Dance Therapy And Eating Disorders
Creative arts therapies, such as art, dance, and music therapy, have grown in popularity as beneficial forms of eating disorder treatments. In particular, dance therapy involves movement and dance to support one’s health and well-being. As such, it can be beneficial for individuals in eating disorder recovery to improve their mental health.
What Is Dance Therapy?
Board-certified dance therapist Erica Hornthal states that dance therapy uses movement and nonverbal communication, in addition to talk therapy, to manage psychological and behavioral concerns that words alone do not address. Some techniques include becoming in tune with one’s body and emotions, becoming self-expressive through improvised movements, and having individuals ‘mirror’ one another.
Benefits Of Dance Therapy
There are a variety of benefits to engaging in dance therapy, especially for those who are in eating disorder recovery, as it helps promote calming strategies, coping skills, and self-awareness. Beyond eating disorders, it can help treat other conditions, such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
How Does It Address Body Image?
Restoring one’s perception of body image is an essential part of repairing one’s relationship with food in eating disorder recovery. This therapy can help address one’s body image concerns because it helps encourage individuals to cultivate self-esteem and body acceptance and express their feelings through nonverbal communication.
BALANCE eating disorder treatment center™, located in New York City, offers free consultation calls to help you explore next steps. We provide in-person programming seven days a week and are in-network with UnitedHealthcare (UHC), Cigna, Emblem, and Oscar, with Aetna coverage coming soon. Support is available, and recovery is possible. Schedule a free consultation call with our admissions team here and stay connected with BALANCE on Instagram here.
Reference
Lindberg, S. (2023, November 22). What is dance therapy? Verywell Mind. Retrieved July 6, 2024, from https://www.verywellmind.com/dance-therapy-and-eating-disorder-treatment-5094952
This post was written by BALANCE Blog Contributor, Regina Colie (she/her).
Regina Colie is a blog contributor for BALANCE, whose previous work has been featured in Project HEAL and Nourishing NY. She is an alumnus of The New School of Social Research, where she received her Masters in Psychology. After attending Marymount Manhattan College, she had the opportunity to be published in Dr. Nava Silton’s book, The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Child, Adolescent, and Adult Development.
