Important themes and considerations when addressing safety issues through art expression with youth and adult survivors of domestic violence.

1. Finding a Safe Place:
Creating Safety for Survivors of
Domestic Violence through Art
Gretchen Miller, MA, ATR-BC, CTC-S
Registered Board Certified Art Therapist
Certified Trauma Consultant

2. Objectives
 Learn the benefits of using art to address safety
in trauma intervention and recovery with
domestic violence survivors
 Be able to identify how safety, resilience, and
adaptive coping can be explored through art
 Be introduced to appropriate material & media
considerations to create a safe creative
environment and to explore fears & worries.

3. About Domestic Violence
Domestic violence (also called interpersonal or intimate partner
violence) is a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to
gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner.
~National Domestic Violence Hotline | www.thehotline.org

4.  Domestic abuse is when a partner uses a pattern of
coercive and assaultive behaviors to obtain power and
control;
 Coercion is defined as “to force to act or think in a
certain way by use of pressure, threats, or intimidation or
to compel; to dominate, restrain, or control forcibly; and
to bring about by force or threat.”;
 What makes a relationship abusive is the repeated and
patterned behavior by a partner that attempts to control
aspects of the other person’s life through manipulation,
fear, bullying, and multiple other coercive tactics.
Ohio Domestic Violence Network: www.odvn.org

5. Domestic Violence
 Physical, sexual,  Linked to increased
emotional, economic or medical, psychological,
psychological actions and social problems.
or threats.
 Battered women suffer
 Behaviors that frighten, more health disorders
intimidate, terrorize, vs. non-victims: i.e.
manipulate, hurt, PTSD, substance
humiliate, blame, injure, abuse, anxiety,
or wound. depression

6. Domestic Violence & Safety
 Increase risk when a victim leaves
 Personalized (Emotional) Safety Planning
 Protection Orders, Court
 Fleeing to a Shelter / Safe Housing
 Adaptive coping- women & children
 Normalize trauma reactions & triggers
 Safety is fluid and can change quickly
Safety Planning in a Trauma Informed Manner- ODVN Best Practices
and Protocols for Ohio’s Domestic Violence Programs (2011)

7. Creating Safety
The Experience Matters:
•Honoring & validating trauma experience
•Normalize trauma reactions
•Early Intervention
•Relational enrichment
•Safe opportunities to share ones story

10. Physical Impact
 Hormone coritosal is released by the
brain to respond to impending threat
 Causes increase in adrenalin, heart
rate, blood pressure, muscle tension
 Sleep disturbances
 Heightened state of arousal
 Hyper vigilance / Startle response
Miller, G. (2008). Bruce Perry's Impact: Considerations for Art
Therapy & Children from Violent Homes: http://tinyurl.com/6mlqqtv

11. Themes:
•Safety & protection:
inclusion of alarms,
cameras, computer
surveillance, videos
•Fear of fire, someone
breaking in
•Image and verbalizations
suggest anxiety,
heightened watchfulness,
title projects fear of
explosiveness, violence in
the home

13. Behavioral
 Aggression
 Regression
 Nightmares
 Separation
Anxiety
 Oppositional
 Repetitive play
Miller, G. (2008). Bruce Perry's Impact: Considerations for Art
Therapy & Children from Violent Homes: http://tinyurl.com/6mlqqtv

14. Emotional
 Depression
 Irritability
 Anger
 Fearfulness
 Anxiety
 Lack of affect

15. Cognitive
 Decrease in attention span
 Difficulty concentrating
 Memory Impairment
 Persistent intrusive
thoughts & images
 Confusion around traumatic
event
 Poor self image and self
esteem
Miller, G. (2008). Bruce Perry's Impact: Considerations for Art
Therapy & Children from Violent Homes: http://tinyurl.com/6mlqqtv

16. Creating Safety through Art
BENEFITS
 Art making is a safe way to distance
painful and frightening experiences from
self and the environment
 Art safely externalizes internal experiences
 Art can help reduce, contain, or provide
insight into states of fear, anxiety, and
worry

17.  Creative expression through art can be
less threatening to explore and share
feelings or memories, as well as provide
the flexibility to experiment, and take
risks in a therapeutic environment;
 Exploration through art can help the
survivor begin to manage trauma and
make meaning.

