Modern Dance Therapy is a branch of art therapy that originated in the United States. It is also known as Dance / Movement Therapy (DMT), or simply "dance therapy". The American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) defines it as "a type of psychotherapy that utilizes dance or movement processes to promote emotional, physical, cognitive, and social integration of the individual". Dance therapy really began to help people grow psychologically after World War II, when many U.S. soldiers and officers experienced adjustment problems when they returned to their daily lives after the war. The aftereffects of the excitement of life and death in the war continued to plague them even after they left military life, seriously affecting their daily lives. For this group of veterans, the United States has tried various methods to help them re-establish a new life, including psychoanalysis and counseling, but the effect is not good; therefore, some clinical psychologists have begun to try new medical methods, the focus of medical attention to social care and interpersonal relationships, including dance therapy and other interventions, in the rehabilitation of war trauma psychology plays an important role.
Dance psychotherapy uses the human body's expressive movements to help individuals establish a holistic consciousness and normal behavioral functioning. As a product of the intersection of medicine, psychology, art and other disciplines, dance therapy makes up for the shortcomings of traditional talk psychotherapy.
There are two main orientations in the broad field of dance therapy:
One orientation tends to be artistic essentialism, which believes that the dance art activity itself has a therapeutic function. Through the process of artistic creation, emotional conflicts can be eased, the person's insight into things can be improved, self-knowledge and self-growth can be facilitated, or the effect of emotional purification can be achieved. Specifically in dance, the various movements accompanied by the rhythm of the music, such as lifting the hands, feet, jumping, rotating, etc., stimulate the kinesthetic, balance, auditory and other human receptors, and the resulting nerve impulses are reflected to the brain, resulting in the perception of the corresponding movements. Especially when the human body rhythm and music, action form really match, not only give people a spiritual sense of beauty, but also accompanied by physiological pleasure, which is the combination of spirit and flesh. When the two are fused together, the human mental activity focuses on feeling this emotion, imagination unfolds; the harmony of music and rhythm can make people's emotions fully cathartic, so that people's spirit to obtain great satisfaction, immersed in the enjoyment of beauty.
Researchers believe that the physiological basis of this state is that, because of the emotional activity related to endocrine activity, when the organism in emotional excitement or for muscle movement, can reflexively cause the secretion of the adrenal medulla, so that the whole organism to increase the ability of activity; on the other hand, when the organism is subjected to positive stimuli continue to play a role in the corresponding nerve centers will be formed in the dominant center of excitation, so that the positive energy of emotional activity is constantly enhanced in accumulation, thus regulating the body and mind into a good emotional state.
It has been reported that after the Wenchuan earthquake, there have been people from the performing arts, including dancers, who have gone to the disaster area to enrich the cultural life of the victims, which has had a certain positive effect on the appeasement of the post-earthquake psychological aftershocks, that is, it is to play a role in the comforting effect of the arts itself on the spirit of the people.
Another orientation for the field of psychology, with the psychoanalytic concept of dance therapy mode. This model of dance psychotherapy has two basic concepts: first, the body and the mind have an interactive effect, the body movement can reflect the personality characteristics. The second is that body movements are used as a "medium" for communication and change, and that improvisational and creative dances project different psychological states and have psychoanalytic and therapeutic value. It is characterized by the fact that dance is not an end in itself, nor is it for artistic performance and communication, but only improvisational dance as a non-verbal communication medium, aiming to use it as an entry point to express the emotions related to the crisis and unravel the knots in the heart with the person's associations and interpretations of his creations, which is of great help to the individual to maintain a balanced and coherent relationship between his inner world and the outer world.
The post-disaster crisis dance therapy intervention that this paper will explore is based on the second orientation of dance therapy. Specifically, this orientation of dance therapy, in which dancing is no longer performed for the purpose of performance, but for the purpose of using authentic body movements to express the self and to open channels of communication and sharing with each other. Dancing is therapeutic because all life functions have movement, including the mind, and people stop moving only when they die. The body remembers all kinds of life experiences, one's mental activities can trigger memories through movement, and one's emotional state can be conveyed through expressions. For example, when you are happy, hands dance, movement is generally open; sadness, cover your face and bend your body, movement is contracted; emotional excitement, always want to fly, jump; emotional frustration, generally stagnant, sinking. As the saying goes, "The emotion is in the center and the shape is in the outside", and "to see in the shape, to know in the emotion".
