Art Therapy Retreat Program

Developed by Challenge America Art Therapist Sarah Falk in 2025, Challenge America's virtual Art Therapy Retreats provide psychoeducation through art interventions from registered Art Therapists and art instruction from professional community-based artists to improve the health, well-being, and quality of life of Veterans who have experienced post-traumatic stress or military sexual trauma.

Challenge America's Art Therapy retreat framework is modeled after Joseph Campbell's monomyth of The Hero's Journey. The Hero's Journey begins with a call to adventure, facing a series of trials, and ultimately, the Hero overcomes his challenge. Veterans can explore their Hero-Heroine's Journey through various Art Therapy interventions and create a mixed-media or photography narrative.

Veterans meet with a registered, board-certified Art Therapist once a week for five weeks to process their journey through trauma-informed Art Therapy interventions, which include Internal Family Systems, Cognitive Behavioral, and Acceptance and Commitment therapies. These therapeutic interventions will lead the Veteran through the Hero-Heroine's journey's stages of Separation, Initiation, and Return. For the second session each week, participants will meet with professional community-based artists that will provide guidance and instruction through various art processes and techniques.

In the last week of the program, the Art Therapist, Community Artist, and group members come together with their guests for an Artist Showcase, where each participant shares their art work speaks about their creative process.

Following the Artist Showcase, the group comes together to process art work created during the community art sessions and discuss lessons learned during their time in the program. This shared experience fosters a profound sense of belonging and connection among the participants. Veterans explore the values they gleaned from this process that can continue to lead their recovery journey. The culminating virtual art show and storytelling session serves as a celebration of the participants' journey, evoking a profound sense of achievement and pride.

  • “I learned to work with my hands and not my head.”

    —Veteran Art Therapy Retreat Participant

  • “I will keep pushing myself out of my comfort zone and trying new things.”

    —Veteran Art Therapy Retreat Participant

  • “I was able to remember different parts of myself instead of the condition.”

    —Veteran Art Therapy Retreat Participant

  • “Connecting with other Veterans felt like looking in a mirror.”

    —Veteran Art Therapy Retreat Participant

  • “Knowing I am not alone. We are suffering in our own ways. It was good to meet people with shared experiences.”

    —Veteran Art Therapy Retreat Participant

  • “I was more relaxed than being in a doctor's office, learning about art and how it can reflect what you're dealing with."

    —Veteran Art Therapy Retreat Participant

  • "I've been able to breathe more. Being more intentional in letting things align and be stable. Instead of replaying situations in my mind.”

    —Veteran Art Therapy Retreat Participant

  • “My greatest takeaway is allowing myself to be creative and not allowing my emotions to block me.”

    —Veteran Art Therapy Retreat Participant

  • “Once you finally verbalize what you need and there is a positive affirmation and acceptance of it, that scary barrier has been broken.”

    —Veteran Art Therapy Retreat Participant