Abstract
This paper presents a model of treating women with eating disorders through dance/movement therapy based on the methods of Blanche Evan. Evan's theoretical viewpoint and methods of treatment are described with specific applications to working with women with eating disorders. Finally, a summary of an individual dance therapy treatment of a 24 year old bulimic woman is presented, illustrating the potential of this approach to promote therapeutic change. The symptoms of eating disorders serve to disconnect affect from the body, particularly as sexuality, trauma, and cultural influences contribute to conflicts in the woman's developmental struggle toward self-identity. Reconnecting the body with feeling allows the client to experience affect and express her inner world, to recognize meaning in her behavior and relationships, and to develop healthy psychophysical unity.
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Krantz, A.M. Growing into Her Body: Dance/Movement Therapy for Women with Eating Disorders. American Journal of Dance Therapy 21, 81–103 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022104603189
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022104603189