Creative Forces: Improving Health and Wellness of the Military Through the Arts

Discover how the military uses the arts to treat the invisible wounds of war impacting our servicemen and women and their families.

Members from Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network will join IAM Lab for a moderated discussion on the latest research in creative arts therapies to support the healing of traumatic brain injury, PTSD and other psychological health conditions.

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In this Dialog Series, panel members will share:

• An overview of Creative Forces, an initiative of the NEA in partnership with the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs and state and local arts agencies
• What clinical research is showing when creative arts therapies are applied to military-connected populations
• How Creative Forces supports continued healing and wellness as service members and veterans transition from clinical treatment to community programming
• Community models that best support arts engagement opportunities and programming for our military and how your organization can serve active duty military and veterans

Sara Kass, MD, Senior Military and Medical Advisor for Creative Forces, will moderate the discussion. She will be joined by an interdisciplinary lineup of panelists—researchers, clinicians and policymakers—on a mission to improve the health and wellness of our military through the arts:

• Bill O’Brien – Senior Advisor for Innovation and Director of Creative Forces at the National Endowment for the Arts
• Donna Betts, PhD, ATR-BC – Clinical Research Advisor for Creative Forces
• Marete Wester – Senior Director of Arts Policy and the National Initiative for Arts & Health in the Military (NIAHM) at Americans for the Arts
• Melissa Walker, MA, ATR – Lead art therapist for Creative Forces and Healing Arts Program Coordinator at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE)
• Chandler Rhodes, PhD – neuroscientist and Service Chief of Treatment and Rehabilitation at National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE)

Register here >>