Introduction

In 1999 in New York City, Gibney, a dance and social justice non-profit organization, and Sanctuary for Families, a domestic violence agency, created a partnership. The aim was to make movement-based practices accessible to survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) who have recently experienced trauma, as an alternative form of healing.

The result was a unique, new interdisciplinary model, drawing on the varied perspectives and expertise of dancers, social workers, and survivors (see Figure 1). This new program model, neither a form of dance therapy nor a traditional dance class, became what is now called the Move to Move Beyond® (MTMB) program. To date, Gibney has offered thousands of MTMB workshops in domestic violence shelters and agencies in all corners of New York City. In 2019, a pilot study was conducted followed by a clinical trial (Özümerzifon et al., 2022); these were the first empirical investigations of MTMB’s impact on survivors of IPV. While both MTMB and the research study were interdisciplinary in nature, the scope and the level of participation of the community varied across the two activities.

The identities of the community members that Gibney works with for both MTMB and the research study are confidential. The images curated for this article are therefore limited and carefully selected.

Interdisciplinary Perspectives in the MTMB Program

The building of the MTMB program incorporated the expertise of dancers and social workers as well as the lived experiences of the survivor community to create a trauma-informed movement workshop. At its core, the workshop model offers choice to its participants through four elements: reflection, expression, collaboration, and self-care. The interaction among disciplines is embedded throughout the program. For example, in many movement practices, closing the eyes to connect with oneself is common. However, social workers and survivors offered guidance that closing the eyes can be triggering for someone who has experienced trauma. Through this learning, the facilitators always offer options to the participants such as lowering or softening the gaze instead. As another example, a layer of the workshop involves generating movement from prompts that are based on the present or future. While this practice of generating movement based on prompts is a common practice in the dance field, the content of the prompts themselves came from social workers and survivors, thus creating a new and interdisciplinary approach.

Furthermore, while each workshop follows the four elements of the model, the structure and content design varies in response to participants’ needs in different contexts and locations. For example, after the initial session, facilitators gather information from participants about what activities were most resonant and supportive to them to inform and plan the subsequent sessions. A workshop series might offer more grounding, calming movement activities or more active, creative ones based on participants’ input.

Interdisciplinary Perspectives in the MTMB Research

The clinical trial itself also used an interdisciplinary approach. Prior to the pandemic, the pilot study was more multidisciplinary: the social workers created access and support for the community, the dance organization facilitated the workshop, and the researchers collected data. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, an interdisciplinary approach was necessary for the clinical trial to ensure the safety of the participants and success of the study (World Health Organization, 2022).

The clinical trial is the first randomized controlled study exploring the impact of dance and movement on the mental health and well-being of survivors of IPV. Collaboratively designed by a dance organization, a domestic violence agency, and a university, it highlights how interdisciplinary work can serve as a core pillar of successful implementation and assessment of an arts-based intervention for those impacted by trauma. Each person involved—including dancers, teaching artists, arts administrators, social workers, a scientist and research assistants—was committed to bringing their own expertise to the project while also learning about and integrating the other fields to create a collaborative project model. Moreover, no one involved worked in a silo, only delivering their specific expertise to the project; rather, every aspect of program delivery, data collection, and confidentiality/safety protocols was determined together.

The interdisciplinary design informed every step of the study from recruitment to data collection and was especially important due to the global pandemic. There were many new variables to consider such as shifting the study to a virtual model, as well as added traumatic events that the study participants were experiencing because of COVID-19 (Bridgland et al., 2021). Throughout the study, weekly meetings were held to ensure everyone was a part of all problem-solving and decision-making. Every decision was trauma-informed and centered the participants’ safety. There was an active effort to learn from each expert on the team which, in the end, created a new informed language regarding every aspect of program delivery, data collection, and confidentiality/safety protocols. For example, after considering the specific needs and variables of the study population at a team discussion, the researcher concluded that allowing for some leniency on workshop attendance and data collection procedures made the most sense for the study.

Furthermore, by its nature, research can always impact the intervention and experience, in a positive or negative way. However, minimizing overall interference was one of the reasons the researcher wasn’t making the decisions around different aspects of the study such as recruitment and data collection on their own. Another important layer to note is that this study was designed as a mixed-methods study where the quantitative and the qualitative data inform one another. This is essential when studying dance, as only looking at quantitative data will not capture the entire experience of the participants and the art form.

MTMB Program Impacts

The data collected included self-reported surveys, heart rate variability, and qualitative interviews. The results of the study showed that the survivors of IPV who participated in the virtual workshops experienced improved mood and reduced tension. They found new ways to express themselves, attune to their bodies, use self-care habits, and build community as they engaged in the workshops. Over the course of the study, the participants’ symptoms of PTSD and psychological distress lessened.

There was alignment between the facilitators and participants on the program’s impact. For example, both the participants and the facilitators reported that the movement workshops had a positive physical impact on the participants. Here is how one facilitator described this in the field log, followed by one participant sharing in the qualitative interview:

“One participant shared that she initially did not do this study because she felt like she had so much on her plate already. She said she was so glad she did because she felt so much better and even after the first workshop, she noticed a difference and slept better! It was great to hear her affirmations about the work! :)” –Facilitator

“I'm more relaxed (shakes hands loosely in a wave-like motion). I'm not as tense (holds hands in fists) as I was. I mean, I dealt with a lot of pressures. And I was, like, I knew my body was so tense (holds hands in fists again). I think I shared this in the first couple of sessions, like, my body's just so, like, (holds hands in fists and pulls them close to chest, shoulders curve inwards). And now, I feel a lot better.”--Participant

In another example, both facilitators and participants expressed how creating movement is a powerful, rich, and community-building experience:

“The participants seemed really relaxed and ready to engage this session. Felt more ease and trust building. LOVED the final creative. Each person was able to pinpoint strengths within themselves and people they admire - when we put the gestures together for the final dance combining all our strengths, I personally felt so buoyed and elated even! The music supported our movements and we went around two times doing each movement for about 8 counts each and improvising around the themes - smiles all around and such a release!”--Facilitator

“I think that being able to create your own movement and share it with others was, kind of, like, empowering. In a way, it gives you confidence to be able to share with others and express your feelings with others, especially people you don't know. So, to do that in this workshop has taught us a lot of confidence, I would say.” –Participant

The MTMB program and the clinical trial both required interdisciplinary collaboration, for the creation and implementation of complex models, and for the planning to build trust and align missions. An arts-based intervention like MTMB is anchored in the community’s trust, and in an art form that is facilitated in an accessible way that the community values. This is only achievable if there is input from the community in the program’s development. Without the academic partnership, a rigorous study of the program would not have been possible; without the community partners, access to a confidential community would be challenging; without the arts organization, the movement model would not exist.

As this case study suggests, interdisciplinary partnerships between health professionals, scientists, and artists can offer unique and holistic arts-based approaches for communities. The clinical trial offered a first glimpse into movement’s impact on survivors of intimate partner violence. Future interdisciplinary collaborations are necessary to demonstrate the depth of the impact of the arts, and their essential role in community.

References

Bridgland, V. M. E., Moeck, E. K., Green, D. M., Swain, T. L., Nayda, D. M., Matson, L. A., Hutchison, N. P., & Takarangi, M. K. T. (2021). Why the COVID-19 pandemic is a traumatic stressor. PLOS One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240146

Özümerzifon, Y., Ross, A., Brinza, T., Gibney, G., & Garber, C. E. (2022). Exploring a dance/movement program on mental health and well-being in survivors of intimate partner violence during a pandemic. Frontiers in Psychiatry 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.887827