In dance psychotherapy, the deepest anxiety, grief, anger and other emotions can be safely released through the expression of body movements. It also analyzes the rhythmic image of the person's movements, and communicates with each other in the way of "movement*** love", so that the person feels that some of the unspeakable emotions implicit in the movements are understood. In addition, by adjusting the body movements, expanding the movement vocabulary and behavioral scope, replacing the old, negative movements with new positive ones, the person's feeling towards the self changes. In dance therapy, the person concerned can obtain emotional satisfaction through the expression and creation activities in the dance movements and experience a positive attitude towards himself and his life, which in turn achieves the purpose of adjusting the emotions and treating the traumas.
Second, the relevant theoretical basis of dance psychotherapy
The concept of modern dance has led people to re-recognize the role of movement and dance in psychological development. Isadora? Isadora Duncan (1878-1927) advocated a kind of "dance of the heart" that is not limited and returns to nature. Dancers do not have to do all kinds of difficult, almost stunt performance like ballet, as long as they "pursue a kind of The dancer does not have to do all kinds of difficult, almost stunt performance like ballet, as long as he/she "pursues a spring of the heart, which is poured into all parts of the body and fills it with active spirit, and this central driving force is the reflection of the heart." She opposes dance forms that violate the nature of the human body, opposes procedural and technical styles, abandons the constraints of ballet shoes, and emphasizes the spontaneity of the dance vocabulary, frankness, and personal expression, and focuses on the individual's experience of the body and the natural flow of psychological feelings. Modern dance strongly advocates the use of dance to express feelings and express the inner world, which led to the development of dance psychotherapy in the mid-20th century.
In the early 20th century, Laban put forward the theory of human kinesiology, which made great contributions to dance psychotherapy. Dance therapy has also been subjected to Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis, Carl Jung's (Carl Jung) psychoanalysis, and the development of dance psychotherapy. Dance therapy has also been influenced by the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud, the psychoanalysis of Carl Jung, the psychoanalysis of Carl Rogers, the psychoanalysis of Carl Jung, and the psychoanalysis of Carl Jung. Carl Jung's psychoanalysis, Carl Rogers' humanistic theory and group dynamics theory. In addition, dance therapy is also y influenced by the philosophy of unity of mind and body and the blending of form and spirit in Eastern culture, which pays special attention to the harmony of the relationship between mind and body, and one of the main purposes of treatment is to achieve a balanced unity of mind and body behavior.
The theory of the division of labor between the two hemispheres of the brain in the study of brain science further provides a theoretical basis for dance therapy from the perspective of physiological basis, explaining the special role of dance therapy in the intervention of psychological trauma. Specifically, due to the different primary and secondary division of labor between the two hemispheres of the human brain in terms of rationality and emotion, in different schools of psychotherapy, "speech therapy" has a better effect in dealing with psychological problems caused by erroneous cognition or thinking, while it has certain limitations in dealing with psychological problems in which emotional disturbances are the main symptoms, such as emotional disorders and traumatic experiences of the patient. However, when dealing with psychological problems such as emotional disorders and traumatic experiences where emotional distress is the main symptom, there are certain limitations. Some psychologists have even compared it to the following: "One cannot use the key of the left hemisphere to open the lock of the right hemisphere". Dance therapy has advantages in solving the emotional problems of the patients, and by playing the role of dance rhythm in emotional expression and catharsis, it can promote the recovery of psychological trauma after a crisis event. Some research results on emotional disorders, autism, trauma, loss or loss, etc. fully demonstrated this point. It is for this reason, when in Taiwan after the "9.21" earthquake, the intervention of art therapy, including dance therapy, played a unique role, and accumulated valuable experience, can be used as a reference for psychologists in the motherland.
