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Abstract
Children freely expressing themselves through spontaneous dance is a natural part of childhood. The healing powers of dance are universal in all cultures across history. Dance/movement therapy (DMT) in pediatric oncology is little known and underutilized. This article discusses DMT, specifically focusing on pediatric oncology. It defines and clarifies the difference between medical DMT as a psychotherapeutic modality aimed at addressing the patient’s psychosocial needs, and dance and therapeutic dance used recreationally to engage patients during their hospital visits. A literature review of DMT with medically ill children in the United States and worldwide is provided. It culminates with a focus on advancements in the field, discussing the future of pediatric medical DMT. Grounded in a biopsychosocial perspective, the intrinsically nonverbal and embodied nature of pediatric medical DMT is uniquely positioned to be a strong component of integrative oncology services. The use of DMT to synthesize potentially traumatic aspects of the medical experience is proposed. It ends with a call for research posing the question: Can pediatric medical DMT support the patient to express feelings while in cancer treatment within the context of a psychotherapeutic milieu, enabling the patient to create an embodied coherent narrative that fosters expressivity and empowerment?
Highlights
Children freely expressing themselves through spontaneous dance is an intrinsic part of childhood.As a child explores the world by actively engaging physically in it, a sense of self and empowerment in the world develops [1]
Grounded in a biopsychosocial perspective, the intrinsically nonverbal and embodied nature of pediatric medical Dance/movement therapy (DMT) is uniquely positioned to be a strong component of integrative oncology services
A list of the psychosocial goals of DMT, include: decreasing anxiety related to the hospital experience and medical procedure; help the pediatric patient adjust to functional changes in the body and body image; support the patient’s active experience of their body; and supporting the child’s expression of their illness and hospital experience, rather than focusing on their dysfunctions caused by the disease
Summary
Children freely expressing themselves through spontaneous dance is an intrinsic part of childhood. When children become ill with cancer, their ability to participate in playful childhood activities is frequently compromised This loss is akin to the sense of disempowerment and loss of control of one’s body and stress physiology when facing a threatening, traumatic life event [2,3,4,5]. These experiences create a wide variety of emotions difficult to understand and express through words. This article presents the concept that offering nonverbal body and dance/movement-based solutions for the feelings of helplessness for children with medical illness, opens the potential to create a nonverbal narrative that can prevent or heal the conceivably traumatic effects of the medical experience. Grounded in a biopsychosocial perspective, the intrinsically nonverbal and embodied nature of pediatric medical DMT is uniquely positioned to be a strong component of integrative oncology services
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