Reasons for a Quick Rejection

QueryTracker is happy to announce a new feature here on the blog. We would like to invite readers to present us with agent and query-related questions and we’ll do our best to find the answers for you. So, if you have any questions, please post them in the comments below.

The first question I’d like to address is from an anonymous QueryTracker member.

What does it mean when I receive an extremely quick rejection to a query?

That’s a good question, and you can actually learn a lot from the time it takes the agent to respond. But before I go into that, I’d like to begin by explaining what a quick response does NOT mean. I’ve heard authors complain that, because they received a rejection in just a few hours or even minutes, that there was no way the agent even read the query. Not true. Think about it. If the agent wanted to blow off queries, why would he respond at all? He wouldn’t. He would just delete the email and move on.

What that quick response is telling you is that your query was so wrong that the agent barely had to think about it. It was an easy rejection. And when I say wrong, I don’t mean there is something inherently wrong with your query. It could be something as simple as your project is not for a genre the agent represents. If that’s the case, why would the agent bother to read any further than the genre declaration? He’ll simply reject it and move on.

There are other things that can be grounds for an instant rejection besides genre. Extremely long or short manuscripts could cause instant rejections, as well as not stating your word count or genre in the query. 

So, if you’re getting a lot of quick rejections, take a close look at your query and the agents. Are you sure they represent your genre? Is your word count within the norms for that genre?

If the above points seem to be okay, then you’ll have to dig a little deeper. Is your query letter too long? It should be about a single page. If it gets a lot longer than that, you could be inviting an instant rejection. Or is it too short? If your query doesn’t cover all the key points, the agent probably won’t take the time to ask for more information.

I’m not going to cover the ins and outs of writing a query letter. This is supposed to be a short post after all. But make sure your query looks professional. Odd fonts and text colors can also be grounds for instant rejection. You can learn more about query writing from past blog posts here and here. 

Other things that may cause an instant rejection are addressing the query to the wrong agent, including attachments, or not following the agent’s explicit query submission rules.

Does an instant rejection always mean a problem with your query? Nope. Nothing in this business is that cut and dry. But if you seem to be receiving a lot of instant rejections, then you should take a close look at your query. 

QueryTracker offers many tools to help you diagnose problems. Take a look at the “Query Response Time” reports for an agent and see if she tends to reply quickly or not. If she normally takes 30 days to respond to a query and you got your reply in 3 minutes, then your query may have one of the problems mentioned above. You can also look at the “Genre Reports” to see if the agent typically rejects projects of your genre. If she does, then that may be the issue with your query as well. You may also want to limit the report range to the last 90 days or less, since agent’s preferences can change over time.

Learn more about viewing QueryTracker Reports.

Psychology Q&A: Abusive Teen Relationships

Disclaimer: The information provided in this post is intended for writing purposes only and does not represent psychological advice.

QUESTIONS: 1. What kind of therapy would a teenage girl go through after she's been in an abusive relationship? 2. Are there any books or websites you could recommend for more information dealing with therapy post break-up? 3. Since there is a new love interest in the MC's life, would he be involved in any sessions?  4. Is there a way for him to learn how to be there for her, or is that something that is never considered? 5. From what I've read, girls who've experienced relationship abuse may have posttraumatic stress disorder after it's over. Do you have any other resources you'd recommend?

ANSWERS: For readers who aren't familiar with the signs and causes of domestic violence, you may want to drop by the HelpGuide for a comprehensive overview.

On to the questions!

1. What kind of therapy would a teenage girl go through after she's been in an abusive relationship? 

 If you're looking for the name of a therapy, I'd say a likely choice would be Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) coupled with feminist therapy.  The feminist aspect is  important for DV (domestic violence, a catchall term for relationship violence) because it does not blame the survivor (note the use of the word survivor rather than victim); in fact, it looks at how society cultivates violence against women via things like the popular media, attitudes that women should be subservient, court systems that don't provide adequate consequences for batterers, and so on.

2. Are there any books or websites you could recommend for more information dealing with therapy post break-up?

Getting a sense of the feminist theories and approaches that make therapy for DV unique will be a big help.

• PDF Article: Beyond Victim Blaming: Feminist Therapy and Battered Women
• Online Article: Theory and Techniques of Feminist Therapy
• I have not read Lenore Walker in a long time, but she is considered one of the experts on DV.  You might check Amazon or your local library to see whether they have copies of her work.

3. Since there is a new love interest in the MC's life, would he be involved in any sessions? 

No. Definitely not, unless, say, they're ready to get married and wanted to do some premarital counseling. Even then, I'd want them to see a separate therapist for the couples therapy. In fact, if a client asked the therapist if she could involve her new boyfriend, the therapist might want to explore what makes her want to bring him into therapy. The therapist's response would vary based on what she said, but without any extra information (as I write this), s/he might wonder about your MC's confidence in her independence and ability to function without a man.  Not in a blaming way, but s/he might want to work with her even more on autonomy, recognizing her unique strengths, and feeling (and behaving) as if she is equal in a relationship.

4. Is there a way for him to learn how to be there for her, or is that something that is never considered?

Absolutely, there are things he can do, and he'd be a keeper if he really tried to do these things!

Many people believe DV is rooted in sexism, so fighting sexism in himself and the people around him would be huge.

A man who has feminist attitudes can be a great support. I should probably clarify -- a lot of people feel like "feminist" is a bad word. Like many people, until I was exposed to feminist therapy and truly began to understand what feminism meant, I bought into the stereotype that feminists are militaristic man-haters. Though certainly some fall into that category, they are the exception rather than the norm.  All feminism is is the belief that women should have equal rights and opportunities.
The nice thing is that younger men often do have more feminist attitudes than older men. Overall a supportive man would believe that what had been done to your character was wrong and that she didn't deserve it and doesn't deserve any blame for it. He wouldn't push her around, smother her, or breathe down her neck -- he'd trust that she is a capable human being.  

