Author(s): Mickayla Campbell
Mentor(s): Karen Jensen, Ariel Hortin
Institution BYU
About 10% of hospitalizations in pediatric hospitals are for mental health issues. (Bardach et al., 2014) This 10% does not include the number of children who are experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety from being in a hospital while trying to heal physically. Children struggle to express their emotions through words as adults can. This makes common treatments like talk therapy difficult for children. There is a need for children to express themselves through their bodies rather than words. Thanks to Marian Chance that all changed in 1947 when she implemented dance therapy (DMT) in pediatric hospitals. Although dance has been known to have health benefits and has been used as a healing tool for centuries, this was the first time it was considered a profession. Since that date, it has been proven successful in uplifting moods and making lasting mental changes to those it treats. Dance movement therapy, also known as DMT, Is “the psychotherapeutic use of movement to promote emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration of the individual, to improve health and well-being. (ADTA, 2024)†What better way to connect with children than by helping them express emotion, mentally be able to understand their emotions through integration, and strengthen their bodies through movement? This is the aim of Dance Therapist worldwide to connect one's emotions to the body and allow healing to come from that experience. This is why it's important to integrate dance therapy into pediatric hospitals.