ABSTRACT
Often, individuals with eating disorders become frozen in detached or dissociative states. Their use of adaptive behaviors that once originated as survival tools has become the controller of their lives. In this chapter, two dance/movement therapists who have worked extensively with individuals with eating disorders, collaborate to discuss their understanding of the complexity of treating those whose lives have also coexisted with trauma. A brief overview of eating disorders is provided, and a broad range of issues that underly these diagnoses is explored. Sections addressed include understanding the interconnection of body and mind through the lenses of trauma research and the nervous system; dance/movement therapy (DMT) methods and theoretical constructs, highlighting the use of props, music, and language to enhance the therapeutic experience; and, an additional section on implementing the process, further addressing suggestions for creating and sustaining a safe space in which to facilitate rich experiences. Rounding out the theoretical frames are two compelling clinical examples of DMT, demonstrating the power of the therapeutic process identified and described throughout this chapter. Readers will enhance their own understanding of how this treatment model for individuals with eating disorders and trauma facilitates a return home to living in their bodies.
