Dance as a Cultural Practice to Fight Nostalgic Feelings Among Asylee Immigrants

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Background of the Study
Mental Health Concerns in Immigrants
Dance as a Therapeutic Method (for Asylee Immigrants)
Principles of Successful Dance Therapy
The Role of Therapist and a Strong Therapeutic Alliance
Creating a Safe Environment for Dance Therapy
Essential Evidence-Based Benefits of Dance Therapy with Asylee Immigrants
Conclusion
References

Introduction

One of the crucial questions that have to be answered when dwelling on the issues of immigrants is whether they always experience a nostalgic feeling and want to come back to their homeland. Different disciplines, such as anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and geography, have tried to approach this question (Caldwell & Leighton, 2016). It was a significant finding that a home is not necessarily a physical building since relationships, feelings, and practices are also exceptionally important for a better understanding of one’s inner identity. This is why birthplace does not always resemble nostalgia and vice versa, especially for asylee immigrants. The willingness to find an ideal home is a sentiment that is characteristic of all humans, especially when it relates to the time and space that bring joy and give the feeling of safety (Harris, 2019). For any given person, the definition of home is going to be different, making nostalgia a multifaceted concept that is frequently ignored by researchers who work with immigrants.

The fact of establishing borders and moving away from painful memories forces many immigrants to build up imaginary thresholds in order to ease the pain. As a matter of fact, nostalgia (also known as homesickness) is the biggest problem for immigrants because it forces them to experience negative thoughts and feelings that motivate them to go back to their homeland (Kawano, 2018). Despite the overall popularity of the concept, nostalgia was not covered as anything serious before the second half of the 20^th century. The pathological implications of nostalgia were highlighted by researchers as one of the problems that immigrants face when held back against different values, customs, relationships, and behaviors. Any given foreign society is a source of stress, and homesickness tends to play the role of a mediator intended to protect immigrants from harsh feelings (Aranda et al., 2020). The problem of the cultural identity of asylee immigrants can be linked directly to homesickness because their nostalgia stems from the inability to depart peacefully.

The problem of unwanted exile is what makes it impossible to resolve nostalgia on the fly and switch to positive behaviors. Therefore, the process of getting used to a new environment could be polished with the help of therapeutic interventions intended to enhance immigrants’ contact with the new environment and help them cope with any emergent feelings (Kawano & Chang, 2019). From a psychological point of view, some of the most prevalent issues that could affect immigrants’ mental are depression, obsessive thoughts, cognitive-behavioral symptoms, and apathy. According to Dieterich-Hartwell et al. (2020), nostalgia could be complemented by certain physical influences such as intestinal problems, sleep disturbance, headaches, fevers, and appetite loss. The lack of instruments that could facilitate the process of adaptation makes it virtually impossible to replace nostalgic thoughts and feelings with their positive counterparts. Some of the immigrants only cure themselves when they get back to their homeland. The ultimate problem with homesickness is that many immigrants do not want to engage in therapy and merely want to leave for their birthplace.

Asylee immigrants represent a crucially vulnerable population that could be affected by the need to relocate almost as much as outright refugees. The rationale for considering this group of individuals is that their potentially pathologic condition can be synonymous with a loss that generates unlimited stress (Luth-Hanssen et al., 2020). For any asylee, the inability to experience a nostalgic feeling could have outcomes as devastating as the loss of homeland. When they are not able to cope with their emotions, asylees can agree to participate in therapy. For instance, dance therapy is one of the elements of art therapy that can be utilized to address clients’ predicaments and reduce the complexity of asylee experiences (Massing et al., 2016). The aim of the current research paper is to gain insight into dance therapy as a social and cultural practice that could mediate nostalgia feelings in asylee immigrants. The potential for transformation and change will be discussed in an attempt to advocate for the benefits of dance therapy and the rationale for its implementation.

Background of the Study

The history of dance therapy began in the 19^th century, but the majority of consistent strategies intended to help individuals started appearing around the first half of the 20^th century. It was at that time that biomedicine was introduced and popularized among different care providers. Even though dance and music therapies were not included in the concept of biomedicine, it quickly became evident that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) methods could be rather important for healthcare across the globe (Panagiotopoulou, 2018). Approximately a century ago, the ideological constructs of dance therapy were established, allowing for a much more rational, scientific approach to mental health. The majority of negative connotations from the past were overturned, unlocking a set of healing resources that had not been investigated previously (Dieterich-Hartwell et al., 2020). It was an upside to therapists because of the dominant practices of the 20^th century and an opportunity to implement methods that did not go in line with traditional medicine.

