Military Sexual Trauma (MST)
What is MST?
MST refers to sexual assault or threatening sexual harassment experienced during military service.
This includes all sexual activity while on military duty that is against someone’s will or when they are not able to say no.
Some examples are:
Being pressured or coerced into sexual activities, such as with threats of negative treatment if you refuse to cooperate or with promises of better treatment
Sexual contact or activities without your consent, including when you were asleep or intoxicated
Being overpowered or physically forced to have sex
Being touched or grabbed in a sexual way that made you uncomfortable, including during “hazing” experiences
Comments about your body or sexual activities that you found threatening
Unwanted sexual advances that you found threatening
What is the treatment for MST?
Experiencing MST can be very challenging. However, there is treatment and hope for recovery.
Mental health professionals can provide psychological assessment and evaluation, medication evaluation and treatment, and therapy.
Therapies that are evidence based.
MST is not a diagnosis. It is an experience. It is a form of trauma that impacts lives in different ways. There are many paths to healing from the impact of MST.
Clinical depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can be related to having experienced MST. The most effective treatment for MST are evidence-based therapies.
Prolonged Exposure (PE) helps individuals with a diagnosis of PTSD to gradually approach and address traumatic memories, feelings and situations. By confronting these challenges directly, you may see PTSD symptoms begin to decrease.
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) helps individuals with a diagnosis of PTSD to identify how traumatic experiences have affected their thinking, to evaluate those thoughts, and to change them. Through CPT, you may develop more healthy and balanced beliefs about yourself, others and the world.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) helps individuals with a diagnosis of PTSD process and make sense of their experience of trauma. It involves calling the trauma to mind while paying attention to a back-and-forth movement or sound (like a finger waving side to side, a light, or a tone).
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a structured, time-limited therapy that can help individuals who experience depression, anxiety, substance use disorders or other mental health difficulties. This treatment can help you develop balanced and helpful thoughts about yourself, others and the future. CBT can help you modify your thought patterns to change negative moods and behaviors.
Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) is a therapy that can help individuals who experience depression focus on identifying and evaluating relationship issues that may contribute to their depression. IPT can also help you build social skills to deal with problems in your relationships and improve your overall quality of life.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps individuals overcome their emotional pain by promoting positive actions and choices that align with their values. Through this therapy, you may improve your ability to recognize and achieve what truly matters most to you in life.
Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) helps individuals with substance use disorders focus on personal motivations for change. In this therapy, you’ll look at the reasons behind your desire to make a change and the potential benefits of that change.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) helps individuals address stress and strong emotions, learn mindfulness and distress tolerance, and develop and practice new interpersonal skills.
If you are a veteran who has experienced MST please reach out for help. Contact us for resources or to schedule an appointment with us at https://api.portal.therapyappointment.com/n/public/clientRegistration?therapistId=23A44F5EBEF441C8A7F8DC23FBAE9506
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