Lipika Ghosh, 34, was suffering from chronic backache. Her eight-year-old son, who goes to a special school, had hypertension and speech problems. Both are better after three weeks of sound therapy.

Doctors and NGOs in Calcutta are turning to sound and dance to treat those suffering from pain, stress, depression and lack of self-respect.

Developed by Norwegian teacher Olav Skille, sound or vibroacoustic therapy involves passing sound or sine waves through the body. City physicians are using it in addition to conventional treatment to ease pain.

“The therapy consists of lying on a foam mattress over 10 transducers that generate vibrations in frequencies ranging from 40 Hz to 100 Hz,” said Sumanta Thakur, a city-based orthopaedist, trying out vibroacoustics on patients.

“The treatment is painless and effective. My chronic back pain is gone and my son’s hypertension and speech disorder has significantly reduced,” said Ghosh.

The doctor points out that sound therapy only supplements established methods of treatment. “Counselling is important before vibroacoustic therapy is started,” Skille told Metro during his recent visit to the city.

Step One Foundation for Child and Youth Welfare, near Maniktala Post Office, has involved Thakur, neuropsychiatrist Kaushik Dutta, orthopaedist Sunil Kumar Thakur and senior lecturers from Indian Statistical Institute in vibroacoustic therapy.

Dance movement therapy (DMT), on the other hand, is being used since 2004 as a confidence-building tool for victims of sexual abuse and trafficking. NGOs are also trying to help special children and youngsters who live on the railway platforms by using DMT.

“Dance therapy does not stick to any particular dance form. It only makes one feel graceful and washes away negative thoughts,” explained Urmimala Sarkar, a professor of arts and aesthetics at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

NGO Kolkata Sanved is using the therapy to increase the confidence of girls rescued from trafficking rackets. NGOs like Porichiti and Health Vision and Research have had encouraging results after applying DMT on helps in Dhakuria and victims of domestic violence in Rajpur-Sonarpur municipality.

“Helps are often abused at work. Dance can give them the confidence to speak up,” said Krishna Roy of Porichiti.

Jamuna Adhikari (name changed), who was part of Sanved’s earlier programmes and is now training newcomers, said the helps were initially shy but have gradually acquired an interest in DMT.