Other attitudes that are much more subtle are things like avoiding assumptions of male privilege.  For example, he doesn't assume he should be the one who drives, even when they're taking his car. He can open doors and be nice, but he's not seizing control of things just because he's male. 

He wouldn't put up with sexist jokes and overt exploitation of women -- ie he's not going to endorse pornography that shows women saying "no" when they "really" mean yes. He's not going to see shoving yiour character against the wall or pinning her down as sexy.  (Don't get me wrong, perfectly healthy couples can play at things like that if they've agreed to it and have safety words in place -- but something like this would probably scare someone who's been abused.  So he'd need to be sensitive to things like that.)  

He would need to leave room for her opinions, and respect them even if he disagrees with them.  (He can disagree openly, but he doesn't try to intimidate her into anything, or blame her if, say, she chooses a movie he
doesn't like.)

I don't know how old your characters are or if they're sexually active, but if she was raped, that's definitely something to address in therapy.  He would really need to respect her boundaries and he'd want to make sure she knew it was okay to ask him to stop if she got scared or uneasy.

 5. From what I've read, girls who've experienced relationship abuse may have posttraumatic stress disorder after it's over. Do you have any other resources you'd recommend?

An absolutely fantastic book on PTSD is Aphrodite Matsakis' I Can't Get Over It: A Handbook for Trauma Survivors.


If you have a psychology in writing question, feel free to fill out my Q&A form!

Carolyn Kaufman, PsyD's book, THE WRITER'S GUIDE TO PSYCHOLOGY: How to Write Accurately About Psychological Disorders, Clinical Treatment, and Human Behavior helps writers avoid common misconceptions and inaccuracies and "get the psych right" in their stories. You can learn more about The Writer's Guide to Psychology, check out Dr. K's blog on Psychology Today, or follow her on Facebook! 

Psychology Q&A: Schizophrenia & Police Work?

Disclaimer: The information provided in this post is intended for writing purposes only and does not represent psychological advice.

QUESTION: I keep returning to schizophrenia as an interesting disorder. I'm wondering what exactly can someone who's schizophrenic (and on his medications) do for a living? Can they be a detective or a police officer? Or is there a better disorder for me to use that would allow them to be a detective or a police officer? I wasn't sure if schizophrenia would keep them from being employed as such. Also,  is there a positive side to the schizophrenia -- a creativity or something along those lines that could be harnessed in the right situations? Finally, what type of inner conflict would someone with schizophrenia have to overcome in order to be successful?

ANSWER: Schizophrenia is really one of the most disabling psychological disorders someone can have -- only about a third of people with the disorder are able to live independently. By definition, schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder, which means that the person who has it isn't in touch with reality as other people experience it. Symptoms of psychosis include:

• Hallucinations: seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, or tasting things that aren't there; the most common hallucinations in people with schizophrenia are voices
• Delusions: believing things that aren't based in reality despite all evidence and logic to the contrary
• Disorganization: this doesn't mean the person is messy; it means their mind is disorganized. This leads to disorganized speech (which means  means that people wander from topic to topic enough that it's noticeably weird; in extreme cases you get a "word salad," which means the words are all just jumbled up) and disorganized behavior (which may be silly, childlike, or aggressive, but is always purposeless)

People with schizophrenia can be articulate and intelligent -- John Nash, the man on which A Beautiful Mind was based, is well-spoken and obviously extremely well educated. But he does hear things (and see things, according to the movie), and he has delusions.


Nonetheless, I think it would be unusual for someone with schizophrenia to be able to be a detective or a police officer, even if he were taking medications. (Which is not to say it's not possible; as I note below, disorders always exist on a continuum, and there are always exceptions to what's "usual." Some people with schizophrenia function very well.) The meds can often suppress the psychotic symptoms, but that doesn't mean the schizophrenia goes away; sometimes symptoms can linger. And the meds tend to work better for what we call "positive" symptoms (like hallucinations, delusions, and disorganization) than they do for "negative" symptoms like catatonia, apathy, mutism, failing hygiene, and other tendencies to withdraw from society.

However, someone who has bipolar disorder (which used to be called manic depression) could be, assuming they'd never been institutionalized and they were functioning well.  Like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder can be crippling, and for some people it can also involve hallucinations and delusions, particularly during a manic phase.

I know that you can't get into the CIA or FBI if you have a history of mental illness, or have been to therapy for a psychological problem. Though I doubt the police are quite as stringent, I suspect they're still on the lookout for these kinds of disorders. So it would probably need to be something that hasn't officially been diagnosed.

Martin Riggs -- Mel Gibson's character from the Lethal Weapon movies -- comes to mind. He's a great example of a great character who went a little (ok, a lot) crazy and was still a police officer.  If you're not familiar with the movies, Riggs's wife dies, and he gets crazy suicidal, which makes him a complete loose cannon. If I had to diagnose Riggs off the top of my head in the first movie, I'd say a major depressive disorder, last (current) episode severe.

While some people have begun arguing that people on the schizotypy spectrum (of which schizophrenia is a part) are more creative than others, according to some of the research I've read, that creativity may be so different from the way other people think that it may not been seen as creativity...just as weirdness. People with bipolar disorder have more classically been seen as creative, though. They tend to be creative within the "rules" of society -- that is, their stuff looks creative, not just bizarre, to other people.

There isn't really an inner conflict someone with schizophrenia has to overcome -- it's thought to be very much a biological disorder. So is bipolar disorder, though the person with bipolar disorder may not seem quite as bizarre, and may function more within the norms of society.

Also remember that with any disorder there's a continuum from "not bad" to "really bad" versions of the disorder. So some people will have any given disorder worse than others, based on the genetics and how stressful their environment has been throughout their lives. Less severe cases may respond better to medications and therapy, and people with less severe cases (or cases that are being managed well) may function well.

