Abstract
This literature-based study generated a clinical dance/movement therapy program intended for patients with gynecological cancer to run concurrently with the high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy treatment. A ten-week clinical model combines elements from established dance/movement therapy practices to specifically address psychological and psychosocial issues relevant to the targeted patient population. In order to develop an appropriate intervention, the movement tasks and themes chosen were based on findings of their effectiveness in various studies. Dance/movement therapy has been shown to directly address psychological issues, such as self-image, anxiety and depression, through a holistic approach which serves to aid the healing process of the individual by strengthening the mind–body connection. These psychological issues occur as secondary stressors to medical conditions, such as cancer, and may reduce a patient’s quality of life and abilities to cope with their illness. For patients diagnosed with gynecologic cancer these secondary stressors may include altered self-image, sense of isolation or betrayal by one’s body, anxiety, depression, and complications related to sexuality. The following article correlates the efficacy of dance/movement therapy applied to patients with gynecologic cancer being treated with HDR brachytherapy.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achterberg, J., Dossey, L., Gordon, J. S., Hegedus, C., Hermann, M. W., & Nelson, R. (1992). Mind-body interventions. In B. M. Berman & D. B. Larson (Eds.), Alternative medicine: Expanding medical horizons: A report to the NIH on alternative medical systems and practices in the US, prepared under the auspices of the workshop on alternative medicine (pp. 3–43). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, National Institutes of Health.
Aktas, G., & Ogce, F. (2005). Dance as a therapy for cancer prevention. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 6, 408–411.
American Cancer Society. (2007). Cancer facts and figures 2007. Atlanta, GA: Author.
Amighi, J. K., Loman, S., Lewis, P., & Sossin, K. M. (1999). The meaning of movement. New York: Brunner-Routledge.
Ashing-Giwa, K. T., Kagawa-Singer, M., Padilla, G. V., Tejero, J. S., Hsiao, E., Chhabra, R., et al. (2004). The impact of cervical cancer and dysplasia: A qualitative, multiethnic study. Psycho-Oncology, 13(10), 709–728.
Bartenieff, I., & Lewis, D. (1980). Body movement: Coping with the environment. New York: Routledge.
Bradley, S., Rose, S., Lutgendorf, S., Costanzo, E., & Anderson, B. (2006). Quality of life and mental health in cervical and endometrial cancer survivors. Gynecologic Oncology, 100, 479–486.
Cohen, S. O., & Walco, G. A. (1999). Dance/movement therapy for children and adolescents with cancer. Cancer Practice, 7(1), 34–42.
Cox, J. D., & Ang, K. K. (2003). Radiation oncology rationale technique and results. St. Louis, MO: Mosby.
Dell, C. (1977). A primer for movement description using effort-shape and supplementary concepts. New York: Dance Notation Bureau Press.
Dibbell-Hope, S. (2000). The use of dance/movement therapy in psychological adaptation to breast cancer. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 27, 51–68.
Dosamantes Alperson, E. (1980). Contacting bodily-felt experiencing in psychotherapy. In J. E. Shorr, G. E. Sobel, P. Robin, & J. A. Connella (Eds.), Imagery: Its many dimensions and applications (pp. 223–250). New York: Plenum.
Erwin-Grabner, T., Goodill, S. W., Hill, E. S., & Von Neida, K. (1999). Effectiveness of dance/movement therapy on reducing test anxiety. American Journal of Dance Therapy, 21(1), 19–34.
Fawzy, F. I. (1999). Psychosocial interventions for patients with cancer: What works and what doesn’t. European Journal of Cancer, 35(11), 1559–1564.
Fawzy, F. I., & Fawzy, N. W. (1997). Psychoeducational interventions and health outcomes. In R. Glaser & J. M. Kiecolt-Glaser (Eds.), Handbook of human stress and immunity. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Fobair, P. (1997a). Cancer support groups and group therapies: Part I. Historical and theoretical background and research on effectiveness. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 15(1), 63–81.
Fobair, P. (1997b). Cancer support groups and group therapies: Part II. Process, organizational, leadership, and patient issues. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 15(3/4), 123–147.
Garrard, J. (2004). Health sciences literature review made easy: The matrix method. Boston: Jones and Bartlett, Inc.
Ginsburgs, V. (2007). A dance/movement therapy clinical model for women with gynecologic cancer undergoing high dose rate brachytherapy: A literature-based study. Unpublished master’s thesis, Drexel University, College of Nursing and Health Professions, Creative Arts in Therapy Program, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Goodill, S. (2005). An introduction to medical dance/movement therapy: Health care in motion. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Halprin, A. (2000). Dance as a healing art. Mendocino, CA: LifeRhythm.
Hawighorst-Knapstein, S., Fusshoeller, C., Franz, C., Trautmann, K., Schmidt, M., Pilch, H., et al. (2004). The impact of treatment for genital cancer on quality of life and body image—Results of a prospective longitudinal 10-year study. Gynecologic Oncology, 94, 398–403.
Ho, R. T. H. (2005). Effects of dance movement therapy on Chinese cancer patients: A pilot study in Hong Kong. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 32, 337–345.
