After 14 years of warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan, we have approximately 460,000 American veterans with diagnosed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Half of those veterans are not receiving treatment to deal with the symptoms of PTSD; of the veterans who are receiving care, half of those rate their care as inadequate or ineffective. That means that 345,000 United States military veterans are s
uffering the debilitating after-effects of the trauma they experienced on the battlefield without the treatment and support they need to recover and reintegrate into civilian society. A brain imaging study done in 1997, titled Functional Neuroimaging Studies in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder show that the intense trauma experienced by soldiers on the battlefield can cause physical changes in the brain that result in hyperactivity in the amygdala, hippocampus and occipital cortex. The brain’s reaction to severe trauma causes memories of the episode(s) to exist as fragments that are part sensory, part perceptual, and part emotional, making it extremely difficult to treat with talk therapy alone. The intensity of the memories causes sufferers to “lock up” - they can’t make sense of it, so they can’t talk about it. Chronic PTSD is particularly resistant to treatment because of the severity and repetitive nature of the trauma, for example, a soldier who was engaged in multiple episodes of close quarter urban combat. PTSD symptoms range from hyper-awareness in their civilian surroundings (scanning rooftops for snipers, for example), fear of attack (walking in the middle of the street to avoid parked cars, avoiding open windows), exaggerated startle responses, nightmares and/or insomnia, outbursts of rage, anxiety in crowds, social isolation, and emotional dissociation. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, it can also cause physical symptoms such as headaches, gastrointestinal distress, dizziness and chest pain. PTSD doesn’t just “go away”. Time does not heal all wounds. If the initial trauma was severe and avoidance of effective treatment persists, chronic PTSD will likely develop. The longer it goes on, the harder it is to treat, and the more devastating the effects are to the sufferer. Inability to hold down a job, drug or alcohol abuse, violent outbursts, domestic abuse and broken relationships are some of the effects of untreated or poorly treated PTSD. The worst effect is suicide, and some 20 veterans take their own lives every day in this country. That is nearly one soldier every hour of every day who commits suicide rather than live with their pain. That doesn’t have to happen. Art therapy is a treatment plan that addresses the most severe symptoms of PTSD more effectively than almost any other treatment method available (in studies dating back as far as 1997) in a cost-effective, accessible manner. Trained art therapists lead veterans through various art forms, such as drawing, painting, sculpting and others, allowing the veterans to express and externalize the trauma they have experienced, which then gives them the opportunity to talk about their experiences and process their emotions. Several studies have shown that expressing their trauma through art provides veterans the ability to communicate their experiences and emotions in ways that are meaningful and effective to them. This is particularly valuable when they simply cannot put their experiences into words - a common difficulty for those with the most severe and chronic symptoms. The group settings of art therapy classes provide a higher level of comfort to veterans whose original trauma occurred in the group of their units (combat vets tend to exhibit lower levels of anxiety in a group of people they trust than when they are by themselves in a therapy setting), while still allowing for as much privacy and individuality as each soldier needs as they work through their own emotions, reactions and realizations. This allows them to process and externalize their traumatic memories at their own pace, and allows for a much less “invasive” approach by trained art therapists to help get them talking about their art and thus their experiences. The innate hybrid behavioral/experiential nature of art therapy creates a powerful effect, helping soldiers externalize their experiences and reorganize how they perceive them. Soldiers are, by definition, doers. They are on the move. Because art therapy involves the whole body and brain, it is possible for veterans to express their trauma in ways they never would be able to do simply in talk therapy. Additionally, because it is generally perceived as a pleasurable activity, art therapy tends to reduce immediate symptoms such as nightmares and anxiety attacks and help regenerate positive emotional connections. One study concluded that art therapy is more effective than other therapies because it provides pleasurable distraction in conjunction with exposure to difficult content, which allows traumatic material to be processed without the negative short-term side effects of talk therapy. It has been shown to be the most effective method of dealing with the most severe symptoms of complex, chronic PTSD. Art therapy results in more positive outcomes without the negative side effects of other treatments. Given our current rate of deployments, our current foreign policy and military involvement trajectory, we are likely to see as least another 250,000 soldiers coming home broken from their service to our country. It is our sacred duty as a grateful nation to be there for them and support their efforts to reintrate successfully into civilian life. If we are to truly reach and heal our soldiers coming home, we need to be prepared, and we need to have staff and programming options across the country that they can successfully access. The Ars Bellum Foundation is prepared to lead that systemic transformation over the next decade, and it all starts right here at home.
