Protecting into emotion: therapeutic enactments with military veterans transitioning back into civilian life

Abstract

Over 18.5% of military personnel returning from war zones to civilian life suffer mental health issues, which can lead to family breakdown, homelessness and other problems. Almost 4000 Australian soldiers have returned home from active service in the last decade suffering from combat stress and mental health conditions. A 2009 Australian independent government review warned that a new generation of veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and severe mental health disorders will emerge in the next five years, with as many as one in four likely to need mental health treatment. The Difficult Return: arts-based approaches to mental health literacy and building resilience with recently returned military personnel and their families is a three-year Australian Research Council funded arts project aimed at supporting the mental health and well-being of recently returned veterans in Australia, USA and Canada. The project combines a range of arts-based strategies to help returning veterans, including online digital films to improve awareness and help seeking motivation, a performance project with ex-soldiers and actors, and a process-based group work programme. The paper will focus specifically on the development of the Veterans Transition Programme (VTP) a partnership between Griffith University and the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. The VTP leverages the resilience and resources of veterans, providing help to participants attempting to better understand the impact of military experience on their lives. It draws on a range of psycho-educational and action-based approaches, including life review and drama enactments to engage participants in ways of dealing with disturbing events from their lives. The paper will describe and reflect on a number of the strategies used in the VTP, for example, how the drama enactments help to integrate emotion, cognition and embodied awareness, the significance of contact when working with trauma, and the importance of a therapeutic milieu in constructing ‘units’ of support for the veterans.

在從戰爭地帶回歸到日常生活的過程中，有超過18.5%的軍人都遇到了心理障礙，導致了家庭破裂，無家可歸和其他問題。在最近10年內，有近4000澳大利亞退役軍人遭受了戰鬥壓力與心理健康問題。一份2009年澳大利亞獨立政府評論已發出預警：在新一代的退伍軍人中，創傷後壓力心理障礙症（PTSD）與其他嚴重的心理健康失調將會在未來五年內出現，有四分之一的退伍軍人需要接受心理健康治療。

《艱難的回歸：以藝術本位途徑解決退役軍人及其家庭心理健康素養與康復問題》是一項為期3年，由澳大利亞研究委員會資助的藝術項目，針對於幫助近期澳大利亞、美國與加拿大的退役軍人解決心理健康與福利安康問題。為幫助退伍軍人回歸日常生活，本項目綜合了一系列藝術本位的方法策略，包括數部用以提高意識度與求助動機的網上微電影，一項由退役軍人與演員合作的表演項目，以及一項過程本位的團隊合作專案。本文將重點著眼于退役軍人過渡專案（VTP），該專案由格里菲斯大學，英屬哥倫比亞大學共同執行。VTP專案運用了退伍軍人的康復力與資源，幫助參與者更深入瞭解軍隊經歷對他們生活所造成的影響。該項目通過一系列心理教育與行動本位的途徑，包括運用生活評論與戲劇演繹讓參與者試圖解決他們生活中的困擾。本文將描述並探討了VTP中的多項方法策略，比如戲劇演繹是如何幫助整合情緒，如何感知並體現意識，在治癒心理創傷過程中人際接觸的重要性，以及治療環境在幫助退伍軍人建構“個體”時發揮的重要作用。

Más del 18.5 por ciento del personal militar que regresa de zonas de guerra a la vida civil sufre de problemas de salud mental, que puede desembocar en la descomposición familiar, la pérdida del hogar y otros problemas. Casi 4000 soldados Australianos han regresado a casa del servicio activo en la última década sufriendo de estrés del combate y las condiciones de salud mental. Una reseña en 2009 de un gobierno independiente Australiano advirtió que una nueva generación de veteranos con trastorno de estrés post-traumático (TEPT) y desórdenes severos de salud mental emergería en los próximos cinco años, con nada menos que uno entre cuatro con probabilidad de necesitar tratamiento de salud mental.

El Difícil Retorno: enfoques con base en el arte para la alfabetización de la salud mental y la capacitación de adaptación con personal militar que ha regresado recientemente y sus familias es un proyecto artístico financiado por Ayuntamiento Australiano de Investigación que aspira a respaldar la salud mental y el bienestar de los veteranos que han regresado recientemente en Australia, USA y Canadá. El proyecto combina una variedad de estrategias basadas en el arte para ayudar a los veteranos retornados, incluyendo películas digitales online para mejorar la conciencia y ayudar en la búsqueda de motivación, un proyecto de actuación con ex-soldados y actores, y un programa para el proceso del trabajo en grupo. El artículo se centrará específicamente en el desarrollo del Programa de Transición para Veteranos (VPT), una sociedad entre la Universidad Griffith y la Universidad de Columbia Británica, Vancouver. La VTP aprovecha la capacidad de recuperación y los recursos de los veteranos, prestando ayuda a los participantes que tratan de comprender mejor el impacto de la experiencia militar en sus vidas. Recurre a una serie de sondeos psico-educativos y basados en la acción, incluyendo revisiones de la vida y actuaciones teatrales para implicar a los participantes en modos de tratar con los perturbadores eventos de sus vidas. El artículo describirá y reflexionará sobre un número de las estrategias usadas en la VTP, por ejemplo, cómo las representaciones teatrales ayudan a integrar la emoción, la cognición y la conciencia personificada, la significancia del contacto cuando se trabaja con el trauma, y la importancia de un entorno terapéutico en la construcción de ‘unidades’ de apoyo para los veteranos.

Keywords:

• veterans
• PTSD
• trauma
• enactments
• group work

Funding

This work was supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant, [grant number DP110102780].

Notes on contributors

Michael Balfour is a Professor of Applied Theatre at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. His research expertise is in the social applications of theatre. He is the recipient of a number of current Australian Research Council funded projects: developing drama-based projects with refugee new arrivals; The Difficult Return, creating new approaches to arts-based work with returning military personnel; Captive Audiences: the impact of performing arts programmes in Australian prisons and Playful Engagement and Dementia: understanding the benefits of applied theatre for people with dementia in residential aged care facilities.

Marvin Westwood is a Professor in the Counselling Psychology Programme at the University of British Columbia and an Associate Member of the UBC Faculty of Medicine. As a specialist in group work, he has developed several personal development programmes for professionals across a wide range of industry groups (counsellors & psychologists, nurses, physicians, soldiers and clergy). He is working on ways in which Life Review facilitates personal development and facilitates the counselling process. The focus of his work is on facilitating transition.

Marla J. Buchanan is a Professor in Counselling Psychology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She teaches Clinical Supervision and Advanced Qualitative Research Methods in the Counselling Psychology Programme. Her research interests include studies in traumatic stress. Dr. Buchanan utilises mainly critical narrative research methods with various first responder groups such as journalists, military veterans and police.

Notes

1. Following ethical procedure, all participant names have been changed. However, Todd has formally requested that his name be kept as it is.

Additional information

Funding

Funding: This work was supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant, [grant number DP110102780].