I'm going to start a new thread here on MST: Military Sexual Trauma.

This is a newly recognized outcome of sexual abuse (violence toward women) in the military. Hopefully this thread will provide another resource for discussing this important topic.

Thanks.

Well Thank you for starting this thread!! I have MST which caused my PTSD! This site has been my life saver since I found it by accident in 2003!! I do post on two other site but I come back here. There is the world wide quilt about MST. I was one of three ladies that had an idea! The Miles Foundation is the one giving the support and spreading the word about MST thru the Miles Foundation. If you want their email let me know and I will post it. MST happens to both men and women. Sally

I thought that was what rape and PTSD was but thanks for starting this. I just came back from Bay Pines program and this will be helpful.

This area is new ground for diagnosticians and therapists alike.

Yes, it is likely that given the right circumstances, an individual could suffer from both MST and PTSD if they meet the criteria, but not always.

As in most things that some people like to keep under the rug, the more we discuss the matter here, the more quickly it is taken away from the perpetrators.

Thanks for jumping on this; it helps.

Hi everyone! Military sexaul trauma has been going on for decades! It happens to both male and female serving in the military. Two women veterans in Texas posted an idea about making a quilt regarding how MST has been covered up by the military public. The Miles foundation is supporting the quilt another public awareness about MST. April was the first public showing of the Quilt. I have decided to go public about what happened to me in the military ( rape) and fighting to prove that it happened 30 years ago! My comp& pen exam stated that I have PTSD mild to severe due to MST ! My claim was denied and I proved the rape with a positive PG test in my medical military records. The VA wrote in the granting of my claim , " we conceed that the stressor event occurred". My daughter , Mary Ellen, is living proof! So yes MST causes PTSD!! Both MST and PTSD does not go away. Get treatment for PTSD and mention that you were sexaully abused in the military to your mental health care provider. You are not alone!! Sally

A group that is helping to spread the word about MST is the Miles Foundation. They are supporting the World wide Quilt about Sexual abuse in the military. They are doing a coalition letter to Congress. I signed the letter. The Miles Foundation's email is: milesfdn@aol.com. They email me all the time about different ways to get the word out about MST!! How is everyone doing? Sally

quote:

Get treatment for PTSD and mention that you were sexaully abused in the military to your mental health care provider.

Absolutely.

The path to integrating our past experiences with the future is not always easy, but always worthwhile.

Fancy, C130 and everyone else! How are you doing? I had to stop taking my nightmare med because I was passing out the next day. My primary Dr. changed my pain attack/sleeping med and I contacted my mental health Dr. by email. Has anyone besides me done coping skills groups? I still do one on one with my mental health ,PTSD Dr. ! Sally

I have just heard of "Military Sexual Trauma" term, and find the term a little odd, hard to understand.
The VA apparently has taken it under its wing, during a routine interview at my local VA Clinic, I was startled to have the question asked of me. I had to honestly answer that I in fact had been sexually traumatized by the mess sergeant back in 1958! I just thought it was a strange question to ask.

It's a relatively new program, added due to the tremendous influx of VA patients who have suffered varying degrees of it.... anything from Sexual Harrassment, to fondling, to Rape.

All veterans are now asked this question during screening sessions, and C&P exams.

All veterans, are also entitled to free treatment for MST issues, regardless of rating, or VA eligibility... FREE.

Well I'll be darned!

Yeah, i was pretty surprised too... after 3.5 years of being treated for PTSD and things reltated in part to MST I suffered, it has just now gotten it's own department in the psychology clinic..

Hello everyone,

I took steps on my own, after telling my psychologist several times that I needed more intense therapy than just an individual appt. every 2 weeks. I have been in groups too, but they weren't working as my interaction with the other members was a bit more...how can I say this...NOT about me.

In other words, I was doing what I always try to do; help everyone else and avoid my own issues. When I was feeling REALLY bad, I just wouldn't go as I was/am in the mindset that if I do go, then I will just bring everyone else down and that's the last thing I want to do.

This has gone on for ohhhhhh, 8 years at least; and between switching meds, being in groups, doing a 12 week {at every other week intervals} course on cognitive skills...I feel I am in a worse place than I was before I left the Marine Corps.

Back to MST; after reading what Realfancy and c130 have said about Bay Pines, I went to the VA Main website to see anything like that was available in my area. I do know that a few years ago in Boston, they did have the Sexual Trauma PTSD center there but it's been turned into the Center for PTSD inclusive for the VA now and the closest MST facility like Bay Pines to me now is in Batavia, NY...which is in the Western Part of New York.

I looked at their webpage and it's pretty sparse on information; have to wait until Tues to call...does ANYONE know anything about their MST/Sexual Trauma PTSD program at all? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

On a totally different note:

Schwanke - I am so sorry to "hear" about what happened to you with that mess sergeant. It takes an extremely brave man to be able to verbalize such things...especially something that happened that far back in their lives.

More men in the Military are sexually harassed and abused than we will EVER know due to the total stigmatization and humiliation the predator as well as the institution as a whole, inflicts upon the victims. Having to carry around the shame and embarrassment of such an event, questioning your sexuality or going over the events like a broken record, wondering what the heck did you do to even make the perp consider harming you the way they did...the wounds are too deep to even fathom, IMHO.

