In an age where technology guides our lives, and with our increased ability to identify specific cognitive and behavioural processes in mental disorders, research-based therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) have seized an important position in the field of psychotherapy. Nevertheless, Dance Movement Therapy can still offer an important contribution to this field. Dance Movement Therapy was founded in the early 20th century as a profession based on the concept that body and mind are one inseparable system. Dance Movement Therapy conceives the body and its movement as a primary and vital component of human life. This unique attitude value is founded on the theory that the body is a means of communication and connection for a person with himself and with the environment. In this article, I describe the development of Dance Movement Therapy, indicating its importance in the field of therapy in general and with children in particular. This review will not explore CBT, but will refer to contribution in the guidance of workshops that study Dance Movement Therapy combined with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). This article will show that Dance Movement Therapy can be used as treatment especially in the case of children with emotional disturbances.
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Anxiety disorders (ADs) are among the most common psychiatric disorders and they may appear as early on as in childhood. The current study addressed the combination of two treatments approaches for ADs: Dance/movement therapy (DMT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), focusing on factors that explain the therapists' attitudes towards actually combining the two therapies. The study utilized a quantitative design, with a perceptions survey administered via an online questionnaire. Ninety-nine therapists participated in the study (DMT-only
n
= 35, CBT-only
n
= 42, and DMT + CBT,
n
= 22). Following preliminary analysis (comparison between the groups, correlations and factor analysis), the structural equation model (SEM, confirmatory factor analysis) revealed a good fit between the theoretical model and the empirical data. First, it was found that the reported actual use of the combined approaches (DMT + CBT) in treatment of children with ADs, was significantly explained by therapists who had experience practicing DMT but not CBT perceiving this combination as efficient. Second, the therapists' use of the combined therapy (DMT + CBT) approaches was not related to their sense of efficacy as therapists of children with ADs. The model represents concordance between the components of the therapists' attitudes: Affective—belief that it is efficient, cognitive—perception of it as effective, and behavioral—their actual use.
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