18.  Art expression facilitates
an immediate hands-on
outlet for survivors to
feel safe, explore steps
for change, reduce
stress, decrease
tension;
 Creativity and
imagination restores a
sense of possibility,
identity, and
reconnection within the Malchiodi & Miller, 2012.
self; Domestic Violence and Art Therapy. In Malchiodi, C. (Ed.),
The Handbook of Art Therapy (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
pp. 335-349.

19.  Artcan find and
create a voice that
was silenced in
the violence and
abuse;
 Artoffers a safe
place to tell a
survivor’s story
and experiences
with dignity &
courage
Malchiodi & Miller, 2012

20. Objectives
•Art experiences that make one feel safe
•Environment of predictability & consistency
•Sensory based intervention
•Promotes expression
•Restores a sense of safety & stabilization
•Fosters resiliency
•Supports adaptive coping

21. Restoring Safety
“Loss of safety is at the core of trauma”
Dr. William Steele, Helping Children Feel Safe

22. Material & Media
Considerations
Help provide containment at a sensory level
experience for restoring safety through:
Boxes
Book making
Mandalas
3-D and 2-D Symbols of Safe Places

23. Safe Places & Safe Houses

24. 3-D Paper House Making
•Repetitive, here & now focus
through the paper folding
process
•Containment of
emotions connected to worry,
fear, uncertainty
•Opportunity for
symbolic storytelling
(Miller, (2011). Paper house making
with youth exposed to domestic violence
PDF: http://tinyurl.com/7nalsau.

25. Papier-Mâché Safety House Box

26. Safety Book

27. Portable Safe Place | Artist Trading Card
Using collage with printed
paper, tissue paper, and
magazine photo collage &
words on a 2 ½ x 3 ½
space- create an image of a
safe place or scene that can
travel, become mobile, or
easily be carried as a visual
reminder and grounding tool
for wellbeing, comfort, and
emotional safety.

28. Safe Place Mandalas

29. Emotional Expression:
Worries & Fear

30.  Fighting & Hurting
 Physical or Emotional Safety & Wellbeing
 Court, Legal, Social Services Proceedings
 Shelter Adjustment
 Separation & Divorce
 Custody & Visitation Arrangements
 Something “bad” happening again

31. Creating a box
to safely hold
worries

32. Worry about Court and Fears about Testifying

33. Worry about Pets left behind or separated from

34. Emotional X-Ray Drawings: Scared & Frightened

35. Outside/Inside Masks | Outside
What feelings do you feel safe showing to others?

36. Outside/Inside Masks | Inside
What feelings do you not feel safe showing to others?

38. Fostering Resilience

39. What is Resilience?
The American Psychological Association (APA)
defines resilience as “the ability to adapt well
to adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or even
significant sources of stress”.
“Resilience is important because it is the
human capacity to face, overcome and be
strengthened by or even transformed by the
adversities of life”.
Pizzolongo, P.J. & Hunter, A. (2011). I am safe and secure.
Promoting resiliency in young children. Young Children, 66(2): 67-69.

40. Dennis S. Charney, M.D (2004) Psychobiological Mechanisms of Resilience and
Vulnerability: Implications for Successful Adaptation to Extreme Stress

41. Strength Bowls

42. Strength Boxes for Coping

43. Stones of Strength
Word of strength,
positive affirmation in
permanent marker
Feeling to let go & have
less power in chalk
Create a special
container or fabric
pouch to hold stones

44. Courage Stick

45. About Post Traumatic Growth (PTG)
Positive psychological change experienced as a result of the struggle
with highly challenging life circumstances
Martin P. Seligman, Ph.D., MD, leading researcher, author
and professor in positive psychology notes:
 Often Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG) occurs much more
than the onset of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
 Individuals who experienced one awful event had
more intense strengths (and therefore higher well-being)
than individuals who had none.
 Traumatic events could lead to transformation and growth.

