Reading Room

Understanding and Treating Military Sexual Trauma
By Kristen Zaleski, PhD, MSW

This thorough analysis of sexual assault in the military examines the scope of this long-neglected issue using a lens informed by modern day attachment and trauma theories. Starting with an overview of sexual violence during wartime, it details the cultural and organizational aspects of military life--and entrenched ideas about war and masculinity--that compound military sexual trauma (MST) and reinforce barriers to treatment for women and men. The book's second half reviews empirically-supported interventions for MST survivors, recommending therapy that attends to somatic, implicit, relational based aspects of trauma processing rather than the conventional cognitive therapies currently funded in many military mental health programs. This powerful presentation, which includes sobering quotes from survivors, also raises serious questions about meeting veterans' needs, training for on- and off-base clinicians, and government funding. 

Source: Springer; http://www.springer.com/us