Dance and body image: young people’s experiences of a dance movement psychotherapy session

This study was designed to investigate qualitatively young people’s experiences of a dance movement psychotherapy session in relation to their body image. Seven young women and six young men all aged 17 years old took part in a dance session based on a therapeutic intervention informed by dance movement psychotherapy. After the session, they gave accounts of the experience in focus groups and interviews. Their accounts were analysed using an inductive thematic analysis. Three themes were identified: Connectedness, Lack of Self-consciousness, and Body Acceptance. The session impacted positively on these young men and womens’ body image leading them to feel more connected to their bodies, freer, less self-conscious, and more accepting of their bodies after the session. The session itself was experienced as fun and relaxing and seemed to be equally effective for both men and women. It is concluded that future work needs to investigate the role of the facilitator and the school environment in producing these positive results, but general findings suggest that this is a promising procedure for use with both young men and women in this age group.