November 1, 2021
The National Endowment for the Arts is pleased to support four new pilot research studies into art therapy and music therapy, as part of the agency’s Creative Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network. This component of Creative Forces is managed in partnership with the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (HJF), Inc. The funding for these projects totals $1,300,000 and will take place fiscal years 2021-2023.
The NEA is committed to investing in research that explores the impact and benefits—physical, social, and emotional—of creative arts therapies. These projects are designed to address the following questions that were identified in the Creative Forces Conceptual Frameworks Phase 2 Final Report:
- How and to what extent does art therapy affect emotional processing and self-regulation for service members and veterans?
- How and to what extent does music therapy affect the perception of chronic pain in service members and/or veterans who experience chronic pain?
Relief from chronic pain, along with improved emotional regulation, are two key outcome areas of interest to the Creative Forces clinical team, based on the patient populations served. The research questions also build on existing knowledge about the application of creative arts therapies to these domains and in these populations.
Two of the research teams will focus on the art therapy question and two on the music therapy question:
- The University of Pennsylvania will investigate art therapy and emotional well-being in military populations with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (Bethesda, MD).
- The University of Florida, Drexel University, and the Malcom Randall VA (Gainesville, FL) will study the extent to which art therapy decreases PTSD symptoms after traumatic brain injury (TBI), and how it improves self-regulation and affects related indicators of neurophysiological response.
- Drexel University and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (Anchorage, AK) will examine group music therapy for chronic pain management in service members with co-morbid chronic pain and mild TBI.
- The Indiana Institute for Medical Research, in collaboration with the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center (Indianapolis, IN), will test music therapy as a pain management strategy, in a study titled “Feasibility and Acceptability of Music Imagery and Listening Interventions for Analgesia (FAMILIA).”
Support of such studies—and the pursuit of more rigorous research designs for investigating creative arts therapies—is envisioned in the Creative Forces Clinical Research Strategic Framework and Five-Year Agenda, which articulates goals for expanding Creative Forces’ research capacity.
“The selection of these four studies will allow leading researchers from multiple areas of expertise to contribute new knowledge about how and why—and under what conditions—creative arts therapies work for our service members and veterans recovering from trauma,” said Sunil Iyengar, Director of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Office of Research and Analysis.
“This funding represents a unique opportunity to advance art therapy and music therapy by investigating these non-pharmacological clinical interventions and how they can be leveraged to enhance the well-being of military populations,” said HJF President and CEO Dr. Joseph Caravalho. “HJF is proud to be part of this innovative research examining clinical work through the lens of neuroscience, biopsychosocial frameworks, and more—in advance of conducting fully powered trials to identify putative mechanisms and test efficacy.”
Upon completion of the pilot studies, the teams will be invited to apply for funding for randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) or other large-scale studies that build on their initial results. From those applications, HJF will support up to two projects as part of Creative Forces, each totaling $650,000 for a period of two and a half years. These RCTs or other large-scale studies will be designed to yield generalizable findings about the benefits of including art therapy or music therapy in common clinical practice.