On the basis of the classic meaning of CAM, the concept of art therapy was founded. It was expected that the new therapeutic approach would make unconventional approaches more significant and help people express themselves without worrying about bias or societal judgment (Marsh, 2017). Even though the broader sense of art therapy involves drama, visual arts, music, and visual arts in addition to dance, the decision to utilize dancing moves as a cure could be explained through the prism of symbolism and expression. The problem of helping immigrants with their mental health grew uncontrollably, causing therapists to expand their professional and training backgrounds. They had to learn about art and the possibility of helping immigrants overcome the nostalgia feeling with the aid of dance moves. The professional aspect of such therapeutic activities requires counselors to remain prepared at all times.

Mental Health Concerns in Immigrants

Another subject that has to be covered when describing the essential problems of asylee immigrants is their mental health. For instance, immigrant individuals could be rather moved by the condition of their children since the latter are crucially prone to behavioral and emotional difficulties resulting from relocation (Rot, 2018). It should be noted that immigration is a crucial source of stress that is going to pursue immigrants in the host country due to the differences in native languages, cultural expectations, and other specific issues. All of these problems, combined, drive immigrants closer to severe mental health diagnoses. Given that the number of policies that consider this particular element is limited, the process of cultural adaptation has to be monitored closely by all respective care and service providers (Sheppard & Broughton, 2020). Successful adaptation of immigrants is accompanied by mental health issues in more than 80% of cases, with women being the most exposed to anxiety and depressive episodes (Kawano & Chang, 2019). Native children are not as often affected by external and internal struggles as their immigrant counterparts.

It was also claimed by Suarez-Balcazar et al. (2018) that exceptionally high levels of anxiety can be found in asylee immigrants who have already had a history of mental illness. The most prevalent outcome that has to be covered when discussing immigrants is depression, that can be accompanied by suicidal ideation in the severest cases. Given that most immigration cases are linked to an attempt to find better financial support and increase wealth, the presence of asylee immigrants makes the problem of mental health in migrants even deeper (Jo et al., 2018). Similar to their parents, immigrant children reflect the behavioral struggles and mirror the emotional condition of their fathers and mothers. From anxiety to depression, practically any disorder can be copied by children, causing them to suffer even more due to the multiplying negative effects of nostalgia. This is why the decisions on whether to seek help or not are often affected by cognitive bias, where immigrants are too afraid to ask for help from the local population and service providers.

The ultimate concept that brings instability to the mental health of immigrants is the existence of discrimination. Adults, young adults, and children may face various cases of discrimination when becoming an asylee due to the stigma that is linked to the notion of a refugee (Kawano, 2018). In this situation, anxiety and depression can be accompanied by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. The fact that immigration being both an individually and communally important social process makes it safe to say that discrimination could limit one’s capability of engaging in therapy or seeking help in general. With this information in mind, it should be noted that most challenges met by asylee immigrants revolve around their mental health due to the need to adjust to new norms and regulations (Caldwell & Leighton, 2016). Severe mental health issues experienced by asylee immigrants are exceptionally visible and have to be addressed in a serious manner if therapists expect to help immigrants overcome the feeling of nostalgia and all of its negative derivatives.

Dance as a Therapeutic Method (for Asylee Immigrants)

When reconsidering dance as a proper therapeutic method for immigrants, it should be first considered that cultural and spiritual traditional practices have to be included in the therapy in order for it to be as relevant as possible. In other words, larger cultural schemes have to be utilized to align people against moral and social boundaries that set the ground for curing or treating mental and physical illnesses (Rafieifar & Macgowan, 2021). The presence of art therapies, in general, requires the therapist to integrate social and cultural contexts into the process of treatment in order to respect the philosophical and theoretical foundations of CAM. This is why dance therapy is an important tool intended as a medium of communication for the therapist and immigrant clients (Aranda et al., 2020). Irrespective of the client’s cultural background, there will always be an opportunity to connect via the spiritual channel, depending on the strength of the nostalgia feeling. Nevertheless, it should be crucial to protect any given person’s cultural identity and address their approach to therapy rather carefully so as not to expose them to the smallest signs of discrimination or racism.

