Cognitive Disorders: Dance Movement Therapy

Individuals with Schizophrenia typically use medications to treat his or her symptoms. This paper will examine one newspaper article about research conducted by scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health and three peer-reviewed journal articles. This will be done in order to investigate if Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) aids in minimizing symptoms of Schizophrenia more effectively with medication, without medication, and in combination with other therapy styles. These articles propose that CBT should be examined with caution in order to comprehend how it impacts Schizophrenic symptoms. The effectiveness of CBT and reduction of Schizophrenic symptoms could differ in each individual. This is due to numerous factors such as, socioeconomic status, gender, race, environment, family history, and exposure to drugs. It is important to be aware that with every scientific study that is conducted, there may be errors within the study. This may be due to how the data was collected.

As I have participated in dance class, I have been able to express my feelings. Additionally, after dance class I find that I am able to see the bright side of situations. With these great benefits of dance, I was not surprised to find that there is an occupation known as a Dance Therapist or Dance/ Movement Therapist (DMT) that helps people improve their overall well being through Dance/ Movement Therapy. To be more specific, Dance/ Movement Therapy is “an exciting field of health that provides emotional and physical support for clients and individuals,” according to the article “Career Profile Dance Movement Therapist” by About.com Careers. Dance therapists bring therapy and dance together and create a space where people can express themselves.

Despite the advances of antipsychotic medications, schizophrenia is a leading cause of global disability associated with high rates of hospitalizations, depression, and suicide attempts (Statistics Canada, 2015, para. 5). According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (2016), “schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves” (para. 1). Additionally, individuals with schizophrenia may experience varied symptoms including: delusions and hallucinations; movement and thought disorders; flat affect and decreased pleasure; and impaired attention and memory (NIMH, 2016, para. 4, 5, 6). The purpose of this paper is to examine the impacts of nonpharmacological interventions in the population of adults with schizophrenia. Several modalities of nonpharmacological treatments have been examined for efficacy, however our research focuses specifically on the following categories: (a) psychoeducation and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), (b) physical fitness and yoga programs, (c) combined pharmacological and nonpharmacological therapies, (d) case management and community services, and (e) technology and relational agents.

CAMS are divided into five different categories: biological, manipulative-body, mind-body, energy, and alternative medicine. For example, dance therapy would fall under the manipulative-body based interventions, while mind-body interventions encompass alternatives like poetry, art, or music, and yoga would be an example of mind-body interventions and manipulative-body. Participants in music therapy have reported improved quality of life, and yoga therapy has been shown to lead individuals towards motivation to health improvement. As well, dance therapy has been proven to improve body image, coordination, body awareness, depression, anxiety, and stress relief; as well, sexual abuse survivors have used dance therapy to reconnect with their body by coping and processing, as well as give them a sense of freedom from their trauma (Complementary and Integrative, n.d.).

Jimmy LeeTakeuchi, H. G. (2015). Subtyping Schizophrenia by Treatment Response: Antipsychotic Development and the Central Role of Positive Symptoms. Canadian Journal Of Psychiatry, 60(11), 515-522. Kaltsatou, A. A. (2015). Effects of exercise training with traditional dancing on functional capacity and quality of life in patients with schizophrenia: a randomized controlled study. Clinical Rehabilitation, 29(9), 882-891.

Schizophrenia is not unheard of; there have been many groups that raised the awareness for the disease and institutions that set up clinical trials for people with schizophrenia. Many individuals are affected by it, and they had lived a compromised life. This mental disorder continues to make patients suffer, along with their family and friends. Despite the relevance of this mental disorder in our society, many people have little or no knowledge of it or have many misconceptions about the disorder. As such, this disease will be the topic of interest in this paper. This paper will take into light a recent study regarding schizophrenia that had successfully provided hope that this mental disorder will be cured in the future. The

Mental illnesses has been recorded since the beginning of history. Mental illness is a condition that impairs a person’s thoughts, actions, mood and social skills. Daily activity becomes a difficult task to those with a disorder. Every person reacts differently to diagnosed mental conditions. (NAMI, 2015) Mental disorders include a wide range of problems made up of anxiety, mood disorders, depression, schizophrenia, psychotic disorders and etc. The focus of this paper will examine the disorder of schizophrenia; how it became, who is affects and to live with it.

