{"id":95931,"date":"2024-01-22T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-22T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=95931"},"modified":"2024-01-22T15:40:30","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T15:40:30","slug":"va-music-therapy-healing-and-connecting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=95931","title":{"rendered":"VA music therapy: Healing and connecting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Creative art therapists and Veterans at Battle Creek VA<\/a> are using their musical skills to help Veterans navigate mental and physical challenges. This unique program also offers a path for Veterans to connect with others even when it is non-verbal.<\/p>\n

Creative arts therapies are part of VA\u2019s Recreation Therapy Service and are direct care programs that include art, dance\/movement, drama and music. Battle Creek VA has worked with nearly 500 Veterans in outpatient, inpatient mental health and residential programs throughout 2023.<\/p>\n

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Music therapy includes opportunities for Veterans to perform as a group<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cMusic therapists go through specific training in order to know when to intervene, when and what songs to play or what non-verbal cues to look for in this type of therapy,\u201d said Taylor Fox, recreational arts therapist. \u201cI think what sets us apart is the clinical application of music to address challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Music therapy\u2019s 70-year history in the military covers the entire continuum of care among service members, Veterans and their families. It is a vital part of treatment currently delivered in military treatment facilities and VA medical centers across the country by board-certified music therapists.<\/p>\n

\u201cI jumped at the chance and it\u2019s been awesome.\u201d<\/h2>\n

For Marine Corps Veteran Daniel Dunn, it continues to be part of his lifestyle and it allows him to cope with depression following an accident in 2001. \u201cI came to the medical center to see a mental health specialist, and she mentioned the music therapy program and I love and played music before, so I jumped at the chance and it\u2019s been awesome. Music therapy helps me with getting the angst out and, without it, I probably would not be in a good place,\u201d Dunn shared.<\/p>\n

According to the American Music Therapy Association, music therapy has been in practice since the early 19th century. In 2005, VA doubled the number of music therapists at its clinics across the country to better treat Veterans.<\/p>\n

Music therapy is not exclusive to Veterans as individuals, but it brings opportunities for Veterans to practice and perform as a group. At various times throughout any given week at Battle Creek VA, the stage of the medical center auditorium has Veterans playing different instruments<\/a> together and connecting as a group.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we\u2019re up here, we\u2019re working as a team like when we were in the military. There\u2019s this cohesiveness and camaraderie when we\u2019re on stage. You don\u2019t have to be isolated and if you\u2019re not talkative, you can still be a part of something when you\u2019re playing music with others,\u201d said Dunn.<\/p>\n

For some Veterans, music has served as a lifeline to find new ways of expression and ultimately a way to improve on a personal level.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was becoming more in touch with what he was feeling.\u201d<\/h2>\n

\u201cWe had one Veteran come in who was in our residential program and we could see he was struggling to express himself and not always comfortable finding the words for what he was feeling,\u201d said Fox. \u201cYou could see him though on stage and put it all out there, and his confidence blossomed throughout his time here. He completely became a different person. He was making connections with other Veterans during our jam sessions, and he was becoming more in touch with what he was feeling and able to express that a little better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fox also uses music therapy at the medical center\u2019s community living center, where not all Veterans have the communication capabilities they once had. About 50 Veteran residents there may be suffering from dementia, terminal illnesses or have become non-verbal.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne aspect of music therapy I find important is the connection people feel whether between Veteran to Veteran, myself and a Veteran or between caretakers and Veterans. My hope for Veterans who enter music therapy is that they discover or rediscover a coping tool they can utilize throughout their recovery. I also hope they find a community and connection with others to better understand that they\u2019re not alone,\u201d Fox said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Creative art therapists and Veterans at Battle Creek VA are using their musical skills to help Veterans navigate mental and physical challenges. This unique program also offers a path for Veterans to connect with others even when it is non-verbal. Creative arts therapies are part of VA\u2019s Recreation Therapy Service and are direct care programs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":95933,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,523],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-music-therapy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95931"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95937,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95931\/revisions\/95937"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/95933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}