Dance/movement therapy in fibromyalgia patients: Changes in self-figure drawings and their relation to verbal self-rating scales

This study evaluates if verbally oriented scales are as effective as the visual instruments of self-figure drawing and video interpretation in detecting treatment responses after 6 months of dance/movement therapy in fibromyalgia patients.The self-figure drawing and video interpretation technique captured treatment effects that were not seen on verbal scales. In the self-figure drawings, significant differences were seen in the variables “amount of body details” and “amount of paper use in percent” between the treatment group and controls after dance/movement therapy. The treatment group showed a significant increase in the “amount of body details” and “amount of paper use in percent” compared to controls. Specific parts of the verbally oriented ratings in CPRS, “bodily discomfort” and “compulsive act,” were positively correlated to “number of different colours.” The variable “pain and ache” in the CPRS indicated a negative correlation to the “amount of paper use in percent,” i.e. the more pain, the less paper used.The use of different assessment techniques may affect the treatment outcome and verbal instrumentation may not be the most appropriate in this patient group. Difficulties perceiving information through verbal/cognitive modalities as well as alexithymia are factors that are discussed.