Art therapy has an established history of being used to treat veterans, with the American Art Therapy Association documenting its use as early as 1945. As with other sources of trauma, combat veterans may benefit from art therapy to access memories and to engage with treatment. A 2016 randomized control trial found that art therapy in conjunction with cognitive processing therapy (CPT) was more beneficial than CPT alone. Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the National Intrepid Center of Excellence and other Veteran Association institutions use art therapy to help veterans with PTSD.