Psychological interventions for dancers’ mental health: a systematic review

Despite the high prevalence of mental health challenges among dancers, research on psychological interventions for this population has only recently begun to emerge and has not yet been systematically synthesized. This systematic review aimed to identify existing interventions for supporting dancers’ mental health and to analyze their effectiveness, feasibility, and limitations. This study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Eleven studies were included and categorized based on the intervention focus: (1) managing performance anxiety and emotional regulation (k = 6), (2) reducing eating disorder symptoms (k = 4), and (3) promoting psychological rehabilitation for injured dancers (k = 1). The findings indicated that although various interventions have been implemented to reduce performance anxiety, eating disorder symptoms, and negative psychological responses following injuries, as well as to aid in the management of emotional regulation, their effectiveness remains inconsistent due to differences in intervention type, intervention duration, and participants’ time constraints. Future studies should develop targeted, evidence-based interventions that consider the unique demands of the dance profession.