A school in Glendale Heights is using a dance program as therapy for students that they believe will help ease stress and build self-esteem.

Adventist GlenOaks Therapeutic Day School in Glendale Heights has added a program for the new school year that uses dance therapy as a way to increase the social, emotional and cognitive skills of students.

The school launched its dance-therapy program as another option to the school’s music and art curriculum,  said Lisa Grigsby, director of  the Therapeutic Day School.

“Dance therapy will be a welcome addition to our art and music therapy offerings,” Grigsby said. “We’ve found that our students are quite responsive to expressive therapies because they nourish their creativity and improve their self-esteem.”

The Therapeutic Day School’s dance program was designed by Sabrina Washington, a former behavioral health counselor at the school who is pursuing a master’s degree in dance-movement therapy and counseling from Columbia College in Chicago.

Washington, of Villa Park, also served as a substitute teacher at the school and taught dance as part of a performing arts class in the school’s summer program.

Students who take dance therapy at the Therapeutic Day School begin with  warm-up activities and other exercises that encourage nonverbal communication. Many exercises center on interactive games and activities followed by discussions in which students share their experiences and learn from one another, Washington said.

“Not only does dance therapy advance awareness of the body and of movement, but it also promotes self-control and stress management,” said Washington.

While dancing in front of peers can be scary because it’s outside students’ traditional comfort zone, it can slowly cause people to express themselves more easily as they deepen their mind-body connections, Washington said.

Grigsby said the class is offered for all grade levels. The school operates on a rotating schedule and switches the class each day between music and art. Six different grade levels are taking the class this year.

Along with traditional individual and group therapy, the school uses recreation, pets, music and art activities with therapists to help with physical, social and emotional growth, officials said.

For information, call the school at (630) 671-0383