131. The effect of group music and dance therapy in enhancing the psychological resilience of patients with bipolar disorder

Abstract Background With the acceleration of social pace and the increasing psychological pressure people are facing, the incidence of bipolar disorder is on the rise. Although existing drug treatments can relieve symptoms, their restorative effect on psychological functions is limited. In recent years, non-pharmaceutical intervention methods have gradually attracted attention. Among them, group music and dance therapy, through the combination of rhythm perception and body movement, promotes the improvement of patients’ emotional regulation ability and enhances their confidence in social interaction. To explore the specific impact of this treatment model on the psychological resilience of patients with bipolar disorder, a three-month intervention experiment was conducted to analyze the improvement effect on the psychological resilience of bipolar patients. Methods A study recruited 60 subjects with bipolar disorder through questionnaires in colleges and universities and divided them into Group A and Group B, with 30 people in each group. Group B only received conventional drug treatment and did not participate in any additional psychological intervention. Group A participated in the group music and dance therapy intervention twice a week on this basis, each time for 60 minutes, for 12 weeks. The intervention content includes group music rhythm experience, free dance expression and emotion sharing sessions. During the intervention process, the physician monitored the patient’s emotional fluctuations and vital signs throughout to ensure the safety of the intervention. Group B only received conventional drug treatment and did not participate in any additional psychological intervention. The study used the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) to evaluate the psychological resilience levels of the two groups of patients before and after the intervention. CD-RISC consists of 25 items, The higher the score, the stronger the level of psychological resilience. Results Before the intervention, the CD-RISC scores of patients in both group A and Group B were around 58 points, with no significant difference (p>.05). After the intervention, the CD-RISC score in group A increased from 58.3 ± 6.7 to 72.4 ± 5.9, and that in group B rose from 57.9 ± 6.5 to 59.6 ± 6.1. Inter-group comparisons showed that the improvement in psychological resilience in group A was significantly higher than that in group B (p<.01), especially in the dimensions of emotional regulation, positive cognitive reconstruction, and perception of interpersonal support. This indicates that group music and dance therapy can effectively enhance the psychological resilience of patients with bipolar disorder. Discussion Group music and dance therapy can promote the externalization and integration of practitioners’ emotions through physical expression and musical resonance. In the intervention for patients with bipolar disorder, rhythmic movements help stabilize their emotional fluctuations, while free dancing provides a safe release channel for suppressed emotions, significantly enhancing the psychological resilience of the patients. Current research only explores the intervention effect of this therapy on patients with bipolar disorder. In subsequent studies, it can be further expanded to other groups with emotional disorders such as depression and anxiety to verify the universality of its intervention effect.