Reuniting Through the ArtsOffering Creative Arts 

Experiences that Support Families of Returning 

Wounded Troops

Judy RollinsErmyn King

Society for the Arts in HealthcareJuly 18, 2012

Roland Hamand, son a U.S. Army soldier, and his drawing, titled "Proud to Be Part of a Military Family"

Overview

• Military families• Emotional Cycle of

Deployment• Adult family members• Children• Creative arts

experiences

Marriage Rates

• More likely to be married than civilian population

Army—56%Navy—57%Air Force—61%Marines 49%

• Dual‐military marriages—7%

Divorce Rate

• About the same as civilian population

• Exception: Women troops

Single Parents

Nearly 8% of all military members are single parents

• Army—11%• Navy—8%• Air Force—6%• Marine Corps—5%

Age Range of Children

0

100000

200000

300000

400000

500000

600000

Birth–5 6–11 12–18 19–23

“Deployed”

Emotional Cycle of Deployment

1. Anticipation of departure2. Detachment and 

withdrawal3. Emotional disorganization4. Recovery and stabilization5. Anticipation of return6. Return adjustment and 

renegotiation7. Reintegration and 

stabilization

National Center for Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder of the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs 

Caregiver’s Possible Feelings

GriefAnxietyFear

AngerIsolationGuilt

Taking Care of You

James Johnson assists his son, Pfc. Alex Johnson, 19, with exercises to maintain arm strength.

What children may be thinking…

• That the injured family member will no longer be able to care for or play with the child

• That the injury was punishment for being bad

• That he or she will “catch” the family member’s injury

Preparing for the Visit• Description of what the 

child will see, hear, smell, etc.

• Reassurance that the injured family member is still the same person

• Description of how the child might feel when seeing the injured family member

• Something to bring to give to the injured family member

Combat‐Injured Service Members and Child Distress

• Changes inLiving arrangementsSchedulesParenting practicesAmount of time spent with parents

• At risk for distress

Research Findings

Cozza et al. (2010). Combat‐injured service members and their families: The relationship of child distress and spouse‐perceived family distress and disruption. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 23(1), 112–115.

• High pre‐injurydeployment‐related distress 

• High family disruption post‐injury 

• No association:Injury severityParent ageNumber of years marriedNumber of children

Six-Word Memoirs

Artsac(vi(essuppor(ngfamiliesofreturningwoundedtroops...

•allowforprocessingofemo(ons

•enhanceeffec(vecommunica(on,andprovidesocialsupport

•fosterreconnec(on,adjustment,androlerenego(a(on•buildposi(vememoriesandhope

•helpsustainhealthandwell‐being;modelself‐carewhileunderstress

•highlightstrengthsandresilience,whilepromo(nggrowth

Family‐Focused&SubgroupAc(vi(es

SampleAdap(ve,Mul(sensoryArtsMaterialstoEnsureAccess&Inclusion

AmericanPrin(ngHousefortheBlind,Inc.’sDRAFTSMANTac(leDrawingBoard

Photos:(leP)courtesyofAmericanPrin(ngHousefortheBlind,Inc.–hSp://shop.aph.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_DRAFTSMAN%20Tac(le%20Drawing%20Board_1‐08857‐00P_10001_1105;(right)courtesyofSuzukiMusicalInstrumentCorp.–hSp://www.suzukimusic.com/educa(on/qchord/

SuzukiMusicalInstrumentCorpora(on’sQChord®DigitalGuitar

Formoreonadap(veartsresources,seehSp://thesah.org/doc/ArtsAccess_Resources.pdf.

AnAr(sts‐in‐ResidenceProjectCurrentlyServingWoundedTroops,TheirFamilies,andMilitaryHospitalStaff

onthe4thFlooratWalterReedNa(onalMilitaryMedicalCenter

AlliesintheArtsLogoDesignforArtStream,Inc.:NancyGurganus

ArtStream’sAlliesintheArts

ProjectGoal&Objec(ves

Goal:Toextendcrea(veartsopportuni(esforwoundedservicepersonnelhospitalizedinamilitaryhospitalseing(i.e.,WalterReed),theirfamilies,andstaff

Objec*ves:•Toenrichthedailylivesofwoundedservicemembers•Toincreaseself‐iden(tyandself‐efficacytohelpwoundedservicememberstocopemoreeffec(velywiththeirinjuriesandhospitaliza(on

•Toprovideopportuni(esforfamilymemberstoengageincrea(veexperiencesasameansofcopingwiththestressoftheirsitua(onandnormalizingrela*onships

•Toprovideopportuni(esforhospitalstafftoengageincrea(veexperiencestofacilitatecoping

Rollins,J.(2011).AlliesintheArtsEvalua/onReport.Washington,DC:Rollins&Associates(forArtStream,Inc.).

