Watch a testimonial by Marcie McCammond about the demand for and the benefits of Art Therapy
"Unmasked", a video documentary series spotlighting PTSD and TBI and the benefits of Art Therapy.
Marcie McCammond was injured while on deployment in Afghanistan in 2013. She was diagnosed with a TBI and severe PTSD. Listen to her story and how she is overcoming the stigma’s of PTSD and TBI as a Veteran living back in civilian life.
THE BENEFITS OF ART THERAPY
Art therapy can be beneficial to people of all ages, including adults who have emotional, cognitive, and /or physical disabilities. Our nation’s Veterans often return home with acute psychological or medical conditions that impair functioning, disrupt family relationships, and prevent reentry into the workforce. Others may develop chronic disorders such as PTSD that require months or even years of counseling or rehabilitation. For Veterans who are receiving psychiatric care for PTSD and other emotional conditions, art therapy can be an effective form of treatment, either as an adjunct to other therapies or as a form of individual or group psychotherapy.
This type of therapy is getting recognized on a political level and awareness is rapidly spreading. Senator Bob Graham (FL) emphasized the value of art therapy with veterans in The Congressional Record, stating: “Art therapists provide effective treatment and health maintenance intervention for veterans, focusing on all of their life challenges, such as mental, physical, and cognitive impairments. Intense emotion and memory, often difficult to convey in words, are more easily expressed in images with the guidance of a trained clinician...Given the number of veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, art therapy has been there to assist them as a form of rehabilitation.”
Art therapists use a wide variety of art-based techniques in the assessment and treatment of adults. For combat veterans of recent or previous conflicts, art therapy provides ways to convey feelings and experiences that are difficult to express verbally. As a form of psychotherapy, art therapy helps veterans communicate and resolve traumatic memories, relieve stress, and reduce symptoms of trauma-related conditions. Art therapists encourage Veterans to reflect on the meaning of their artwork to assist their psychological recovery, promote insight, and improve functioning.
For veterans in extended care facilities or hospitals, art therapy helps enhance quality of life by providing a meaningful creative vocation to increase self-esteem and a sense of personal self worth. Based on their knowledge of art materials, human development, and physical, mental, and emotional conditions, art therapists select specific drawing, painting, or sculpting activities to augment cognitive, psychological, and physical rehabilitation. Art therapy has been a valuable part of mental health services offered by Veterans Hospitals (VA) since 1945 when the Winter VA Hospital in Topeka, KS, offered art therapy as part of their psychiatric services to returning World War II veterans. By 1980, a job series was established to facilitate the hiring of arts therapists nationwide-- the GS638 series for Creative Arts Therapists and Recreation Therapists.
Today, art therapists are employed in VA hospitals and offer therapeutic services to military personnel and their families in hospitals such as Walter Reed in Washington, DC, and in clinics, mental health programs, and private practice. Depending on their credentials, many art therapists provide services to military personnel through TRICARE, managed health care, and other programs for military, reserve, and retired service men and women.
Along with PTSD, many wounded troops suffer lasting effects to the brain from a TBI-a serious and life-threatening injury caused by a sudden blow to the head that damages the brain's function. Suffering a TBI can lead to physical and/or cognitive difficulties requiring intense rehabilitative care.
TAKE AN ANONYMOUS SELF ASSESSMENT
RESOURCED BY, OPERATIONWEAREHERE.COM:
"After Deployment"
~ After Deployment offers self-assessments, interactive exercises, and video-based educational tools to help with a wide range of behavioral health topics.
"PTSD Foundation of America"
PTSD Foundation of America also offers a PTSD self assessment test completely anonymous.
Sited Resources
Are you or someone you know suffering from symptoms of a TBI or PTSD?
Here are some helpful resources to find help. No one should have to suffer alone. There is a sense of community here geared towards rehabilitation.