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Arts Therapy for Partners of Veterans
06 October 2021
Service-related physical injuries or mental health issues can affect the entire military family. As a partner of a veteran, you yourself may experience anxiety, depression, social isolation, and feelings of hopelessness as a result of a current or ex-serving partner’s trauma and subsequent mental illness.
There are many support networks available for partners of veterans at Mates4Mates, including psychology appointments and social connection activities. To expand on these services, our South East Queensland centre, in conjunction with Jasmine Wright from Papernook, are introducing Arts Therapy for Partners of Veterans.
Arts Therapy is not about being an artist or needing to be creative but is rather a process of using verbal and non-verbal cues to build a more informed picture and sense of awareness about our situations and relationships. Those who are experiencing mental health issues can benefit from this style of therapy as it can help:
- Express feelings that are difficult to verbalise
- Develop healthy coping skills and focus
- Improve self-esteem and confidence
- Increase communication skills.
Arts Therapy can be a great way to compliment other support services, or an option for those who have not found talking therapies to work effectively for them in the past.
Arts Therapy for Partners of Veterans will be run in a group setting, with a maximum of 8 people per session. Participating in a group session is quite a powerful way to assure individuals they are not alone, and that in fact other people share similar problems and struggles.
If you are interested in this program, you can complete an expression of interest here.
This program is for partners of veterans or current serving ADF members who are registered with Mates4Mates. Not yet registered? Find out how you and your family can join Mates4Mates and participate in this program, along with accessing the other services we offer.
References
https://www.openarms.gov.au/who-we-help/partners/ptsd-and-relationships
