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The Art of Healing Loss

Applying Expressive Arts and Mindfulness

in a Veteran Healthcare Setting

Funded by the Society for Arts in Healthcare/Johnson and Johnson Foundation

and the Educational Foundation of America

October 19-20 2010
Lake Morey Resort
Fairlee VT

Link here for details and for a complimentary download,

Six Creative Steps for Healing Loss

The Art of Healing Loss (AHL) introduces a complementary approach to healing grief that increases the treatment options for mental health providers and spiritual counselors working with veterans. Drawing on a set of tools and techniques uniquely designed to help a person access and express painful feelings, AHL recognizes the power of the expressive arts to support veteran populations dealing with trauma and loss.

Background
While there is clinical consensus that the use of creative arts may be helpful as an adjunct treatment of PTSD, there is currently insufficient evidence to differentiate the impact of creative therapies on PTSD, co-morbid disorders or associated symptoms (Effective Treatments for PTSD Vol.2, Foa, Keane, Friedman and Cohen (eds), 2009.) According to Matthew Friedman, Executive Director of the National PTSD Center, it is crucial for organizations and institutions to engage in the design, development and testing of creative arts therapy as a specific treatment for PTSD.

The Center for Health and Learning will recruit and train mental health providers and spiritual counselors working with veterans to deliver the Art of Healing Loss. By replicating the AHL model in a veteran setting and participating in specific evaluation activities, these professionals will contribute to the emerging model of the expressive arts as a therapeutic experience for veterans and help to provide a scientific basis for measuring the impact of that experience.

In brief, the three stages to the program are:

In two separate trainings, two cohorts of 20 mental health providers receive training in the AHL model
The providers implement the AHL model with veterans in their healthcare settings
The content and results of the program are disseminated through a program manual, a veteran art exhibit and the evaluation findings

Peer Reviews
When asked to comment on CHL’s proposal, Natalie Rogers, expressive arts therapist and daughter of psychologist Carl Rogers, said: “I am excited by the prospect of finding ways to offer the expressive arts methods to professionals who will in turn be able to facilitate this process with veterans. The non-verbal, right brain functions for mind/body/spirit healing is timely and necessary in the field of trauma, PTSD and grief and loss.” Natalie Rogers now serves on the Advisory Board for this project.

Another member of the Advisory Board, a Marine who served in Vietnam, Joe Doyle commented, ”I believe the best way to reach veterans is through those who are currently working with veterans. I cannot emphasize strongly enough the need for therapists to be aware that the traditional healing methods of 15 minutes of psychotherapy and a prescription for a few days of ‘feel good’ are a disservice to those who suffer the after effects of service. I did a presentation to a pain control group for disabled veterans at the American Lake Veterans Hospital in Tacoma, Washington. It was apparent to me that the people who really needed to be aware of alternative treatment techniques were the therapists. Consciousness on their part will trickle down to the vets at first, and then will become a downpour.”

Target Audience

Psychologists, social workers, mental health counselors, art therapists and chaplains working in the VA hospital setting.
Trained licensed professionals with experience working with veterans in other healthcare settings (hospitals, mental health agencies, substance abuse programs).
Trained professionals interested in gaining techniques for working with veterans in tandem with a licensed professional, e.g. Hospice workers.

Program Description
Studies have shown that addressing unresolved grief is an important part of a veteran's healing. The Art of Healing Loss Process Model is a partially structured, six-session, multi-modal and inter-modal expressive arts approach to resolving grief that can be used by non-art therapists to treat PTSD in veterans of any theater. Components of the model are based on the HEALS model (Black and Simpson, 2004) and on research literature findings with reference to helping the client reconstruct meaning, strengthen resiliency skills and build social and emotional literacy. Mindfulness-based meditation, which takes place in a safe, aesthetically prepared environment, links the expressive arts of movement, drawing, sound and writing to the mind-body techniques of muscle relaxation, breathing/presence awareness, body scanning, and witnessing/self-inquiry. Clients are encouraged to identify the creative art modalities best suited to their own learning/healing styles and to use those modalities during times of loss or stress.

