Dance and the Treatment of PTSD/Mental Illness
The first key concept of the article is the notion that "arts-based programming" is a positive and helpful way to treat PTSD. This theory aligns with classical psychology/philosophy -- namely, the ideas of the ancient Greeks and Romans, which was that the best way to cure the body and mind was to start by curing the soul. In order to do this, they used music, good environments, art, and other types of "cultural" productions to alleviate the stress in the individual's life and provide a better balance of confidence and ability in the person's psyche. This is the main idea of the study by the researchers Wilbur et al. They elaborate on this idea by highlighting the effectiveness of dance as a treatment modality, stating that "dance is one of the most synchronized activities in which humans engage, and its neural substrates are being increasingly understood" (97). Not only do the researchers point out the fact that dance has been beneficially used in all cultures for thousands of years but they also note that in modern medicine dance has been shown to be effectively used in the treatment of neurological diseases like Parkinson's which affects the body's movements. On top of this, the researchers underscore an added benefit of using dance to treat PTSD patients -- the notion that dance can foster "a sense of community and feelings of accomplishment and joy" (Wilbur et al. 97). This method can be especially useful for patients who are at high-risk of developing "co-morbidities such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, obesity and diabetes" (Wilber et al. 97). By getting these patients up and out of their chairs and getting them into the habit of moving in an energetic manner, they are not only treating their PTSD, but also helping to prevent other consequences of lethargy and lack of exercise typically linked to PTSD.
A second key concept is that Dance for Veterans is a program that is a collaboration between "professional dancers and mental healthcare providers, bridging the gap between traditional dance classes and traditional mental health care" -- which means that the treatment is not simply a bunch of people getting up and dancing but that it actually has a medical focus and has been designed to impact in the most comprehensive ways the systems of the body and mind (Wilbur et al. 98). What this concept reveals is that the design of the program is focused explicitly on "de-pathologizing the participants and promoting social and functional well-being" (Wilber et al., 2015, p. 98) -- or, in short, it uses the activity of dancing in order to address medical concerns related to body (stress) and mind (awareness).…
For example, the ethnic client who paints a huge red heart with an arrow piercing its center is communicating a universally understood message: I have been affected by love/passion/emotion. Natalie Rogers, founder of the Person Centered Expressive Therapy Institute is a strong proponent of expressive art. In this form of art therapy, the ethnic client is encouraged to "express inner thoughts by creating outer forms." When treating a client with art therapy,
…Occupational Stress and Scientific MonitoringLiterature Review2.1 IntroductionThe definition of the term �occupational stress� is derived from the definition of its two constituent words. In this context, occupational refers to anything that is related to the workplace while stress is defined as a natural body reaction from physical, mental or emotional strain in an individual. Thus, occupational stress can be defined as any mechanism by which the body attempts to adapt
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Out of about 40 million slaves that were transported from African to the United States, only 15 million of them could survive, however they ended up in pure hell. It was expected of the African-Americans to meet the demands of two ideas, both of which met the needs of the rich white Americans. Thus, where slaves had a disguise to serve their masters and please them, they were just
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