Remember, if YOU have a psychology in fiction question you want to see answered here, use the Q&A form on my Archetype site or send an email using my QueryTracker email address to the right. (Please use Q&A in your Subject Line!).

Carolyn Kaufman, PsyD's book, THE WRITER'S GUIDE TO PSYCHOLOGY: How to Write Accurately About Psychological Disorders, Clinical Treatment, and Human Behavior helps writers avoid common misconceptions and inaccuracies and "get the psych right" in their stories. You can learn more about The Writer's Guide to Psychology, check out Dr. K's blog on Psychology Today, or follow her on Facebook or Google+! 

Forensics Q&A: Chain of Custody

By Kristy Lahoda | @KristyLahoda

Disclaimer: The information provided in this post should not be used for malicious intent unless it is in the form of crime writing. The author is an explosives expert, not a crime scene expert. While every attempt was made to ensure the accuracy of this information, for security purposes, some details may have been withheld.

QUESTION: In my crime novel, there are scenes involving courtroom testimony about the evidence that was collected at the crime scene. What happens to evidence at a crime scene once it’s been collected?

ANSWER: An investigator from the agency that had jurisdiction over the crime scene will take the evidence to the proper lab. Depending on the state, it could be the state crime lab, state highway patrol lab, state fire marshal’s lab, a city or regional crime lab, or even governmental labs such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Agency, or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It really just depends on the jurisdiction. 

So what is chain of custody?

Chain of custody provides a record of time and possession/location of the evidence. This is documentation that later becomes important if the case goes to trial. If the evidence cannot be accounted for from cradle to grave—from detection at the crime scene, to delivery to the crime lab, to analysis, and to either destruction or its return to the submitting agency—it is impossible to prove that the evidence has not been tampered with. This is often a tactic of the defense attorney and rightfully so. The evidence needs to stay secure at all times. 

How does a crime lab keep track of chain of custody?

Once the evidence is collected and packaged, the investigator secures it with evidence tape, initial and date it, and bring the packaged evidence to the lab from the crime scene. Paperwork is submitted with the evidence that provides a description of the evidence in each container along with the type of evidentiary tests that the investigator wants run on the sample. For example, if the investigator suspects that an item of evidence was used to commit arson and this item potentially has latent prints on it (such as a gas can), then there will be an indication such as checked boxes that will let the lab analysts know to analyze the evidence for arson and latent prints.

In many crime labs, each piece of evidence is received and logged into the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) by the evidence-receiving technician. The investigator’s name and submitting agency will be on the evidence receiving form and once the evidence is logged into the LIMS system, it will be transferred from the investigator’s possession to the evidence storage area. Once the lab analyst wants to analyze the evidence, he or she will first transfer it into his or her possession, then cut through the evidence tape, breaking the seal. After analysis, the lab analyst will place the evidence back in the original container, add another piece of evidence tape to seal the package once again and write his or her initials and possibly the date. The initials are written half on the tape and half on the package. The evidence is then transferred back into the evidence storage area. Each transfer is logged into the LIMS indicating the time and date of transfer.

What happens if the chain of custody is broken?

If proper chain of custody is not documented and maintained, there will most likely be serious repercussions for the case in court. This could lead to the perpetrator being found not guilty even if s/he was actually at fault for the crime. 

Kristy Lahoda, Ph.D., is an explosives analyst contractor in a crime lab as well as a science content editor for a major educational publishing company.  She writes Christian forensic suspense and discusses forensics on her blog called Explosive Faith.  You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

If you have a forensics question for Dr. Lahoda that you'd like to see answered on the QueryTracker Blog, send your question via Carolyn Kaufman using the email link under Contact Us in the right-hand column of the main QTB page.

Writing Q&A: Using the Insanity Defense in Your Story

Disclaimer: The information provided in this post is intended for writing purposes only and does not represent psychological or legal advice.


A reader/writer asked us, 

What is the insanity defense?

and we decided to go all out. For psychologist Carolyn Kaufman's psychological perspective on Psychological Disorders and the Insanity Defense, visit lawyer Leslie Budewitz's Law and Fiction blog. For Ms. Budewitz's legal take, keep reading!

The underlying premise is that a person cannot be held responsible for criminal behavior if mental illness prevented him from understanding that his actions were wrong. This inquiry focuses on the defendant’s mental status at the time of the crime.

The test has changed significantly since the defense was first recognized in 1843. Courts applied several standards from the 1950s to the early 1980s. The 1982 trial of John Hinckley, who shot President Reagan, highlighted the controversy and prompted legislative changes. In most cases, there is little doubt that the accused committed the crime; the real issue is insanity. In Hinckley’s case, the defense arose early, and psychiatric evaluations–which took four months–began shortly after his arrest. The standard applied at trial was whether Hinckley could  “appreciate the wrongfulness” of his actions, and the government had the burden of proving that Hinckley was sane. After three days of deliberations, the jury found him “not guilty by reason of insanity” on all counts.

After the trial, Congress and many states changed their laws to shift the burden of proof to the defendant, meaning that a person claiming the defense must prove its essential elements. In essence, the presumption of innocence is now paired with a presumption of sanity. Currently, in federal cases, the defendant must prove that he has a "severe" mental disease which made him "unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of his acts." (I say he for simplicity’s sake, though I suspect most such criminal defendants are male–Squeaky Fromme and Lorena Bobbit aside.) The language of state standards varies somewhat, but is similar. Note that proof of mental illness alone is not enough.

Several states give jurors an additional verdict choice: “guilty but mentally ill.” A handful of states (Idaho, Kansas, Montana, and Utah) do not allow the defense at all, but allow the defendant to introduce evidence of mental conditions to show that he did not have the level of knowledge or intent (“mens rea”) for the crime charged. In other words, he tries to prove that he could not form the intent to purposefully or knowingly kill another. If he meets his burden, the state will be unable to prove all elements of the crime charged, and he will be acquitted by reason of mental illness–essentially the same result as under the insanity defense.

