Expressive bodies

Demented Persons' Communication in a Dance Therapy Context

Bibliographic Data

ID4743384
AuthorsKrister Nyström (Stockholm University), K G Kenneth Nyström (Stockholm University), Sonja Olin Lauritzen (Stockholm University, corresponding author)
Year2005
Volume9
Issue3
Pages297-317
Publication date2005-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHealth An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health Illness and Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1363-4593 • E-ISSN: 1461-7196
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1363459305052902
PMID15937034
OpenAlexW2158188597
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited24

Dementia is a disease that brings with it various limitations in the afflicted person's communication with others. The purpose of this study is to explore, not the limitations, but the capacity of the demented person to communicate under conditions that differ from the everyday life of the care institution. Group dance therapy sessions with elderly, demented persons were video-taped and analysed with a focus on how verbal and non-verbal modes of communication were used by the participants. The ways the demented persons use body movements, free dance movements, speech and singing in different combinations is described and discussed in terms of different expressive modes, where body movements are used to substitute or support speech as well as to express thoughts, memories and emotions. The results from the study indicate that under conditions that allow for different modes of expression, the communication of the demented person can be found to be rich and varied in expression and content

Cognitive psychology · Dance · Dance therapy · Dementia · Developmental psychology · Disease · Nonverbal communication · Singing · Visual arts · Action Observation and Synchronization · Computer Science · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Medicine · Psychology