Hello Pole Dancer and welcome to another episode of Science of Slink. This week we are joined by a special guest, Dr. Cat Liang, Psy.D, who studies dance therapy. She has just published a great research article, The use of dance and movement for the embodied healing of interpersonal trauma in women and girls. We will be discussing her findings in her research and what movement therapy can heal. 

We talked about dance therapy and how when movement and joy are incorporated into your healing practice, specifically for healing trauma, students have a greater retention rate. This means that when we incorporate joy into the healing process, we can associate our trauma with new feelings and move past it rather than sitting in it more easily. We also see that people are more dedicated to taking a long healing path because the healing modality being used is bringing us joy beyond just healing the trauma, but also our relationship with our bodies as a whole while enjoying the process. 

The key findings of Dr. Cat's research ia that through dance therapy people's physical ability increased including but not limited to strength, flexibility, and mobility. She also found that their emotional capacity increased and there was a mind, body, and integration. This helps to push past dissociation and creates a sense of safety, allowing them to process in a safer and empowering way. When dance therapy was done in groups, people felt empowered in the community and people felt more safe with others including outside of the dance circle. Last but not least, people had lots of fun which helped people get out of the slump of reliving trauma and into a place to explore the emotions and needs of our bodies and minds. 

Dr. Cat's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drcatliang/ 

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Join pole instructor & personal trainer Rosy Boa as she chats with experts about the evidence-based practices you can introduce to your pole journey to improve your pole journey and feel better. The Evidence-Based Pole Podcast aims to help pole dancers feel better on and off the pole by talking with experts and diving into relevant scientific research to find evidence-based insights we can apply to our pole journeys. It’s a production of Slink Through Strength, the inclusive, evidence-based online pole studio, which can be found online at slinkthroughstrength.com.

Edited by: Simone Rossette 

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Sources:

Paper: Liang, C. X. (2023). The use of dance and movement for the embodied healing of interpersonal trauma in women and girls: A systematic review. Pepperdine University.

The book I mentioned:  Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness by David A. Treleaven (clinician)