GOD bless you Sir for being able to be able to be the better person and move on with your life.

Everyone else reading my post, I send you all my deepest, hearfelt wishes for the best Memorial day week end you can have. May we all have Peace, each and every day that we awake!

Cyn~

Well, don't give me too much credit. Other than the VA Doc this is the first I felt I could actually admit to it. No way in the world would I have ever even admitted to it while in the service. I don't actually know how much it has affected me during the last almost 50 years of course, but I blame my intense dislike for homosexuals on the incident (and never did like mess sergeants again either!)

Hi everyone! I recieved Free mental health care at the Seattle VA because in my chart someone put MST. I stared treatmen 30+ years after the rape! In Seattle, I found out that MST causes PTSD. ( Which I put on my Quilt Square)! So, I started treatment for PTSD. Ask your mental health provider about treatment programs that now have MST programs like Bay Pines. My first group of all women veterans who have MST were the first group that were members of the MST program at Seattle VA! It was more or less a learning experience for everyone!!! On my claim for PTSD the VA conceeded the the " stressor event had occurred while I was on active duty ." ! They did not say MST or rape! MST has been happening to both men and women for decades in the military not just starting to happen! When I was told that I have MST/PTSD, my reaction was "What is That??!!" By taking positive little steps, asking for help, learning to take care of myself first; I started the long road to healing and learning to live with PTSD. Sally

Yeah, I knew what PTSD was (of course, due to all the Veteran's I'd volunteered with as a teenager) but didn't have any idea what MST was, until the Director of the Women's LCinic here told me that I fell under that category per the regs, and she was going to make sure I got treatment, regardless of what the red-tape was telling me (she really fought for that for me, and I credit her with a LOT of why things went so quick and well for me nearly 4 years ago, when I showed up at the VA for help.).

As for MST -- Cyn, check with the Psychology Department with whatever VA it is you go to. They may only have 1 or 2 folks right now, but they SHOULD be having someone dedicated to MST treatment in veterans.

I don't go to Bay Pines, I go to Haley, but that's how it is here. And it's recent... REALLY recent -- by that I mean, only within the last 4 months. Prior to that, if you wanted counselling for MST, you saw the regular psychologist in the Women's Clinic... which I have to say, Haley is one of the premier Women's Veteran's Clinics in the nation -- one of the first, and has a leg up on so many VAs.

We're pretty lucky in this part of the country, the amount and quality of resources we're having available to us -- not every veteran has these things yet...

BUT, that being said, check with the psychology department where you go, and ask if they have someone / program, dedicated to MST treatment... they should.

See these pages for specific Woman's MST treatment info:

http://www1.va.gov/wvhp/

http://www1.va.gov/wvhp/page.cfm?pg=20

VA medical centers have made structural changes and renovated areas to assure privacy for veterans. VA healthcare professionals can help veterans better cope with the aftereffects of a trauma experience and help veterans regain their confidence, self-esteem, and quality of life. For information regarding sexual trauma services, contact the Military Sexual Trauma Coordinator or Women Veterans Program Manager at your nearest VA facility or call toll free 1-800-827-1000.

Since Boston is the National Center for PTSD, and it's a very large facility, I'd be surprised if there wasn't a MST clinic there. I go there for some treatment, and they seem to offer every service.

Bill

Interesting and informative links Bill, thanks.
The "Official" position on MST would indicate the VA is actually interested in treatment. In my case, they simply annotated my records a couple years ago and that was the end of that. Of course they are treating me for PTSD from combat, so maybe they feel "PTSD is PTSD, lets not get picky about how it happened".

If it becomes apparent, that the focus of your problems, is the MST you suffered, they will recommend that you speak to someone about MST.

However, if you already are attending therapy, or group sessions, they will most likely not make it a priority that you see a counselor specifically for MST.

In my case, I didn't go to a psychologist for 3 years -- I was made too once for an eval when I first got diagnosed, but it always was about re-hashing what happened, which I had done for 18 months on AD, and didn't want to do anymore. My psychiatrist kept recommending that I go see one again, as my symptoms improvement were pretty much maxed out with the medical care.

Finally, after 2 weeks of being shut-in my house, due to anxiety attacks that were once again becoming paralyzing, I agreed and she referred me to the psychologist.. before my appointment, I recieved a call from another pyshcologist, and she is the one I ended up seeing (the VA had cancelled the other appt) -- this one speicalizes in victims of MST.

I'm trying to learn how to cope with the reactions (physical and mental) that I have from the after effects of my PTSD -- I would love to be able to walk into a store, and not get on the defensive because some dude looks at me and smiles because I let him have the right of way.

SOOOO... if you're alreayd in counselling for PTSD, you're right, they aren't going to request you go to a speicalist... unless either A) you start having more and more problems related specifically to the MST,
B) you request it.

I have a great mental health Dr!! He teaches about PTSD at the University of Washington, Seattle. I stopped my first group because the group and the mental health ( MST). Where not helping me! They were re-hashing the different MST of the members and verbally attacking me! I almost broke glass of the door window when I slammed the door close!! I was already seeing my DR. that knows about PTSD both MST and combat!! I finally got to the point that I trust some men!! The women's clinic is totally redone and mental health has moved to a new location. But , I chose to keep going to the one main clinic ( with all the male veterans). I pick safe places to sit and wait. Sally