Neuroception and Attunement in Dance/Movement Therapy with Autism

Devereaux, Christina

doi:10.1007/s10465-017-9249-1

Cited by 10 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Adaptability is another technique employed in common by CA therapists, with methods, techniques, choices of medium and intervention styles adapted by therapists to best support the needs of each client or group, demonstrating responsivity to context and “attunement” (Kossak, 2009, 2015; Vermes, 2011; Holck and Geretsegger, 2016; Devereaux, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creative Arts Interventions to Address Depression in Older Adults: A Systematic Review of Outcomes, Processes, and Mechanisms

et al. 2019

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Depression experienced by older adults is proving an increasing global health burden, with rates generally 7% and as high as 27% in the USA. This is likely to significantly increase in coming years as the number and proportion of older adults in the population rises all around the world. Therefore, it is imperative that the effectiveness of approaches to the prevention and treatment of depression are understood. Creative arts interventions, including art, dance movement, drama, and music modalities, are utilized internationally to target depression and depressive symptoms in older adults. This includes interventions led by trained arts therapists as well as other health and arts professionals. However, to date there has not been a systematic review that reports effects and examines the processes (why) and mechanisms (how) of creative arts interventions are used to address depression in this older age group. This systematic review of studies on creative arts interventions for older adults experiencing depression examined: outcomes of four creative arts modalities (art, dance movement, drama, and music); with particular attention paid to processes documented as contributing to change in each modality; and mechanisms considered to result from these processes. Our analysis of 75 articles (17 art, 13 dance, 4 drama, and 41 music) indicates mostly significant quantitative or positive qualitative findings, particularly for interventions led by creative arts therapists. Mechanisms of change gleaned from the studies that were common across modalities include physical (e.g., increased muscle strength; neurochemical effects, such as endorphin release), intra-personal (e.g., enhanced self-concept, strengthened agency and mastery; processing and communication of emotions), cultural (e.g., creative expression, aesthetic pleasure), cognitive (e.g., stimulation of memory), and social (e.g., increased social skills and connection), that were all considered to contribute to reduced depression and symptoms. Recommendations for future research includes stronger focus on testing of processes and mechanisms.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creative Arts Interventions to Address Depression in Older Adults: A Systematic Review of Outcomes, Processes, and Mechanisms

et al. 2019

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“…Dance movement therapists (DMTs) have also been working with clients diagnosed with ASD since the 1960s. This approach relates to the body and its movement both diagnostically and therapeutically ( Adler, 1968 ; Kalish, 1968 ; Siegel, 1973 , 1984 ; Payne, 1992 ; Erfer, 1995 ; Loman, 1995 ; Parteli, 1995 ; Torrance, 2003 ; Tortora, 2006 ; Wengrower, 2010 ; Devereaux, 2012 , 2017 ; Samaritter and Payne, 2013 , 2017 ; Martin, 2014 ; Scharoun et al, 2014 ; Edwards, 2015 ; Hildebrandt et al, 2016 ; Athanasiadou and Karkou, 2017 ; Aithal et al, 2019 ; Takahashi et al, 2019 ). DMT, like other embodied approaches, focuses on “deficits and resources in body movement of individuals with autism spectrum disorder directly as a therapeutic starting point” ( Koch et al, 2015 , p. 2).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The “Muscles of the Psyche”: From Body Literacy to Emotional Literacy

Vulcan

2021

Front. Psychol.

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neuro-developmental condition, which requires a multi-disciplinary matrix of treatments, including functional, educational, and emotional interventions. The latter mode of treatment entails particular difficulties, inasmuch as the core deficits of this condition seem to challenge the very premises of traditional psychotherapy. Reciprocity, verbal, and symbolic expression and inter-subjective dynamics are often difficult to attain with clients diagnosed with ASD, and emotional treatment thus often turns out to be a frustrating process, which may well elicit questions as to the efficacy of psychotherapeutic emotional interventions. These core challenges, described in the literature, become particularly acute in view of the increasing number of clients diagnosed on the autistic spectrum in recent years, and the growing need for qualified therapists who have trained for working specifically with this condition. It seems, therefore, that it is high time for systematic research into the lived experience of therapists working with these clients in order to attain a better clinical and theoretical understanding of the condition itself and broaden the range of effective interventions. This study, informed by a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach which guided both the collection of data and its subsequent analysis, aims to address these issues by exploring the particular challenges faced by therapists in this field, the questions that come up in the process, modes of personal and professional coping, and the insights elicited by the therapeutic encounter. The research consisted of in-depth interviews with 28 practicing therapists from a broad range of clinical orientations, including dance/movement, arts, music, and drama therapists, clinical psychologists, and clinical social workers. The essential themes that emerged from the participants’ responses and the analysis of the findings lend support to theoretical and developmental approaches, which focus on the primacy and the foundational role of the concrete body in inter-subjective relationships and in the therapeutic process, and indicate the potential efficacy of somatic and kinetic interventions. The clinical implications of this study are thus highly relevant to the training and support of therapists working with ASD, who should be encouraged to develop greater receptivity to non-verbal modes of interaction in the therapeutic process.

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“…Attunement in this way goes beyond empathyit provides a reciprocal affect and/or resonating response. As Deveraux (2017) puts it, successful attunement leads us to feel understood and safe and thus ready to connect with each other. It is a complex social phenomenon and "it is the situatedness within the interaction that determines whether an action is attuned to another person or not."…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The experience of attunement and misattunement in dance movement therapy workshops

Jerak

Vidrih

Žvelc

2018

The Arts in Psychotherapy

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Moments of attunement and misattunement were explored in a dance movement therapy workshops. The guiding question was; "how do participants experience moments of attunement and misattunement in dance movement therapy workshops?" The study employed a quasi-experimental design, with phenomenological inquiry, including a two part analysis: Laban Movement Analysis and descriptive grounded theory using coding. Four students of expressive arts therapies attended four experimental dance movement therapy workshops, emphasising the process of mutual attunement. All workshops were video recorded. Based on video movement analysis, key moments of nonverbal attunement and misattunement were selected, and then analyzed within group interviews with participants. The results of the study show that successful attunement in dance movement therapy draws the client's attention to the present moment; it encourages individual spontaneity, playfulness, and creativity; promotes embodiment, and thus the integration of mind and body. Successful attunement to the other leads to an intersubjective interchange, where two people co-create an intersubjective experience. Successful attunement to the group leads to the experience of oneness with the group. Moments of misattunement trigger unpleasant feelings, and result in a lack of spontaneity, feelings of exclusion, and hinder contact. The limitations of the results should be considered, as the study was done on a small number of participants and in nonclinical experimental setting. Researchers propose a larger study with clinical populations to further investigate the phenomenon of attunement and misattunement in dance movement therapy.

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Neuroception and Attunement in Dance/Movement Therapy with Autism

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Creative Arts Interventions to Address Depression in Older Adults: A Systematic Review of Outcomes, Processes, and Mechanisms

Creative Arts Interventions to Address Depression in Older Adults: A Systematic Review of Outcomes, Processes, and Mechanisms

The “Muscles of the Psyche”: From Body Literacy to Emotional Literacy

The experience of attunement and misattunement in dance movement therapy workshops

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