Date of Award
Fall 9-15-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Major
Expressive Therapies
First Advisor
Jason D. Butler, PhD, RDT/BCT
Abstract
Chinese diaspora adults navigate a psychological transition in mental health understanding, based on acculturation level; some are more somatically focused in their understanding, while others adopt Western mental health frameworks. While self-compassion can be a helpful transdiagnostic tool, Chinese diasporas still face barriers to current selfcompassion interventions such as the remaining stigma of "losing face" with their family and community, language barriers to emotional expression, and a cultural emphasis on self-criticism as a tool for moral improvement. Self-compassion cultivation is grounded in mindfulness, common humanity, and self-kindness, which collectively stimulate the soothing-affiliative affect regulation system. This review identifies Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) as a culturally congruent modality that fosters self-compassion through nonverbal, embodied ways. The literature suggests that DMT cultivates mindfulness by fostering explicit and implicit body awareness through oscillating attention between interoceptive and exteroceptive sensations while moving. DMT also strengthens common humanity through rhythmic synchrony, syncopation, and mirroring of movement stories. Finally, DMT builds self-kindness through nonjudgmental witnessing, sensory-based soothing, and the "body as home" metaphor. These mechanisms provide a culturally congruent alternative to verbal self-compassion cultivation, aligning with Chinese diaspora values and practices in which nurturance and parental love are traditionally conveyed through actions. DMT also matches the population's preference for mutual, physical activities, and the philosophy of the mind-body connection, such as Tai Chi. Finally, this review highlights the need for qualitative research into the lived experience of self-compassion among Chinese diaspora adults, followed by mixed-methods studies comparing DMT and Tai Chi to identify the mechanisms of change and determine more culturally sensitive ways.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Liu, Heng Hsiu, "How Dance/Movement Therapy Can Cultivate Self-Compassion in Chinese Diaspora Adults: A Literature Review" (2026). Expressive Therapies Theses. 137.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_therapies_theses/137