Program Objectives

Determine the efficacy of training mental health providers to apply the AHL process to healing veteran grief/trauma
Motivate mental health providers to use the AHL techniques, skills and resources in their practice
Bring the expressive arts into the VA hospital setting
Demonstrate the content and impact of the program by displaying the resulting artwork at the VA hospital and/or on a website
Make a contribution to the fields of Expressive Arts Therapy, bereavement and trauma research and publish research findings

Participant Objectives
The training participants (mental health providers and spiritual counselors) will learn and then teach:

How to use movement, drawing and writing in the expression of grief reactions such as: sadness, anger, resentment, relief, love, acceptance, commemoration, re-storying and forgiveness
Creative, constructive ways to manage feelings and stress
Skills for managing future losses
Increased understanding of the grieving process
Guided introspection processes
Body scanning
Presence process with breathing
The benefits of tuning in and trusting intuition
The ability to practice response art while others are creating (and sharing or not sharing in the session)
Gaining an understanding of one’s individual learning/healing creative modality style
If needed, greater acceptance of one’s own creative process
The wisdom of valuing the process more than the produ

Training Participants: Incentives and Commitment

Everyone who participates in the training must commit to using the model in his or her healthcarel setting.

We are offering the following incentives:

CEUs from:

Vermont Alcohol and Drug Abuse Certification Board

Vermont Board of Allied Mental Health Practitioners

National Board for Certified Counselors

Vermont Board of Psychological Examiners

National Association of Social Workers, Vermont Chapter

Art of Healing Loss Manual and program implementation materials
Ongoing technical assistance as needed from the Program Consultant
A marketing tool kit for implementation of the AHL program
A $350 stipend for implementation of the AHL program and for submission of evaluation data

Each participant will be expected to:

Pay $100 program fee
Attend the two-day training
Complete the Pre-Training Survey (on needs and demographics, background and previous experience)
Implement the program with a minimum of five veterans and administer brief pre- and post- Training Assessments
Complete a six-month Post-Training Replication Survey on the application of the program to one’s setting

We at CHL are very excited about the Art of Healing Loss. In the words of veteran Joe Doyle, “It is vital to make health care professionals aware that veterans need an outlet to tell their own stories. Sharing one’s military experiences in a group is often limiting, whereas expressing oneself through the arts – writing, drawing, movement, etc. – gives the individual an opportunity to speak without enduring an exposure to others that may be unwelcome. For many, this will be an important initial step in being welcomed home, for, in essence, they will be welcoming themselves home.”


