The Use of Dance/Movement Therapy to Improve Stabilization of Trauma Responses in Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: A Literature Review

Author

Genevieve Fuller, Lesley UniversityFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-18-2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MA - Master of Arts

Department

Expressive Therapies

Advisor

Michelle Napoli

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a traumatic experience that requires trauma informed care. Because trauma effects the body and often places a survivor in a state of flight, fight or freeze, it is important that the body be involved in recovery from IPV. This includes stabilization of the body’s physical responses to trauma, which is part of the first phase of trauma recovery—safety. Through a review of the literature on trauma treatment, IPV programs, and body-based therapies such as dance/movement therapy (D/MT) and somatic psychotherapy (SP), stabilization that addresses the body is found to be an important part of trauma recovery. However, little research has been done on body-based stabilization in recovery for survivors of IPV. Pulling from the literature, this paper addresses the gaps and advocates for the use of D/MT as a treatment intervention to improve stabilization with survivors of IPV.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Fuller, Genevieve, "The Use of Dance/Movement Therapy to Improve Stabilization of Trauma Responses in Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: A Literature Review" (2019). Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses. 206.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_theses/206