So much has happened . . . where to begin

After finishing my drama therapy internship at the Institute for Therapy through the Arts I moved to Akron. Many changes in my life and the lives of my family. It's good to be back in the Midwest and back in the Buckeye state. It's true: Once a Buckeye, always a Buckeye!

I'm working at Freedom House, a shelter for formerly homeless veterans. I'm leading a stress reduction workshop series--my second of many more to come. I use all my skills as a drama therapist and incorporate playwriting, dance/movement, drawing, poetry, collage making, music, and more into the storytelling process that occurs in this group setting. I'm also privileged to help attend the flag raising and lowering outside the shelter at sunrise and sundown when I'm working as a housing specialist.

The Vet Art Project is also doing a weekly dance/movement program called BeatRoot at First Grace UCC in Akron. This is a "spiritual journey through movement" where participants come in and explore their feelings through movement inspired by different rhythmic patterns from around the world. We move for an hour--nonstop! Believe it or not you can, too.

The University of Akron is another venue for Vet Art Project programming. We'll be offering workshops for students as part of their Wellness Day program in late March and a program for faculty and staff from this and other area universities in early April.

I've also become a regular participant in Warriors Journey Home circles where veterans, family members, and people of strong heart gather to share in community stories of war and service. (Check out http://www.warriorsjourneyhome.com/)

Also Shianne Eagleheart and her Red Bird Center (http://www.redbirdcenter.org/) is a wonderful healing space that's opened to veterans and family members the last weekend of every month. There's time for sharing, storytelling, art, and healing lodges. And everyone has an opportunity to be refreshed and reconnected to the land and to their brothers and sisters.

There are grand people here in Northeast Ohio and this is a fine foundation to grow strong roots. Stay tuned for further updates as the Vet Art Project continues to transform all who participate in her programming.

Sharing Opportunity at the Arts in Healing for Warriors Conference at the new Walter Reed & NICoE

I was privileged to present information about the Vet Art Project at the invitation of the Society for Arts in Health Care at the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and NICoE in Bethesda, Maryland last weekend. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn what's happening around the country--Walter Reed provides creative arts therapy for some patients!--and learn how art is helping in the healing process for those who have served our country. It was a wonderful opportunity, too, help inspire others to invest in the project in their home communities. I shared the philosophy and how to build a supportive community.

Reflections 10 Years After and Counting

On September 11th I was in Chicago at my job as a development book editor. The CEO closed the office early and we all went home to be with our families. I spent the afternoon with my husband witnessing the devastation and feeling my life transform. It was a day of great tragedy as was (and is) it's aftermath.

Looking back, it was on this day that I began to ask myself the question "What difference was I making in the lives of others"? This day propelled me forward on my journey that first led me to be against something but as I spent time with the Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh and then the military families who feared for the well-being of their sons and daughters, I realized that it was much better to be FOR something than AGAINST something. So my question then became "What positive difference can I make in the lives of others"?

I believe the Vet Art Project grew out of these events--helping others give voice to their experiences from war and service. Introducing or strengthening artistic languages to connect with and convey buried feelings for self-revelation, to communicate these feelings to other family members so they may know what you experienced whether during service or on the homefront for the spouses and loved ones left behind, and to learn from the experiences of the children and their losses. Sharing these stories with others, to build bridges of communication and community, reconnecting the veteran and civilian populations to help us understand the enormous impact of war and service on us all, this is but one of the many Phoenixes that arose from this tragedy.

I regret the events that started me on this path--my thoughts and prayers are with those who sacrificed so much on that day--and I am grateful for every step thereafter.

It's been too long! News from the HomeFront of the Vet Art Project

Hello My Friends,
I cannot believe it's been so many months since my last blog post. I've been busy D O I N G instead of reporting on what I'm doing—my apologies, however, at my absence. Here's what I've been up to as I continue my training as a drama therapist:
—1 internship in Tucson, Arizona with One Sacred Nation Healing, a Wellbriety Program that uses Native American principles, laws, and values to teach others a program of wellness and sobriety
—1 internship in Evanston, Illinois with the Institute for Therapy through the Arts, working with creative arts therapists, drama therapists, and music therapists and 16 different population groups to get more hands-on training practice in drama therapy
—2 Grief Trainings with the Institute for Psychoanalysis, Chicago
—1 Creative Arts Therapy Workshop with the School of the Art Institute Chicago Art Therapy Program
—I attended the Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Conference, Chicago
—1 Poetry Therapy workshop with Dr. Sherry Reiter (www.creativerightingcenter.com), Black Mountain, NC
—1 Warriors Journey Home Healing Retreat (forthcoming later this week), Red Bird Center, Cambridge, OH, and
—I will be appearing on a panel at a conference sponsored by Society for the Arts in Health Care (more to come on this) in October, Bethesda, MD
—and more to report in the weeks to come

My commitment to the project remains steadfast and will begin to grow more apparent in the months to come with upcoming announcements.
Vet Art Project Chicago continues to grow stronger with new programming the city colleges in Chicago
Vet Art Project Pittsburgh recently assisted at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games & at Stand Down Pittsburgh

And calls for programming and offers of support keep coming in from around the country.
Want to help? Send an e-mail to vetartproject@gmail.com
The Vet Art Project continues to be fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas so you can make a tax-deductible contribution. Just go to our Web site and click on the link on the home page.

