Background: Dance therapy is thought to improve mental and physical health by activating psychological and physiological processes such as motor coordination, and expression of emotions. Some currently used mind–body interventions for posttraumatic symptoms address both mental and physical health. Although some studies have evaluated the efficacy of dance therapy for posttraumatic symptoms, a systematic review of extant research has not been conducted. Objectives: To identify the effects of dance therapy in adults with psychological trauma as well as the barriers and facilitators associated with its therapeutic use. Method: Articles published between 2000 and March 2023 have been selected with the help of six relevant keyword combinations applied on seven databases. Two reviewers independently screened 119 titles and abstracts against inclusion and exclusion criteria. Bias evaluation has been conducted with the help of the NIH study quality assessment tools and JBI’s critical appraisal tools. A report of the results has been organized with the help of a thematic analysis. Results: Of the 15 articles included, only one case study directly reports a diminution of pathognomonic symptoms of trauma. Other studies present improvements in the key aspects of trauma therapy: bodily sensations and perceptions, psychological processes, and interpersonal skills. These improvements depend on the stability of the intervention, the applied method (dance as therapy or dance/movement therapy), and likely, the skill set of the therapists. However, the reviewed studies lacked uniformity in assessments of adherence and its effect on therapeutic outcomes. Conclusion: Dance therapy may be a useful technique for improving both psychological and physiological symptoms associated with trauma exposure, such as avoidance and dissociative phenomena. To complement the results of this qualitative systematic review, further quantitative and qualitative research on the impact of dance therapy interventions as a trauma treatment should be conducted.
Context: Dance therapy is well suited to clinical settings in which people have difficulty with classical language-based therapeutic devices. Psychological trauma has significant mental, physiological, and somatic consequences, and dance therapy incorporates the adjusted components for its management. Objectives: To identify (i) the potential therapeutic effects of dance therapy in adults with psychological trauma, and (ii) the barriers and facilitators associated with the impact of dance therapy in adults suffering from psychological trauma. Method: Five relevant keyword combinations were used on seven databases. The inclusion criteria are: adults with psychological trauma, dance therapy, and articles published between 2000 and 2022. The exclusion criteria are: children, adolescents, and publications that are not scientific articles. A bias analysis has been conducted on 20 articles using the tools of the NIH and JBI. Results: Thirteen articles have been included, and a thematic analysis has been conducted on the extracted data. The results indicates that dance therapy helps people suffering from psychological traumas to reconnect with their body, express their emotions, improve the management of the psychopathological symptoms, and sometimes even reducing them. The dance group encourages self-expression and establishment of new relationship with others. The feeling of security and the flow state of participants facilitate the emergence of these beneficial effects. These depend on the skill sets of the therapists and the regularity, constancy, and stability of the sessions. Conclusion: Dance therapy is effective in the treatment of psychological trauma, especially for women and people facing migration.
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