Dance Movement Therapy in the Treatment of Eating Disorders

An Interview with Chandra Chaikin, MFT

Just as every individual is unique, so is every eating disorder. Anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, and other disordered eating patterns often require a range of treatment approaches in order to achieve lasting recovery. In addition to nutrition counseling, cognitive-behavioral therapy, support groups, weight restoration, and medication, one technique that has proven beneficial to eating disorder sufferers is dance/movement therapy.

Eating disorders are diseases that affect the mind, body, and spirit. As such, holistic treatment that simultaneously addresses the medical complications, emotional distress, and loss of self that frequently accompany eating disorders is essential. At The Victorian, a renowned facility for the treatment of women with eating disorders and co-occurring substance abuse issues in southern California, treating the whole person is an integral part of recovery.
 
The staff of eating disorder experts at The Victorian conducts an initial assessment based on each woman’s complete history including family, cultural, and social experiences and creates an individualized treatment plan. As part of its comprehensive treatment approach, The Victorian offers yoga, meditation, dance therapy, and other activities designed to restore the connections between the mind, body, and spirit.
 

What Is Dance/Movement Therapy?

 
Dance/movement therapy is based on the fundamental principle that because mind and body are interrelated, we can improve our emotional and physical health by changing our movements and behaviors. It is not about learning choreography or mastering a dance technique; instead, it is “the psychotherapeutic use of movement as a process which furthers the emotional, cognitive and physical integration of the individual,” as defined by The American Dance Therapy Association.
 
Dance/movement therapists harness the power of movement to help individuals access their own natural ability to heal and grow, both inside and outside the confines of therapy. Today, dance/movement therapy is used to treat people with various mental health conditions, including eating disorders, trauma, autism, and substance abuse problems.
 

Expressing Painful Emotions

 
Eating disorder sufferers are frequently shut off from their feelings and have a difficult time expressing themselves. Dance/movement therapy gives people a language with which to heal themselves, first by tapping into their emotions and expressing themselves physically, and later by recognizing emotions and putting them into words. This gives eating disorder sufferers a healthier way to cope with external stresses in their lives and get their needs met in more productive ways. It also helps them recognize their body’s cues of hunger, satiety, exhaustion, and so on.
 
Chandra Chaikin, MFT, leads weekly dance therapy sessions for eating disorder sufferers at The Victorian. A therapist who studied dance therapy at Kinections in Rochester, N.Y., Chaikin led a movement group in an outpatient program for adults with schizophrenia, major depression, eating disorders, and other mental health conditions and achieved impressive results.
 
In her work at The Victorian, Chaikin incorporates numerous dance/movement theories, including that of dance therapy founder and first president of the American Dance Therapy Association, Marian Chace. Gathering everyone into a circle, Chaikin begins some sessions with a physical warm-up of head, neck, and shoulders, which leads into an emotional warm-up with the use of guided imagery and metaphor.
 
Another warm-up exercise is a verbal check-in, in which Chaikin asks a member of the group to give a word or movement expressing their current emotional state. That word or movement then becomes the theme for the session that day. Depending on the needs and interests of the group, Chaikin may also begin with a “keeping the beat” exercise, which helps center participants by having them step in unison to a pulse.
 
“The purpose of the warm-up is to get each group member emotionally connected and tuned in with each other,” says Chaikin. “Sometimes group members feel self-conscious or nervous about using their bodies to express themselves, so we ease into the process with some basic techniques.”
 
In dance/movement therapy, women can feel safe and free. In order to help women find their center and release their emotions, Chaikin uses psychosomatic breathing. By placing their hands on different breathing centers on the body, such as near the collar bone, chest, or belly button, different emotions tend to surface. The more aware individuals are of their breathing, the better equipped they are to identify and address tension before it leads to self-destructive behavior.
 

Developing a Sense of Self

 
Increased self-awareness is an essential part of the process of recovering from an eating disorder. For those who don’t understand the emotions underlying their eating disorder, or who eat or exercise compulsively and mindlessly to soothe painful feelings, developing a strong sense of self can be immensely healing.
 
One of the ways dance/movement therapy aids in the development of self-awareness is by increasing participants’ attention to their bodily sensations, which subsequently leads to a more realistic sense of body boundaries.Chaikin utilizes a theory called “Living Dance” that her mentor created based on her studies of movement. In class, she asks each woman to create an image in her mind of the perimeter of her body using her index finger to trace the outline. Then she asks each woman to create a visual image of her body’s outline. Next, Chaikin asks the participants to begin moving while keeping their outline intact. If they lose the connection with their body, she asks them to place their hand where they lost their shape.
 
“This approach is particularly helpful with eating disorder sufferers because it directly relates to body image and personal boundaries,” says Chaikin. “When you can sense your self, you are fully connected to your body. And the more connected you feel, the more capable you are of asserting your boundaries and trusting and listening to your body.”
 
If participants bump into each other, they lose their shape which affects their sense of who they are as relates to other people. They can regain that sense of who they are by sensing their boundaries and holding to them.
 
This exercise can also be used to encourage women to restructure their mental image of their shape. Chaikin asks the women in her class to imagine, using all five senses, that their body is made from wire, clay, or a rubber band, and allow movements to flow naturally.
 
“By focusing creatively and visualizing their bodies in a new way, the women think less about the physical discomforts of recovery or their perceived imperfections and more on feeling connected to themselves,” says Chaikin. “Over time, they begin to see their bodies as a friend rather than an enemy.”
 

Rewriting a Life Script

 
Another theory Chaikin uses at The Victorian is one created by Blanche Evan, which encourages eating disorder sufferers to dance their feelings. Chaikin may ask a participant to dance one part of a conflict and then dance the other part, eventually coming to an understanding somewhere in between. The women may also dance their interpretation of certain words like growth or anger, or re-enact the routine of a typical 24-hour day, complete with behaviors like eating, purging, and other patterns.
 
“Dance brings a self-awareness to the women at The Victorian and empowers them to change the script they’ve written for themselves,” explains Chaikin. “With a new perception and feeling of self-control, they create a muscle memory of the changes they wish to manifest in their lives.”
 
Many women leave Chaikin’s dance/movement therapy class saying they feel relaxed, centered, and empowered. Because dance is a creative outlet, it gives clients an opportunity to use a sense of fantasy to create and enact a story, to exaggerate and release feelings, and to process deep-seated emotions that are too difficult to express verbally.
 
“For some, this is the first opportunity they’ve had to use their bodies in positive, expressive ways. Others come in with feelings they want to get rid of or conquer. And others find that dance therapy helps them get out of their heads and become a better version of themselves,” says Chaikin.
 
Whatever an eating disorder sufferer’s goals or interests, dance is a form of self-expression that unifies mind, body, and spirit. Whether professional or amateur, coordinated or uncoordinated, dance/movement therapy can draw out emotions that have been festering underneath the surface, contributing to emotional and physical distress, and can produce the feelings of confidence, empowerment, and self-efficacy that are essential to long-term recovery.

by Meghan Vivo