Juraskova, I., Butow, P., Robertson, R., Sharpe, L., McLeod, C., & Hacker, N. (2003). Post-treatment sexual adjustment following cervical and endometrial cancer: A qualitative insight. Psycho-Oncology, 12(3), 267–279.
Kestenberg, J. S. (1975). Children and parents: Psychoanalytic studies in development. New York: Aronson Press.
Klee, M., Thranov, I., & Machin, D. (2000). Life after radiotherapy: The psychological and social effects experienced by women treated for advanced stages of cervical cancer. Gynecologic Oncology, 76, 5–13.
Krantz, A. M. (2005). Healing through dance: Blanche Evan methods with cancer patients and survivors. Unpublished manuscript.
León-Pizarro, C., Gich, I., Barthe, E., Rovirosa, A., Farrús, B., Casas, F., et al. (2007). A randomized trial of the effect of training in relaxation and guided imagery techniques in improving psychological and quality-of-life indices for gynecologic and breast brachytherapy patients. Psycho-Oncology, 16(11), 971–979.
Lippin, R. A., & Micozzi, M. S. (2006). Arts therapy. In M. S. Micozzi (Ed.), Fundamentals of complementary and integrative medicine (3rd ed., pp. 332–350). St. Louis, MO: Saunders.
Lowell, D. (1999). Authentic movement. In: P. Pallaro (Ed.), (2007). Authentic movement: Moving the body, moving the self, being moved. A collection of essays (Vol. II, pp. 50–55). London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Lutgendorf, S. K., Anderson, B., Ullrich, P., Johnsen, E. L., Buller, R. E., Sood, A. K., et al. (2002). Quality of life and mood in women with gynecologic cancer. Cancer, 94, 131–140.
Mannheim, E., & Weis, J. (2006). Dance/movement therapy with cancer patients: Evaluation of process and outcome parameters. In: S. Koch & I. Brauninger (Eds.), Advances in dance/movement therapy: Theoretical perspectives and empirical findings (pp. 61–72). Berlin: Logos Verlag.
National Institutes of Health. (2003). Radiation therapy and you. (NIH Publication No. 03-2227). Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute.
Noor-Mahomed, S. B., Schlebusch, L., & Bosch, B. A. (2003). Suicidal behavior in patients diagnosed with cancer of the cervix. Crisis, 24(4), 168–172.
North, M. (1972). Personality assessment through movement. London: MacDonald and Evans, Ltd.
Pallaro, P. (Ed.). (2007). Authentic Movement: Moving the body, moving the self, being moved, A collection of essays (Vol. 2). London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Pylvänäinen, P. (2003). Body image: A tripartite model for use in dance/movement therapy. American Journal of Dance Therapy, 25(1), 39–55.
Sadock, B. J., & Sadock, V. A. (2003). Kaplan & Sadock’s synopsis of psychiatry (9th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Sandel, S. L. (1993). Imagery in dance therapy groups: A developmental approach. In S. Sandel, S. Chaiklin, & A. Lohn (Eds.), Foundation of dance/movement therapy: The life and work of Marian Chace (pp. 112–119). Columbia, MD: Marian Chace Memorial Fund.
Sandel, S. L., Judge, J. O., Landry, N., Faria, L., Ouellette, R., & Majczak, M. (2005). Dance and movement program improves quality-of-life measures in breast cancer survivors. Cancer Nursing, 28(4), 301–309.
Schmais, C. (1985). Healing process in group dance therapy. American Journal of Dance Therapy, 8, 17–36.
Serlin, I. A. (1966). Kinesthetic imagining. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 36(2), 25–33.
Serlin, I. A. (2007). Expressive therapies. In: M. S. Micozzi, (Ed.), (2006). Complementary and integrative medicine in cancer care and prevention (pp. 81–94). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Serlin, I. A., Classen, C., Frances, B., & Angell, K. (2000). Symposium: Support groups for women with breast cancer: Traditional and alternative expressive approaches. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 27, 123–138.
Spiegel, D., Bloom, J. R., Kramer, H. C., & Gottheil, E. (1989). Effect of psychosocial treatment on survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer. Lancet (October 14, 1989), 888–891.
Wenzel, L., DeAlba, I., Habbal, R., Kluhsman, B. C., Fairclough, D., Krebs, L. U., et al. (2005). Quality of life in long-term cervical cancer survivors. Gynecologic Oncology, 97, 310–317.
Wenzel, L. B., Donnelly, J. P., Fowler, J. M., Habbal, R., Taylor, T. H., Aziz, N., et al. (2002). Resilience, reflection, and residual stress in ovarian cancer survivorship: A gynecologic oncology group study. Psycho-Oncology, 11(2), 142–153.
Wenzel, L., Vergote, I., & Cella, D. (2003). Quality of life in patients receiving treatment for gynecologic malignancies: Special considerations for patient care. International Journal of Gynaecology & Obstetrics, 83(1), 211–229.
Yalom, I. D. (1995). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy (4th ed.). New York: Basic Books.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ginsburgs, V.H., Goodill, S.W. A Dance/Movement Therapy Clinical Model for Women with Gynecologic Cancer Undergoing High Dose Rate Brachytherapy. Am J Dance Ther 31, 136–158 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10465-009-9076-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10465-009-9076-0