Liturgical Dance: A Dance/Movement Therapy Treatment Modality to Build Resilience

The purpose of this thesis was to promote the understanding of liturgical dance, explore how liturgical dance can be integrated into a dance/movement therapy session, and determine whether elements of liturgical dance can be used in a clinical setting to support resilience, especially with African-American children who are dealing the effects of complex trauma. To further the goal of building resilience for children with complex trauma, a dance/movement therapy intervention was developed using movement themes of liturgical dance to address five developmental domains. Goals focused on developing self-awareness, impulse control, boundaries, problem-solving, and physical health. A discussion of five movement themes of liturgical dance demonstrates how they could be used in a dance/movement therapy session to support these goals