WEBVTT

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Hi , my name is Adrian stamper . I've

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been an art therapist at the Nikko

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since 2016 and this is major anne Fox

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who is a facility service dog that

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offers therapeutic support during our

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sessions . Art therapy is a master's

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level behavioral health profession . We

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are trained to use art as a vehicle for

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communicating non verbal thoughts ,

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emotions and experiences . It is not

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about being good at art , it is about

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art being good for you .

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My typical day in the life at Nico

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includes providing art therapy to

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service members through individual

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group and family sessions , as well as

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conducting research and facilitating

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community engagement . We serve as part

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of the behavioral health department and

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work in conjunction with an incredible

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team of multidisciplinary providers who

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collectively form a holistic and

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patient centered model of care . Our

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service members have freedom of self

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expression and use a wide range of

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media such as painting , sculpting ,

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drawing , wood burning collage , ng and

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creative writing as our therapists . We

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emphasize the inherently healing

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creative process over the product

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itself and yet the artwork also offers

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a profound window into the unique

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individual , symbolizing their identity ,

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their pain , their hopes , their fears ,

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and their resilience . The Nico was

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created to heal the invisible wounds of

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war . So one of the primary functions

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of the art therapy department is to

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help our service members give a face to

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the unseen and a voice to the unspoken .

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In fact , something we often hear from

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our patients is I've never been able to

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talk about this before and research has

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shown that there is a physiological

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explanation for this . When a person

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undergoes a traumatic experience , the

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speech and language center of the brain

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or Broca's area is shut down in order

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to initiate the fight or flight

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response . This is a life saving

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measure but leaves the person with a

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memory they struggle to put into words .

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The fact that trauma has such a non

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verbal component is what makes it so

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necessary to offer these nonverbal

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pathways for healing . By working with

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the senses , the emotional brain and

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the physical body , we are able to

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speak the same language as the trauma .

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In one family session after the service

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member explained his mask to his wife

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with tears in both of their eyes . She

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stated You just told me more in 20

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words than you have in 20 years .

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Another central component of our work

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is conducting research to investigate

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the science behind art therapy and

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advocate for its healing properties .

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We are fortunate to collaborate with

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our wonderful research partners and

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community arts programs to further

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these efforts . As you enter the studio ,

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you can immediately sense the sacred

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stories and inner worlds that have been

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released in here . Many of these are

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left as an act of closure or to help

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others feel less alone . Some depict

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unit insignia to foster a sense of

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community and camaraderie . Some are

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even memorials to fallen teammates as a

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way of symbolically laying them to rest .

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Others are brought home as an important

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reminder we're talking peace to share

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with loved ones . I'd like to share one

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of these stories . As you can see ,

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this service member created a split

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image on one side depicting the

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mountains of Afghanistan and on the

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other , the view from his own porch .

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He titled the piece Not gone but not

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home and wrote the following

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description . It is a mixed bag of

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wanting to be deployed , but not able

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to be wanting to be home , but not able

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to be wanting to be with friends , both

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dead and alive , but not able to be

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never feeling more alive than when

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working so intimately with death and

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feeling dead inside when you're

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surrounded by things that should make

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you feel alive . What's really powerful

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about this piece is that by creating

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the image , he unlocked the words to

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put to that experience . I am deeply

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inspired by our service members every

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day and I feel incredibly grateful to

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care for the men and women who have

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given so much for us . I hope this

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video sheds some light on the field of

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art therapy and how it can be used to

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heal the wounds of war