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Literature Review

The use of Dance as Therapy

Amanda Neve

California State University - Channel Islands

Senior Capstone 499

Dec 4, 2020
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Introduction:

In the United States the health and wellbeing of the people living here is a priority. There

is a large focus on public health. Hundreds of programs are put together to inform the public of

potential health concerns, as well as programs for those who have limited access to care. The

focus is mostly on wellbeing and keeping people healthy. I have noticed a lack in the care of

each person as a whole. With advancements in technology and biogenetics it seems as if we are

running down the path of curing people, but not as focused on healing. Dance therapy is not

often used within the medical community. My question is can the use of dance therapy create a

better quality of life for patients, and strengthen the treatment plans already in place?

​Review Articles :

My first introduction to the use of dance as a therapy was when I was introduced to the

public health program “Dance to be Free.” This is a dance program that is implemented within

prisons. This program is currently in use at 13 prisons within the United States. What really

stood out to me is when the author Janic Ross quotes Michel Foucault in the book ​Dance, human

rights, and social justice : dignity in motion​ as saying “[it] has [been] argued that modern

prison’s main purpose has never been rehabilitation or even punishment, but rather the exercise

of discipline; the management of the undisciplined” (Ross, 2008, pp. 270–284). Prisons were

not merely created to lock up those not following the rules, but a place where people could be

taught, or re-taught, the correct way to live within a society. Discipline, managing actions or

thoughts, are a few of the concepts that are reiterated again and again within the walls of prison.

Dance is an art that focuses on teaching discipline. Discipline of the body, discipline of the
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minds, as well as endurance. It is no wonder that dance therapy is able to teach these same

concepts to those struggling. If dance can help teach discipline and emotion management, what

are some other ways dance can help society?

Dance therapy has been used since the 1940’s, but the use is not well known amongst the

public (Brooklyn Levine & Land, 2016). Studies have been trying to find a way to prove its

effectiveness for those dealing with trauma or disabilities, but it has proven to be difficult. Many

studies are case studies that depend on the participants to provide information to how they feel

after the therapy, this causes a whole within the research. There are inklings of the use of therapy

even within our daily lives. Recently it has been shown that dance can help reduce stress and

anxiety, but also ”develop new neural connections in the regions of the brain controlling

executive functioning, long-term memory and spatial recognition” ( Lauffenburger). What is

lacking is the research showing this change in the neural makeup of the brain post treatment. If

this was able to occur a guide for medical professionals could be composed for medical use. The

final step would be to create a culture where the public embraces dance not only as a sport, or

hobby, but also as a method of treating patients.

The mention of therapy often causes an individual to think of laying on a couch, talking

about all the things he or she feels. This traditional idea of therapy has proven useful in many

different areas. It may not always be enough. In the article “​Her Body Speaks: The Experience of

Dance Therapy forWomen Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse​” Judith Mills poses the idea that

when dealing with trauma to ones body, therapy of the mind may not be sufficient. She explains

that “The truth about our childhood is stored up in our body, and although we can repress it, we

can never alter it. Our intellect can be deceived, our feelings manipulated, our perceptions
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confused, andour body tricked with medication. But someday the body will present its bill”

(Mills & Daniluk, 2002, p.316).Mills conducts interviews of 5 different women who were

victims of child abuse. Often when interviews are used in scientific studies they can create bias

in the answers. This particular study had a dependent observer who was trained in qualitative

research to make sure the participants were not being led in any way. The study concluded that

dance therapy helps these women collectively in six different ways; sense of spontaneity,

permission to play, struggle, freedom, intimate connection, and bodily reconnection. One

participant said that the dance therapy helped her “reclaim her right to be in charge of her body

and her experience.” Another noted that the “freedom not to talk” was the most significant part

of her dance therapy, she was tired of trying to express the way she felt, having a way to

communicate differently allowed her to express emotions she had not been able to previously

(Mills & Daniluk, 2002, p.82). I have seen the importance of science and medicine in treating

disease, but also in prevention. Dance therapy is not about replacing these tried and true

methods, but to be an additional tool to improve the methods. The focus changes to caring for the

entirety of each individual. This study provides important information on how to treat physical

traumas, more research could be done to understand the effects dance therapy could have on

people dealing with ageing, eating disorders, loss of limbs, etc.

