Assessing the potential use of art therapy in the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence Department of Community Mental Health

ABSTRACT

UK Armed Forces personnel experiencing mental health difficulties are not, at present, offered art therapy as a treatment option. This paper considers the prevalence of mental health problems for personnel currently serving in the Armed Forces compared with the UK general population. The current treatment pathway for UK Armed Forces personnel is explained and compared with a review of literature regarding art therapy for the similar client groups; veterans in the UK and, military personnel in the United States, Russia and Israel. Much of the UK media discussion about military mental health focuses on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The veterans charity Combat Stress (along-side other charities) carries out vital work with PSTD sufferers. However, it is highlighted that PTSD is not the most prevalent mental health presentation for UK Armed Forces personnel. It is hypothesised that art therapy could be a suitable treatment option for UK Armed Forces personnel with mental health issues and it is proposed that formal research should be undertaken, to determine the efficacy of art therapy with this client group at one of the Ministry of Defence Departments of Community Mental Health.

Plain-language summary

Definitions:

• UK Armed Forces: Personnel currently serving in the UK military in either; the Army, Royal Navy, Royal Marines or the Royal Air Force.

• Veteran: A person who has left the Armed Forces having previously served for at least one full day.

• Combat Stress: A UK based charity providing mental health support for veterans.

UK Armed Forces personnel experiencing mental health difficulties are not, at present, offered art therapy as a treatment option at any of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMH). This paper provides a brief overview of art therapy before considering the prevalence of mental health problems for personnel currently serving in the UK Armed Forces compared with the UK general population. The current treatment pathway for serving personnel is explained and compared to a review of literature regarding art therapy for veterans in the UK predominantly looking at the art therapy workshops conducted by the charity Combat Stress with lead art therapist Janice Lobban. The author also considered papers submitted concerning art therapy for military personnel in the United States, Russia and Israel. In addition she looked at the report from the All Party Parliamentary Group for Arts in Health and Wellbeing. In conclusion, it is hypothesised that art therapy could be a suitable treatment option for the UK Armed Forces. The author proposes that formal research could be undertaken, to determine the efficacy of art therapy with an Armed Forces client group at one of the Ministry of Defence Departments of Community Mental Health.

KEYWORDS:

• Art therapy
• Armed Forces
• mental health
• Department of Community Mental Health
• DCMH
• veterans
• military

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Rachel Preston graduated with an MA in Art Therapy from the University of Derby in 2018. Her studies explored her own experience of cultural transition from being in the Armed Forces to becoming an art therapist and a veteran (Figure 1). She spent 25 years in the Royal Air Force working in support of Armed Forces colleagues in diverse roles across human resources, welfare support, training and development, project management and, civilian housing and homelessness support. Her experience of working with service personnel and families in distress led her to believe her natural empathy would be suited to providing therapeutic support. As an art therapist, Rachel has worked with women in a mental health in-patient service and she is currently providing an art therapy service to schools in Lincolnshire.