Dance Therapy Research Paper

I walk into this medical room filled with people who can’t do the things you do during your daily routine: walking, recalling memories, or carrying on a normal conversation because of situations, all due to something they have experienced, makes me really nervous about what might happen in my life. I used to be able to go where I wanted to go, do what I wanted to do and, aside from small aches and pains, live a relatively “normal” life. However, the demon known as old age slowly crept into my life and took from me many of the abilities that I used to take for granted. After losing my husband to a sudden heart attack and I, myself, suffering a debilitating stroke, my children and I decided that moving into an assisted living facility would …show more content…
This movement grew from the idea that dance could go beyond simple entertainment: it could be used and be sued by people as a form of communication and expression of personal feelings. By the middle of the 20th century, the modern dance movement had paved the way for dance pioneers to develop the concept of dance therapy. Marian Chace, Mary Whitehouse, and Trudy Schoop were just a few pioneers of this emerging concept. By the 1940s, dance therapy was influenced by the psychodynamic theory, or the motivational forces that determine human behavior and attitude (“Dictionary”). Research began in the 1960s when these pioneers first started learning about nonverbal behavior and the role the body plays during mental health issues influenced by dance therapy practices. By 1966, ADTA the American Dance Therapy Association, was established and started helping train people interested in the field of teaching dance therapy (“Dance/Movement”). To start working in this field of dance/movement therapy, these workers need to have at least a Masters degree in some area of therapy (“What Is”). After learning how to properly teach dance/movement therapy, workers spread world wide to assist people. Therapist trained in the area of dance/movement therapy can be found in nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, medical and psychiatric facilities and schools working with those in need of their special type …show more content…
However, it can be used in various other situations where it is deemed appropriate. For one particular lady, dance therapy changed her life for the best. Casey suffered from an eating disorder and was constantly worried about her appearance. She tells us, “ The eating disorder assumes a powerful role for someone by providing them with an illusion of control. Growing up as a dancer, movement had always been a truly vital form of expression for me. With the presence of my eating disorder for so many years, movement eventually became less about expression and more about battling with myself in the mirror, disconnecting my mind, soul, and body, and avoiding my emotional pain. My “dance” became stuffed by my desire for perfection. It seemed like perfection could never be reached and I believed I was never good enough. All of that supported a negative self image, affected my self esteem, and fed by my eating disorder” (“What Is”). But because of dance therapy, Casey started slowly overcoming her eating disorder and stopped worrying about how she looked because she knew she was beautiful (“What Is”). Dance therapy can help those such as Casey to deal with their issues, to live well, search for a meaning or motility, or the ability to feel love for one’s life. Dance therapists pull resources from that place within where body and mind become