@mguspixi25 I think one of the differences in the music therapy for the combat veterans is that they are learning to play the guitar and then writing a song about their life with the help of a professional songwriter. It is a creative act and they own the song which is shared with the professional musician. During this workshop, all the participants perform and record the songs and I think they may even have them available later on CDs.

Creative work heals the parts of the brain that have been affected by trauma if you work at it. Art therapy doesn't have to be professional art work; it can be anything like flower arranging, scrap booking, making quilts, pottery, photography... basically anything that involves creative decisions and that accomplishment feels good. It builds confidence, and is something positive to talk about.

When I waiting for spine surgery, one of the stressful things was not knowing what would walk through the door when I met a surgeon at a spine consultation appointment for the first time. I had spinal cord compression, and there is no way out of that except surgery. I started drawing sketches of them from any pictures I could find online so I could be familiar with them and like them and try not to fear the surgery. My husband was making funny pictures with them by pasting pictures of their heads onto other people to make me laugh, and that helped too. I never mentioned that, but I did show a sketch to surgeon at an appointment, and he giggled. That was valuable because at that moment, he was no longer a god to be feared, but a human just like me. He ended up dismissing me because he didn't understand my unusual symptoms. That's OK too, because you don't really want a surgeon guessing during an operation.

This is the music program I mentioned. My friend is the guy who started this program after becoming a music therapist. He gave me a few tips too when I was anxious before my surgery.