Dance/Movement Therapy as a Reintegration Tool within Dissociative Identity Disorder Diagnosis

Author

Laura GoffFollow

Date of Award

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

Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a widely misunderstood and underrepresented diagnosis. DID is most commonly thought to be a trauma response, but lacks thorough research regarding the best means of treatment. This paper seeks to explore the literature in order to identify the possible benefits of using dance/movement therapy (DMT) as a primary form of treatment for those with DID. Because of the limited number of available resources on the topic, this thesis’s primary source of information is literature surrounding the topic of trauma, trauma responses, and the use of DMT in the treatment of trauma. The reviewed literature outlines the significant impact trauma can have within the body. This presence within the body is true of all forms of trauma, but increasingly so for those experiencing severe, complex, or persistent, traumatic events. The literature also clearly documents the root cause of DID being severe trauma. DMT has had an ever-increasing presence in published literature, and many studies have shown that DMT benefits those who have suffered from trauma. At the completion of this literature review, it was clear that future quantitative and qualitative studies should be done to thoroughly explore and document the benefits of DMT for those with DID.

Creative Commons License

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

Recommended Citation

Goff, Laura, "Dance/Movement Therapy as a Reintegration Tool within Dissociative Identity Disorder Diagnosis" (2021). Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses. 495.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_theses/495