Three, the different levels and characteristics of dance therapy in post-disaster psychological group intervention
1. Supportive dance therapy
Supportive dance therapy can also be called conditioning or counseling. This is the most widely used in crisis intervention although it is the shallowest level. At this level, the goal is generally achieved through a variety of supportive dance physical and mental conditioning activities in a group, rather than through in-depth introspective analysis of the psyche. Supportive dance conditioning activities after the impact of a disaster can provide people with opportunities for positive engagement and experience, and as a result, reinforce healthy behaviors. Methods such as introspection, reflection and verbal psychoanalysis are used to a lesser extent throughout the process, focusing on real-life experiences and observable behaviors. The goals of the activities are to: enhance normal psychological coping after a disaster, promote proper behavioral control, support healthy emotions and thoughts, break down social isolation due to the devastation of the disaster, provide a sense of security and real-world informational stimulation, place the person under the influence of collective dynamics, and serve as a calming influence for stressed and anxious persons.
Experiential dance therapy activities are structured and planned to provide emotional support to the person and create opportunities for them to experience a sense of success in order to have a positive effect such as relieving anxiety. In the course of the activity, it is important to combine physical dance communication in a good atmosphere to provide support, comfort, and more subtle guidance and advice to the person.
After experiencing the disaster, the people who suffer from different degrees of impact - from those who are basically intact self-personality, only in the state of stress temporarily produce psychological disorders of the normal people, to those who have a broken heart, serious psychological regression or suffering from hallucinations and fantasies, acute or chronic psychiatric patients, or serious fear and anxiety patients, can all benefit from this level of dance therapy.
But it should be noted that, in this level, the person's deep experience of the disaster is not particularly encouraged to do introspective digging, on the contrary, if someone is touched by some of the group for emotional outbursts, or automatically do the depth of the self-exposure, the need for the group leader to do a timely psychological appeasement and "astringent bandage" work, and placed in the group. It is necessary for the group leader to do psychological soothing and "rewinding and bandaging" work in a timely manner, and to put it off until the end of the group for individual in-depth treatment. This on the one hand can let the seriously traumatized heart to accept and care, and in the group to get appropriate protection, on the other hand, can make the supportive psychological group counseling can still be oriented to the majority of people, according to the plan.
2. Introspective Dance Therapy
This level of therapy is a bit deeper compared to supportive therapy. The process of this level of therapy is accompanied by verbal communication between the therapist and the client in addition to the dance activities, and the verbal communication is increasingly becoming an important part of the process. The content of the dance activity is organized to address primarily emotions and ideologies during the therapy and becomes the subject of a verbal discussion process that follows the dance. Emphasis is placed on exposing the individual's thoughts, feelings, and interpersonal reactions. Therapeutic attention is focused primarily on the experience of reality and the process of interpersonal reactions between the therapist and the client. At this level of therapy, the client's psychological defense mechanisms and dysfunctional interpersonal behaviors may be challenged, and the goal of therapy is to establish and promote correct behavioral patterns.
Thus, this level of dance therapy activity is usually operationalized in a small group design with 10-12 people in each group to ensure that the group leader has adequate attention to each member. It is important to assist group members in recognizing the range of emotions they feel after the shock of a disaster, and to creatively address the problems they face to induce change in undesirable behaviors. Subconscious conflicts are still not explored in depth at this level of therapy, but in contrast to the previous support level, clients are more often asked to focus primarily on self-exposure, and to take the initiative and have the ability to make sense of their behavior through introspection in the face of the psychological impact of the disaster. Dance therapy at the introspective level focuses on helping the client to re-establish his or her value system and behavioral patterns after the disaster, and to learn new interpersonal attitudes and a sense of responsibility.
3. Psychoanalytic Dance Therapy
This is the deepest level of dance psychotherapy and its main goal is to target deep subconscious activities. At this level, dance therapy activities are utilized to discover, release, and resolve subconscious conflicts that negatively affect an individual's personality development. At this level, dance therapy activities are often used to trigger associations that are not limited to events before and after the disaster, but may include emotions related to many important experiences in the present or the past. The subconscious content of the client's mind is used to rebuild new psychological defense mechanisms, to deepen self-understanding, to promote self-regulation, and to rebuild the personality.