A defendant found not guilty but mentally ill may be confined to a mental institution if commitment standards are met, and released if he becomes no longer mentally ill. Hinckley is confined to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. In 2003, a judge ruled he no longer presented “a serious danger” to himself or others, and approved unsupervised visits with his parents. If he establishes that he is no longer a threat to himself or others, he will be released.

In December 2011, Hinckley’s lawyers sought his release on lengthy unsupervised visits to his widowed elderly mother, arguing that he is no longer dangerous. Government lawyers opposed the petition, presenting evidence that when out on unsupervised free time, he did not go where he claimed but instead went to bookstores and looked at books on Ronald Reagan and presidential assassins.

A defendant found guilty but mentally ill will be sentenced and kept in government custody for the length of his sentence. Where he is held depends on that state’s procedures and facilities, but it’s typically a prison mental health unit. If he becomes no longer mentally ill while still serving his sentence, he will be transferred to an ordinary prison unit. Once his sentence is complete, he must be released although civil commitment is still possible.

The defense is not limited to murder cases. Lorena Bobbitt argued that she was temporarily insane when she severed her husband's penis with a kitchen knife, and a Virginia jury agreed; she was released after psychiatric hospitalization.

The insanity defense is still much in debate. The heart of the disagreement is the tension between treatment or protection, and punishment. Advocates say the defense allows mentally ill offenders to obtain needed treatment and keeps them out of the prison system, where they lack treatment and are often victimized. A humane society must recognize that some people cannot be held to the same standards of conduct as the rest us because of mental illness they can’t control. Others believe the defense allows the guilty to escape punishment for their crimes, and suspect defendants of faking mental illness to get an acquittal or avoid prison. Justice Department statistics say the defense is raised in only about 1 percent of cases, and succeeds in only 25 percent of those. A large percentage of acquittals result from plea agreements, where the prosecutor agrees that the defendant should be sent to treatment, not prison. Ideally, the evaluation process detects attempts to fake mental illness, which can trigger an enhanced sentence.

But the insanity defense was anathema to Ted Kaczynski, who insisted on representing himself in part because his court-appointed lawyers wanted to raise the defense, while he believed he was sane. By legal measures, he was right. His writings and his arguments to the court demonstrated that his paranoid schizophrenia–a diagnosis he rejected–did not prevent him from understanding that his actions were wrong.

The insanity defense looms large in Otto Preminger’s 1959 classic, Anatomy of a Murder, based on the novel by Robert Traver (the pen name of Michigan Supreme Court Justice John Voelker), starring Jimmy Stewart, Ben Gazzara, and George C. Scott. Just be aware that the law on insanity has changed, as has the admissibility of evidence of a woman’s dress, behavior, and reputation in a rape case.

For details of John Hinckley’s trial, see law professor Doug Linder’s Famous Trials website.

The insanity defense dates back to 1843–writers of historicals should start their research with an article on the evolution of the defense on Professor Linder’s website or the Supreme Court’s historical review in Clark v. Arizona (2006).

And here’s a state-by-state summary of laws on the insanity defense from Find Law.

Leslie Budewitz is the author of Books, Crooks and Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law and Courtroom Procedure (Quill Driver Books, 2011). She is a practicing lawyer and a mystery writer living in northwest Montana. Read an excerpt and more articles for writers, or send her a question, at www.LawandFiction.com , and visit her blog at www.LawandFiction.com/blog.


Leslie’s short fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, ThugLit, and elsewhere. Her cozy series, The Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, will debut from Berkley Prime Crime in 2013.

Psychology Q&A: Dissociative Amnesia After a Trauma?

Disclaimer: The information provided in this post is intended for writing purposes only and does not represent psychological advice.

QUESTION: I am writing a novel in which I've given the main character Dissociative Amnesia. My understanding is that the condition usually develops after a stressful or traumatic event. My character has been abducted by her stalker of three years and held prisoner for several days. She is eventually shot and left for dead. She is rescued but it is discovered she has amnesia. I need the character to remember events in her past but only up to a certain age/point. My questions are:

1. Is there a certain sequence or specific event that needs to take place in order for the condition to develop? 
2. Is it possible for a victim of Dissociative Amnesia to lose three years worth of memory? More specifically, is it logical for my character to only remember events up to a certain age (let's say age 30), forgetting everything else beyond that (even the trauma), and believe she is age 30 when she's really age 35? 
3. How would a doctor handle my character's condition?

ANSWER: I'll answer your questions one at a time below in more detail, but it sounds like what you actually need may not be dissociative amnesia but a dissociative fugue.

Dissociative amnesia is essentially amnesia for a particular event or set of events that are, as you note, traumatic in nature. It would be perfect if you just needed your MC to have amnesia for what happened when she is stabbed and flung from the van. A fugue is basically when someone has a dissociative split in identity, i.e. they develop amnesia for all events after a certain point (though they can make new memories) and travel away from home. During a fugue the person may (or may not) take on a new identity. When they eventually come out of the fugue (which can happen with help from therapy, or spontaneously) they may or may not remember what happened during the fugue. During a fugue, the person usually seems completely normal to others. They don't act bizarre.

1. Is there a certain sequence or specific event that needs to take place in order for the condition to develop?

Just because it may be helpful, let me quickly summarize the difference between dissociative amnesia and organic amnesia. There are 2 types of amnesia—psychological (dissociative, in which the mind is thought to split off a traumatic event to protect the psyche) and organic (physical, in which the brain is affected). A really good example of organic anterograde amnesia is in the movie Memento (or 50 First Dates). In both movies, the MC's hippocampus (the brain structure which makes new memories) is damaged beyond repair, and the character is unable to make new memories.