Dance therapy is also a rather relevant approach to validating the importance of art therapy because asylee immigrants and refugees often escape the homeland due to irreconcilable differences. In other words, dance is an instrument of expression that can help people mediate their exposure to negativity and pick a more peaceful manner of settlement (Harris, 2019). Compared to outdated CAMs, dance therapy is much more beneficial because it pays attention to cultural differences and respects the inner qualities of the person involved in the therapy process. For immigrants, the dance could be an instrument of reconnecting to the culture of the birthplace and developing new skills at the same time. Networking is a crucial activity that many immigrants tend to escape instead of embracing, which makes it safe to say that dance therapy is an opportunity to bring people together, too. The bridge between cultures is exceptionally necessary in the case where biomedicine and empowerment cannot lead to enough positive outcomes. Eventually, this is one of the key reasons why dance therapy has to be implemented when immigrants are too fixated on the homeland and the feeling of nostalgia.

The fact that some immigrants could be prone to choosing biomedicine options when coping with homesickness should be a motivating factor for counselors to develop dance therapy and broaden its areas of use. Mental health issues are becoming much more complex nowadays, causing people to cope with them while not being aware of the consequences of problems with mental health (Kawano & Chang, 2019). Dance therapy seems to be an exceptionally non-invasive way of promoting mental well-being and helping individuals maintain their cultural identity without any “brute force” methods. Knowing that stress, depression, and anxiety affect the majority of asylee immigrants, it should be noted that dance is one of the best therapeutic instruments to address issues that go beyond physical manifestations of nostalgia (Rot, 2018). The inherent value of expressions makes dance therapy irreplaceable and genuinely unmatched in terms of how it affects the participants. With the survivors of child abuse and expatriates, the use of dance therapy can be validated through the interface of the possibility to work with implicit memories and consciousness.

Principles of Successful Dance Therapy

The first element of discussion that has to be covered when describing a successful case of implementing a dance therapy is the psychological expansion that it may bring. On the other hand, the creative basis of dance therapy makes it closely related to human wellbeing and the opportunity to overcome negative thoughts and feelings via drama, music, and art (Luth-Hanssen et al., 2020). Dance therapy is beyond the traditional forms of art therapy because it does not require verbal communication from either participant of the therapeutic alliance. A deeper sense of personality can be elicitof workinged to help immigrants become less reserved and appeal to the unique means of self-expression, such as movements and emotions (Panagiotopoulou, 2018). This particular idea also means that the therapist should possess specific knowledge in the area of reading one’s dance moves and behaviors. This would help them generate a mirroring response and communicate certain messages in a nonverbal manner.

The following guidelines have to be followed and respected by both the counselor and asylee immigrants if they expect to attain positive outcomes after engaging in dance therapy:

Human movement is the first explicit language that one may utilize freely to communicate with other people. The therapeutic process should be fundamentally based on the idea that dance therapy is as powerful as verbal communication;
There is a connection between the human soul, mind, and physical form. It should be preserved at all times in order to maintain the integrity of dance therapy;
The therapist should be ready to evaluate the client’s actions and intervene where necessary while observing the process of engagement in the given iteration of dance therapy. This premise stems from the idea that all human movements are expressive and may serve as a communicative device;
All movements are central to dance therapy and can be seen as crucial tools intended to help the counselor guide the client (Sheppard & Broughton, 2020).

The second principle to be respected when developing and deploying dance therapy is that the majority of bodily activity is connected to the human mind and vice versa. In a sense, dance therapy can be perceived as a healing tool only in the case where the therapist has the opportunity to help the client evaluate their emotional state from within and reflect their condition through the interface of physical movements (Massing et al., 2016). This way, the connection between the body and the mind gets included in the therapeutic process, helping the client create a link between their nostalgic feeling and rational thoughts, respectively. Successful dance therapy is intended to enhance clients’ wholeness and unite the soul, the mind, and the person’s physical form. Such fundamental harmony is going to become a therapeutic tool as soon as immigrants recognize the need to work on their irrational thoughts and improve their lifestyles (Suarez-Balcazar et al., 2018). As a powerful communication tool, dance therapy will be less intense than its conventional alternative. It will give asylee immigrants the space they need to express themselves and overcome the inner isolation that had been caused by relocation.

