Can Art Therapy Help Military Personnel Express and Process Trauma?

What you need to know

• Art therapy, particularly mask-making, can help military personnel with post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) express and process difficult emotions
• Masks created at the beginning of therapy showed more negative emotions like anger and distress, while later masks reflected more positive emotions like calmness
• Viewers showed more empathy with the mask creators’ emotions when specifically asked to consider the artists’ perspective

The Power of Creative Expression in Trauma Recovery

For many military service members and veterans, the invisible wounds of trauma can be difficult to put into words. Post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) affect about 29 out of 100 veterans at some point in their lives, bringing challenges like distressing memories, difficulty concentrating, and emotional numbness. While traditional talk therapy helps many people, some find it hard to verbally express their experiences. This is where art therapy offers a unique pathway to healing.

How Mask-Making Helps Process Trauma

Art therapy, particularly mask-making, allows military personnel to externalize and process their experiences without having to find the right words. In this study, service members with PTSS were given blank papier-mâché masks to paint and decorate during an 8-session art therapy program. They created masks both at the beginning and end of their therapy journey.

The mask-making process serves multiple therapeutic purposes:

• It provides a safe way to express difficult emotions
• It helps participants gain perspective on their experiences
• It gives them a sense of control over their emotional narrative
• It allows for processing trauma through symbolic representation

What the Research Revealed

When independent viewers who knew nothing about when the masks were created looked at them:

• Initial masks were perceived as expressing more anger, distress and challenge
• Final masks conveyed more calmness and pleasure
• Viewers consistently preferred and found more beauty in the later masks
• Early masks were rated as more interesting and enlightening, perhaps because they revealed raw emotional truth

This suggests that the emotional healing that occurred during therapy was visible in the artwork itself, even to people who didn’t know the creators or their stories.

The Role of Empathy in Viewing Trauma Art

The researchers also explored how viewing perspective affected people’s reactions to the masks. When viewers were specifically asked to consider what the artist might have been feeling while creating the mask:

• They showed greater appreciation for the artwork
• They perceived more negative emotions like anger and challenge
• They felt more enlightened, interested and inspired
• They demonstrated increased empathy for the artists’ experiences

This indicates that explicitly encouraging viewers to consider the creator’s perspective can enhance emotional understanding and connection with trauma-related artwork.

What This Means for You

If you or someone you know is struggling with trauma:

• Consider art therapy as a complement to other treatments
• Remember that creative expression can help process emotions that are hard to verbalize
• Know that healing is possible and can be reflected through artistic creation
• Understand that sharing artwork with others can build empathy and connection

For those viewing trauma-related artwork:

• Try to consider the creator’s perspective and emotional state
• Recognize that both positive and negative emotional expression can be therapeutic
• Appreciate that art can communicate complex experiences when words fall short

Conclusions

• Art therapy provides a powerful non-verbal outlet for processing trauma and expressing difficult emotions
• The shift from negative to positive emotional expression in artwork can reflect therapeutic progress
• Encouraging empathy and perspective-taking helps viewers better understand trauma-related artwork