Then let's differentiate between dissociative amnesia and a dissociative fugue. They're essentially the same thing except that in a fugue the individual travels away from home (or wherever she normally is) and the amnesia can be more extensive. So let's say someone walks in on her partner in bed with someone else. Dissociative amnesia might be that she completely forgets walking in on them, but all other memories are the same; someone with a dissociative fugue will walk out the door, get in the car, and travel away, possibly while taking on a new identity. It seems that people with fugues are actually fleeing physically as well as psychologically from a traumatic event. Years ago actress Anne Heche went through a breakup (from Ellen DeGeneres) and went wandering in the desert claiming to be someone named Celestina. She later said she had dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality disorder), but what she was actually describing was a fugue. If you want to do a little more movie research, The Long Kiss Goodnight with Geena Davis portrays a fugue.

For either amnesia or a fugue, there has to be an event traumatic enough that the mind decides to wall it off (dissociate it) so the individual doesn't have to deal with it.

2. Is it possible for a victim of Dissociative Amnesia to lose three years worth of memory? More specifically, is it logical for my character to only remember events up to a certain age (let's say age 30), forgetting everything else beyond that (even the trauma), and believe she is age 30 when she's really age 35?

It would be rare for either someone with amnesia OR a fugue to lose 3 years prior to the traumatic event, but you could pull it off better with a fugue. You could argue that the identity the character having the fugue is taking on is that of a younger self.

The hard part about pulling off a fugue for your character may be the travel—the person has to travel. Though I suppose she could travel away from where she is living as a 35-year-old and make her way back to a "safer time," ie when she was 30.

3. How would a doctor handle my character's condition?

Who brings the character into treatment? Theoretically, if she is dissociating, she is not going to realize she has a problem.

A doctor would probably screen for organic problems (such as concussion; damage to the hippocampus, frontal lobes, and temporal lobes) as well as for drug and alcohol use and abuse (prescription and nonprescription)—for things that could cause memory problems, in other words. If nobody can find any physical cause, the character would be referred to a psychologist.

The psychologist would probably be someone who specializes in trauma (e.g. PTSD) and/or dissociative disorders. Her goal would be to help your character come to terms with the trauma that triggered the fugue. She would probably encourage your character to remember what happened, though if she's a good therapist, she definitely wouldn't hypnotize her to remember. (Hypnosis just puts you into a natural dissociative state, and makes you more suggestible. As a result, it's super easy to influence people who are hypnotized and cause them to create false memories, which certainly would not be helpful—especially if your MC ever wanted to take her stalker to court.) There would also be work on helping your MC develop coping mechanisms besides dissociation. If your therapist was someone who used EMDR (a treatment some people find helpful for PTSD), she might also use EMDR.

The therapist would also use cognitive therapy, including dealing with irrational and upsetting thoughts by changing self talk; and behavioral therapy, probably including exposure therapy of some kind. To pull those things together, the therapist would have your MC talk, and listen for ways she might be unintentionally self-sabotaging (everybody does it to some extent) due to cognitive distortions (there's a list of the ones we usually listen for at PsychCentral). Then the therapist teaches the client to think more realistically. (She doesn't whitewash things, just helps the client stop blowing things out of proportion).

Exposure therapy involves exposing oneself to the things that are associated with the traumatic event while practicing new coping and relaxation skills. You can do imaginal exposure, where the client imagines going through things again, or you could even take her back to the place the trauma happened with the therapist.

EMDR is a treatment that combines cognitive and behavioral therapies with a particular pattern of eye movement. Some people swear by it, and some people will tell you it's garbage.

If you want more detailed information on portraying these therapies, including EMDR, I go into more detail in my book, The Writer's Guide to Psychology. I also talk more about why you don't want to hypnotize someone who has a dissociative condition, and talk more about the differences between psychologists and psychiatrists.

Finally, while there are no medications for dissociative disorders, if the character is struggling with depression or PTSD symptoms, there are medications for those things.

Remember, if YOU have a psychology in fiction question you want to see answered here, use the Q&A form on the Archetype site or send an email using my QueryTracker email address to the right. (Please use Q&A in your Subject Line!).  

Carolyn Kaufman, PsyD's book, THE WRITER'S GUIDE TO PSYCHOLOGY: How to Write Accurately About Psychological Disorders, Clinical Treatment, and Human Behavior helps writers avoid common misconceptions and inaccuracies and "get the psych right" in their stories. You can learn more about The Writer's Guide to Psychology, check out Dr. K's blog on Psychology Today, or follow her on Facebook or Google+! 

Forensics Q&A: Explosives Crime Scene Investigation

By Kristy Lahoda | @KristyLahoda

Disclaimer: The information provided in this post should not be used for malicious intent unless it is in the form of crime writing. The author is an explosives expert, not a crime scene expert. While every attempt was made to ensure the accuracy of this information, for security purposes, some details may have been withheld.

QUESTION: My antagonist is a juvenile delinquent who set off a pipe bomb with the intent to destroy property. What would the bomb scene investigation look like?


ANSWER: There should be three phases of the investigation: outside investigation, control and coordination, and inside investigation.

Outside Investigation

First responders have the initial responsibility. Above all else, safety and security must be ensured. After assessment, a call for backup may be warranted. If the scene is unsafe, the first responder must not only wait until the scene is made safe, but must also ensure that the scene is secure for the safety of others. The last casualty from the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City was a nurse who wanted to help the injured. She passed away because a computer monitor fell on her from one of the compromised floors above. Once the scene is safe, rescue of victims is performed.

