the effects of the support group. First, through the mutual sharing that characterizes group process, group members who feel estranged, detached, or isolated from others often find that there are people like them who have the same fears, worries and concerns. Given this, it is likely that this sharing did much to reduce group members feelings of isolation.
Also, flashbacks are one of the single most disturbing symptoms of PTSD and, as such, these feelings comprise one of the initial therapeutic targets of support groups. It could be that since the groups were well underway at the time of this study's observation, this symptom had already been significantly reduced by group process effects (as well as by whatever medications these women might be receiving to calm them).
One of the most striking findings of the study is the large number of women who either "often" or "very often" avoided activities that reminded them of battering (80%). According to Bower (1991), this avoidance behavior is one of the most common characteri
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