Therapeutic impact of dance therapy on adult individuals with psychological trauma: a systematic review

Context Dance therapy is a therapeutic tool adapted for people that struggle with classical language-based therapeutic devices (e.g., people facing migration). As dance therapy significantly mobilizes mental, physiological, and somatic dimensions affected by psychological trauma, its therapeutic effect on psychological trauma needs to be evaluated. Objectives To identify the potential therapeutic effects of dance therapy in adults with psychological trauma (trauma-focused and non-trauma-focused impact) as well as the barriers and facilitators associated with its therapeutic employment. Method Articles published between 2000 and 2022 have been selected with the help of five relevant keyword combinations applied on seven databases. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts against inclusion and exclusion criteria. Bias evaluation has been conducted with the help of the NIH and JBI. A report of the results has been organized with the help of thematic analysis. Results Of the thirteen articles included, only one case study directly reports a diminution of pathognomic symptoms of trauma. Other studies present improvements in key dimensions targeted by non-trauma-focused treatment: bodily sensations and perceptions, psychological processes, and interpersonal skills. These improvements depend on the skill set of the therapists and the stability of the intervention. Conclusion Dance therapy is an effective non-trauma-focused treatment, as it mobilizes the mandatory dimensions for the management of psychological trauma. It is specially adapted to women survivors of violence, and people facing migration. Researchers and professionals should investigate dance therapy as a trauma-focused treatment. Highlights ### Competing Interest Statement Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The lead researcher, Crystal Tomaszewski, and Heloise Onumba-Bessonnet are funded by the LOBA association, which launched a dance-therapy protocol. The other author(s) declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. ### Funding Statement Funding: Crystal Tomaszewski and Heloise Onumba-Bessonnet are funded by the LOBA association. Other authors received no specific funds. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present work are contained in the manuscript