AlliesintheArtsProfessionalAr(sts

•Visualar(st

•Crea(vewriter/poet

•Musician

• Improvisa(onalstorytelling/narra(veexpressioninmul(mediaar(st

HandColor‐TintedPhotoforA“PersonalRetreat”

AlliesintheArtsar(stscompleted…

•Anintensivegeneralarts‐in‐healthcarecourse•Asupervisedinternshipinanareahospital•Aminimumoftwoyearsofexperienceworkinginahospitalseing

•Aspecialorienta(oncourse(onmilitarylife,combat,commoninjuriesofOEFandOIF,impactoftheseissuesonwoundedtroopsandtheirfamilies,andimplica(onsforartsexperiences)

•AmericanRedCrossorienta(onandrequirements•MentalHealthFirstAidtraining

CollagedBoxCreatedbyFamilyMemberHoldsMementosofImportantStories

TalkingS(ckCreatedbyTeenOffersAMeansforOngoingReconnec(on

Mobiles,Chimes,PunchedTinLanterns,andEmbossedMetalProjectsEnhanceHospitalRoomDécorandServeasGiPs

Photos/PhotographicArrangementandArtsProjectDevelopmentandFacilita(on:NancyGurganus

PersonalizedScrollsCreatedasGiPsHelptoStrengthenFamilyTies

Photos:NancyGurganusArtsProjectDevelopmentandFacilita(on:NancyGurganusandRosanneSinger

FlyerDesignforArtStream,Inc.:NancyGurganus

Ins(tuteforTherapythroughtheArts’/ITA’sOpera/onOakTree(MusicIns(tuteofChicago)

Opera/onOakTreeBrochure:courtesyofJenniferRook,MT‐BC,LPC,ClinicalDirector,Ins(tuteforTherapythroughtheArts;seehSp://www.musicinst.org/military‐family‐services

Opera/onOakTree’sMission“Toempowerindividualexpressioninorderto...•fosterpersonalgrowth•deepeninterpersonalrootsbetweenandamongfamily•strengthencopingstrategiessothatfamiliesmaymoreeasilyweatherchallengesinherentineachseasonofthe[deployment]cycle

•makeiteasyforfamiliestobranchoutintotheircommuni(esforsupport”

Retrieved08/27/2012fromhSp://www.musicinst.org/military‐family‐servicesandhSp://www.musicinst.org/reintegra(on‐programming

Opera/onOakTree’sreintegra(onprogram(DeepRoots,NewLeaves)“aimstocreateascaffolduponwhichafamilycanbuildanewnormal,”with“theCrea(veArtsTherapies[serving]asthedeliverysystemforcommunica(ontoolsprovided....”

DeepRoots,NewLeavesTier1“ActUp,ActOut”DramaTherapyProtocol

PhotocourtesyofJenniferRook,MT‐BC,LPC,ClinicalDirector,Ins(tuteforTherapythroughtheArts;seehSp://www.musicinst.org/reintegra(on‐programming

DeepRoots,NewLeavesTier2“FoundObjectSculpture”ArtTherapyProtocol

PhotocourtesyofJenniferRook,MT‐BC,LPC,ClinicalDirector,Ins(tuteforTherapythroughtheArts;seehSp://www.musicinst.org/reintegra(on‐programming

Familymembersserve,too....

Photo:JohnDixon/TheNews‐GazeSe,06/16/2012,www.news‐gazeSe.com.ReproducedbypermissionofTheNews‐GazeSe,Inc.Permissiondoesnotimplyendorsement.

Resources‐Children’sBooks(sampling)

Biden,J.(2012).Don’tforget,Godblessourtroops.NewYork:Simon&SchusterBooksForYoungReaders.

Ingram,L.&Lee,M.(2008).That’smyhope.Boyds,MD:EarlyLightPress,LLC.

Lee,M.(2005).Theheroinmypocket.Boyds,MD:EarlyLightPress,LLC.

Williams,D.S.(2009).Homeagain.Washington,DC:ZEROTOTHREE®.

Resources‐Organiza(ons/Ini(a(ves

JoiningForceswww.joiningforces.gov

AmericanRedCrosswww.redcross.org

USO(UnitedServiceOrganiza*ons)www.uso.org

Na*onalMilitaryFamilyAssocia*onwww.militaryfamily.org

Opera*on:MilitaryKidswww.opera(onmilitarykids.org

Organiza(ons/Ini(a(ves‐cont’d.

OurMilitaryKidswww.ourmilitarykids.org

Na*onalGuardChildandYouthProgrammingwww.guardfamily.org/youth

BlueStarFamilieswww.bluestarfam.org

Opera*onHomefrontwww.opera(onhomefront.net

FisherHouse™Founda*on,Inc.www.fisherhouse.org

Organiza(ons/Ini(a(ves‐cont’d.

EasterSealswww.easterseals.com

YellowRibbonFund,Inc.www.yellowribbonfund.org

ServingTogether:Troops,Veterans&FamilyCareProject‐seewww.mhamc.org/html/index.html

MilitaryChildEduca*onCoali*onwww.militarychild.org

TheMilitaryFamilyResearchIns*tuteatPurdueUniv.www.mfri.purdue.edu

Organiza(ons/Ini(a(ves‐cont’d.ZEROTOTHREE®‐MilitaryFamilyProjectswww.zerotothree.org

SesameWorkshop‐“Talk,Listen,Connect”/T.L.C.www.sesameworkshop.org

TheIns*tuteforTherapythroughtheArts/ITA(MusicIns*tuteofChicago)‐“Opera*onOakTree”www.musicinst.org/military‐family‐services

ArtStream,Inc.‐“AlliesintheArts”www.art‐stream.org/allies

“Deployed”hSp://www.amc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123298631