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nav Search our website:	The Art of Healing Loss Applying Expressive Arts and Mindfulness in a Veteran Healthcare Setting Funded by the Society for Arts in Healthcare/Johnson and Johnson Foundation and the Educational Foundation of America October 19-20 2010 Lake Morey Resort Fairlee VT Register Here Link here for details and for a complimentary download, Six Creative Steps for Healing Loss The Art of Healing Loss (AHL) introduces a complementary approach to healing grief that increases the treatment options for mental health providers and spiritual counselors working with veterans. Drawing on a set of tools and techniques uniquely designed to help a person access and express painful feelings, AHL recognizes the power of the expressive arts to support veteran populations dealing with trauma and loss. Background While there is clinical consensus that the use of creative arts may be helpful as an adjunct treatment of PTSD, there is currently insufficient evidence to differentiate the impact of creative therapies on PTSD, co-morbid disorders or associated symptoms (Effective Treatments for PTSD Vol.2, Foa, Keane, Friedman and Cohen (eds), 2009.) According to Matthew Friedman, Executive Director of the National PTSD Center, it is crucial for organizations and institutions to engage in the design, development and testing of creative arts therapy as a specific treatment for PTSD. The Center for Health and Learning will recruit and train mental health providers and spiritual counselors working with veterans to deliver the Art of Healing Loss. By replicating the AHL model in a veteran setting and participating in specific evaluation activities, these professionals will contribute to the emerging model of the expressive arts as a therapeutic experience for veterans and help to provide a scientific basis for measuring the impact of that experience. In brief, the three stages to the program are: In two separate trainings, two cohorts of 20 mental health providers receive training in the AHL model The providers implement the AHL model with veterans in their healthcare settings The content and results of the program are disseminated through a program manual, a veteran art exhibit and the evaluation findings Peer Reviews When asked to comment on CHL’s proposal, Natalie Rogers, expressive arts therapist and daughter of psychologist Carl Rogers, said: “I am excited by the prospect of finding ways to offer the expressive arts methods to professionals who will in turn be able to facilitate this process with veterans. The non-verbal, right brain functions for mind/body/spirit healing is timely and necessary in the field of trauma, PTSD and grief and loss.” Natalie Rogers now serves on the Advisory Board for this project. Another member of the Advisory Board, a Marine who served in Vietnam, Joe Doyle commented, ”I believe the best way to reach veterans is through those who are currently working with veterans. I cannot emphasize strongly enough the need for therapists to be aware that the traditional healing methods of 15 minutes of psychotherapy and a prescription for a few days of ‘feel good’ are a disservice to those who suffer the after effects of service. I did a presentation to a pain control group for disabled veterans at the American Lake Veterans Hospital in Tacoma, Washington. It was apparent to me that the people who really needed to be aware of alternative treatment techniques were the therapists. Consciousness on their part will trickle down to the vets at first, and then will become a downpour.” Target Audience Psychologists, social workers, mental health counselors, art therapists and chaplains working in the VA hospital setting. Trained licensed professionals with experience working with veterans in other healthcare settings (hospitals, mental health agencies, substance abuse programs). Trained professionals interested in gaining techniques for working with veterans in tandem with a licensed professional, e.g. Hospice workers. Program Description Studies have shown that addressing unresolved grief is an important part of a veteran's healing. The Art of Healing Loss Process Model is a partially structured, six-session, multi-modal and inter-modal expressive arts approach to resolving grief that can be used by non-art therapists to treat PTSD in veterans of any theater. Components of the model are based on the HEALS model (Black and Simpson, 2004) and on research literature findings with reference to helping the client reconstruct meaning, strengthen resiliency skills and build social and emotional literacy. Mindfulness-based meditation, which takes place in a safe, aesthetically prepared environment, links the expressive arts of movement, drawing, sound and writing to the mind-body techniques of muscle relaxation, breathing/presence awareness, body scanning, and witnessing/self-inquiry. Clients are encouraged to identify the creative art modalities best suited to their own learning/healing styles and to use those modalities during times of loss or stress. Program Objectives Determine the efficacy of training mental health providers to apply the AHL process to healing veteran grief/trauma Motivate mental health providers to use the AHL techniques, skills and resources in their practice Bring the expressive arts into the VA hospital setting Demonstrate the content and impact of the program by displaying the resulting artwork at the VA hospital and/or on a website Make a contribution to the fields of Expressive Arts Therapy, bereavement and trauma research and publish research findings Participant Objectives The training participants (mental health providers and spiritual counselors) will learn and then teach: How to use movement, drawing and writing in the expression of grief reactions such as: sadness, anger, resentment, relief, love, acceptance, commemoration, re-storying and forgiveness Creative, constructive ways to manage feelings and stress Skills for managing future losses Increased understanding of the grieving process Guided introspection processes Body scanning Presence process with breathing The benefits of tuning in and trusting intuition The ability to practice response art while others are creating (and sharing or not sharing in the session) Gaining an understanding of one’s individual learning/healing creative modality style If needed, greater acceptance of one’s own creative process The wisdom of valuing the process more than the produ Training Participants: Incentives and Commitment Everyone who participates in the training must commit to using the model in his or her healthcarel setting. We are offering the following incentives: CEUs from: Vermont Alcohol and Drug Abuse Certification Board Vermont Board of Allied Mental Health Practitioners National Board for Certified Counselors Vermont Board of Psychological Examiners National Association of Social Workers, Vermont Chapter Art of Healing Loss Manual and program implementation materials Ongoing technical assistance as needed from the Program Consultant A marketing tool kit for implementation of the AHL program A $350 stipend for implementation of the AHL program and for submission of evaluation data Each participant will be expected to: Pay $100 program fee Attend the two-day training Complete the Pre-Training Survey (on needs and demographics, background and previous experience) Implement the program with a minimum of five veterans and administer brief pre- and post- Training Assessments Complete a six-month Post-Training Replication Survey on the application of the program to one’s setting We at CHL are very excited about the Art of Healing Loss. In the words of veteran Joe Doyle, “It is vital to make health care professionals aware that veterans need an outlet to tell their own stories. Sharing one’s military experiences in a group is often limiting, whereas expressing oneself through the arts – writing, drawing, movement, etc. – gives the individual an opportunity to speak without enduring an exposure to others that may be unwelcome. For many, this will be an important initial step in being welcomed home, for, in essence, they will be welcoming themselves home.”
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