Dance/Movement Therapy for Infants and Young Children with Medical Illness: Treating Somatic and Psychic Distress
By Suzi Tortora and Miri Keren
Copyright Year 2023
This book presents dance/movement therapy as a window into the emotional and internal experience of a baby with a medical illness, within the context of treating the whole family system and using the DC 0-5 as the basis for formulating the clinical situation.
This book fills a gap in the literature bringing a variety of fields together including infant mental health, infant and child psychiatry, nonverbal movement analysis, and the creative arts therapies. Grounded in a biopsychosocial perspective, dance/movement therapy is introduced as the main treatment modality, using nonverbal expression as a means of communication, and dance and music activities as intervention tools, to support the child and family. Case studies are presented throughout the book both during and years after the medical experience, taking into consideration the subtle and more obvious effects of illness on the child’s later emotional, social, and behavioral development. They illustrate the expertise of the authors as infant mental health professionals, drawing upon their work in hospitals and private practices, and highlight their unique perspectives and years of collaboration.
This exciting new book is essential reading for clinicians and mental health professionals working with infants and their families.
Table of Contents
The Role of the Baby's Body, Nonverbal-Movement Experience, and Communication in Building the Caregiver-Baby Relationship
The Clinical Implications of Embodiment and Memory During Infancy
Principles of Pediatric Medical Dance/Movement Therapy
Affect and Self-Regulation in Social and Emotional Development
Babies Remember Pain
The Hospital and Severe Illness-Linked Experiences: Their Impact on the Infant’s Socio-Emotional Development
Long-Term Effects of Chronic Life-Threatening Pediatric Illness on Later Adjustment and Their Clinical Implications
DC 0-5: A Multi-Axial Tool for an Integrated Formulation of Symptoms of Somatic and Psychic Distress in the First 5 Years of Life
Nonverbal Assessment of Somatic and Psychic Distress
From Lullabies to Dance-Play: The Role of Rhythm, Rocking, Song, and Dance to Soothe and Engage Infants and Young Children With Medical Illness
Multisensory Dance/Movement Psychotherapy Pain Management Approach
Summary of Key Points
Suzi Tortora, Ed.D, BC-DMT, LCAT a board-certified dance/movement therapist and specialist in the field of infancy mental health and development, has a private dance/movement psychotherapy practice in New York City and Cold Spring, New York. She is the International Medical Creative Arts Spokesperson for the Andréa Rizzo Foundation and senior dance/movement therapist at Integrative Medicine Service Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NYC.
Miri Keren, M.D., a child and adolescent psychiatrist, is the Clinical Assistant Professor Em. Tel Aviv University, Clinical and research consultant at the Early Childhood Outpatient clinic at Ziv Bar Ilan University, Beit Izi Shapira Center for disabled infants and toddlers, and at the FTT unit of the Schneider Hospital for Sick Children. She is WAIMH Past President, and the Chair of the WPA Perinatal Section.