A Trauma-Informed Approach to Dance/Movement Therapy for Persons Living with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders

In this chapter, the authors offer a brief overview of the intricacies of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (SSD) including diagnostic discrepancies, symptomatology, and the evolution of mental healthcare for this vulnerable population. Specific focus is paid to the relationship between SSD and trauma, including physical, sexual, and racial trauma. The authors provide details of and substantiation for the significance of a trauma-informed approach to dance/movement therapy (DMT) for individuals with SSD. Trauma-informed DMT for individuals with SSD is a strengths-based, embodied, holistic, and phenomenological approach to treatment that fosters resilience, agency, and community for people diagnosed with SSD. Each author respectively developed treatment protocols for inpatient (acute) and outpatient (chronic) treatment rooted in trauma-informed literature and research. These treatment protocols offer guidelines for trauma-informed DMT sessions, while still providing allowance for an improvisational approach to meet the individual and group needs as they are presented. Case vignettes are provided to highlight implementation of trauma-informed DMT practices.