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Although incarcerated women are a highly victimized population, therapy for sexual violence victimization (SVV) sequela is not routinely offered in prison. SHARE is a group therapy for SVV survivors that was successfully implemented and sustained in a women's correction center. Here, we aimed to identify implementation factors and strategies that led to SHARE's success and describe incarcerated women's perspectives on the program. We conducted a retrospective process evaluation using interviews structured according to EPIS, a well-established implementation science framework. Participants (N = 22) were incarcerated women, members of the SHARE treatment team, and members of the correction center's leadership, therapeutic team, and volunteer program. Factors that facilitated SHARE implementation varied by EPIS phase and organization. Positive inter-organizational and interpersonal relationships were key across phases, as were the synergies between both the strengths and needs of each organization involved in implementation. Incarcerated women reported a strong need for SHARE and did not report any concerns about receiving trauma therapy in a carceral setting. Therapy for SVV sequelae, including exposure-based therapy, is possible to implement and sustain in carceral settings. Community-academic partnerships may be a particularly feasible way to expand access to SVV therapy for incarcerated women., (© 2020 Society for Community Research and Action.)

This pilot study was an evaluation of an 8-week exposure-based therapy group targeting sexual trauma in incarcerated women, an underserved population with high rates of trauma exposure. Preliminary findings from 14 female prisoners showed significant decreases in depressive and anxiety symptoms from pre- to posttreatment. Of the women who were above the screening cutoff for possible posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; n = 13), depression (n = 12), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD; n = 12) at pretreatment, approximately 60% had recovered, meaning they had symptom reductions that placed them below the cutoff at posttreatment (n = 8 for PTSD; n = 8 for depression, and n = 9 for GAD). In addition, 85% of participants reported a clinically significant reduction in depressive symptoms and 50% in GAD symptoms. The findings show promise for successful group treatment of sexual violence sequelae in incarcerated women., (Copyright © 2014 International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.)