Moving together: Assessing the effectiveness of group mother-child dance and movement therapy

The effectiveness of group mother-child dance and movement therapy is presented. Eighty kindergarten (aged five to seven) children in the regular education system who were referred to therapy for various reasons took part. Participants were randomly divided into two groups: 40 children in group mother-child dance and movement therapy (group PCDMT) and 40 children in group dance and movement therapy without their mothers' participation (group DMT). The children completed the Child Self-Perception Questionnaire. The mothers completed the Child Behavior Assessment Questionnaire, the Mother's Perception of the Mother-Child Relationship Questionnaire and the Mother's Psychopathological Distress Questionnaire. The Therapy Assessment and Process Questionnaire was filled out by the therapists. The results show that both groups appear to have been effective in this study. The group PCDMT showed more improvement on some of the variables than the group DMT with the child alone.