What Are the Benefits of Dance Therapy for Women?
Dance therapy, sometimes called movement therapy, is a highly respected form of complementary treatment with a long history. The benefits for women -- and often men as well -- include physical, mental and emotional components. As the American Cancer Association notes, "Dance has been an important part of self-expression, ceremonial and religious events, and health in most cultures throughout history." It has been a major element of Native American healing rituals for generations. Dance therapy entered the mainstream of Western medicine in 1942 when Marian Chace began teaching dance classes in a Washington D.C. hospital after successfully working with a number of traumatized World War I veterans. There are currently more than 1,200 certified dance therapists in the U.S.-
Definition
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The American Dance Therapy Association, founded in 1956, defines dance therapy as "the psychotherapeutic use of movement in a process that furthers the emotional, cognitive, and physical integration of the individual." As a mind-body therapy that promotes health and healing, it is used to bolster the health of healthy individual and as a method of relieving stress for people with chronic illnesses.
Physical Benefits
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As The New Social Worker Online website explains, "Dance/movement therapy also provides the health benefits all exercise does." Women who participate in dance therapy can expect to strengthen their heart, improve circulation, build muscles and better control weight. Women can expect to improve mobility and reduce muscle tension as well. In theory, dance therapy can strengthen the immune system and prevent disease, although further scientific research is needed to substantiate such claims.
Psychological and Emotional Benefits
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There is some clinical evidence to support claims of important emotional and psychological benefits that women derive from dance therapy. The New Social Worker reports that these benefits include enhanced self-esteem; reduced stress, anxiety and depression; and decreases in chronic pain and feelings of isolation. Dance therapy give teachers a way to "read" patients through their movements. In mentally ill patients with a limited ability to verbalize, dance therapy offers a pathway for increasing communications between patients, therapists and the outside world.
Medical Benefits
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Some research supports the use of dance therapy for specific medical conditions. A study published 2005 in the journal "Cancer Nursing," found that dance and movement therapy significantly improved the quality of life for breast cancer survivors. The female research subjects also reported enhanced body images and improved shoulder function. A 2012 study, published in the "European Journal of Cancer Care," compared yoga and dance therapy as complementary treatments for a group of people, predominantly women, who had been diagnosed with cancer. Both yoga and dance therapy produced psychological, spiritual, physical and social benefits for the patients.
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