Portrait of a veteran: Art helps vet overcome PTSD

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Just a few years ago, U.S. Air Force veteran Shawn Ganther was avoiding social situations, shutting people out, and waiting for his daughter's bedtime so he could have a drink to try to decompress.

Ganther, now 37, was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, but he hadn't sought counseling.

"I didn't do the front-lines stuff," he said, in reference to his military service. "I thought what I was going through wasn't as severe, so I never attempted to seek help."

An art class at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point changed that — and he hopes creative expression can do the same for other central Wisconsin veterans.

Ganther, who lives in Chili west of Marshfield, was studying communications and mass media at the university in 2011 when he decided to enroll in art classes. He had enjoyed photography and drawing as a high school student and thought he could pick up the hobby again.

"I remember my professor told me, 'There's a lot of pain in your work. You might not know it's there, but it's in everything,'" Ganther recalled.

Ganther's professor helped him contact a veteran artist named Aaron Hughes, and the two began working together. Ganther learned to express his feelings through art and connected with groups such as the Warrior Writers, Combat Paper and the Veterans Artist Program before he was ready to seek counseling.

"Once you start moving toward expression and releasing some of those feelings in any form, you start to open up communication," he said.

In 2012, about 10 years after completing active duty military service, Ganther contacted the Clark County Veterans Service Office in search of counseling. He realized his pain was real after going through a PTSD checklist with a therapist and responding yes to almost every question.

Since then, he's seen his art transform from abstract and intensely emotional to more relaxed and subtle. It's not a cohesive body of work, he said, but the changing styles have been an important part of his journey.

A portrait of a homeless veteran Ganther created to test his drawing ability was one of 50 pieces of work selected for the Pentagon Veterans Artist Exhibit and will be displayed for the final time this Veterans Day.

"I've had work in other juried shows, but there's something about being in the Pentagon," Ganther said. "I'm still ecstatic. It's one of the proudest moments of my artistic career."

Ganther is now working to bring art programs for veterans to central Wisconsin, teaching children to express themselves through art, and he's considering going to graduate school.

"A simple thing like drawing a picture has led to a drastic improvement in my quality of life," he said.

Veterans and active members of the military sometimes avoid counseling for fear it will reflect poorly on their service record, Ganther said, but programs that allow veterans to express themselves are valuable and could prepare them to seek counseling in the future.

"You don't even have to talk," he said. "You can just draw with other veterans. You don't even have to show your work."

Clinton Langreck, the Clark County veterans service officer, said art, poetry, equine therapy and historic preservation programs have been known to help veterans deal with feelings and events they've tucked away that could come back to affect their lifestyles and relationships later.

"Like most support networks, groups of veterans ... can speak in the same context," Langreck said. "It adds credibility to someone trying to give suggestions or render support."

While each veteran's experience is different, "there's always someone you'll be able to relate to," Ganther said.

Veterans can access information about programs, support groups and individual counseling through their county's veterans service office or Vet Centers.