The crime scene must be secured. This involves establishing an inner security perimeter by placing crime scene tape around the scene. Hazards should be identified and removed or mitigated. Sometimes it is not initially known if the explosion was the result of a bomb, so a call to the bomb squad might be necessary in order to check for secondary devices. A structural engineer may need to be called to check the structural integrity. Other potential hazards that must be taken into account may include fire, hazardous materials such as asbestos and carbon monoxide, utilities such as electrical, natural gas, and ruptured water pipes, debris such as metal and glass, and blood-borne pathogens. If there is fire at the bomb scene, firefighters should use only enough water to quench the fire because the evidence could be washed away. Also during this phase the first responders should ensure that evidence that might be removed from the scene is properly preserved. Witnesses should be located and interviewed and license plates checked—the perpetrator might be among the crowd. The outside investigation is not just a phase of the crime scene investigation, but remains ongoing until the case is solved.

Control and Coordination

Control and coordination takes place once the scene is secure. This phase involves compiling the information obtained from the outside investigation and making it available to the inside investigation. The people operating in this capacity direct investigative endeavors by acting as the filter for incoming and outgoing information by briefing and debriefing. They are responsible for resources acquisition and allocation. A command post is set up near the crime scene, but at a distance so as to not interfere.

Inside Investigation

The inside investigation may occur within a building or outside. The term “inside” is used to indicate that this phase of the investigation is generally confined to the crime scene itself. It is like piecing a puzzle together by collecting physical evidence. The inside phase may need to be moved to a secure area if, for example, the structure is unstable.

The crime scene investigator should meet with the first responders at the command post to learn what actions have been taken. Are there are any victims? Is there any relevant information from witnesses regarding the scene? Are there any known hazardous materials present? Is there any physical evidence already located? They should establish perimeters. The inner perimeter should encompass the blast area including where the evidence is present. The command post should be set up at this boundary and should be determined by multiplying 1.5 by the distance from the epicenter to the farthest piece of evidence located. The outer perimeter is the distance at which investigators want to keep people away not affiliated with the crime scene.

The investigator needs to conduct a walkthrough for observation purposes to identify the “nature of the explosion” and possible evidentiary items. The process of documenting the scene may commence during this stage.

After the walkthrough the team lead should come up with an investigative plan for the scene such as contamination prevention. Contamination of the scene with trace evidence is a real possibility. The investigators should wear Tyvek or laundered clothes and shoe coverings. Care should be taken to avoid stepping on potential evidence and destroying things like shoeprints, tire treads, etc.

The team lead should brief the team and assign specific tasks, ensure that team members are wearing proper protective clothing, and provide reminders not to forget the basics—to be on the lookout for fingerprints, shoeprints, tire treads, tool marks, and trace evidence such as DNA, blood, fibers, suspicious packaging and wrappers, etc. A member should be assigned to swab explosive residue.

A number of steps take place during the inside investigation including establishment of a team lead, evidence identification, documentation, collection, and preservation, and the performance of a final survey.

Establishing a Team Lead

A team lead should be chosen to serve as a liaison between the inside investigation unit and the command post, to formulate an action plan such as assigning investigators/scientists to certain tasks in order to cover all bases, arrange for the command post to obtain essential equipment, and help to maintain the morale of the unit. Two essential questions should be asked. What happened? How did it happen? This is the objective of the crime scene search.

Documentation, Identification, Collection, and Preservation

The scene is documented. This includes photographs, sketches, and notes. Photographs of the scene should be taken to include an overall perspective. Once evidence is identified, such as pieces of an explosives device: the possible container, fuzing mechanism, and filler, it may also be documented. Key evidentiary pieces should be photographed individually. The photographer should coordinate with the sketch artist. Photographs of every individual item are not required, but should be taken prior to moving the evidence if that piece is considered vital to the investigation. Evidence custodians collect, package, and label the package. Chain of custody is important during this step, thus an evidence log should be maintained.

Final Survey

A final walkthrough of the crime scene is performed to verify completion of crime scene evidence search, documentation, and processing. Recovery of all equipment used should also be completed at this time.

There are multiple investigations occurring during an explosives crime scene investigation. The outside investigation and inside investigation are linked together through the control and coordination unit. This connection is important to bring the puzzle pieces together for both phases. It is the responsibility of the inside investigative team lead to keep up the team morale due to the nature and tedium of the investigation. This is one of the most important jobs. When the crime scene investigative team grows weary or emotionally unstable, mistakes are made.

Source: Thurman, James T. Practical Bomb Scene Investigation. Boca Raton: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 2006. 

For more information on these topics, stay tuned for the installments in the upcoming months of Forensics Q&A!

Kristy Lahoda, Ph.D., is an explosives analyst contractor in a crime lab as well as a science content editor for a major educational publishing company.  She writes Christian forensic suspense and discusses forensics on her blog called Explosive Faith.  You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

If you have a forensics question for Dr. Lahoda that you'd like to see answered on the QueryTracker Blog, send your question via Carolyn Kaufman using the email link under Contact Us in the right-hand column of the main QTB page.

Forensics Q&A: Not All Explosives Are Created Equal

By Kristy Lahoda | @KristyLahoda

Disclaimer: The information provided in this post should not be used for malicious intent unless it is in the form of crime writing. The author is an explosives expert, not a crime scene expert. While every attempt was made to ensure the accuracy of this information, for security purposes, some details may have been withheld.

QUESTION: I am writing a thriller and my antagonist is planning to make a pipe bomb.  Does it matter what type of explosives she uses?  For example, could something like TNT be used as an explosive in the pipe?

ANSWER: It does matter as not all explosives are created equal.  TNT is not an explosive typically used in a pipe bomb—it does not need to be contained to cause mass destruction.  Explosives are generally grouped into two categories: low explosives (LEs) and high explosives (HEs).  These are differentiated based on the speed of explosion.  LEs deflagrate, HEs detonate.

