VETERANS

One of our counselors, Alena Porter, has a certificate in Clinical Military Mental Health Counseling. Alena Porter has also completed extensive research and practice in the care of military sexual trauma. Military sexual trauma is more complex than most other types of sexual trauma for a few reasons. First, the needs and purpose of the group outweigh the needs of the individual which leaves soldiers who have experienced military sexual trauma feeling lost, ignored, invalidated, and disconnected. Second, if the soldier strongly identifies with the military as an important aspect of their identity they may have trouble understanding who they are after the sexual trauma because the military aspect of their identity is now distorted. Third, many soldiers who experience military sexual trauma experience institutional betrayal wherein the soldier is either discouraged from reporting the incident, the incident is invalidated as “not severe enough,” they are blamed for the incident, or after they report the incident they experience retribution. Using a combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness, and somatic focused EMDR, Alena Porter has helped survivors of military sexual trauma relieve the after effects of the traumatic experiences and reclaim their sense of self and restore their ability to experience sexual pleasure.

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