Wellness MOVES Community Dance Collective

In honor of Social Prescribing Day we would like to share "Arts on Prescription: An Emerging Model of Mental Healthcare", a Psychology Today article written by IAM Lab's Director of Research Dr. Tasha Golden. Social prescribing is an approach that connects people to activities, groups, and services in their community to meet the practical, social and emotional needs that affect their health and wellbeing. It can help change the circumstances that make people unwell, and empower people to manage existing health problems.

Through arts on prescription programs, healthcare providers and social service agencies "prescribe" arts activities, cultural experiences, and/or time in nature to support their patients' or clients' health, wellbeing, and quality of life. Take a moment to read more about how social prescribing can help our communities and follow to learn about events and practitioners around the country.



https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-art-effect/202309/arts-on-prescription-an-emerging-model-of-mental-healthcare

https://socialprescribingusa.com/

Dance Magazine's new article about neuroaesthetics explores the positive effects of movement and dance on our neurobiology.

Dance by default integrates a host of somatic and cognitive systems and when done collaboratively generates cascades of nervous system activity as you dynamically interact and respond with the dancers around you. It's not only an art form but engages a range of body systems and is a powerhouse of benefits for the mind and body of the performer and the observer.

Neuroimaging of individuals or groups of individuals engaged in movement has proved a technical challenge. One approach to work around this difficulty has been developed by three neuroscientists in partnership with the Vangeline Theater / New York Butoh Institute in the Slowest Wave project, which utilizes semi-portable electrode caps and a particularly slow and fluid form of dance called butoh.

IAM Lab's Director Susan Magsamen was asked to share her thoughts on the topic of dance and neuroscience. She states that dance would be the art form she would recommend, saying "It does it all. It brings all of this physiology and psychology and multiple biological systems together simultaneously."

The nascent neuroscientific study of dance is beginning to align with what dancers and dance appreciators have always known - there are potent and tangible benefits to engaging with dance on your psychological and biological systems.

https://www.dancemagazine.com/neuroaesthetics-and-dance/