High Explosives (HEs)

Detonation occurs when the reaction front propagates (i.e the reaction proceeds) through the explosive at a speed greater than the speed of sound,  Detonation occurs at velocities above 3,300 ft/sec (2,250 mph).  For detonation to occur, the assistance of a primary explosive is required.  To provide sufficient energy for the high explosive to begin its energetic decomposition (i.e. the breakdown into chemical components as a result of the energy of the reaction), only small amounts of the primary explosive are needed because they are reactive to shock, friction, or heat.  Detonation results in a rapid release of energy and an accompanying shock wave.

Types of HEs

High explosives are categorized as primary or secondary based on ease of initiation.  When comparing the two, primary explosives are more sensitive to heat, friction, and shock and have less energy, and therefore less power, than secondary explosives.  Secondary explosives are less sensitive to heat, friction, and shock and are more powerful.  Primary explosives are used in detonators and initiation systems.  They can be used to ignite secondary explosives.  Secondary explosives are used in large quantities relative to the primary explosive and are typically used as the main charge.

Primary Explosives

Two common initiating explosives include lead azide and lead styphnate.  Lead azide is very sensitive to initiation by friction, heat, or shock.  The velocity of detonation for lead azide is around 17,500 feet per second.  That’s just over 11,900 miles per hour!  Lead styphnate is sensitive to static electricity and fire, but is less sensitive than lead azide to friction and shock.  Its velocity of detonation is similar to that of lead azide.

Secondary Explosives

Trinitrotoluene (TNT) is one of the most universally known HEs.  Cyclotrimethylene trinitramine (RDX) and pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) are two favorites of terrorists.  In fact, PETN was the explosive that Richard Reid, aka The Shoe Bomber, had concealed in his shoe in an attempt to blow up American Airlines Flight 63.  Another example of a high explosive is ammonium nitrate-fuel oil (ANFO, used by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995.

Low Explosives (LEs)

Low explosives are propellants that burn in open air, but deflagrate (burn rapidly) when initiated in confinement.  LEs might not sound that dangerous since they burn, but they can be extremely perilous when used improperly.  In fact, they can even “act” as high explosives upon deflagration given the proper conditions when initiated, such as containment.  Simply stated, deflagration = explosion when confined.  When the LE deflagrates, the burn is faster than in open air.  However, it does not burn as rapidly as detonation occurs.  The reaction front propagates through the low explosive at a velocity less than the speed of sound.  As a result, low explosive deflagration reactions occur at a lower reaction front pressure, velocity, and temperature than HEs.  

Types of LEs

There has been a strong emphasis in counterterrorism literature on high explosives analysis, but the majority of incidents in the US have been due to LEs such as black powder, smokeless powder, improvised explosives, and fireworks. These are the types of explosives that are used in pipe bombs.

In summary, low explosives require containment to deflagrate.  High explosives require primary explosives to initiate detonation of secondary explosives, but are destructive without containment.  After an explosion, there are a number of law enforcement activities that are launched at the crime scene and crime lab including an investigation, a crime scene search, evidence collection, sample preparation, and forensic analysis on the decomposition products of the explosives—called post-blast residue analysis.  The wealth of forensic information obtained post-blast is amazing and should give pause to anyone considering bomb construction.  

For more information on these topics, stay tuned for the installments in the upcoming months of Forensics Q&A.

Kristy Lahoda, Ph.D., is an explosives analyst contractor in a crime lab as well as a science content editor for a major educational publishing company.  She writes Christian forensic suspense and discusses forensics on her blog called Explosive Faith.  You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

If you have a forensics question for Dr. Lahoda that you'd like to see answered on the QueryTracker Blog, send your question via Carolyn Kaufman using the email link under Contact Us in the right-hand column of the main QTB page.

Psychology in Fiction Q&A: Brainwashing

Disclaimer: The information provided in this post is intended for writing purposes only and does not represent psychological advice.

QUESTION: I have a character that I am writing who has a daughter but is brainwashed into believing that she isn't his daughter. How do I go about this? When people are brainwashed, or their memories are swept, how does it happen to them?

ANSWER: Hm, so your character once knew he had a daughter, but now he has been brainwashed to believe he does not, i.e. that this woman is not his daughter?

That's do-able, as memory is pliable and easily distorted.

The first technique anyone will use if they want to persuade someone is repetition -- saying the same thing over and over in a convincing way. Repetition can be very powerful.

Brainwashers also control the environment; that is, they keep the individual from exposure to people who might contradict anything the brainwasher is saying.

True brainwashing involves numerous stages, including verbal assaults on everything the individual believes about himself and his values. This usually includes simultaneous attacks on physical and emotional well-being, to create confusion, disorientation, and exhaustion. In other words, a man (or woman) is much easier to break down if you attack him on all levels, making it hard for him to think straight. Sleep deprivation and starvation are not uncommon, as are confusing, seemingly whimsical behaviors on the part of the brainwasher. That is, the brainwasher may torture the individual for no apparent reason, and then provide seeming kindnesses. Over time, this can create a sense of dependence on the brainwasher, and a deep desire to keep him or her happy. (This is called Stockholm Syndrome.)

One of the experts on brainwashing and mind control is Robert Jay Lifton, an American psychiatrist who wrote a book called Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of "Brainwashing in China." In the book he identifies principles brainwashers use.

In addition to isolating the individual from others, seemingly whimsical manipulations, and assaults on the individual's sense of self and personal values, brainwashers work to convince the individual that he has committed sins to which he must confess.  These sins are, of course, behaviors from the individual's life outside the brainwasher's control, and the brainwasher offers redemption if the individual will only adopt the brainwasher's rules or doctrine.  In other words, the subject becomes so confused and overwhelmed by guilt that he's essentially floundering for a way to escape the feeling; at this point the brainwasher helpfully offers up the new ideas she wishes the individual to adopt.

Remember, if YOU have a psychology in fiction question you want to see answered here, use the Q&A form on my Archetype site or send an email using my QueryTracker email address to the right. (Please use Q&A in your Subject Line!).

