Potential Interdisciplinary Arts Therapies for Brain Injury Survivors
In applying an interdisciplinary perspective that draws from artistic disciplines, the field of medicine can develop accessible and potentially cost-effective forms of treatment for brain injuries.
Visual arts therapy is shown to be effective in relieving physical and emotional pain associated with brain injuries. In a Journal of the American Art Therapy Association paper, the authors describe the results of an art therapy for veterans study. They conclude that “all participants who received art therapy stated that they either recovered previously-blocked memories or gained insights and realizations crucial to their healing processes” (Campbell, et al). They further claim that “both depression and PTSD symptoms were reduced in veterans with combat-related PTSD” (Campbell, et al).
The National Endowment for the Arts reported similarly, "significant improvements with regards to … psychological, physical, and economic inabilities,... emotions, greater communication and relational skills, improved impulse control, and reduced depression” (“Creative Forces”). This points to the potential for art therapy to be one effective form of treatment for some of the common symptoms of a brain injury. NEA also suggests that art therapy reduces healthcare costs by more effectively and less invasively addressing these issues, without potential for more severe side effects (“Creative Forces”). While many brain injury-related conditions can require invasive medical interventions and these studies rely heavily on the self-reporting of symptoms, they do reveal a trend that helps support the claim that art therapy could offer a potential cost-effective form of treatment for brain injury survivors.
Extending beyond visual art therapy to a study that looks at the effects of guitar music therapy for veterans from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, it is noted that out of forty veterans, “21% improvement in PTSD symptoms and a 27% decrease in related depression symptoms” (Dillingham and Clement). This significant decrease in depression was also noted in a Frontiers in Psychology article that stated, “if classical music was used as intervention... four studies out of eight [indicated] depression score improvements... that were above the average of 39.98%” (Luebner and Hinterberger). However, depression can be difficult to quantify accurately due to its self-reported nature. In Magee et al.’s study they noted that “music interventions may be beneficial for gait, the timing of upper extremity function, communication outcomes, and quality of life” after an acquired brain injury (Magee et al.).
Further, a more integrative approach to treatment through arts therapy creates space for expression and emotional healing that often are beneficial after traumatic events, such as brain injury. VETART—an organization that provides arts therapies to veterans—describes how 85 percent of their veterans found art therapy helpful for healing, proposing they have, “enabled veterans to connect with others and discover an outlet for expressing their emotions and experiences” (“VETART Mission”). Showing veterans how to safely express their emotions through art can help them to heal from emotional barriers incurred from their service.
VETART claims that “creative arts therapies aren’t ‘nice to have’..., they are ‘need to have’ services” (“VETART Mission”).Social interaction is inherent to collective music activities. Participating in a band or parade, for example, builds a community of people working towards a common goal, like a performance. In N. Dhokai’s Innovation in Aging study, he describes how “music interventions in community settings can provide opportunities to explore new social spheres, while reinforcing skills developed in rehabilitative therapies” (Dhokai 849). This is corroborated by Dr. Roy Ernst, Professor Emeritus, Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester, and Dr. Cynthia Johnston Turner, a medical doctor and well-known orchestral conductor, in their proposal to proliferate veteran-tailored bands. They claim that “performing in a musical ensemble, [veterans] will develop new friendships and support systems, and connect to the future by preparing concerts and parades.” (Ernst and Turner 1). Concerts and parades also provide future events that can deepen one’s motivation to live. The social interaction benefits of music therapy is largely quantified in the study “Music interventions for acquired brain injury” where it describes that after music therapy communication improved by 0.75 standard deviations, “a moderate effect” (Magee et al.). However, it is difficult to quantify communication skills, due to its subjective nature. Limitations to music therapy include accessibility issues. For example, the loud noise of a drum could trigger PTSD. Careful consideration of the music repertoire could address these issues.
Supporting survivors of brain injuries through the arts could allow for a greater quality of life and independence, more prosperous economy, due to lower unemployment, a higher average life expectancy, due to less suicides, and a richer community by appreciating these individuals through their artwork and musical ensemble performances.I would like to conclude by sharing with you a poem I wrote while in the hospital to express my own journey and encourage people to listen to the voices of the suffering. Just listening and a smile, which acknowledges the dignity in another person, can bring hope and compassion.
A Mere Smile is Freeing
The darkness may be brought
When only light was sought
The sun may be obscured
When the heart endured
The mask of youth
That hides the truth—
O, the pain of the being!
A mere smile is freeing
The tears of the sky
The questions of why
The constant pain
That no one explains
Feeling forsaken
All hope shaken—
O, the pain of the being!
A mere smile is freeing
Then a hand reaches out
Answering the shouts
Releasing the sword
That had been ignored
With only one smile
No longer exiled—
O, the pain of the being!
A mere smile is freeing
The anchor of hope
with a weary rope
Released only with a helping a hand
From the ever-deepening, sorrowing sand—
O, the pain of the being!
A mere smile is freeing
When you listen to the
Silenced songs of the suffering
Just by listening
Our lives can be risen
The world can be healed
A new future, a new hope revealed—
O, a mere smile is freeing!
Works Cited
Campbell, Melissa, et al. “Art Therapy and Cognitive Processing Therapy for Combat-Related PTSD: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, Vol. 33, 2016, doi:10.1080/07421656.2016.1226643.
“Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network.” National Endowment for the Arts, www.arts.gov/national-initiatives/creative-forces.
Dhokai, N. “Music Performance as a Pathway to Recovery From Traumatic Brain Injury for Older Veterans.” Innovation in Aging, Vol. 2, 11 Nov. 2018, p. 849, doi: 10.1093/geroni/igy023.3165.
Dillingham, Timothy R and Clement J. Zablocki. “Guitars for Vets: Evaluating psychological outcome of a novel music therapy.” U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Sept. 2011, www.hsrd.research.va.gov/research/abstracts.cfm?Project_ID=2141700403.
Ernst, Roy and Cynthia Johnston Turner. “Music for Life: New Horizons Bands for Veterans.” p. 1.
Luebner, Daniel and Thilo Hinterberger. “Reviewing the Effectiveness of Music Interventions in Treating Depression.” Frontiers in Psychology, 7 July 2017, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01109.
Magee, Wendy L, et al. “Music interventions for acquired brain injury.” Cochran Library, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 20 January 2017, doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006787.pub3.
“VETART Mission.” VETART, www.vetart.org/about.html.