Dance therapy is getting some interest within the medical community. ​Dancing with

Parkensons​ is a program that was developed to help those diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

This therapy does not heal participants from the disease, but has shown that it “can facilitate a

positive change in perspective and attitude toward a PD diagnosis, thereby increasing feelings of

self-efficacy and improving self-management of the disease” (Bognar et al., 2017). Using dance
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as a strategy to address the physical and psychosocial effects of Parkinson's disease is still a new

concept. There hasn’t been much research, or time spent on understanding all the effects it could

have. In a medical journal titled ​Disability and Rehabilitation ​there is a study focused on the

change seen in PD patients once dance has been introduced. Although this study ​More than just

dancing: experiences of people with Parkinson’s disease in a therapeutic dance program​ only

evaluated 10 participants, the change in the quality of life for these participants is enough to

cause wonder if dance therapy could become more popular in the coming years. This study is a

stepping stone to understand how the importance of dance therapy combined with other

treatments can treat a whole person.

A main public health concern in the United States is cardiovascular health. In Volume 2

of ​Health Affairs​ ​George A. Mensah​ and ​David W. Brown​ reported that cardiovascular disease

“accounted for 34.4 percent of the 2.4 million deaths in 2003 and remain a major cause of health

disparities and rising health care costs” (Mensah & Brown, 2007). With the growing baby

boomer population it can be assumed these numbers will only increase. Dance therapy may be

another method that can be used to not only help decrease blood pressure in the older generation

but give them a change to create new relationships with people in their same demographic. A

small study was done in 2016 evaluating the effectiveness of dance therapy in decreasing high

blood pressure in 67 women. The results were that dance therapy not only ​improved blood

pressure it also showed improvement in sleep and quality of life in middle aged women. The

studies on dance therapy are small, however are creating an interest in funding larger-scale

research ​(María Serrano-Guzmán et al., 2016).

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Now that we have a more clear understanding of how dance therapy can be used across

the board, is it a missing link in improving quality of life? Quality of life usually peaks around

the age of 65. Factors such as depression, finances, trusting relationships, and limiting disease

play a big part in the quality of life (Netuveli, 2006). Dance therapy won’t help people with their

finances but it can help to create trusting relationships, as well as help with limiting diseases.

There is evidence it can help people suffering from Parkinson's disease, as well as heart disease.

It can help strengthen relationships and create a pathway to happiness after experiencing trauma.

Dance therapy has proven effective when used with other treatment plans to increase quality of

life in individuals as well as improve the outcomes of already implemented treatment plans.
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References

Bognar, S., Anne Marie DeFaria, O’Dwyer, C., Pankiw, E., Jennifer Simic Bogler, Teixeira, S.,

… Evans, C. (2017). More than just dancing: experiences of people with Parkinson’s

disease in a therapeutic dance program. ​Disability and Rehabilitation,​ ​39,​ 1073–1078.

https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2016.1175037

Brooklyn Levine, & Land, H. M. (2016). A meta-synthesis of qualitative findings about

Dance/Movement therapy for individuals with trauma. ​Qualitative Health Research,​ ​26,​

330–344. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732315589920

Lauffenburger, S. K. (2020). ‘Something More’: The Unique Features of Dance Movement

Therapy/Psychotherapy. ​American Journal of Dance Therapy​, ​42​(1), 16–32.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10465-020-09321-y

María Serrano-Guzmán, Valenza-Peña, C. M., Serrano-Guzmán, C., Encarnación

Aguilar-Ferrándiz, Valenza-Demet, G., & Villaverde-Gutiérrez, C. (2016). Effects of a

dance therapy programme on quality of life, sleep and blood pressure in middle-aged

women: A randomised controlled trial. ​Medicina Clínica (English Edition)​, ​147​,

334–339. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medcle.2016.11.016

Mensah, G. A., & Brown, D. W. (2007). An Overview Of Cardiovascular Disease Burden In The

United States. ​Health Affairs​, ​26​(1), 38–48. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.26.1.38

Mills, L. J., & Daniluk, J. C. (2002). Her body speaks: The experience of dance therapy for

women survivors of child sexual abuse. ​Journal of Counseling & Development,​ ​80,​

77–85. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2002.tb00169.x
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Netuveli, G. (2006). Quality of life at older ages: evidence from the English longitudinal study of

aging (wave 1). ​Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health,​ ​60(​ 4), 357–363.

https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.2005.040071

Ross, J. (2008). ​Dance, human rights, and social justice : dignity in motion​ (pp. 270–284; N. M.

Jackson & T. S. Phim, Eds.). Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press.