This publication is the first reference book for seated dance therapy. This form of therapy is mainly suitable for older and/or sick people who can no longer walk and stand safely, who prefer to move around with a walker or who can only sit in a wheelchair. Seated dance therapy can be used in arthrosis, osteoporosis, stroke, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, dementia and depression in old age.

Seated dance therapy is useful and healing – for the soul, body and mind as well as for social contact. This method can dissolve the depressive mood, overcome insensibility and inner emptiness, increase self-esteem, train body awareness, increase drive and help to better accept the aging process. Mobility, muscle strength, endurance, coordination and balance can be significantly improved. Seated dance therapy takes advantage of the fact that long-term music memory in people with dementia remains functional for a surprisingly long time compared to other parts of the brain. In addition, every form of movement leads to the networking of brain cells and thus supports neuroplasticity into old age. This form of therapy builds group cohesion, promotes non-verbal communication and verbal exchange and thus provides what many old people who suffer from loneliness and subsequent loneliness suffer from. Soul, body, mind and social contact are inextricably linked. This connection is one of the most important working principles of dance therapy.

Seated dance therapy can be used in geriatric facilities, in specialist clinics for neurology, psychiatry or psychosomatics, in psychiatric institute outpatient clinics for patients with dementia and senile depression, at adult education centers for older participants and in self-help groups with the corresponding diseases.

The practical orientation of this reference book enables dance therapists, dance therapists in training, but also movement, sports and body therapists, geriatric nurses, dance pedagogues, dance teachers and social workers to quickly get started with the subject. The author passes on her many years of practical experience in seated dance therapy, for example important dance therapy methods are presented, the framework conditions and the general structure of the lessons are explained. The detailed description of 30 practice-tested model lessons takes up a lot of space.

Dr. Undine Uhlig:
Year of birth: 1963
Academic background:
Geology studies at the Bergakademie Freiberg (1983-1987)
Studied geology at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich and graduated as a qualified geologist (1990 – 1994)
Dissertation in the field of paleontology, doctorate as Dr. rer. nat.(1994-1998)
Training as a dance therapist at the European Center for Dance Therapy in Munich (2017-2021)
Alternative practitioner in the field of psychotherapy, examination by the Munich Health Department (2020)
Current activity:
Dance therapist in a specialist clinic for psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy in Bad Füssing and in private practice (2021 to now)
Research focus:
Currently primarily collecting practical experience for dance therapy in psychosomatic rehabilitation