Resource Results

Original webinar description: "Humans have been creating art for millennia — since long before the emergence of the written word. Now, researchers are beginning to document how both making and engaging with art can improve well-being. Art-based interventions have shown the potential to alleviate symptoms in conditions affecting both physical and mental health. And the emerging field of NeuroArts is spurring still more research into how creativity can shape the body, brain, and behavior. Our panelists have deep experience exploring these connections and using art to promote health. They’ll explain the latest research, share their personal experiences, and offer tips for incorporating the arts in wellness programs. This event is a Dr. Lawrence H. and Roberta Cohn Forum."

This study includes retrospective data from 113 service members attending the NICoE four-week Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) who participated in group and individual art therapy sessions, self-report assessments, a traumatic brain injury history (TBI) assessment, and an advanced MRI scan. Art therapy masks were coded by three independent coders for 23 individual themes. Presence or absence of each theme was determined from review of mask image and clinical notes. This analysis includes only the results for the theme of psychological closure and/or healing.

Traumatic  brain  injury  (TBI)  and  posttraumatic  stress  (PTS) frequently occur in military populations. Art Therapy is one promising clinical therapy that may help service members to externalize emotions and experiences that they may not be able to express in words. To investigate the neurobiological correlates of art therapy, two prospective research studies are currently recruiting at NICoE using neuroimaging techniques:

1. Evaluation of Quantitative EEG During Art Therapy in Service Members with Co-Morbid TBI and PTS Symptoms (QEEG Study)
2. Art Therapy and Emotional Wellbeing in Military Populations with PTS Symptoms (fMRI Study)

The webinar featured NEA Director of Research & Analysis Sunil Iyengar and Creative Forces Clinical Research Director Donna Betts leading a discussion with investigators of new art therapy and music therapy studies. These studies are being supported by the Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network. The webinar included a panel of investigators representing the four studies: Dr. Joke Bradt, Drexel University; Dr. Anjan Chatterjee, University of Pennsylvania; Dr. Maya Story, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; and Dr. John Williamson, University of Florida.

Creative Forces®: Healing the Invisible Wounds of War is an interactive exhibition of 45 pieces of visual art, music, and performances by military service members and veterans who are current or former participants in the Creative Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network. The exhibition also includes first-person accounts from the artists about their experiences with creative arts therapies and effects of these treatments on their lives.

Creative arts therapists (art therapists, dance/movement therapists, and music therapists) administer assessments and interventions that support the holistic well-being of military families affected by traumatic brain injury (TBI) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Through participation in the Creative Forces: United States National Endowment for the Arts Military Healing Arts Network, military families discovered strengths, inspired connections, and improved understanding of their relationships. Creative arts therapies (CATs) motivated engagement, which ultimately boosted family resilience. CATs are an integral part of interdisciplinary care to address behavioural and rehabilitative conditions of military families impacted by TBI and PTSD. Future research should examine the efficacy of creative arts therapies in improving resilience in military families.

Creative Forces®: National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Military Healing Arts Network intends to provide $2.5 million in new research funding to support feasibility/pilot studies and subsequent randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) or other large-scale studies to address priority research questions identified by Creative Forces in art therapy and music therapy. The primary goal of the RCTs or other large-scale studies is to yield generalizable findings about the benefits of including art therapy or music therapy in common clinical practice.

Click here for more information.

Creative Forces®: National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Military Healing Arts Network intends to provide $2.5 million in new research funding to support feasibility/pilot studies and subsequent randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) or other large-scale studies to address priority research questions identified by Creative Forces in art therapy and music therapy. The primary goal of the RCTs or other large-scale studies is to yield generalizable findings about the benefits of including art therapy or music therapy in common clinical practice.

Click here for more information.

This video features Donna Betts, Clinical Research Director for Creative Forces; Dr. Joke Bradt, board-certified music therapist and professor and Director of the PhD in Creative Arts Therapies program at Drexel University; and Rebecca Vaudreuil, board-certified music therapist and Lead Music Therapist for Creative Forces.