Creative Forces Music Therapist Rebecca Vaudreuil met Master Sergeant Michael Schneider who was still in treatment for injuries he had suffered during deployment, including traumatic brain injury and PTSD. This conversation between Schneider and Vaudreuil reveals how music therapy helped Schneider move through the healing process. The NEA is partnering with the Department of Defense […]
No Comments. Continue Reading...During a visit to a therapy group at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System’s H.J. Heinz Campus two years ago, PSO violist Penny Brill played music to cognitively stimulate veterans and encourage them to interact with one another. After hearing the music, one of the veterans opened up and told the group how he survived […]
No Comments. Continue Reading...By the end of last month’s Third National Summit on Arts, Health, and Well-being Across the Military Continuum, I felt like my brain was full. Although only lasting one day, planners packed the summit full of interesting sessions. In addition to getting acquainted with NICoE’s Healing Arts Program (discussed in our last post), we […]
No Comments. Continue Reading...One week ago, a colleague and I had the privilege of attending the Third National Summit of the National Initiative for Arts & Health in the Military at the National Institutes of Health. Throughout the summit, we heard from many of the military personnel, medical professionals, creative arts therapists, and researchers serving as leaders […]
No Comments. Continue Reading...Almost one year ago, PSO musicians Penny Brill and Lorna McGhee visited a St. Patrick’s Day-themed meeting of a cognitive therapy group at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System’s H.J. Heinz Campus. Through a carefully crafted musical program designed in consultation with therapists at the VA, they stimulated conversation and evoked memories for a group […]
No Comments. Continue Reading...Songwriters, composers and poets don’t shy away from topics that can make us very uncomfortable as listeners and music consumers. These songs serve a very good purpose as they meet us where we are at emotionally, even if we happen to be in a darker place. This kind of music can be like a […]
2 Comments. Continue Reading...Last year I accompanied the PSO’s Principal Flute, Lorna McGhee, on a visit to the local VA and followed her as she traveled from room to room and offered to play some tunes for the veterans. At one point during the visit, she encountered an actively dying veteran who was surrounded by family. Lorna […]
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