Military museum collections and art therapy as mental health resources for veterans with PTSD

ABSTRACT Background A veterans’ mental health charity and Hampshire Cultural Trust collaborated to facilitate art therapy groups for veterans with service-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Aims The project aimed to improve the wellbeing of participants by tapping into their existing military knowledge, skills and expertise as a resource for mental health. Also, to explore how items from the museum collection might stimulate a sense of belonging that could moderate the isolating effects of PTSD, and later the COVID-19 lockdown. Methods Data was collected through established evaluation measures to rate wellbeing and loneliness, and through surveys tailored to the project. Focus groups and participant observation provided further data. Descriptive statistics of the quantitative data were then combined with thematic analysis of the overall data to provide the findings. Results Although military experiences were the cause of the veterans’ mental health problems, and traumatic memories became stirred through recollections triggered by the museum items, the evidence suggests that participants experienced a sense of belonging which promoted self-confidence and social interaction, and improved wellbeing. Conclusions Through familiarity with the function of the artefacts, in-depth contextual knowledge, and shared military experience, the veterans were able to connect through an exploratory process. This was the case when the group was museum-based and when held remotely. Implications Military museums are potential mental health reservoirs for veterans. Digital art therapy sessions offer a way of involving and supporting socially avoidant or isolated veterans who cannot physically attend groups, as well as those who live out of the area. Plain-language summary During 2019, a veterans’ mental health charity and Hampshire Cultural Trust collaborated to run art therapy groups for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) associated with their military service. PTSD can have long-lasting consequences, such as social isolation and heightened anxiety. The project aimed to improve the wellbeing of participants by tapping into their existing military knowledge, skills and expertise as a resource for mental health. It was hoped that reconnecting with a range of memories from service life would counter-balance the weight of the distressing memories of military experiences that continued to have a detrimental effect. Each session involved looking at specific items from the museum’s collection; making a creative response through image-making or creative writing; and discussing ideas. The informality of the meetings where participants were encouraged to share their military knowledge, took the focus away from having mental health problems. Simultaneously, the effects of their psychological injuries were lessened by recognition and use of their specialist abilities. Results were promising. Although military experiences were the cause of the veterans’ mental health problems, and traumatic memories became stirred through recollections triggered by the museum items, the sense of belonging and camaraderie between veterans moderated the isolating effects of PTSD and enabled shared recollections. Further museum-based sessions were planned for 2020. However, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the group transferred to an online platform. This paper provides a comparison between in-person and remote working in this context. Digital art therapy sessions offer promise as a way of involving veterans who cannot physically attend groups for reasons such as distance or agoraphobia. It is hoped that this study might encourage other military museums to consider similar projects to support socially avoidant or isolated veterans.