Attending to the heart beat in Dance Movement Psychotherapy: improvements in mood and quality of life for patients with Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Interventions to reduce future events in patients with established CHD include apart from medical and pharmaceutical means, a change in lifestyle, social and psychological support and other interventions such as Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP). The present chapter describes the potential usefulness of DMP as a therapeutic tool in acute and chronic cardiac patients. Data from two studies among CHD patients, conducted in a tertiary hospital and a rehabilitation center are presented. Both studies show short term benefit in the quality of life and psychological status of patients. Although methodological limitations did not allow for the establishment of long term benefits of this intervention for CHD patients, this chapter hypothesizes that long lasting benefits are possible.