Medical Dance/Movement Therapy in the Infusion Room: A Model for Individual Sessions with Adults in Active Treatment

A dance/movement therapy (DMT) program was implemented in a medical setting that is relatively new to medical DMT and in a format that is not covered in DMT literature. Dance/movement therapy sessions were conducted with adult patients in active treatment for cancer or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the infusion room of an outpatient cancer center. The sessions were offered in individual format rather than in group format, which led to the development of a model for individual DMT in the infusion room. The model consists of six components that guide patients to develop the attitudes and skills to cope with their disease while in active treatment. Patients start with mindfulness exercises and a therapist guided movement warm-up, and progress to mindful moving. Patients eventually direct their own movements and use symbolic and expressive movements to access and express thoughts and feelings that are held in the body or in the unconscious, before ending with reflections and verbal discussions. A limitation of the model is that it is based on conducting DMT with a small number of patients at one medical facility and may not be viable in a more culturally diverse population.