The Role of Therapist and a Strong Therapeutic Alliance

The presence of a therapeutic relationship between the counselor and the immigrant client is an essential predictor of successful dance therapy as well. One of the main reasons why it is true is the responsibility of the therapist to observe, evaluate and intervene when necessary, as the client is subjective and may not have the opportunity to look at themselves from a different angle (Rafieifar & Macgowan, 2021). As far as a counselor tends to explore their relationship with the client, they will have an extended list of opportunities linked to interventions and their facilitation to the point where the immigrant would gain an enhanced awareness of self and regain their personal identity. All the newly created connections and a slow reintegration into the community will reinforce positive thinking and help the immigrants develop flexibility and assertiveness (Kawano, 2018). Interventions should be flexible as well, making it possible for the therapeutic alliance of the counselor and the asylee immigrant to approach issues with an open mind and a confident attitude. Self-regulation and self-awareness cannot be overlooked when discussing the key characteristics required for the successful application of dance therapy.

The unique information exchange that occurs between the counselor and the client has to be protected by all means in order to make the therapy count. In addition to verbal communication, the therapeutic alliance can be based on nonverbal interventions since dance therapy presupposes that immigrants are going to express themselves with the aid of movements (Aranda et al., 2020). It is also crucial to mention the concept of kinesthetic empathy here since it will bring mindfulness to the given therapeutic approach and positivity to the counselor-client relationships. Movements and behaviors included in the therapeutic process will be observed by the counselor to be translated into psychological predicaments that the client is experiencing at the moment (Luth-Hanssen et al., 2020). Kinesthetic empathy is important because it helps the immigrants remain authentic and share objective insights, especially if they feel like the therapeutic environment is safe enough. Over time, the counselor’s empathy should turn them into a mirror for the client, allowing them to read immigrants’ nonverbal expressions and reach verdicts regarding mental health conditions based on particular dance moves.

The ultimate element of therapy that has to be respected in order for the therapeutic alliance to develop is attunement. It means that the counselor will be responsible for matching the client’s movements in terms of form, rhythm, and expression in order to make themselves closer to the immigrant and their struggle (Jo et al., 2018). The process of mirroring brings more security to the table and helps the counselor support their clients irrespective of their background or issues they had to cope with when relocating. The lack of judgment is an important element of the therapeutic alliance that many people overlook as something unnecessary. Instead, the connection between the client and the therapist should be explored constantly in order to give the person the feelings of safety and reciprocity (Caldwell & Leighton, 2016). The process of change is facilitated for the asylee immigrant, and they become strong enough to watch themselves in the mirror and explore movements.

Creating a Safe Environment for Dance Therapy

The primary element of a safe therapeutic environment for immigrants engaged in dance therapy is a person-centered approach applied by the therapist. The facility where the therapy takes place should be comfortable and inviting, with all the actions of the therapist being consistent with the information that has been conveyed verbally before (Harris, 2019). The suggestion for the therapist is to make sure that the therapeutic space is comfortable and secure since physical safety could unlock the potential of asylee immigrants and make them more open-minded. Nevertheless, it is not sufficient to provide clients with a physically safe environment since their psychological safety expectations should be met to the dot as well. For instance, the therapist should be mindful and prepared while making sure that the client does not withdraw from the therapeutic process (Dieterich-Hartwell et al., 2020). By paying attention, the therapist will once again contribute to the therapeutic alliance and help immigrants step away from the feeling of nostalgia and replace it with new outlooks. Therefore, psychological and physical safety is crucial for client empowerment and the integrity of the proposed therapy.

The second crucial idea is that dance therapy could be one of the shortest paths toward self-approval and mindful nonverbal expressions. The containment will go away as soon as the clients realize that their nostalgic feelings interfere with their lifestyle and bring more negativity to their existence (Marsh, 2017). The connection between the therapist and the client will also contribute to the outcomes of dance therapy, as all participants will gain awareness of their bodies and engage in two-way nonverbal communication. Over time, the body of the client will be prioritized as a resource, allowing them to set their emotional and physical boundaries. The “bodily” level of safety is going to make clients more resilient and relieve some of the pain linked to immigration (Caldwell & Leighton, 2016). There are three essential components that have to be included in dance therapy in order for it to be successful: constant interception, physical and psychological safety, and proper regulation of hyperarousal. With enough space for dancing and processing their emotions, immigrants will have the opportunity to build a safe environment together with the counselor and stabilize their condition, overcoming the pressure of nostalgia.

