The effect of dance and movement therapy on anxiety, functionality, and coping attitudes in individuals with bipolar disorder

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of dance and movement-based therapy on functional ability, anxiety and coping attitudes in individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder. To achieve this goal, the pre- and post-test values of anxiety levels and coping attitudes of participants in the experimental and control groups will be measured, and the changes in functional ability of the experimental group participants will be interpreted based on the evaluations and comments of the participants. The design of the research is a cross-sectional intervention model and has a mixed qualitative and quantitative approach. The population of this study consists of individuals aged 18-45 with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, and the sample size is 16 people consisting of 8 in the experimental group and 8 in the control group. Participants in remission phase will be included in the sample. The Demographic Information Form, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Young Mania Rating Scale, Beck Anxiety Scale, and Coping Attitudes Scale, containing questions about demographic information and information related to bipolar disorder, were used in the study. In the quantitative analysis findings, the pre- and post-test values of the control and experimental groups were compared, and the evaluations and comments of the experimental group participants were subjected to qualitative content analysis. Results showed that the dance and movement intervention had a significant effect on the self-help dimension of coping attitudes in the experimental group participants. When looking at the final measurement scores of the experimental group, it was found that there was a significant relationship between the Beck anxiety scale and the approach dimension of coping attitudes in a negative direction and the avoidance and escape dimension in a positive direction. When looking at the qualitative content analysis findings, it was seen that participants had a common positive feedback in group interaction, awareness, and self-help themes and subcodes such as taking action, calming down, change, fighting stigma, and developing a different perspective. The obtained data were discussed with studies from the literature and recommendations were made for future research.