PTSD & Sexual Trauma Treatment for Women

We have heard the statistics — how one in four women are sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Since the #MeToo movement in 2018, conversations about sexual assault, sexual harassment, and rape have been front-and-center topics of conversation. I myself have been the victim of sexual assault and rape. Every person reading this either has been a victim or knows one (or several). These are the sad realities of the world we live in.

The prevalence of sexual assault is known, but what is often left unsaid are the ramifications of our assaults. We have been able to rise and speak to the problem, but oftentimes, the grueling reality of our trauma is too taboo. Yet sexual trauma PTSD is a very real thing and one that deserves discussion.

What Is Sexual Trauma?

When we think of sexual trauma, different ideas may come to mind. According to VerywellMind.com, sexual assault is defined as a range of behaviors that involve unwanted, coercive, or forceful sexual contact or conduct. It’s one thing to recognize that no means no, but it’s also critical to understand that the absence of a no is not a yes. Sexual trauma, in short, occurs when consent is not given. “Perpetrators may use physical force, psychological force, manipulation, intimidation, threats of retaliation, emotional coercion, or drugs or alcohol to facilitate assaults,” according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The extent to which offenders may take advantage of another person can be startling.

Even more disconcerting is that sexual assault can occur to anyone and everyone — no one is immune. The VA found nearly 44% of American females and 25% of males experienced sexual violence at some point in their lives. The pervasiveness of sexual assault adds to the alarm of sexual trauma.

Because of its prevalence and the fact that no one is immune, sexual trauma PTSD is even more rampant. Survivors are aware that there is a strong likelihood that they may once again be assaulted. This awareness may heighten the PTSD felt by victims of sexual assault.

What Is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?

PTSD is a mental health condition that develops after you have survived a traumatic event — like being in battle, a car accident, or sexual assault. The symptoms of PTSD vary. VerywellMind shares the following common symptoms of PTSD:

• Reliving the traumatic event
• Avoiding anything that reminds you of the event
• Having negative thoughts and/or beliefs
• Scaring easily

How Do PTSD and Sexual Trauma Intersect?

Developing PTSD after your assault does not make you weak. Anyone who has been assaulted will feel anguish to some degree following their incident. In fact, research from Trauma, Violence, & Abuse revealed that one month after their trauma, 75% of individuals who had been sexually assaulted met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. A year after, 48% of survivors still had PTSD. Thankfully, the VA reports many individuals will recover naturally following their assault.

It is common for PTSD and sexual trauma to go together following an assault. For PTSD in women and men, having paranoid thoughts of feeling in danger, inability to trust others, and the urgency to always be on guard are common with sexual trauma PTSD. If left untreated, these symptoms may persist for months or even years. According to the McGill Journal of Medicine (MJM), how you cognitively respond to your trauma will influence the onset, severity, and outcome of PTSD following your sexual assault.

In addition to the symptoms of PTSD listed above, VerywellMind offers additional symptoms of sexual trauma PTSD:

• Vivid flashbacks
• Night terrors
• Feelings of numbness
• Guilt and shame
• Irritability
• Jumpiness
• Body aches and pains
• Fatigue
• Inability to sleep
• Headaches
• Difficulty concentrating
• Hopelessness
• Difficulty experiencing positive emotions
• Non-epileptic seizures
• Digestive issues
• Intense premenstrual side effects
• Arthritis
• Reduced sexual arousal
• Increased risk for depression, generalized anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, substance use disorders, and eating disorders.

The Toll of PTSD and Sexual Trauma

Reading through the list of symptoms of sexual trauma PTSD is alarming. It can feel as if your entire life has been flipped upside down in a matter of minutes — because it has. Knowing just one singular moment can turn your life inside out can be crippling.

“Events perceived as uncontrollable are much more distressing than controllable events; therefore, with uncontrollable events such as sexual assault, survivors will attempt to attribute blame to behavioral, dispositional, or vicarious causes,” shares MJM. In other words, when sexual assault occurs, it’s understandable to try to rationalize how it happened; we want to make sense of it so we can control it and prevent it from happening again.

PTSD in women is exacerbated by the inability to control what happens to us at times — by strangers, relatives, friends, or acquaintances. Sexual assault is not always violent or at the hands of a stranger, as many self-defense strategies may lead you to believe. The VA reports sexual assaults occur within marriages, at work, school, home, with friends, those we trust the most — and, of course, also with strangers. PTSD and sexual trauma are worsened at times when the perpetrator is someone known and trusted because it plants deep seeds of betrayal and distrust, which permeate other relationships.

Another battle for women with PTSD and sexual trauma is that those who have experienced sexual assault as a child are at an increased risk of being sexually assaulted again, says VerywellMind. This unfortunate statistic looms large for survivors because of the reality of knowing that if it has happened once, statistically, it will most likely happen again. This data elevates the fears and increases the trauma of survivors.

One side effect experienced by many women who have been assaulted is Rape Trauma Syndrome (RTS). It is important to note that RTS can develop following any sexual assault, not only rape. MJM describes the three phases of RTS:

1. Acute Phase – Immediately following the attack, survivors are in crisis and respond by being very expressive or extremely controlled.

2. Outward Adjustment Phase – The assault is no longer front and center in the survivor’s mind, and there is an attempt to resume daily life.

3. Long-Term Reorganization Phase – Here is when a survivor begins to heal from their sexual trauma and integrates their assault into their view of themselves and their identity. This is the phase where you can heal sexual trauma. 

The Importance of Tailored Therapeutic Approaches

Your body may eventually heal, but your mind may not. And to heal sexual trauma oftentimes takes a lot of holistic, intentional effort. We all have a different catharsis, a different way to release the trauma built up in our bodies. Different therapies can help you find how to let go — mentally, emotionally, and physically. When someone is sexually assaulted, there is a biological, psychological, and sociological impact on the survivor, says MJM. Therefore, treatment should also incorporate these components of life.

There are various treatments proven to be effective in healing PTSD and sexual trauma, many of which we use at Willow House at The Meadows: Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), exposure therapy (ET), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR), and group therapy. Along with these examples of beneficial, targeted treatments, trauma-informed care is also critical to helping women heal. According to the VA, trauma-informed care includes:

• Limiting power differentials between the survivor and the clinicians
• Providing options/choices to the survivor
• Being transparent with the survivor regarding what to expect
• Wording questions to sound less demanding and more open
• Ensuring privacy and confidentiality
• Utilizing the survivor’s innate strengths and gifts in their healing process

The Ability to Heal Sexual Trauma is Possible

MJM shows that your degree of support from others, self-concept before your assault, and personal grit and resilience all factor into a successful recovery — along with the professional treatment you receive.

Thankfully, our highly trained, trauma-informed team here at Willow House cares greatly about women finding healing and restoring their holistic wellness. If you or someone you care about has suffered from sexual trauma and PTSD and are battling the effects, we are here to help. Our highly trained, trauma-informed practitioners are ready to help you navigate the healing journey. Reach out to learn more today.