Affiliations: Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Correspondence:
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Correspondence to: Rebekka Dieterich-Hartwell, PhD, BC-DMT, LPC, Drexel University, College of Nursing and Health Professions, 60N 36th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Tel.: +1 215 266 0055; E-mail: rmd25@drexel.edu.
Abstract: Rising global levels of dementia including Alzheimer’s disease call for the treatment of both cognitive and psychosocial deficits of this population. While there is no cure for dementia, the progression can be slowed, and symptoms eased. The positive effects of exercise and dance have been documented as has interpersonal synchrony. Dance/movement therapy uses kinesthetic empathy, attunement, and mirroring to communicate, synchronize, and connect with clients, salient for a population that often struggles with loneliness and isolation. Here I offer a perspective on how dance/movement therapy promotes the social functions and neural underpinning of interpersonal synchrony, possibly providing neuroprotection for this population.
