Date of Award

Spring 5-21-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MA - Master of Arts

Department

Expressive Therapies

Advisor

E.Kellogg

Abstract

The purpose of this literature review is to discuss data on the prevalence of chronic pain, current treatment options, and the effectiveness of dance/movement therapy (D/MT) as a successful treatment approach. This literature review discusses the etiology of chronic pain, numerous treatment paradigms, an alternative model of care based on D/MT principles, and new considerations for facilitating D/MT groups. According to the literature, clients who participated in D/MT groups for chronic pain experienced an expansion of their movement vocabulary, a decrease in their movement-based fear response, a feeling of being seen, heard, and validated, a sense of control over their bodies, and an increase in identifying sensations in the body. This was achieved using a D/MT group structure including an opening, warm-up, theme development, discussion, and closing. Additionally, this review of the literature analyzes the consequences of facilitating virtual D/MT groups as well as addition considerations when approaching this population, such as practicing self-compassion, assigning homework, offering opportunities for shared leadership and seeking permission. Future study is needed to identify the effects of D/MT on chronic pain populations, particularly how to achieve long-term change and favorable outcomes after the group has ended.

Creative Commons License

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

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