A child discloses that her grandfather has been sexually abusing her, and the mother’s response is shock that his abuse didn’t stop with her when she was a child. This scene is not uncommon for Molly VanDuser, the president and clinical director of Peace of Mind, an outpatient counseling and trauma treatment

Mention the word trauma to Americans in the 21st century, and their thoughts are likely to turn to images of terrorism, war, natural disasters and a seemingly continual stream of school shootings. The horrific scenes at Newtown and Columbine still dominate public consciousness, particularly when our society discusses child trauma.

While surveying survivors of domestic violence for a recent research project, Allison Crowe and Christine Murray were thoroughly compelled by the stories they heard. So much so that they knew the stories should be shared with a wider audience rather than limited to publication in an academic journal. In one case,