Social Media and Dance Movement Therapy in the Latinx Community

Author

Ambrie SwardFollow

Date of Award

Fall 9-15-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MCM - MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Department

Expressive Therapies

Advisor

Meg H. Chang, EdD, BC-DMT

Abstract

This capstone thesis is a literature review that combines scholarly articles, personal experiences, and social media content to explore, support, and define dance movement therapy (DMT) and Latinx identity. Social media posts from YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, and Zoom are analyzed to heal and evoke social change. The social media posts analyzed are from celebrities such as America Ferrera, Becky G, Heidi Rojas, and Selena Gomez. Additionally, personal artistic responses are included.Throughout this capstone thesis, there is discussion about dance movement therapy, social media, Latinx community and cultural identity. Themes include a lack of belonging, advocacy for mental health, support for Latinx communities, social media, gender roles, racial harm, and alternative healing practices. There needs to be more research on interventions that meet the needs of Black Ingenious People of Color (BIPOC) communities, social media, and DMT. This capstone thesis is intended to bring awareness to the disparities of the BIPOC communities to expand on education and advocacy. For example, I do this by analyzing how people use social media platforms to discuss topics on marginalization.The conclusion is social media positively impacts mental health within Latinx communities through a variety of interventions.

Creative Commons License

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

Recommended Citation

Sward, Ambrie, "Social Media and Dance Movement Therapy in the Latinx Community" (2023). Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses. 761.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_theses/761