Creative Therapy for Adults
In 2019, three out of four Americans reported feeling so stressed that they lay awake at night worrying about money, work, childcare, crime, and healthcare. In addition, 1 in 5 adults said they felt lonely or socially isolated. Finally, 1 out of 25 adults are in psychological (mental) distress from mood and anxiety disorders. Dance Movement therapy and Cognitive Behavior therapy can be of benefit to all of these people.
With such high numbers all types of people are dealing with stress or more challenging psychological challenges: business people, moms and dads, Uber drivers, Amazon delivery staff, healthcare workers, electricians, grocery store staff, etc. Some Americans manage these stressors in healthy ways, for example by going for walks, playing with pets, exercising or seeking social support, but most Americans have a hard time managing stress; and it builds up. Dance Movement Therapy , Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy are evidence based ways that offer skills to manage your emotions, improve your body mind connection, and heal mental health disorders such as Depression, anxiety, trauma and ADHD amongst others.
Techniques
Dance Movement Therapy works by using the connection between the body and the mind to release and manage stress and emotions. In this way it heals the whole body. It can also help you physically by expanding your movement -range and -complexity. This can improve circulation, combat muscle stiffness and decrease pain. As these improvements are communicated to your brain you feel better mentally. Engaging in a movement therapy group can combat loneliness by increase the feeling of interpersonal connection.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) helps your stress and mental health by focusing more directly on your thinking habits. Evidence shows that it can treat a wide range of problems, such as depression, anxiety, trauma, Autism, ADHD (and various emotions) . A CBT therapist will (i) help you learn about the connection between your thoughts, feeling and actions, (ii) help you identify thoughts that are making you feel bad, anxious, or angry, (iii) help you reframe your thoughts so that they are more accurate and helpful. With practice you automatically begin to engage in more helpful ways of thinking about yourself and your life challenges. This is shown to improve the quality of all of your life.
Dialectical Behavior therapy (DBT) is excellent for individuals who have great difficulties with emotion regulation. DBT offers excellent skills that teach mindfulness, emotion tolerance, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness.