TREATMENT OF RAPE VICTIMS

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be one of the debilitating an d harmful effects of sexual assault. Although many forms of interventi on exist for rape-related PTSD, only a few well-controlled studies hav e been conducted to systematically evaluate the treatment response of women who have been the victims of sexual assault. Overall, cognitive- behavioral interventions for rape-related PTSD, with single or multipl e treatment components, have been found to result in a decrease or rem ission of posttrauma sequelae when compared to no treatment or wait-li st control conditions. This article highlights the general methodologi cal issues that are pertinent in the design of studies to evaluate the treatment outcome of rape-related PTSD. The wide range of psychologic al interventions for the treatment of postrape sequelae are reviewed a nd special attention is given to cognitive-behavioral interventions be cause these treatments have been subjected to more rigorous empirical examinations. Finally, suggestions are made to improve the assessment of rape-related PTSD and to predict treatment response in rape victims .