Heather Spooner, MA, ATR-BC, is a board-certified art therapist who has worked at the intersections of art therapy and arts in health throughout her career. Heather has applied the arts to health with people of all ages and in a variety of settings including healthcare facilities, museums, community outreach and veterans’ health. She previously taught art therapy at the University of Tampa and spearheaded the formation of Florida’s arts in health network, Arts for Health Florida.
Heather serves as the Lead for the Rural Veterans Telerehabilitation Initiative, which began as a partnership with the VA Office of Rural Health, University of Florida, and North Florida/South Georgia VA Health System in 2014 and has since expanded to an additional 18 VA medical Centers. She works for the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine in support of Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network. Heather divides her time between Creative Forces and the University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine, where she serves on the graduate faculty. Her current research is on PTSD symptomology, case profiles, and fMRI imaging following Art Therapy through telehealth.