Essential Evidence-Based Benefits of Dance Therapy with Asylee Immigrants

Asylee immigrants represent a population that is recurrently exposed to different traumas. In order to cope with the effects of their interactions, they may engage in dance therapy to express their thoughts and emotions through a variety of moves. This is a liberating experience that can switch the clients’ focus from nostalgia-related thoughts to positive outlooks regarding the future (Aranda et al., 2020; Dieterich-Hartwell et al., 2020; Massing et al., 2016; Rot, 2018). The individual can reintegrate themselves and restore the majority of essential psychological processes that could have been damaged due to the forced relocation. As a psychotherapeutic instrument, dance moves can be considered an efficient way of establishing a proper connection between cognitive, social, emotional, and physical elements of one’s lifestyle (Caldwell & Leighton, 2016; Jo et al., 2018; Sheppard & Broughton, 2020). The inherent link between the soul, the body, and physical movements represents the strongest element of dance therapy. The fact that the body can be utilized to reflect one’s thoughts and emotions makes it safe to say that dance therapy should be used with immigrants because the latter tend to cover their true outlooks and remain reserved at all times.

The core aim of dance therapy is to provide asylee immigrants with an opportunity to transform their perception of the world and learn more about how positive thinking could help them in real-life situations. Even though verbal therapy is known to be helpful, the feelings of safety and freedom achieved within the framework of dance therapy cannot be compared to conventional therapeutic interventions (Kawano, 2018; Kawano & Chang, 2019; Luth-Hanssen et al., 2020; Rafieifar & Macgowan, 2021). In addition to kinesthetic engagement, the client becomes more confident with themselves and takes steps to acknowledge issues related to their mental and physical state. Dance thearapy sufficiently gives rise to one of the strongest therapeutic alliances due to a collaborative approach to the exercises where the client has to express themselves. Irrespective of whether dance therapy is held in groups or individually, the fact that it prioritizes individual needs and aspirations places it among the best verbal therapies, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychodynamic therapy (Harris, 2019; Marsh, 2017; Panagiotopoulou, 2018; Suarez-Balcazar et al., 2018). The holistic basis of dance therapy has the potential to make asylee immigrants less vulnerable and utilize internal physical and mental resources to maintain personal integrity and avoid excessive stiffness.

Conclusion

The increasing number of immigrants makes it impossible to ignore the issues that these individuals have to cope with, ranging from detention and separation to political repression and overt violence. All these instances of trauma affect their bodies and minds in certain ways, making it impossible to feel safe without resorting to the sense of nostalgia. This is why it is often hard for immigrants to express their trauma verbally and showcase certain emotions that could help the therapist resolve their situations. This was one of the main reasons for the implementation of creative art therapies, such as the dance therapy that helped clients focus on their emotions and movements, linking one to another. This inner connection is missing in the majority of immigrants, so dance therapy can be deemed especially effective with reserved individuals. As one of the unswerving pathways toward body awareness and improved interpersonal relationships, dance therapy seems to be an overall effective way of guiding the client with the aid of attunement and kinesthetic empathy. Dance therapy is also a shortcut to trustful relationships between the client and the counselor.

The key benefit that can be linked to dance therapy is that it brings an irreplaceable, unrepeatable sense of safety and humanity that can only be expressed through human movements. All the data obtained by the researcher within the framework of the current paper shows the promising nature of dance therapy and proves that asylee immigrants can count on this approach if they are too worried about communicating their nostalgic messages verbally. The definite methods of applying dance therapy to immigrant populations are yet to be explored in richer detail, but it is evident that it is a powerful tool helping people with behavioral and emotional struggles. Relocating to an unknown land is an immense source of stress that can be mitigated with the help of dance therapy, but only when there is a strong therapeutic alliance established between the client and the counselor. Based on the evidence, it may be argued that immigrant individuals could alter their mental health significantly by merely engaging in dance therapy and overcoming the barrier of a muzzled perception of the world.

As a result of dance therapy, asylee immigrants can become able to train their integrative and regulatory skills while also gaining a better chance at mediating their social relationships. The process of overcoming the strongest obstacles is not going to be quick, but the counselor’s focus should be on the range of available interventions. The need to promote psychological education and peer support among immigrants and local citizens is another activity intended to facilitate therapy and enhance one’s creative expression. The development of dance therapy and other art therapies can be deemed a great source of support for immigrants who lack self-awareness, empathy, and trust. Different settings, such as schools, could benefit from the inclusion of dance therapy. The mental health of asylee immigrants of all ages, genders, races, and ethnicities should become a priority for counselors. The positive image of dance therapy and its evidence-based effectiveness make it safe to say that research in the area should continue to provide support to an even larger number of immigrants who are too afraid to talk about their issues.

References

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