In gratitude for all the stories and offers of support,
Lisa

To My Brothers and Sisters Who Wear or Have Worn the Uniform, I'm Grateful for Your Service

Today is a holiday for some—a day off work, a day to go shopping and save big. But for me, today is a day filled with gratitude. I am grateful for those who serve or have served our country in uniform. I am grateful that there are organizations such as Dryhootch and Vets4Vets that help Veterans find someone to talk to who knows what its really like, and programs such as The Mission Continues, Soldiers Heart, and the Coming Home Project that help veterans find a new direction and reintegrate into their families. And I’m grateful for all the artists who have or are participating in the Vet Art Project in cities such as Chicago, Seattle, and Pittsburgh who are creating new opportunities for Veterans and their family members to explore self expression, find new meaning, understanding, and opportunities to share their stories to help those of us who have not served in uniform to sense what its really like. It’s this kind of sharing, between Veterans and Civilians that may benefit and strengthen our communities the most.

Veterans Day is one day that our nation acknowledges those who serve, but they serve every day and so every day can be Veterans Day if we learn to show our gratitude. Why gratitude? Because I cannot do what I do, and you cannot live your life and make the choices you want and exercise your freedoms if this was a country that didn’t or couldn’t protect personal rights. This is not a political issue—it’s not about us and them—it’s about we as in We the people, in order to form a more perfect union . . . because the foundation of our country rests upon a tapestry of intricate connections that support and sustain our communities, and everyone plays a part. And no matter what our personal beliefs about wars in general or one war in particular, we must be for our fellow citizens, we must support our men and women in uniform because they are an important part of our communities. Those in uniform serve and their family members serve, too.

I am grateful today, too, for the VA policy change for PTSD care for service members and veterans where cause no longer needs to be documented, and PTSD screening is provided on demand with an automatic assumption that a person’s symptoms are caused by stress during service and treatment is provided (Arizona Republic, November 9, 2010, p. A7). This change in policy will especially benefit women in uniform because their support roles often put them in direct and indirect danger yet they cannot tie their combat stress to one particular incident (the previous criterion). It’s not a perfect system but it’s better, and I’m grateful for these changes. And I will be grateful the day when spouses and children of those who serve are extended support and care for the role they play in their family member’s service.

We, as members of the community, can do our part, too. Beginning today, think about how you can show your gratitude. And wake up tomorrow and do it all over again, just as those who serve in uniform do. Ask yourself each day, what am I doing to sustain our community?

A Life-Altering Teaching: The Medicine Wheel & 12 Step Program for Women

Hello My Friends,
I'm just back from an amazing workshop in Colorado Springs. Offered at the Wellbriety Institute (whitebison.org). This program incorporates the principles, values, and teachings of Native American elders into a program that teaches you how to live a more connected life--more connected to the land, our place in the world, a path to wellness without using substances to mask or enhance experiences, and to build communities of support. I learned, too, that the AA philosophy and its founders were influenced by Native American traditions, which Dr. Bob & Bill Wilson explored as they created their own paths to wellness.
This organization offers a variety of programs for adults and youth; they've even started a program to help those transitioning out of prison. On the White Bison Web site you can find listings for weekly Talking Circles that are held around the country to help people find the strength, support, and spirit to continue to take care of themselves and others to build stronger communities.
I am grateful to Don Coylis for building a welcoming home; to Sharyl Whitehawk and Marlin Farley for their teachings, their welcoming spirits, and their support; to my sisters from around the U.S. and Canada who encouraged, supported, welcomed, and sustained my spirit throughout the day, from greeting the sun, through our workshop day, and into the evenings exploring the breathtaking lands of Colorado.

I also want to share a wonderful book by Jamie Sams titled The 13 Original Clan Mothers: Your Sacred Path to Discovering the Gifts, Talents, & Abilities of the Feminine Through the Ancient Teachings of the Sisterhood. Originally published in 1993 by Harper Collins, this book came into my life because I was ready for it. I hope you're ready for it, too. It's an opportunity to invest in yourself, explore and acknowledge your talents and abilities, and move through the world with a renewed mission to self and helping others.

Delayed Update from Manhattan . . . Kansas where Everything's Coming Up Drama Therapy

This past Spring I appreciated my brief but helpful stay at Blue Mountain Center where I was able to really dig into The Vet Art Project Book. Centered around the art that we've created collaboratively, and the stories of the people behind the art, this book will reach beyond the goal of providing a how-to manual for other artists who want to bring the Vet Art Project to their home community to help educate civilians about war and service and feature some of the amazing art and experiences we've shared thus far.

I've also been to a Veterans Journey Home Retreat in northern Wisconsin. This is a wonderful organization (www.vetsjourneyhome.org) that offers a powerful retreat experience for veteran participants and staff members. I encourage you all to learn more about this program and what it offers. I'm grateful that I'll be joining them again in Milwaukee in August.

Currently I'm in Manhattan, Kansas taking drama therapy and sociodrama workshops as I work toward becoming a Registered Drama Therapist. I've learned so much from all the fantastic Creative Art Therapists who have come to share their talents with the Vet Art Project Chicago and at other locations. Another week and a half to go and then I'm off again eventually making my way to Phoenix in August to help launch Vet Art Project Phoenix mid-month, and before that to present an experiential workshop at the Department of Defense Force Health Protection Conference along with clinical director Lin Daley. (Lin is in Madison, Wisconsin working with Dryhootch (dryhootch.org) with their Wisconsin Warriors Summit this week.

Jessa Carlstrom is doing a fantastic job as lead artist of Vet Art Project Chicago with expanded programming and more to be announced shortly.