How does dance movement therapy help survivors overcome memories of trauma?
[In Sierra Leone], dance allowed the boys to create a nonverbal narrative. They were reconstituting their experience, and growing increasingly tolerant of their horrific memories. Week after week, I observed that one or more of them would take one of my limbs and immobilize me by holding it on the floor. This action was latent with multiple levels of symbolism. First of all they were repeating their traumatic history: They had captured and detained people….I also carried an authority within the group, similar to the authority the rebel commandos had. I wasn’t mistreating them, but I think they were getting back at the rebel commandos through me. In addition, they were trying to make sure that I didn’t disappear symbolically—holding on to the caring adult who had come to play with them, the first person who offered this kind of care since their families were slaughtered. They had all experienced loss and they didn’t want it to happen again. At the same time, their actions were threateni
