This randomized controlled trial compares the effect of a dance movement therapy (DMT) group intervention on stress management improvement and stress reduction with a wait-listed control group (WG). 162 self-selected clients suffering from stress were randomly assigned to a WG or a DMT intervention that received 10 group therapy sessions. Stress management [Stressverarbeitungsfragebogen/SVF 120], psychopathology and overall distress (Brief Symptom Inventory/BSI) were evaluated at baseline (t1: pre-test), immediately after completion of the ten sessions DMT group intervention (t2: post-test), and 6 months after the DMT treatment (t3: follow-up test). Analysis of variance was calculated to evaluate the between-group (time × condition) and within-group (time) effect of the DMT intervention. Negative stress management strategies decreased significantly in the short-term at t2 (p < .005) and long-term at t3 (p < .05), Positive Strategy Distraction improved significantly in the short-term (p < .10), as well as Relaxation (p < .10). Significant short-term improvements were observed in the BSI psychological distress scales Obsessive-Compulsive (p < .05), Interpersonal Sensitivity (p < .10), Depression (p < .05), Anxiety (p < .005), Phobic Anxiety (p < .01), Psychoticism (p < .05), and in Positive Symptom Distress (p < .02). Significant long-term improvement in psychological distress through DMT existed in Interpersonal Sensitivity (p < .05), Depression (p < .000), Phobic Anxiety (p < .05), Paranoid Thinking (p < .005), Psychoticism (p < .05), and Global Severity Index (p < .01). Results indicate that DMT group treatment is more effective to improve stress management and reduce psychological distress than non-treatment. DMT effects last over time.
Dance movement therapy's impact on stress management and stress reduction has not been addressed specifically by research. A randomised controlled trial (RCT) evaluated this question. Dance movement therapy (DMT) is defined as a form of creative body-oriented psychotherapy that uses movement, dance, and verbal intervention (BTD, 2011) to further the emotional, cognitive, physical and social integration of the individual (ADTA, 2011). A nation-wide research project, conducted in Germany, examined if DMT group participants would obtain better stress management strategies and show less psychological distress symptoms compared to the wait-listed control group who did not receive treatment.
Stress and stress reduction research in dance and dance movement therapy
Various cultures have used dance as a form to reduce stress and promote well-being and higher tolerance against stress. Dance enables a person to cognitively process and overcome frightening events, feel one's physical self, analyse problems, find constructive solutions for everyday life, and improve one's body image and self-esteem (Hanna, 2006). It stimulates the vestibular system, creates a more alert state of consciousness, and positively impacts the fitness and strength of the cardiovascular system (Hanna, 1988).
One DMT research project on stress evaluated indices of stress between nonverbal patterns in 26 parent–child dyads (N = 52) and parental stress ( Birklein & Sossin, 2006). Children of stressed parents demonstrated more mismatch between their safety/danger and comfort/discomfort affects and their parents exhibited less animated (neutral) abrupt movements and discordance compared to parent–child dyads of parents with low stress ratings.
DMT serves as a holistic model of psychological stress adjustment in cancer treatment and addresses comprehensive psychological needs (Cohen and Walco, 1999 and Rainbow, 2005). Results of a DMT intervention on cancer patients demonstrated that Perceived Stress Scale Scores were significantly lower after DMT with a medium effect size (Rainbow, 2005). In another randomized DMT study with fibromylagia patients, movement pain and life energy improved significantly in the DMT treatment group compared to the wait-listed control group (Bojner Horwitz, Theorell, & Anderberg, 2003).
A study on the effect of dance and yoga on psychological and neuroendocrine responses in college students revealed that African dance (n = 21) and Hatha Yoga (n = 18) showed significant reductions in the Perceived Stress Scale, negative affect, and time × treatment interactions compared to the control group (n = 31) who received biology lessons. The perceived stress and negative affect (also defined as emotion-focused coping, Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) decreased in both interventions although cortisol level increased in African dance participants and decreased in Hatha Yoga participants ( West, Otte, Geher, Johnson, & Mohr, 2004). However, findings of a study on emotional and hormonal responses to tango dancing demonstrated that short-term positive psychobiological reactions after tango dancing were obtained ( Quiroga Murcia, Bongard, & Kreutz, 2009). A study on T’ai Chi and aerobics interventions showed the improvement of emotion-oriented, but not on problem-oriented coping skills ( Bond, Lyle, Tappe, Seehafer, & D’Zurilla, 2002).
To conclude, studies on dance and DMT demonstrated that interventions reduced stress and improved psychological parameters, such as emotional states, life energy, and negative affect. Hence, DMT fosters emotion-oriented stress and coping strategies. Furthermore, DMT might influence cognitive stress reactions as DMT raises awareness of senses, feelings, images, thoughts and cognition, similar to cognitive stress strategies of cognitive behavioral therapy (Meichenbaum, 1991). The effect of DMT on problem-focused coping, which includes cognitive and behavioral strategies used to manage a stressful situation (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), still remains to be verified. The research question arises whether DMT intervention has a long-term effect on stress reduction, and emotion-oriented and problem-oriented stress management strategies, as follow-up studies on the persistence of treatment effect over time are rare (Bojner Horwitz et al., 2003).
