Victims of 'military sexual trauma' urged to talk about experiences
For the past four years, a full-time social worker at Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center in Phoenix has been helping men and women who were sexually abused, harassed or assaulted in the armed forces.
Victims of what the Department of Veterans Affairs terms "military sexual trauma" receive free psychiatric care. Civilian social worker Judith Orosz says talking is the best medicine.
"They isolate themselves, avoid crowds and don't talk to anyone," Orosz said. "They develop symptoms that range from substance abuse and eating disorders to depression and an inability to hold a job."
Many victims were threatened with dishonorable discharge by superior officers who assaulted them, so they have never talked about the violence they experienced, Orosz said. Fifteen men and 26 women are currently in her programs. Orosz runs a number of therapy groups that are free of charge for men and women who were sexually assaulted during active duty. She says the group with the best results is a 12-week program called "prolonged exposure therapy." Orosz encourages victims to describe the abuse over and over into a tape recorder until they can tell the story in a confident, unemotional way.
One patient, a 48-year-old retired assistant Army chaplain, said that in the late 1990s, she was raped and had her career threatened by her superior officer, an Army chaplain.
"If I would smell the type of cologne he wore, I would have a flashback," she said. "Once I fell on the floor and had a panic attack in Walmart when I smelled his cologne there."
The vet, who requested anonymity, said repeatedly telling the story about her attack to sympathetic peers at the VA has helped her get on with her life.
"I can trust people again," she said.
Victims of what the Department of Veterans Affairs terms "military sexual trauma" receive free psychiatric care. Civilian social worker Judith Orosz says talking is the best medicine.
"They isolate themselves, avoid crowds and don't talk to anyone," Orosz said. "They develop symptoms that range from substance abuse and eating disorders to depression and an inability to hold a job."
Many victims were threatened with dishonorable discharge by superior officers who assaulted them, so they have never talked about the violence they experienced, Orosz said. Fifteen men and 26 women are currently in her programs. Orosz runs a number of therapy groups that are free of charge for men and women who were sexually assaulted during active duty. She says the group with the best results is a 12-week program called "prolonged exposure therapy." Orosz encourages victims to describe the abuse over and over into a tape recorder until they can tell the story in a confident, unemotional way.
One patient, a 48-year-old retired assistant Army chaplain, said that in the late 1990s, she was raped and had her career threatened by her superior officer, an Army chaplain.
"If I would smell the type of cologne he wore, I would have a flashback," she said. "Once I fell on the floor and had a panic attack in Walmart when I smelled his cologne there."
The vet, who requested anonymity, said repeatedly telling the story about her attack to sympathetic peers at the VA has helped her get on with her life.
"I can trust people again," she said.
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