Army veteran Cheryl Schaefer talks about the different type of art that is made at Steele’s Brushes and Ceramics as part of a Veterans Administration art therapy program. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

Often a troubled veteran is better off reaching for a paint brush, a guitar pick or a woodworking tool than another pill.

That’s the principle behind a creative arts program at the Abie Abraham VA Health Care Clinic, 353 N. Duffy Road.

“The creative arts program is fairly new when it comes to the Veterans Administration, probably within the last five years, maybe less,” said Karen Dunn, health promotion and disease program manager at the center.

“We started doing it a lot last year with the ‘Create a Healthier You’ campaign,” she said.

The reasoning behind the art therapy, she said, is to find new ways to deliver whole health to veterans in a way that matters the most to them.

“Veterans suffer from PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), anxiety and depression,” said Dunn.

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