Heal Your Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with Dance Movement Therapy as an Alternative

Some people grow up with their trauma or experience unpleasant events. You may be one of those suffering from trauma. People react differently to traumatic events, and while some of them respond well, but others can lead to psychological disorders, such as depression or PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). 

According to Aprily & Insani (2022) post traumatic stress disorder can be defined as disorder that occurs in a person after experiencing a painful event or experience such the death of family member, having an accident, experience rape, natural disaster, violence and others, resulting in feelings of trauma of something.

One of the alternatives that can be done to overcome this disorder is Dance Movement Therapy (DMT). Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) is defined by the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) as the psychotherapeutic use of movement to promote emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration of the individual, for the purpose of improving health and well-being. 

Result suggest that DMT is effective for increasing quality of life and decreasing clinical symptoms (Koch et al., 2014). Positive effects were also found on the increase the subjective of well-being, positive mood, affect, and body image (Koch et al., 2014). How can an activity  that is usually done for fun be an alternative to heal you from PTSD? It’s because dancing is thought to activate psychological and physiological processes such as motor coordination, and emotional expression. (Tomaszewski et al., 2023).

DMT does not look a certain way because the movements are organic and come from the client in the moment, improvised. It is not choreography transferred to the body. Often, it is the body that speaks truths that are too deep for words alone to reveal. DMT takes a bottom-up approach to healing because it directly accesses the primitive parts of the brain that control movement, heartbeat, and breathing. 

It's about finding your way and then thinking about your way out. Clients participate in authentic movement, cultural dance, improvisation, meditation, guided imagery, or simple physical awareness to connect mind and body and support integration, neuroception, and nervous system regulation. It can create a symbiotic relationship.

Dance/movement therapy is a valuable modality for anyone looking to unpack, release, or get more in touch with their body and all it holds. For more information you can visit the American Dance Therapy Association. Don’t let your inability to speak, listen, or even be with your body limit your capacity for healing from your trauma.  You can rewrite your own narrative because everything is possible when you dance.

REFERENCES

Parker, Sydney (2018) "Moving On: An Investigation of Dance Movement Therapy in PTSD Treatment," Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology: Vol. 13 : Iss. 1 , Article 8. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/intuition/vol13/iss1/8

Sabine Koch, Ph.D., Teresa Kunz, M.Sc., Sissy Lykou, M.A., Robyn Cruz, Ph.D., (2014). Effect of dance movement theraphy and dance on health-related psychological outcomes: A meta-analysis. The Art in Psychotherapy, 5(4). pp. 46-64. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10/1016/j.aip.2013.10.004

Serlin I. A. (2020). Dance/Movement Therapy: A Whole Person Approach to Working with Trauma and Building Resilience. American journal of dance therapy, 42(2), 176–193. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10465-020-09335-6

Tomaszewski, C., Belot, R. A., Essadek, A., Onumba-Bessonnet, H., & Clesse, C. (2023). Impact of dance therapy on adults with psychological trauma: a systematic review. European journal of psychotraumatology, 14(2), 2225152. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2023.2225152