Dance as we all know is a practice or simply an art form that lets you get lost in a trance. Not only does it help you express yourself, or make use of your leisure time, but it also comes with promising health benefits. Dancing improves your body's flexibility, and strength tones your muscles reducing heart diseases, etc. However, not many know that dance has been existing as a psychotherapy technique for quite some time. This is popularly known as Dance Music Therapy (DMT). 

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Marian Chace, was one of the prominent faces that introduced dance as psychotherapy in western medicine. Later, this technique was followed by alternative medicine therapists in many parts of the world.

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In DMT, therapists would often include movements that would help you feel emotions, be aware of your body's sensations and breathing patterns,  and also promote verbal or non-verbal interventions to bring out repressed conscious or subconscious thoughts. 

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This technique is recommended for people suffering from severe anxiety, depression, eating disorders (ED), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and many more. 

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An article published in the Journal Of Eating Disorders called Re-inhabiting one’s body: A pilot study on the effects of dance movement therapy on body image and alexithymia in eating disorders (2020) stated how DMT was beneficial for people suffering from ED, as the focus group that underwent the study came out with positive results regarding their body. 

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Similarly, an article published in the American Journal of Dance Therapy called Single‑Session Dance/Movement Therapy for People with Acute Schizophrenia: Development of a Treatment Protocol emphasises how a single session of DMT helped to reduce schizophrenia compared to verbal intervention. 

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