Dance movement psychotherapy’s impact on emotional well-being in severe mental disorders: a quantitative study

Abstract

Dance movement psychotherapy (DMP) is a technique rooted in the mind-body connection, utilising bodily movement to facilitate relational integration, personal and interpersonal functioning, and effective emotional regulation. A dance therapy program of six sessions was investigated to measure changes in the mood, health, and general well-being in 20 adults with Severe Mental Disorders (SMD), including mostly schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Divided into a control group focusing on positive emotions, and an experimental group exploring negative emotions, a quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental and correlational design with a test-retest procedure was employed. Findings revealed significant differences for both groups in all factors of the EVEA Scale and PERMA-Profiler Questionnaire, except for the ‘Meaning’ variable. Additionally, intra-group correlations indicated unfavourable concordance scores during the test-retest phase and an increase in health construct scores was evident.