Within the last fifty years as philosophy, psychology, and cognitive science have moved towards increasingly more embodied theoretical frameworks, there has been growing interest in Dance Movement Therapy. DMT has been shown to be effective in mitigating negative symptoms in several psychopathologies including PTSD, autism, and schizophrenia. Further, DMT generally helps participants gain a stronger sense of agency and connection with their body. However, it has been argued that it is not always clear what constitutes these changes in DMT participants. (...) I argue that we can better understand the empirical and phenomenological results of DMT across psychopathologies if we adapt an enactive embodied approach to cognition. I use the framework of embodied enactive cognition and narrative theories of the self to develop an account of DMT as a form of narrative change. I claim that through the acquisition of new bodily skill and bodily awareness, DMT can cause changes to the participant’s narrative self-understanding. (shrink)

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of group art therapy using traditional Chinese materials on improving the self-efficacy and social function of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. In China, little research has been conducted on patients to measure the effectiveness of group art therapy, especially using traditional Chinese materials. To address this research gap, 104 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia were tested in a group art therapy program that included 30 treatment sessions and used a wide variety of (...) materials, including traditional Chinese materials, such as Chinese calligraphy, traditional Chinese painting, Chinese embroidery, and Chinese beads. The effect of art therapy was analyzed using the General Self-Efficacy Scale and Scale of Social Skills for Psychiatric Inpatients. This study demonstrates that group art therapy using traditional Chinese materials can improve self-efficacy and social function, reducing social and life function problems, and promote the recovery of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. (shrink)