination, and expression of emotions. Some currently used mind–body interventions for posttraumatic symptoms address both mental and physical health. Although some studies have evaluated the efficacy of dance therapy for posttraumatic symptoms, a systematic review of extant research has not been conducted. Objectives: To identify the effects of dance therapy in adults with psychological trauma as well as the barriers and facilitators associated with its therapeutic use. Method: Articles published between 2000 and March 2023 have been selected with the help of six relevant keyword combinations applied on seven databases. Two reviewers independently screened 119 titles and abstracts against inclusion and exclusion criteria. Bias evaluation has been conducted with the help of the NIH study quality assessment tools and JBI’s critical appraisal tools. A report of the results has been organized with the help of a thematic analysis. Results: Of the 15 articles included, only one case study directly reports a diminution of pathognomonic symptoms of trauma. Other studies present improvements in the key aspects of trauma therapy: bodily sensations and perceptions, psychological processes, and interpersonal skills. These improvements depend on the stability of the intervention, the applied method (dance as therapy or dance/movement therapy), and likely, the skill set of the therapists. However, the reviewed studies lacked uniformity in assessments of adherence and its effect on therapeutic outcomes. Conclusion: Dance therapy may be a useful technique for improving both psychological and physiological symptoms associated with trauma exposure, such as avoidance and dissociative phenomena. To complement the results of this qualitative systematic review, further quantitative and qualitative research on the impact of dance therapy interventions as a trauma treatment should be conducted.

Dance/movement therapy as a holistic approach to diminish health discrepancies and promote wellness for people with schizophrenia: a review of the literature

“…Dance/movement therapy has been implemented as an intervention for physical health ( Conceição & Neto, 2016 ; Lopez-Nieves & Jakobsche, 2022 ; Neto et al, 2014 ), mental health ( Karkou et al, 2019 ; Koch et al, 2019 ), autism ( Takahashi et al, 2019 ), and trauma ( Levine & Land, 2016 ; Tomaszweski et al, 2023 ) amongst other considerations. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses reviewed the effects of dance/movement therapy on blood pressure ( K = 4) ( Conceição & Neto, 2016 ) and chronic heart failure ( K = 2) ( Neto et al, 2014 ).…”

“…Dance/movement therapy interventions have gone beyond physical and mental health improvements as seen in a systematic reviews conducted by Takahashi et al in 2019 ( K = 7) and Tomaszweski et al in 2023 ( K = 15) and the 2016 meta-synthesis by Levine and Land ( K = 9). Dance/movement therapy interventions showed promising results in improving social skills for autistic participants ( Takahashi et al, 2019 ), particularly when attuning to participants using mirroring techniques.…”

“…Dance/movement therapy interventions showed promising results in improving social skills for autistic participants ( Takahashi et al, 2019 ), particularly when attuning to participants using mirroring techniques. When considering DMT as an intervention for psychological trauma, participants reported an increase in mind-body connection, range of motion signifying increased agency ( Levine & Land, 2016 ), increased relaxation, decreased stress, improvements in bodily sensations and perceptions, increased emotional identification, expression, and externalization ( Tomaszweski et al, 2023 ), and healthy intra- and interpersonal relationships ( Levine & Land, 2016 ; Tomaszweski et al, 2023 ).…”

“…Dance/movement therapy is a treatment option that addresses physical ( Conceição & Neto, 2016 ; Lopez-Nieves & Jakobsche, 2022 ; Neto et al, 2014 ), mental ( Biondo et al, 2021 ; Bryl et al ., 2020 ; Karkou et al, 2019 ; Kerney et al , 2023 ; Koch et al, 2019 ; Levine & Land, 2016 ; Milman et al, 2021 ; Tomaszweski et al, 2023 ), and social aspects of participant wellness ( Biondo et al, 2021 ; Bryl & Biondo, 2022 ; Takahashi et al, 2019 ). More recently, DMT frameworks have been explored and expanded to be inclusive of embodied, neurophysiological theories.…”

Chakra Awareness through Dance Movement Therapy

“…Resilient responses to adversity are common across the lifespan-a phenomenon Ann Masten (2001) calls "ordinary magic." A unique benefit of DMT lies in its capacity to foster resilience through shared movement experiences and improve symptoms such as avoidance and dissociation associated with exposure to trauma (Payne et al, 2019;Tomaszewski et al, 2023).…”