The difference between this level and the introspective level of therapy is that the degree and quality of introspection required of the client varies and is relatively more focused on past experiences. The aim is to trigger an appreciation of critical, subconscious paradoxes and to induce a transformation of the personality through an introspective appreciation of the deepest fears and paradoxes. Typically, the psychoanalytic level of therapy is used by therapists to target interventions for psychosomatic disorders, depression, personality disorders and neuroses. This level of dance therapy needs to be done consistently in a group or individual setting.
At this level, therapists are required to have been trained and supervised at an advanced level. Clients involved in this level of therapy are usually challenging their existing personality structures and need to be sufficiently motivated to engage in this therapy, which usually takes place over a longer period of time. It is also important to note that this level of crisis intervention should only be pursued if the therapist's time and energy allow for sustained follow-through, and should not be approached lightly at a deeper level. The practice of touching the deep knots of the mind just out of curiosity or merely opening the spiritual wounds brought about by the disaster without effective treatment for continuous follow-up will cause secondary damage to the person concerned and is not in line with professional ethics.
Four, dance group psychological crisis intervention in the process of attention
1. in the dance group psychological crisis intervention, to focus on reflecting the spirit of humanism
dance psychological intervention process in the point of entry and mode of operation has its own unique features, but the essence of its specific embodiment of the spirit of humanism. In the process of the supportive dance mind-body group, focusing on non-verbal and verbal communication to recognize the self, breaking down the barriers of human communication, acceptance of self, acceptance of others, this theme is highly consistent with the spirit of humanism.
All kinds of impromptu dance performances in the Dance Psychology group class are not evaluated in terms of good or bad, but are accepted and recognized as real and direct communication. As Rogers said, we can only change when we can fully embrace who we are. Peers develop relationships with each other through contact and reaction, feeling each other naturally and experiencing the feeling of being understood by the other. This feeling of being understood and accepted has important implications in psychotherapy. The reason why being understood and accepted has a positive value is that man has the drive for self-actualization, which is the main wellspring of life, and one will find the capacity in oneself and use it for personal growth, which means that every person has within him or her the capacity or the tendency to perform - to become autonomous and automatic, to evolve, to mature, and to stimulate the potential. But in some people this tendency is temporarily obscured by psychological defense mechanisms in the face of disaster. And when people are in a safe psychological atmosphere, this tendency is re-liberated, revealing itself as the ability to face the crisis, to reinvent itself, to reorient itself in relation to life.
2. In the process of the artistic intervention of music and dance, and the interweaving of movement and static, the balance of physical and mental opposites is embodied
Opposites exist in the body and personality, including the conscious and subconscious. In the course of a person's life, opposites often exist at the same time. But there are times when people choose one and ignore the other. The American dance therapist Mary Whitehouse (1972) is one of the world's leading practitioners of dance therapy. Mary Whitehouse has placed special emphasis on the relaxation and tension of the body in rhythmic movement. Opposing aspects such as stretching, flexing, opening and closing, narrowing and widening, up and down, lightness and heaviness should be maintained in a state of balance, and attention should be paid to being aware of the existence of opposing movements and exploring their connotations.
In the post-disaster dance psychological intervention, attention can be paid to guiding the group members to start from the exploration of various opposing movements, to keep changing in the opposing poles, to experience, and to appreciate the many possibilities of the movements in the transition between the two poles, accompanied by the psychological experience in the transition state. In the process of analyzing their connotations, the balance of movement transitions to the balance of inner experience. For example, the balance between seriousness and liveliness, rationality and sensibility, sadness and happiness, etc., can also be sought in opposites.
Dance psychological intervention is not only intertwined with movement and static, but also focuses on the combination of music and dance, which is an artistic intervention process. In the process of intervention, it is often necessary to match different improvisational dance themes with corresponding musical materials. This artistic intervention can more effectively guide group members to explore different styles of movement and experience the unity of opposites, so that they can have a fuller awareness of the different aspects of their own bodies and minds, and in sharing, have a deeper understanding of life.
Qi Guanghui, College of Sports Science, Qufu Normal University, Shandong Province
Contributing Editor: Xu Jian