Art in War Veterans

The paper analyzes from a psychological point of view the psychic and emotional changes inside Veteran-Artist who has gone through traumatic war experience, illustrating the path of psychological healing undertaken by Veterans through Art Therapy. The aim of this brief study is to understand how war experience is reflected and has an impact on Veteran's visual expression, but also how much Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can change the creative processes of those Veterans who were already artists before going to war by generating a different artistic style as an evident manifestation of a psychological distress, as detected in relation to Veterans engaged in psychic and emotional rehabilitation programs, that make use of visual arts as a unique and alternative psychotherapy tool for the PTSD treatment, in integration with other accredited therapeutic methods, for reducing psychical distress induced by traumatic war experiences: as war has had a negative impact on the Veteran's psychic sphere, so Art Therapy may produce mental and emotional changes finalized to the social reintegration of former fighters.