Dancing to projective identification in dance movement therapy for couples (DMT-C)

The Potential Benefits of Dance Movement Therapy in Improving Couple Relations of Individuals Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder-A Review

A review of current literature indicates that adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) feel the need for intimate and sexual relationships and maintain such relationships despite and alongside their difficulties in emotional communication, social interactions, reciprocity, and verbal and non-verbal expression. This understanding calls for the development of intervention programs designed to support the specific needs and address the problems of couples where one partner is diagnosed with ASD. In view of the relevance and significant part played by body and movement in emotional development and psychotherapy, the present article offers a review of studies examining the contribution of dance movement therapy to both the quality of life and functioning of adults with ASD and therapeutic processes in couple therapy. This review aims to establish an infrastructure for the construction of intervention programs and for future studies designed to enhance the quality of life and independence of adults with ASD.

Free-Form Dance as an Alternative Interaction for Adult Grandchildren and Their Grandparents

Shared leisure activities fulfill a central role in strengthening the relationship with adult grandchildren and provide a vehicle for transmission of values. Thus, it is likely that joint activity alongside support and focused guidance in communication between adult grandchildren and grandparents will help strengthen their relationship. Based on theory and research on dance/movement therapy in old age, and on development processes in the family, the aim of the present study is to discover the significance of free-form dance jointly engaged in by adult grandchildren with their grandparents, for each of the generations. Using action research, 16 dance-movement therapists and their grandmothers participated in three dance meetings in their grandmothers' homes. Based on filmed videos of the sessions, personal diaries, and semi-structured interviews, it was found that among the granddaughters, the meeting aroused concerns about their lack of skill to create a meaningful meeting and to protect their grandmothers throughout the meeting. It was also found that regular free-form dance meetings in which the granddaughter mirrored her grandmother's movements while suggesting expansions to the movements, encouraging eye contact, touch, and playfulness, and empowering her ability, while also granting legitimacy to rest, created a change in the grandmother's state of mind: positive memories and feelings appeared, as did uplifted spirits. For the granddaughters, the meeting altered their perspective on old age and provided a space for processes of parting. The implications of identifying assistive components of joint dancing for creating an intervention model for adult grandchildren's support of the elderly in the community are extensively discussed.