Tag Archives: domestic violence

Is Forgiveness Required for Trauma Recovery?



Trauma psychotherapist, Amanda Ann Gregory, discusses why forgiveness isn’t necessary in trauma recovery.  She walks us through possible messages we are internalizing about forgiveness and five reasons why forgiveness should not be imposed in the process of healing from trauma. Click here to check out her Psychology Today article “Why Forgiveness Isn’t Required in Trauma Recovery”.

Amanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, is a trauma psychotherapist, national speaker, and author. She holds licenses in the states of Illinois, Texas, and Missouri, as well as an EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) Certification, and a National Counselor Certification. Gregory has provided individual, group, and family therapy for more than a dozen years in outpatient and residential settings and is currently in private practice in Chicago. Her work has appeared in Psychology Today, Psychotherapy Networker, Happiful Magazine, Addiction Professional, Adoption Today, All Creatures, Highlights Magazine, and New Therapist Magazine.

Gregory has served as a presenter for clinical conferences, employee trainings, and community events and has spoken for the ACA (American Counseling Association), NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), the Missouri Department of Mental Health, Symmetry Counseling, the Missouri School Counselor Association, Prevent Child Abuse Illinois, and the Missouri Association of Marriage and Family Therapy to name a few. She tailors all presentations to meet the needs of your audience.

Click here to check out her awesome blog “Transforming Trauma Blog” on her website.


How Does Safe Havens For Pets Serve Survivors of Domestic Violence and Their Pets?



In this episode I chat with Valerie Pena and Mary Lous Randour about Safe Havens for Pets, an organizing helping survivors of domestic violence and their pets find safety.  We discuss how to find a safe haven in your area, why it is critical that safe havens exist, how Safe Havens for Pets is connecting safe havens to each other and survivors, and what you can do to help.

Don’t forget to follow their social media accounts!
Click here for: 


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