The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of dance therapy on the mental health of physically handicapped people. Thus the study attempted to help them accomplish active communication within human relations, social adaptation, rehabilitatio...
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of dance therapy on the mental health of physically handicapped people. Thus the study attempted to help them accomplish active communication within human relations, social adaptation, rehabilitation and life quality improvement by having a positive influence on their mental health.
For this study, seven subjects and then the dance therapy was administed them for 60 to 90 minutes a week, totally 42 times. The mental health condition of the subjects was measured with Symptom Checklist-90-Revision as the Self-Report list of multidimensional symptoms. The dance movement therapy was carried out in three ways; pre-test before the therapy, middle-test six months and post-test 12 months after the therapy.
Data obtained from the measurement were processed using Paired t-test and Trend Analysis. The level of significance was tested at a≤.05.
Results of the study were described as follows;
1.Through the dance therapy, hostility, phobic anxiety and paranoid ideation were reduced, while those somatization, compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety and neurosis were not reduced.
2.The dance therapy reduced those syndromes in the pre-test, but not in the middle-test.
3.The dance therapy were found effective in reducing compulsion, depression and neurosis in the post-test rather than the middle-test.
4.Through the dance therapy, those syndromes reduced gradually in the pre-test, not in the middle-test and post-tests. After 12 months after the therapy, somatization, compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety and neurosis were reduced in the post-test.
As can be seen in these results, the dance therapy can have positive effects on the mental health of physically handicapped people in terms of somatization, compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety and neurosis.