Dance Time Implementation of an After-school Dance Program as a Way to Improve Body Image in School-aged Children Sara Jean Rubinstein Project Mentor: Dr. Deborah O’Donnell, PhD April 28, 2008

Overview  Introduction  Dance Movement Therapy  Previous Research  Method  Participants  Materials  Procedure  Results  Discussion  Limitations  Implications

Introduction: Dance Movement Therapy  “The psychotherapeutic use of movement as a process which furthers the physical and psychic integration of an individual” (Bernstein, 1979; as cited in Stanton-Jones, 1992, pp. 1).  Developed in 1940’s  Leading Pioneers:  Marian Chace  Mary Whitehouse  Alma Hawkins

Introduction: Elements of DMT  Body Action  Symbolism  Movement Metaphor/Authentic Movement  Therapeutic Movement Relationship  Group Rhythmic Movement Relationship

Introduction: DMT with Adults  Fibromyalgia (Bojner-Horwitz, Theorell, & Anderburg, 2003)  Anxiety/Test anxiety (Erwin-Grabner et al., 1996; Lesté, 1990)  Schizophrenia (Ellis, 2001)

Introduction: DMT with Children  Autism (Erfer, 1995; Parteli, 1995)  Hypoactive children (Caf, Kroflič, & Tancig, 1997)  Psychiatric Populations (Elliot, 1998; Erfer & Ziv, 2006)  At-risk youth (Ierardi, Bottos, & O’Brien, 2007; Kierr, 2007; Koshland & Whittaker, 2004)

Introduction: DMT with Eating Disorders  DMT can correct body image errors through the use of movement (Pylvänäïnen, 2003).  Used with adults and adolescents (Krantz, 1999)  Different techniques for different disorders  Bulimia Nervosa  Anorexia Nervosa

Introduction: Objective of Study  Objective: To design and implement an after- school dance program to improve body image in children  Hypothesis: Children who participate in DMT- based activities as part of an after-school dance program would experience an improvement in body image.

Method: Participants  7 girls, 1 boy  All enrolled in an after-school care program  Mean age: 8.17 years  7 Black participants, 1 White participant

Method : Materials  Journals  Interviews  Feedback Questions  Feeling Questions  Body Image Questions  Video-tape coding  Confidence  Willingness to Participate  Body Use  Emotion

Method : Procedure  5 sessions lasting 30 to 40 minutes each  Took place in gymnasium  Session Themes: 1. Moving to the Music 2. Recap session 3. Making Pictures 4. Activities and Feelings 5. Telling Stories

Results  Findings:  Decrease in shyness  Increase in confidence  Maintenance of or increase in positive body feelings  Focus on body function rather than appearance  Change in movement behavior

Discussion  Results suggest that body image increased as a result of the dance activity.  All participants provided positive feedback and enjoyed the sessions

Discussion : Limitations  Participation limitations  No control for outside experiences  Journal reflections completed unsupervised  Not “true” DMT

Discussion : Implications  Further study on the use of DMT with school-aged populations and body image distortions  Design and implementation of DMT programs in school systems that can run year-round  Implementation of a system of evaluation for programs  Development of scales to measure body image in children through movement

Conclusion  Acknowledgements: Dr. Deborah O’Donnell April Corrice and Tori Whitlow Katie Sanchez Dr. Richard Platt Angie Draheim Family and Friends!!!

References Bojner-Horwitz, E., Theorell, T., & Anderburg, U. (2003). Dance/Movement therapy and changed in stress-related hormones: a study of fibromyalgia patients with video-interpretation. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 30, Caf, B., Kroflič, B., & Tancig, S. (1997). Activation of hypoactive children with creative movement and dance in primary school. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 24, Elliott, R. (1998). The use of dance in child psychiatry. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 3, Ellis, R. (2001). Movement metaphor as mediator: a model for the dance/movement therapy process. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 28, Erfer, T. (1995). Treating children with autism in a public school system. In F. Levy (Ed.), Dance and Other Expressive Art Therapies: When Words Are Not Enough (pp ). New York: Routledge. Erfer, T. & Ziv, A. (2006). Moving toward cohesion: group dance/movement therapy with children in psychiatry. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 33, Erwin-Grabner, T., Goodill, S., Schelly-Hill, E., & Von Neida, K. (1999). Effectiveness of dance/movement therapy on reducing test anxiety. The American Journal of Dance Therapy, 21,

References Ierardi, F., Bottos, M., & O’Brien, M. (2007). Safe expressions: a community-based creative arts therapy program for at-risk youth. In V. Camilleri (Ed.), Healing the Inner City Child: Creative Arts Therapies with At-risk Youth (pp ). London: Jessica Kingsley. Kierr, S. (2007). “Sit down and be quiet”: dance and movement therapy in an inner city elementary school after-care program. In V. Camilleri (Ed.), Healing the Inner City Child: Creative Arts Therapies with At-risk Youth (pp ). London: Jessica Kingsley. Koshland, L. & Wittaker, J. (2004). PEACE through dance/movement: evaluating a violence prevention program. American Journal of Dance Therapy, 26, Krantz, A. (1999). Growing into her body: Dance/movement therapy for women with eating disorders. American Journal of Dance Therapy, 21, Lesté, R. (1990). Effects of dance on anxiety. The American Journal of Dance Therapy, 12, Parteli, L. (1995). Aesthetic listening: Contributions of dance/movement therapy to the psychic understanding of motor stereotypes and distortions in autism and psychosis in childhood and adolescence. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 22, Pylvänäïnen, P. (2003). Body Image: a tripartite model for use in dance/movement therapy. American Journal of Dance Therapy, 25, Stanton-Jones, K. (1992). An Introduction to Dance Movement Therapy in Psychiatry. London: Routledge.