This was a short story I wrote, in which I covered a workshop that addressed military sexual trauma, how to treat it and many of the mental health problems that follow.
Cleveland State University’s School of
Social Work held two workshops Friday
April 11th, the first of these two workshops
focused primarily on female veterans
and the growing epidemic of MST
(military sexual trauma)—and how to
effectively and properly clinically treat
the growing number of both male and
female veterans who suffer from MST.
The presenter for Friday’s workshops
was Dr. Jennifer Knetig, a clinical psychologist
and the Military Sexual Trauma
Coordinator at the Louis Stokes
Cleveland VA Medical Center.
MST is a term that refers to the psychological
trauma experienced by military
service members as a result of sexual
assault or harassment, according to the
Department of Veteran Affairs, (VA).
MST is also known to lead to other
mental health sequelaes—conditions
such as PTSD, depression and substance
use disorders.
Although the idea of sexual assault
within the military isn't a new one, the
VA didn't begin screening for MST until
1999—and even now questions about
whether a service member was ever sexually
assaulted or harassed while serving
are only required to be asked once
every 99 years, said Knetig.
According to studies and reviews presented
by Knetig, reporting rates vary
drastically—some reviews show that 50-
77 percent of service members report
sexual harassment while 11-48 percent
report being sexually assaulted.
A 2007 study found that 22 percent of
women veterans and 1 percent of men
screened positive for MST—a 2010
study of 125,729 VA care receiving veterans
found that 15.1 percent of women
and 0.7 percent of men reported MST.
However, Knetig stressed that—for a
number of reasons—MST may be severely
under reported.
MST brings with it a distinctive number
of problem—both in getting service
members to admit to having suffered
sexual assault while serving and finding
treatment care plans that work for
this unique and unfortunately growing
group of veterans.
Knetig discussed four different “evidence
based treatments” for MST and the
mental health sequelaes it may cause—
these treatments included dialectical behavior
therapy, acceptance and commitment
therapy, prolonged exposure and
cognitive processing therapy.
Each therapy is tailored to tend to the
varying and distinctive needs of veterans
suffering from MST, said Knetig.
Throughout the workshop, Knetig also
showed clips from the film “The Invisible
War,” a 2012 documentary that featured
interviews with veterans in which they
recounted the events that surrounded
their own sexual assaults.
Many of the clips shown were difficult
to watch—and the effect of watching
these women (and men) describe the
horrors they lived through was visible
on many faces in the audience.
Attendance at the workshop was small,
only eight students (all women)—all of
them current social workers, counselors
or therapists.
Among those attending was Cheryl
Williams—who is an eight-year veteran
of the United States Navy.
Williams, 52, served in the Navy from
1981-1989, she is currently an Information
and Referral specialist with the
United Way 211— a phone line community
members can call to find resources
to help them with needs such as gas bill
assistance and homelessness.
“I was offered the opportunity to attend
the workshop through my employer, in
December 2013, 211 launched a veteran
line to better assist veterans with their
needs. I assist with the veteran line
when needed,” said Williams.
Before the workshop, Williams admitted
she hadn't had much experience
with MST or veterans who suffer from
it—but afterwards she felt as though
she had gained the knowledge needed
to assist veterans who seek help through
the United Way’s veteran’s phone line.
“I feel as though I learned a lot from
the workshop. I now have a better understanding
of what can happen to military
men and women,” said Williams.
“I now have some resources to refer
my callers to, for example, the VA Medical
Center and the “DOM” which was
mentioned in the workshop.”
Overall the workshop appeared to be
quite a success. Interesting, informative
and impactful—it is safe to say that
those who were in attendance gained
not only new knowledge but a new found
respect for female veterans and
the problems and struggles they can
face in their continued commitment to
serving their country.
The second workshop presented Friday
focused on the best clinical treatments
for female veterans who suffer
from PTSD—both the workshops were
offered through the School of Social
Work’s Continuing Education Division.
The goal of the Continuing Education
Division is to “provide opportunities for
learning experiences that will prepare
professional social workers…to meet
the multiple needs of individuals, organizations,
and the communities they
serve in the provision of social work and
counseling interventions,” said the program
coordinator Dr. George Tsagaris.
The Continuing Education Division has
held various veteran-focused workshops
in the past—and this semester decided
on something a little different.
“We came up with the idea of doing
something that would focus primarily
on women [veterans],” said Tsagaris.
The workshops held Friday are among
a series workshops designed to give social
workers and counselors the opportunity
to complete board required continuing
education hours.
