Abstract
Prior research has shown that there are several symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that are persistently hard to treat and critically important for full recovery. Community reintegration can be an especially challenging aspect of returning home from combat duty. The purpose of this study was to test the effects of a community dance program on some of these psychological symptoms. Community dance has been shown to strengthen cognitive plasticity which is often a problem for veterans with PTSD. This program also includes predictable gentle touch and family involvement, two elements that can predict stress reduction and successful community reintegration in those with PTSD. Before and after each ten-week community dance program, seventeen veterans and accompanying family members were measured on connectedness using the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire, Revised (INQ-R) (Van Orden, Witte, Gordon, Bender, & Joiner, 2008), experience avoidance using the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, Version 2 (AAQ-II) (Bond, et al., 2011), and hope and optimism using a modified Life Orientation Test, Revised questionnaire (LOT-r ) Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994), combined into a wellness score. Each ten-week program consisted of weekly, 90-minute community dances with live music and a nationally recognized dance caller. We found improvements in wellness scores for all participants, regardless of PTSD status, partial h2 =0.52. We think this program, and programs like it, show great promise in treating some of the most persistent symptoms of PTSD in veterans and in their families.
Highlights
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), sometimes called different names, has long been a problem for returning military personnel and continues to be a problem today, with approximately a quarter of returning veterans showing at least some of the symptoms of this disorder (National Center for PTSD, 2017)
We found a potentially promising solution in a weekly community dance program open only to military, ex-military, and their loved ones
Thirty-two participants began the program and 17 completed the program. This drop-out rate is fairly normal in programs for those recovering from PTSD
Summary
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), sometimes called different names, has long been a problem for returning military personnel and continues to be a problem today, with approximately a quarter of returning veterans showing at least some of the symptoms of this disorder (National Center for PTSD, 2017). The disorder has a long history of being treated using medical techniques such as medicines that act as antagonists to the stress system, and later using psychological therapy techniques, such as classical and operant conditioning, information processing, and more recently, cognitive behavioral therapies (Brewin & Holmes, 2003; Watkins, Sprang, & Rothbaum, 2018) This historic dualism in treatment has coincided with a dualistic view of the human mind–the view that knowledge, memories, language, and rational decision-making are all abstract, coded, qualities of the human mind, while emotions, hormones, muscle memory, and psychiatric disorders are physical qualities of the human mind. The mind-body connection is real (involving the hypothalamus and the peripheral nervous system), the mind is made of biological material that extends throughout the entire human body and possibly beyond the body to the surrounding environment (Clark, 2016); situation and context matters (Gonzalez-Vallejo, 2002; Barsalou, 1982; Tulving & Thomson, 1973); emotions are integral to thinking and decision-making (Damasio, 1994) and the whole system is connected, network-style, with dynamic experience-based updates being made continuously
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
