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Chapter 23. Dance/movement therapy with traumatized dissociative patients

  • Sabine C. Koch and Steve Harvey
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Body Memory, Metaphor and Movement
This chapter is in the book Body Memory, Metaphor and Movement

Abstract

In this chapter, we describe dissociation and dissociative identity disorder (DID) and the value of dance/movement therapy (DMT) with traumatized dissociative child and adult patients. Most patients with dissociative states have suffered trauma during childhood and have recurring traumatic memories, loss of time (dissociative amnesia), and physical stress (i.e., stress on the sensorimotor level often relieved by self-harm on the bodily level). In order to address trauma that occurred on the body level, we consider therapy on the body level to be an important part of a multidisciplinary approach. The first part of the chapter contains some general thoughts on the phenomenon of dissociation and how to address it in DMT. The second part of the chapter provides a case vignette of an abused child experiencing dissociation and five adult group therapy case vignettes in the context of a clinical DMT session designed to help DID patients. In the end, we present principles of movement therapy from work with dissociative children and adults.

Abstract

In this chapter, we describe dissociation and dissociative identity disorder (DID) and the value of dance/movement therapy (DMT) with traumatized dissociative child and adult patients. Most patients with dissociative states have suffered trauma during childhood and have recurring traumatic memories, loss of time (dissociative amnesia), and physical stress (i.e., stress on the sensorimotor level often relieved by self-harm on the bodily level). In order to address trauma that occurred on the body level, we consider therapy on the body level to be an important part of a multidisciplinary approach. The first part of the chapter contains some general thoughts on the phenomenon of dissociation and how to address it in DMT. The second part of the chapter provides a case vignette of an abused child experiencing dissociation and five adult group therapy case vignettes in the context of a clinical DMT session designed to help DID patients. In the end, we present principles of movement therapy from work with dissociative children and adults.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Part I. Contributions from phenomenology
  5. Chapter 1. The phenomenology of body memory 9
  6. Chapter 2. Body memory and the genesis of meaning 23
  7. Chapter 3. Kinesthetic memory 43
  8. Chapter 4. Comment on Thomas Fuchs 73
  9. Chapter 5. Enduring 83
  10. Chapter 6. Body memory and dance 105
  11. Part II. Contributions from cognitive sciences
  12. Chapter 7. Implicit body memory 115
  13. Chapter 8. Embodied concepts 121
  14. Chapter 9. Cognitive perspectives on embodiment 141
  15. Chapter 10. Dynamic embodiment and its functional role 155
  16. Chapter 11. Testing Fuchs’ taxonomy of body memory 171
  17. Chapter 12. Metaphorical instruction and body memory 187
  18. Chapter 13. Body memory and the emergence of metaphor in movement and speech 201
  19. Chapter 14. Moved by God 227
  20. Chapter 15. The memory of the cell 243
  21. Part III. Contributions from embodied therapies
  22. Chapter 16. Sensation, movement, and emotion 255
  23. Chapter 17. Memory, metaphor, and mirroring in movement therapy with trauma patients 267
  24. Chapter 18. Body memory as a part of the body image 289
  25. Chapter 19. The embodied word 307
  26. Chapter 20. Emotorics 327
  27. Chapter 21. The emergence of body memory in Authentic Movement 341
  28. Chapter 22. Nakedness, hunger, hooks and hearts 353
  29. Chapter 23. Dance/movement therapy with traumatized dissociative patients 369
  30. Chapter 24. Focusing, felt sensing and body memory 387
  31. Chapter 25. Mindfulness, embodiment, and depression 393
  32. Part IV. Conclusions
  33. Chapter 26. Body memory 417
  34. Authors notes 445
  35. Addresses for correspondence 453
  36. Index 459
https://doi.org/10.1075/aicr.84.27koc

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Part I. Contributions from phenomenology
  5. Chapter 1. The phenomenology of body memory 9
  6. Chapter 2. Body memory and the genesis of meaning 23
  7. Chapter 3. Kinesthetic memory 43
  8. Chapter 4. Comment on Thomas Fuchs 73
  9. Chapter 5. Enduring 83
  10. Chapter 6. Body memory and dance 105
  11. Part II. Contributions from cognitive sciences
  12. Chapter 7. Implicit body memory 115
  13. Chapter 8. Embodied concepts 121
  14. Chapter 9. Cognitive perspectives on embodiment 141
  15. Chapter 10. Dynamic embodiment and its functional role 155
  16. Chapter 11. Testing Fuchs’ taxonomy of body memory 171
  17. Chapter 12. Metaphorical instruction and body memory 187
  18. Chapter 13. Body memory and the emergence of metaphor in movement and speech 201
  19. Chapter 14. Moved by God 227
  20. Chapter 15. The memory of the cell 243
  21. Part III. Contributions from embodied therapies
  22. Chapter 16. Sensation, movement, and emotion 255
  23. Chapter 17. Memory, metaphor, and mirroring in movement therapy with trauma patients 267
  24. Chapter 18. Body memory as a part of the body image 289
  25. Chapter 19. The embodied word 307
  26. Chapter 20. Emotorics 327
  27. Chapter 21. The emergence of body memory in Authentic Movement 341
  28. Chapter 22. Nakedness, hunger, hooks and hearts 353
  29. Chapter 23. Dance/movement therapy with traumatized dissociative patients 369
  30. Chapter 24. Focusing, felt sensing and body memory 387
  31. Chapter 25. Mindfulness, embodiment, and depression 393
  32. Part IV. Conclusions
  33. Chapter 26. Body memory 417
  34. Authors notes 445
  35. Addresses for correspondence 453
  36. Index 459
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