A Model Treatment Program for Revictimized Women

Researchers and therapists working with abused women have tended to focus either on the treatment of women abused within domestic violence, or women who had been sexually abused as children.One of the subgroups of this population have been those women who had been sexually abused as children who were now seeking treatment and healing from abuse from a violent partner. In shelters for battered women, shelter staff have wondered why these women were less likely to trust,less likely to engage in treatment,more likely to engage in self-destructive behavior, and more likely to return to their violent partners. This book explores this question and looks at revictimized women who exhibit the symptoms of Complex PTSD. If resources were available, what would be the treatment plan for these women, based on the research? What sort of program could be developed within women's shelters and agencies that work with women who have a long history of being seriously abused? This book can be helpful to therapists providing individual treatment, as well as communities that are doing long-range planning for treatment of PTSD for their citizens.