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Research Teams Funded by Creative Forces FY2021-2023 |
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Study Title |
Recipient(s) |
Study Site |
Research Team Members |
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Art Therapy and Emotional Wellbeing in Military Populations with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder |
University of Pennsylvania
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NICoE |
Anjan Chatterjee, M.D., Professor of Neurology, Psychology, and Architecture; Director, Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics |
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Chandler Rhodes, PhD, Service Chief, Treatment and Rehabilitation, NICoE |
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Melissa Walker, MA, ATR, Art Therapist and Healing Arts Program Coordinator, NICoE; Lead Art Therapist, Creative Forces |
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Juliet King, MA, ATR-BC, LPC, LMHC, Doctoral Candidate; Associate Professor Art Therapy, The George Washington University; Adjunct Associate Professor of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine |
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Adrienne Marie Stamper, MA, Art Therapist, HJF in support of Creative Forces, NICoE |
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Janell Payano Sosa, PhD, Neuroscience Postdoctoral Fellow, HJF in support of Creative Forces, NICoE |
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Rujirutana Srikanchana, PhD, Computer Scientist, NICoE |
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Effects of Art Therapy on Symptoms of PTSD After TBI and Indicators of Neurophysiological Response: A Mixed Methods Feasibility Study Telehealth study |
University of Florida; Drexel University |
Malcom Randall VA |
John Williamson, PhD, ABPP-CN, University Term Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Neuroscience, and Clinical & Health Psychology, University of Florida; Lead, Cognitive and Emotion Function Initiative and Research Psychologist, Brain Rehabilitation Research Center, Malcom Randall VAMC, Gainesville FL |
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Girija Kaimal, EdD, MA, ATR-BC, Associate Professor, PhD Program in Creative Arts Therapies; Assistant Dean for Special Research Initiatives, College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University |
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Damon Lamb, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Florida Department of Psychiatry, Neuroscience, and Biomedical Engineering; Director of Biomedical Informatics and Research Health Scientist, Brain Rehabilitation Research Center, Malcom Randal VAMC, Gainesville, FL |
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Heather Spooner, MA, ATR-BC, Lead Telehealth Creative Arts Therapist, HJF in support of Creative Forces; Assistant Scholar, UF Center for Arts in Medicine |
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Charles Levy, M.D., Research Physician, HJF in support of Creative Forces |
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Kenneth Heilman, M.D., Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Neurology, University of Florida College of Medicine; Neurologist, Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, VAMC, Gainesville; Consultant |
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Keith White, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Psychology UF; Consultant |
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Bani Malhotra, MA, ATR-BC, Research Assistant, Drexel University |
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Rebekka Dieterich-Hartwell, PhD, BC-DMT, LPC, Research Associate, Drexel University |
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Group music therapy for chronic pain management in service members with co-morbid chronic pain and mild traumatic brain injury |
Drexel University
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Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) |
Joke Bradt, PhD, MT-BC, Professor, Director, PhD Program in Creative Arts Therapies; College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University |
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Maj Elizabeth M. Trahan, Psy.D, Director, JBER Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) Clinic |
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Danielle Vetro Kalseth, MM, MT-BC, Music Therapist, HJF in support of Creative Forces, JBER |
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Maj Derek D. Bradley, M.D., Interventional Pain Physician/ Anesthesiologist; Medical Director, JBER Pain Management Clinic |
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LCDR Emily Mika Reynolds (Nakagawa), D.O., Medical Director, JBER TBI Clinic |
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Rebecca Vaudreuil, EdM, MT-BC, Lead Music Therapist, HJF in support of Creative Forces |
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Feasibility and Acceptability of Music Imagery, and Listening Interventions for Analgesia (FAMILIA) Telehealth study |
Indiana Institute for Medical Research |
Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center, Indianapolis |
Matthew Bair, M.D., COIN Investigator, VA Center for Health Information and Communication Professor of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine; Research Scientist, Regenstrief Institute |
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Kristin Maya Story, PhD, Music Therapist and Medical Informatics Research Fellow, HSR&D |
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Dawn Bravata, M.D., COIN Investigator, VA HSR&D, Center for Health Information and Communication Professor of Medicine & Adjunct Professor of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine Research Scientist, Regenstrief Institute |
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Leah Whitmire, MA, MT-BC, Music Therapist, HJF in support of Creative Forces, Roudebush VA Medical Center |
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Sheri Robb, PhD, MT-BC, Professor, Indiana University School of Nursing - IUPUI |
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Sally Wasmuth, PhD, OTR, Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy, IUPUI |
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James Edward Slaven, Jr., MA, MS, Biostatistician III, IUPUI, Department of Biostatistics |
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Barry Barker, MPA, Project Coordinator, VA Center for Health Information and Communication |
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Jessica Coffing, MPH, Data Manager, VA Center for Health Information and Communication |
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For more information about these awards, visit: https://www.creativeforcesnrc.arts.gov/news/new-research-opportunities-art-therapy-and-music-therapy