26isfam085 10.3205/26isfam085 urn:nbn:de:0183-26isfam0851 Meeting Abstract van Houten van Houten Marloes Sham MS

European Association of Dance Movement Therapy Leyden Academy on Vitality and Aging

author German Medical Science GMS Publishing House

Düsseldorf

610 20260612 engl This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Dieser Artikel ist ein Open-Access-Artikel und steht unter den Lizenzbedingungen der Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (Namensnennung). M0652 085 International Society for Arts and Medicine The Healing Arts – Forging Alliances of Arts & Medicine Presentation Abstracts Berlin 20260618 20260620 26isfam085 TextBackground: This presentation draws on my doctoral dissertation Greed, Grief, a Gift and twenty years of experience working with crisis-affected communities worldwide. Trauma identification and treatment are culturally bound (Hinton & Lewis-Fernandez, 2010), and Western constructs such as PTSD may not capture how distress is experienced in non-Western settings (Kohrt & Hruschka, 2010). Working with war-displaced Nepali women in Hong Kong, the research explores trauma stored in the body as fragmented images and sensations rather than coherent narratives (Arendt, 2007; Erni, 2012; Gopalkrishnan, 2013).Objectives: Examine how expressive arts therapy can be culturally contextualized for displaced communities.Investigate how movement-based expressive arts practices support trauma expression, regulation, and resilience.Critically reflect on power dynamics in therapist-client relationships.Methods: A multimethod qualitative study combining movement-based expressive arts sessions, participant observation, arts-based responses, interviews, and reflexive practitioner journaling. The approach integrates anthropological methodology, the Life/Art Process (Tamalpa Institute), and critical theory (Benjamin, Foucault).Results / Insights: Preliminary insights indicate that culturally integrated movement, ritual, myth, and breath practices enhance accessibility and facilitate embodied expression. Trauma emerges as sensorial and imagistic fragments, requiring non-linear, body-based approaches. Reflexive, co-created practices reduce hierarchical dynamics and strengthen cultural identity and collective resilience.Conclusion / Implications: Contextualizing expressive arts therapy within local cultural frameworks enhances therapeutic relevance, fosters embodied trauma recovery, and supports communal repair. These findings demonstrate how arts-based interventions sustain cultural resilience and collective healing in displaced and crisis-affected populations. 0 0 0 0