Operation: I.V. is an organization that was founded solely for the purpose of preventing military suicides and treating veterans with PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. While the organization is relatively new, PTSD itself has been "around for centuries", according to an WNYC article entitled "Music Therapy Helps Vets Control Symptoms of PTSD". Previously, PTSD had been referred to by other names, such as "Soldier's Heart", "Battle Fatigue", "Shell Shock", and "Vietnam Syndrome". It took up until just thirty years ago in the 1980s for physicians and psychologists to take the disorder seriously and implementing treatment plans. Music therapy was one of them.

What is music therapy? According to the American Music Therapy Association, music therapy "is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship". There are specialists, called "music therapists", who are professionally certified to help alleviate both physical and psychological symptoms of trauma and distress. These individuals utilize the science behind music therapy by connecting veterans to a more positive point in time (i.e. through remembering a happy song). This way, the memories of war will slowly fade or at least diminish in severity.

An organization called Music Corps focuses specifically on rehabilitating veterans from the visible and invisible wounds of war with the help of music. According to one of the many success stories published by the Corps, one of the music therapists, Jen Hastings, recalls working with a veteran who lost his ability to walk. She developed an individualized program in which he was supposed to match his gait with the beat of a metronome, until she had him "singing along, laughing, and smiling as he walked." The veteran then explained how, due to the effects of music therapy, walking became "effortless" because for him, the power of the music was more influential than the pain.

While PTSD can make veterans more withdrawn, music therapy brings them a source of expression again. Even more so if veterans have previously learned an instrument prior to enlistment. Therapists can also teach veterans how to play instruments, thus giving them new skills that are beneficial to both themselves and others, contrary to those learned on the battlefield. Singing along to songs is also encouraged, as it increases the veterans' engagement and keeps them in the moment.

Unfortunately, music therapy is still a largely unrecognized method of treatment, although its affects can be felt throughout the entire body. It is one of the several holistic ways in which veterans can receive treatment for the trauma they endure on a daily basis after service. Through a disciplined session schedule, many veterans can see almost guaranteed improvement from their ailments.