Offered Alternative - Poster Presentation International Positive Psychology Association 8th IPPA World Congress 2023

Integrating Movement Interventions into Transdiagnostic Treatment for Emotional Disorders (#841)

Justina Or 1 2 , Michael Viveiros 2 , Madeline (Zoella) Skultety 2
  1. Kettering College, Kettering, OH, United States
  2. School of Professional Psychology, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, United States

Transdiagnostic treatment applies the same principles to treat a range of emotional disorders. These principles are mindful awareness of emotional experiences, cognitive flexibility, and exposure to emotional experiences (Schaeuffele et al., 2021). By applying these principles, transdiagnostic treatment targets the common symptoms of emotional disorders, including frequent, strong unpleasant emotions, negative reactions to strong emotional experiences, and emotional avoidance (Bullis et al., 2019). The effectiveness of transdiagnostic treatment for emotional disorders has been supported by research (Barlow et al., 2017; Farchione et al., 2012).

Another type of intervention that has been shown to be helpful in alleviating emotional disorder symptoms is movement interventions (Levine & Land, 2016; Karkou et al. 2019; Nardi et al., 2022; Savidaki et al., 2020). Movement interventions involve the understanding and use of movements to connect the mind and body to improve physical and psychological functioning (American Psychological Association, n. d.). Despite the variety of movement interventions, they center around two principles: enaction (which refers to the dynamic process of reconstructing the world and self through actions) and embodiment (which focuses on the influence of the body’s movements and interaction and its environment on one’s cognitive and affect processes; Koch & Fischman, 2011).

Given that the principles of movement interventions entail mindful awareness, cognitive reconstructing, and immersive experience in practice (Koch & Fischman, 2011), these principles may align with those of transdiagnostic treatment. Hence, in this presentation, we aim to illustrate the alignment between the principles of transdiagnostic treatment and movement interventions. In doing so, we aim to encourage and explain the integration of simple, evidence-based movement interventions such as movements from taiji, yoga, and dance warm-up into the different components of transdiagnostic treatment for emotional disorders.

  1. American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Movement therapy. In APA dictionary of psychology. Retrieved October 19, 2022, from https://dictionary.apa.org/movement-therapy
  2. Barlow, D. H., Farchione, T. J., Bullis, J. R., Gallagher, M. W., Murray-Latin, H., Sauer-Zavala, S., ... & Cassiello-Robbins, C. (2017). The unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders compared with diagnosis-specific protocols for anxiety disorders: A randomized clinical trial. Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry, 74(9), 875-884. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.2164
  3. Bullis, J. R., Boettcher, H., Sauer‐Zavala, S., Farchione, T. J., & Barlow, D. H. (2019). What is an emotional disorder? A transdiagnostic mechanistic definition with implications for assessment, treatment, and prevention. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 26(2), e12278. https://doi.org/10.1111/cpsp.12278
  4. Farchione, T. J., Fairholme, C. P., Ellard, K. K., Boisseau, C. L., Thompson-Hollands, J., Carl, J. R., ... & Barlow, D. H. (2012). Unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders: a randomized controlled trial. Behavior Therapy, 43(3), 666-678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2012.01.001
  5. Levine, B., & Land, H. M. (2016). A meta-synthesis of qualitative findings about dance/movement therapy for individuals with trauma. Qualitative Health Research, 26(3), 330-344. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732315589920
  6. Karkou, V., Aithal, S., Zubala, A., & Meekums, B. (2019). Effectiveness of dance movement therapy in the treatment of adults with depression: a systematic review with meta-analyses. Frontiers in Psychology, 936. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00936
  7. Koch, S. C., & Fischman, D. (2011). Embodied enactive dance/movement therapy. American Journal of Dance Therapy, 33(1), 57-72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10465-011-9108-4
  8. Nardi, A. B., Or, M. B., & Engelhard, E. S. (2022). Dance movement therapy processes and interventions in the treatment of children with anxiety disorders derived from therapy logs. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 80, 101951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2022.101951
  9. Savidaki, M., Demirtoka, S., & Rodríguez-Jiménez, R. M. (2020). Re-inhabiting one’s body: A pilot study on the effects of dance movement therapy on body image and alexithymia in eating disorders. Journal of Eating Disorders, 8(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-020-00296-2
  10. Schaeuffele, C., Schulz, A., Knaevelsrud, C., Renneberg, B., & Boettcher, J. (2021). CBT at the crossroads: The rise of transdiagnostic treatments. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 14(1), 86-113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41811-020-00095-2
  • Please select up to 3 keywords from the following list to best describe your submission content: Mental Illness, Mindfulness, Psychotherapy