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What Is Psychological Trauma?

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Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

Abstract

Psychological trauma can alter people’s fundamental beliefs and change the way in which they interact with the world. Sexual and gender-based violence, including sexual assault, childhood sexual abuse (CSA), sexual harassment, stalking, and intimate partner violence (IPV), constitutes a form of psychological trauma and is associated with mental and physical health concerns. Given the frequency of sexual and gender-based violence, all medical providers care for people who have had these experiences, even if they are unaware that the patient in front of them is a survivor. A basic understanding of psychological trauma and its effects is essential to providing quality trauma-informed care, and it can assist medical providers in engaging patients in physical healthcare or bridging patients to mental healthcare. This chapter reviews psychological trauma with a specific focus on sexual and gender-based violence. We discuss characteristics of and reactions to sexual and gender-based violence and present important information to guide medical providers’ care of trauma survivors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Women’s Health Sciences Division, National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA

    Katherine R. Buchholz, Virginia K. McCaughey & Amy E. Street

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Katherine R. Buchholz & Amy E. Street

Authors
  1. Katherine R. Buchholz
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  2. Virginia K. McCaughey
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  3. Amy E. Street
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Correspondence to Amy E. Street .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, NYU School of Medicine and Department of Veterans Affairs New York Harbor Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Veronica Ades

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Buchholz, K.R., McCaughey, V.K., Street, A.E. (2020). What Is Psychological Trauma?. In: Ades, V. (eds) Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38345-9_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38345-9_1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-38344-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-38345-9

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