© 2024
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
An update has been released for the Android version of the WAMC App that addresses performance issues. Please check the Google Play Store to download and update to the latest version.

#1436: Photo-Based Therapy Helps Sexual Assault Survivors And Singing On The Side

Dr. Abigail Rolbiecki

On this week’s 51%, we learn about using photos and storytelling to help sexual assault survivors. We hear from a social worker by day, singer by night. And we hear from a singer/songwriter who’s on tour with her seventh album. I’m Allison Dunne and this is 51%.

One out of every six American women has experienced a sexual assault or an attempted sexual assault or rape in her lifetime. That’s according to the National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While more than one-half of female survivors of rape report symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), previous research has found that not all survivors respond to traditional treatments for PTSD, and their symptoms resurface over time. Dr. Abigail Rolbiecki, a researcher at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, says that photovoice interventions, where participants express their thoughts and feelings through photos, combined with traditional PTSD treatments, could result in a more complete recovery for survivors of sexual assault. Rolbiecki’s study, “Waiting for the Cold to End:’ Using Photovoice as a Narrative Intervention for Survivors of Sexual Assault,” was published in Traumatology, an international journal for health professionals who study and treat people exposed to highly stressful and traumatic events. I spoke with Rolbiecki about why she undertook the study of nine women. 

That was Dr. Abigail Rolbiecki, a researcher at the University of Missouri School of Medicine talking about her study, “Waiting for the Cold to End:’ Using Photovoice as a Narrative Intervention for Survivors of Sexual Assault.” 

We’ve all heard the advice: Follow your passion. But what happens when the realities of finances and family get in the way? In Fall River, Massachusetts, Barbara Paulsen meets Catarina Avelar, whose story answers a question many creative people face: What do dreams look like in real life? 

You might know singer/songwriter Regina Spektor for “You’ve Got Time”, the theme song for the TV series “Orange is the New Black.” Now she is touring her seventh album. The four years between Spektor’s 2012 album, What We Saw From The Cheap Seats, and the new Remember Us To Life, was spent taking care of a couple of major events; a new marriage and then in 2014, the birth of her first child. So there are some bigger themes on her mind, including parenthood, love, and time. It was that last theme that she spoke about with Speed of Sound’s Kyle Meredith.  

And that's our show this week. Thanks to Patrick Garrett for production assistance. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. Our theme music is Glow in the Dark by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio. If you’d like to hear this show again, sign up for our podcast, or visit the 51% archives on our web site at wamc.org. And follow us on Twitter @51PercentRadio

Related Content