Published in October, 2013 the report, Arts, Health, and Well-Being Across the Military Continuum - White Paper and Framing a National Plan for Action, details a series of recommendations in the areas of research, practice, and policy that came out of two national convenings. The convening were The Arts and Health in the Military National Roundtable (November 2012) and the National Summit: Arts, Health, and Well-Being Across the Military Continuum.

The 2013 topic for the National Arts Policy Roundtable, Arts and Healing: Mind, Body and Community proposed that the arts can play an important role in the rehabilitation of those who have experienced both mental and physical traumas, including our nation's wounded servicemen and women.

Published in October, 2013 the report, Arts, Health, and Well-Being Across the Military Continuum - White Paper and Framing a National Plan for Action, details a series of recommendations in the areas of research, practice, and policy that came out of two national convenings. The convening were The Arts and Health in the Military National Roundtable (November 2012) and the National Summit: Arts, Health, and Well-Being Across the Military Continuum.

This report, The Arts: A Promising Solution to Meeting the Challenges of Today’s Military—A Summary Report and Blueprint for Action (PDF, 1.27 MB) is intended to open the door for a national conversation and the development of a National Action Plan that will ensure the availability of arts interventions for our service men and women and their families, and integrate the arts as part of the “Standard of Care” in military clinical (VA and military hospitals) as well as programs in community settings across the country.

Power point presentation from the webinar presented by the Arts and Health Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Arts & Health) entitled, Reuniting through the Arts: Offering Creative Arts Experiences That Support Families of Returning Wounded Troops, led by Judy Rollins, PhD, RN, Rollins & Associates, and Ermyn King, MA, ArtStream, Inc. in 2012.

Art therapy has been shown to be effective in reducing acute stress symptoms in pediatric trauma patients. 

Power point presentation from the webinar presented by the Arts and Health Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Arts & Health) entitled, Coming Home to the Arts: Bringing Creative Arts Opportunities to Wounded Warriors, Their Families, and Military Hospital Staff led by Judy Rollins, PhD, RN and Ermyn King, MA in 2011.

In summary, veterans with vmPFC or amygdala damage were significantly less likely to develop PTSD than veterans with damage to other parts of the brain, or veterans with no brain damage. Particularly striking was the complete absence of a lifetime diagnosis of PTSD among veterans with amygdala damage, which could not be attributed to damage to surrounding temporal lobe regions, including hippocampus.

Created out of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Military Healing Arts Partnership, this infographic tells us about the neurological, emotional and physical healing benefits of the Arts for the Military, for Youths as well as for Older Adults.

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 posttraumatic stress disorder (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