46. Creating a Creative
Safe Space

47.  Make sure there is enough physical/table
space to create comfortably.
 Select and create a safe space that
communicates permission to freely create
without worry about messiness and can
be cleaned up easily.

48. Material Planning & Prep
 When planning to incorporate art making be
mindful that different art materials and media
can have different emotional effects
 Consider how materials that are being introduced
and their properties may impact the client
internally
 On the continuum of art material properties,
drawing media offer the most control, while
media such as paint and water-based clay can
quickly stimulate expression and regression

49. Material Planning & Prep
 Create a balance and experience of material
offerings that empowers choice, decision
making, and control without over
stimulating;
 Pre-structuring materials can help decrease
feelings of being overwhelmed easily and
create containment.

50. Additional Considerations
 Art materials do not have to be of "fine art"
quality or expensive, but also should work
well and more importantly, not add
frustration the art making experience.
 Art materials should be treated and offered
to the group with respect by the therapist, as
this reflects additional meaning and
importance connected to the experience.

51. Creating a Safe Environment
for Art Expression
 Provide an environment that allows the client to freely
create without judgment
 Show your interest in the client's art through inviting
him/her to share
 Prompt invitations to share with: "Tell me about your
picture...“
 Actively listen to what the client has to say about his/
her art expression
Schirrmacher, J. (1986).

52.  Make observations about the client's art without
interpretations or assumptions
 Create opportunities to encourage storytelling
about the art expression
 Focus on the art expression's design qualities:
color, placement, line, shape, form, texture,
energy
 Thank the client for sharing, whether this is
talking about his/her art and/or showing what
they have created

53. What to Avoid:
 Compliments about the client's art or the expectation
that their art should be pleasing and "look good"
 Comments about the art product that are judgmental or
interpreting in nature
 Valuing the product over the process
 Direct questions that make the creator feel they did
something wrong (i.e. "What is that?", "Why did you
draw that?")
 Telling an individual the "right" way to make or create
something. This inhibits sincere expression.
Schirrmacher, J. (1986).

54. References
Charney, D.S. (2004). Psychobiological Mechanisms of Resilience and
Vulnerability: Implications for Successful Adaptation to Extreme
Stress.
Malchiodi, C. & Miller, G. (2012). Domestic Violence and Art Therapy.
In Malchiodi, C. (Ed.), The Handbook of Art Therapy (2nd ed.).
New York: Guilford Press. pp. 335-349.
Pizzolongo, P.J. & Hunter, A. (2011). I am safe and secure.
Promoting resiliency in young children. Young Children, 66(2):
67-69.
Schirrmacher, J. (1986). Talking with young children about their art.
Young Children, 41(5): 3-7..
Steele, W., Malchiodi, C., & Klein, N. (2002). Helping Children Feel
Safe. National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children.

55. Domestic Violence & the Arts Resources
 A Window Between Worlds- www.awbw.org
Dedicated to using art to help end domestic
violence.
 SpeakArtLoud- www.speakartloud.org
Innovative social-profit organization that uses the
arts to empower women and improve
communities.
 Be a Voice Arts- www.beavoicearts.com
Using the arts to speak up about abuse.

56. Domestic Violence Resources
Courage Network
www.couragenetwork.org
A resource, community, and
inspiration for victims, advocates, families,
friends and those dealing with domestic
violence in their personal lives.
Ohio Domestic Violence Network- www.odvn.org
Trauma Informed Care DV Best Practices & Protocol:
www.odvn.org/images/stories/FinalTICManual.pdf
National DV Hotline- www.thehotline.org

57. Gretchen Miller, MA, ATR-BC, CTC-S
Registered Board Certified Art Therapist
Certified Trauma Consultant
gretchenmiller@cox.net
www.gretchen-miller.com