Date of Award

Spring 5-2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MA - Master of Arts

Department

Expressive Therapies

Advisor

Krystal Demaine, PhD, REAT, MT-BC

Abstract

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative condition, which affects the lives of 1% of all older adults in the Americas, Europe and Australia and .6% of older adults in Asian countries such as Japan, China, and India (Bega and Zadikoff, 2014). This condition largely impacts both physical and psychological wellbeing, often times also impacting self-perception. The connection between the physical and psychological, or mind-body connection, within individual with PD should be continually enriched and explored in order to maintain both motor and non-motor symptoms related to this progressive condition. The current body of research related to the treatment of PD is limited in the area of developing and implementing mind-body movement-based interventions. Further research using movement-based methods, such as adapted Dance/Movement Therapy (D/MT) practices, is needed to prove that these approaches are appropriate and beneficial interventions for cultivating the mind-body connection and improving symptom management for this population. This thesis outlines a mind-body movement-based intervention using adapted and modified D/MT approaches for individuals with Parkinson’s Disease. This method uses ‘facilitated mirroring’, a refined adaption of the D/MT methods of attunement and mirroring, within the movement and verbal dialogue of a collaborative individual therapeutic relationship with two female individuals diagnosed with PD over the course of six months. The results of the methods as facilitated with two individuals from the Parkinson’s population are discussed.

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