Monthly Archives: June 2018

PTSD and Survivors Of Domestic Violence



In this bonus episode of High Heels and Heartache, I sit down with Crystal Yarborough to discuss how Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, can affect survivors of domestic violence and abuse.  We chat about what PTSD is, the symptoms of PTSD, what recovery sometimes entails, and life after PTSD.

Crystal Yarborough is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist. She has worked with people who have experienced trauma and addiction in many settings, including in a state psychiatric hospital, residential substance abuse therapeutic community, military settings, and outpatient clinics.
Please visit The National Institute of Mental Health’s website for more information on PTSD.

Art Therapy and Trauma



In this episode, Gretchen Miller explains why art therapy can be a valuable resource in the recovery of survivors of domestic violence.

Gretchen M. Miller, MA, ATR-BC, ACTP is a Registered and Board Certified Art Therapist, Advanced Certified Trauma Practitioner, Adjunct Faculty Member, Speaker, and Author.

For almost twenty years, Gretchen has been working as an art therapist primarily serving children and adolescents in Cleveland/Akron, Ohio. Her work in trauma intervention has included providing art therapy services to youth and women from homes of domestic violence, grieving children and adolescents, families and adults transitioning out of homelessness, survivors of human trafficking, and with youth managing mental health challenges in Northeast Ohio settings such as residential treatment programs, shelters, bereavement centers, community-based outreach, and outpatient adolescent mental health.

Gretchen presents regionally and nationally on the application of art therapy, is a guest lecturer, and writes blogs, and has been published about the use of art therapy with survivors of trauma. She also is an Adjunct Professor for Ursuline College’s Master of Arts in Counseling and Art Therapy Program, the only graduate program to study art therapy in the state of Ohio. She currently teaches for The National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children as an online instructor about group interventions and strategies for traumatized children and adolescents.

She also currently serves on the American Art Therapy Association Board of Directors.

Check out these links for more information on art therapy!
Gretchen Miller: 
The Value of Art Expression in Trauma Intervention
Art Therapy in Action: Trauma (VIDEO)
American Art Therapy Association Art Therapist Locator