Dance is said to have existed prior to the invention of written languages, and was perhaps an essential aspect of storytelling for the passing of knowledge and information from generation to generation. And it has been, since time immemorial, a part of every culture and religion as a means of self and collective expression.

What is dance? Dance is defined as lively movement using one’s body with or without music. Dancing means to feel someone existence to feel vitality, joy, and most importantly to feel alive. Anyone can define dancing as whatever they would like, but how is dance useful to our lives? Whether you are a ballerina from birth or if you are newly introduced to the art of dance, everyone can dance some way, shape, or form. Dance therapy provides psychological and physical benefits. It helps connect body and mind as one giving support to become rooted and balanced. In order to be centered and grounded while moving your body, a dancer must be in tuned with the center of gravity in relation to the earth. Dance therapy is also a great way for people

Music Therapists (MTs) borrow from a range of non-music based therapy models in their development of Music Therapy-specific treatment models. Many widely used Music Therapy (MT) techniques have their roots in psychological theories and treatment models. Cognitive Behavioural Music Therapy (CBMT) draws on the widely-used and extensively researched psychology approach, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), to address CBT goals through MT interventions. Despite the many parralels between CBT and MT there is limited literature on CBMT; the existing literature indicates that CBMT may be an effective treatment for clients with a variety of needs. Improvisation in CBMT makes up an even smaller portion of the literature, however the theoretical underpinnings of the CBT approach are congruent with the use of music improvisation.

After completing a majority of these activities, it has really shown me how amazing our brains truly are. I really enjoyed the activity, Which Way is the Dancer Dancing?. It showed me that I do use both the left and the right side of my brain. I thought it was really weird how her movement could just switch back and forth. Also, I really enjoyed going through the optical illusions. I find it bizarre how our minds can play tricks on us. I also really liked completing the personality tests. They seemed to be very accurate. I have always been known as an introvert and these tests agreed. I believe that all these games/activities show how our minds function, and in turn they can teach us about our abnormality. Overall, I really enjoyed this assignment.

Dance therapy is a type of psychotherapy that uses movement to further the social, cognitive, emotional, and physical development of the individual. Dance therapists work with people who have many kinds of emotional problems, intellectual deficits, and life-threatening illnesses. They are employed in psychiatric hospitals, day care centers, mental health centers, prisons, special schools, and private practice. They work with people of all ages in both group and individual therapy. Some also engage in research.

That's great that you were able to work with patients that are diagnosed with schizophrenia because you get to understand them better with interacting with them. With music therapy, it is definitely a positive and relaxing therapeutic ways to help patients to calm themselves, especially during a psychotic episode. There was a research studied conducted regarding schizophrenia patients receiving music therapy to express themselves, and it shows great signs of improvement among those receiving music therapy than those with standard care alone. Using music therapy helps reduce general symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, and emotional withdrawal. Using music is also a good ways of distraction when you are about to have hallucination

Dance has been a natural movement form since the beginning of time. The origin of dance is unknown, just as the knowledge of the benefits of dance are unknown to many in our society. Many people do not enjoy dancing and also do not fully understand the positive benefits that come from dancing. Researchers such as Edwards, Duberg, and many more have found countless mental and emotional benefits of dance that originate from movement patterns, brain connections, and even expressions of emotion. Many are aware of the physical benefits of dance, but beyond the physical benefits of dance, there are also emotional and mental benefits that come from dance as well.

This research is proposed to better understand the impact of music therapy on cognition in children with Retts Syndrome. The knowledge presented is based on my own findings from a review of the empirical and theoretical literature relevant to this topic. It is important to study the effect music therapy has on Retts Syndrome candidates in order to better teach necessary knowledge needed in life.