JONES: I was a combat medic in the Army. And even though I was
a "health care provider" in the military, the last person I
wanted to take care of was myself.I always felt a certain
way after putting an injured soldier on a Black Hawk and
never understood what I felt. One day Rosemarie Rodgers gave
me some clay and told me to do something with it. And I came up
with a sculpture and then she asked me to write about it.
Perched in an overwatch position, flashing colors,
flying debris, heightened senses to what's around."
[Gunshots]
"The moment is heavy, my breathing labored as I scan the
limp body scattered on the ground, a broken solider that
has no concept of quit as his eyes start to dim.
My heart breaks, but my face without emotion,
as I count the missing limbs."
♪ MUSIC ♪
GREENLEE: VA facilities are going through a really wonderful
transformation as they are exploring how can they bring
arts and wellness programs to their facilities.
JONES: The feedback I've gotten on my art has been amazing.
You know, my mom saw my art for the first time, and a tear comes
down her eye. And she's just like "I didn't know you had this
in you. Why have you been hiding this for so long?"
RODGERS: He never went to school to study poetry, you know.
This just emerged from him, which is a great sign from an
art therapy point of view because he's reflecting on
what the six deployments meant to him and his family.
GREENLEE: It starts to transform that experience into something
that is creative, generative, and forward-moving.
WEBSTER: And that invites different kinds of ways that we
treat the patient which may not
neccessarily have to be pharmaceutical.
RODGERS: Part of what I do in my group is people work for a
certain amount of time. And then they come together.
And they talk about their work.
JONES: This painting here was pretty huge for me because
four of my friends committed suicide. So it was a way of
wondering what happens to them afterwards.
So this is like my own version of "Stairway to Heaven."
ROLLINS: By expressing through their arts, they allow people to
see a different side of them and see them
in a totally different way.
BUSH: This is wood burn. I never did it before. It takes my
mind off of the arguing and the pain and the suffering. It takes
away some of the flashbacks that I have.
HANNA: It creates even endorphins that make people
feel happier and more relaxed.
BUSH: Every time when I work on this project, it comforts me.
It reminds me of who I am, the person that I've become,
and the changes that's going on now.
GREENLEE: The arts bring us back to who our most
essential selves are. And from that place,
we can heal most profoundly.
JONES: I used to think being vulnerable was just a sign of
being weak, you know? And it takes courage to be vulnerable.
The part of art therapy has been monumental for my family,
the growth and the healing.
ROLLINS: Some of the outcomes that we're seeing are just
wonderful. We're seeing it help with symptoms. We're seing it
help with reintegration into the community.
MOWATT: So I've been deployed to Afghanistan, and
I've been deployed to Iraq. And on my first deployment, I had
this three-quarter-length guitar with me. And basically, that
guitar got me through Iraq.
♪ MUSIC ♪
HANNA: We know that music has the power through studies
to really changed the mood of a person.
MOWATT: It's like an unwritten language. It connects people in
different ways. It doesn't matter what gender, what ethnic
background. Music just does something to people that--
I can't even explain it myself.
RODGERS: And I think that's the wonderful thing about
art therapy is that it gives people who don't have the words
and opportunity to express themseleves, and for us, as a
community of people, to look at it and say, "Wow."
JONES: It just makes it so much easier on a daily basis
because of the fact that I know I'm not in it alone.
WEBSTER: We're beginning to see how our brain changes when we
are involved in different kinds of art-making.
GREENLEE: They ask for pain medication less. They ask for a
nurse assitant less. They go home sooner. And they have a
lower case of recidivism. So they get better faster,
and they stay that way.
JONES: And the beautiful thing about art is that it makes you
feel something before you're ready to feel it.
RODGERS: So art therapy is very unique in that it's the
Veteran's artwork that drives the treaments.
HANNA: It allows the Veteran to discover themselves
the best way the can seek healing.
JONES: I'm actually starting to realize that it's important to
take care of myself because if I'm not happy, if I'm not
healthy, I can't do nothing for anybody.
WEBSTER: We're very optimistic that this work is going to have
not only powerful implications for our Veterans, but really for
the whole entire health care society.
JONES: I am forever thankful to Rosemarie Rodgers because
I believe she saved my life.
"A broken soldier that has no concept of quit as his eyes
start to dim. My heart breaks, but my face is without emotion
as I count the missing limbs. What is the message?
Someone tell me, what does it mean? Coming home to my family,
they noticed in my eyes, no longer are they kind, wishing
they were presented with a folded flag and a check
rather than what was left behind. Thank you."
[APPLAUSE]
♪ MUSIC ♪