In November 2023, Creative Forces hosted the first State of the Science Summit, “Advancing Creative Arts Therapies Research for Military-Connected Populations,” at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine headquarters in Rockville, Maryland. This two-day hybrid event brought more than 100 clinicians and researchers together to focus on the state of creative arts therapies research for military and veteran populations.

Creative Forces: Healing the Invisible Wounds of War was originally organized by the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Museum of Health and Medicine, a division of the Defense Health Agency Research and Development Directorate. The exhibit was developed at the request of former Second Lady Karen Pence to commemorate Creative Arts Therapies Week 2020.

Explore veteran artwork and perspectives, as well as related research, on how creative arts therapies can provide a pathway to healing from wartime trauma.

In 2018, the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University was commissioned by Creative Forces to conduct a literature review and needs assessment to understand how arts programming can effectively address the needs of various military-connected individuals.

An inventory of Creative Forces published research and scholarly manuscripts as of July 2023. Each listing includes the open access link for the article.