Expressions Through Movement and Dance: Exploring the Mind-Body Connection and its Implications on the Well-being of Young Refugee Children

Abstract

Refugee children exposed to extreme violence, terrorism and war, and the resulting loss and grief are likely to be traumatized. These children might struggle with somatic problems, sleep disturbances, social withdrawal, depression, high levels of anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), aggression, and other behavioral concerns. Trauma affects children’s mind and body, leading to complex symptoms affecting their memory and making it difficult for them to articulate their traumatic experiences and emotions. Refugee children belong to varied socioeconomic, racial and ethnic groups and their migration process is further complicated by stress inducing factors such as culture shock, health and financial issues, changes in their family roles and structure. Faced with threats to their physical, emotional and psychological well-being, the ecological factors surrounding refugee children, such as, family, peers, communities, and institutions, are critical to their resilience and well-being. This dissertation is a study of the emotional experiences of young refugee children. The study is designed using a child-directed, qualitative method that includes video recorded semi-structured movement and dance sessions, interviews, and observations in a community setting. It explored children’s personal stories through movement and dance, working collaboratively in a shared space. Through narratives embedded in movement and dance, the study provided a platform for the children to connect with their peers and to express themselves. The study makes contributions to our understanding of the linkage between the body and the mind for refugee children with traumatic life experiences. Firstly, the freedom to take ownership of their activities can allow for the revival of spontaneity in refugee children who experience a numbing of their emotions due to their exposure to traumatic events. Secondly, the freedom to explore movement without the expectation of strict adherence to preset activities, can encourage young refugee children to develop a sense of agency. Thirdly, the extemporaneous quality of free-flowing movement can contribute to a wider range of facial expressions, gestures, postures and expansive body movements. This expansion of the movement repertoire in refugee children can reconnect them to their physical and emotional selves through heightened body awareness. Fourthly, the simplicity and flexibility of the movement and dance sessions based in the community, supported by the parents and informally guided by the children, allowed the growth of mutual trust and respect. The exposure to an intersubjective experience using alternative modes of expression had a positive influence on the children’s emotional self-regulation, self-awareness, self-esteem and strengthened their communicative skills. In this study, the author introduces a new term called the ‘synergistic loop’ to recognize the interactive nature of self-expressions through dance, movement, and other modes of creative exploration. Narratives of childhood trauma shared by the children through movement, dance and pictorial depiction were indicative of this interactive and integrative system of body, mind, and emotion.