Impact of Dance and Dance Movement Therapy Interventions for Student Mental Health

Author

Karen YatskoFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-22-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MA - Master of Arts

Department

Expressive Therapies

Advisor

Sarah Hamil, Ph.D., LCSW, RPT-S, ATR-BC

Abstract

This literature review collects advantages and disadvantages of dance and dance movement therapy interventions for school-aged children. As interest in mental health availability grows, the lack of time and resources for the services already in place requires creative solutions. Connections are made between the two modalities via the history of healing practices, Laban Movement Analysis, and mirroring. Data collected via fMRI scans, salivary samples, and selfreports from small samples sizes are present in some combinations or solo. The author concludes that a combination of the therapy provided by DMT and the physicality and creativity of dance interventions would potentially fill the mental health gap in schools.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Yatsko, Karen, "Impact of Dance and Dance Movement Therapy Interventions for Student Mental Health" (2021). Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses. 472.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_theses/472