Carolyn Kaufman, PsyD's book, THE WRITER'S GUIDE TO PSYCHOLOGY: How to Write Accurately About Psychological Disorders, Clinical Treatment, and Human Behavior helps writers avoid common misconceptions and inaccuracies and "get the psych right" in their stories. You can learn more about The Writer's Guide to Psychology, check out Dr. K's blog on Psychology Today, or follow her on Facebook or Google+! 

Psychology in Fiction Q&A: Splitting and Alter Egos

Disclaimer: The information provided in this post is intended for writing purposes only and does not represent psychological advice.

QUESTION: My MC, Andrew, exhibits many symptoms of borderline personality disorder, including splitting. With the splitting, he basically thinks of himself as a "good" Andrew and a "bad" Andrew. In his internal thought, the good part of him (who he calls Leif) talks with the bad part. At first, it's just jumbled thought, sometimes doesn't make sense, and as it progresses, it develops two distinct voices. He thinks the bad Andrew is just worthless and a street whore (he's a prostitute) and the good Andrew is who he is trying to change into, to fix his life. I don't think this is split personality or multiple personalities because they are aware of each other, and it really is like two aspects of the same thing. Does this make sense, psychologically? Is it still borderline, or is this something else?

ANSWER: It sounds like you've got the gist of splitting, which is pretty commendable, since it's a tough concept. Typically, though, adult splitting is seen as a kind of defense mechanism, so people aren't really aware that they're doing it.

Let me explain splitting a little more, just so that makes sense, and then we'll talk about what might work well for your story.

According to object relations theorists like Melanie Klein, newborns essentially believe that the world is part of the same entity as them. In other words, they can't differentiate between themselves and the world. Later, they differentiate between "me" and the world, but Mommy (or Daddy, or whomever the primary caregiver is) is seen as part of "me." Still later, the child begins to understand that "me" and Mommy are different, but they have trouble seeing "good Mommy" (who acquiesces to them and fulfills their needs) and "bad Mommy" (who says "no" or is otherwise frustrating or disappointing) as the same person. This is splitting, and it's natural around 3-4 months of age. As we get older (i.e. around 6 months of age), we learn to see "good Mommy" and "bad Mommy" as part of the same person. That's why we can love and hate someone at the same time.

This natural process is interrupted in people who have borderline personality disorder, typically due to trauma of some kind (usually abuse). As a result, these children never stop splitting other people and either idealize or devalue them. They may swing back and forth very quickly from one side to the next, but they aren't really able to simultaneously integrate the good and bad.

People with borderline personality disorder never learn to regulate their emotions, so they have extremely tumultuous, even destructive relationships with others as they frantically try to get others to help them deal with a world they feel they can’t deal with alone.

You say Andrew has other borderline tendencies, but if splitting is the primary reason you’re using the borderline diagnosis, it might be simpler to move away from that diagnosis. (Borderline personality is an extremely painful disorder for the person who has it, and they often have depression, anxiety, PTSD, and incredibly disruptive behavior patterns, and that’s a lot to try to portray!)

At the same time, you’re right, it doesn’t sound like Andrew would qualify for dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality disorder). His relationship with his alter ego, Leif, isn’t dissociative enough.

It sounds to me like Andrew has just named a normal ego state and is relating to it in a way that works for him. Which is entirely possible and probably is not in itself diagnosable.

Everyone has multiple ego states. That’s normal. For example, the “you” that goes to Thanksgiving dinner with the in-laws probably acts a little different than the “you” that goes out for a raucous evening on the town with friends. Both parts are you, but they’re different sides or facets of you.

Some people are more aware of these different ego states than others, especially if they play very diverse roles in life. That sounds like the case for Andrew.

It’s even pretty normal for people to give their ego states names, though they may think of those ego states as “the party girl” or “the writer” or whatever. People also adapt their names based on the setting they're in. For example, an Andrew might be Mr. Whomever at work, but Drew with friends and Andy to his lover. And I know people who go by their given names (e.g. James) in formal situations but by a middle name or nickname that's completely different in informal settings (e.g. Tim).

If you want or need a diagnosis for Andrew, based on the brief description you gave me, I’d probably lean toward some kind of a mood disorder, maybe dysthymia (a chronic, low-grade, but extremely wearing depression) or a major depressive disorder (which is more crippling at its worst, but tends to get better and then worse and then better again over the years). An anxiety disorder is another possibility.

For more information on borderline personality, dissociative identity disorder, mood and anxiety disorders, treatments, therapies, and character-building, check out my book on psychology for writers, The Writer's Guide to Psychology: How to Write Accurately About Psychological Disorders, Clinical Treatment and Human Behavior!

Remember, if YOU have a psychology in fiction question you want to see answered here, use the Q&A form on the Archetype site or send an email using my QueryTracker email address to the right. (Please use Q&A in your Subject Line!).  

Carolyn Kaufman, PsyD's book, THE WRITER'S GUIDE TO PSYCHOLOGY: How to Write Accurately About Psychological Disorders, Clinical Treatment, and Human Behavior helps writers avoid common misconceptions and inaccuracies and "get the psych right" in their stories. You can learn more about The Writer's Guide to Psychology, check out Dr. K's blog on Psychology Today, or follow her on Facebook!

Psychology in Fiction Q&A: After A Violent Relationship

Note: So sorry this is a day late -- computer glitch!


Disclaimer: The information provided in this post is intended for writing purposes only and does not represent psychological advice.

QUESTIONS: 1. What kind of therapy would a teenage girl go through after she's been in an abusive relationship? 2. Are there any books or websites you could recommend for more information dealing with therapy post break-up? 3. Since there is a new love interest in the MC's life, would he be involved in any sessions?  4. Is there a way for him to learn how to be there for her, or is that something that is never considered? 5. From what I've read, girls who've experienced relationship abuse may have posttraumatic stress disorder after it's over. Do you have any other resources you'd recommend?

ANSWERS: For readers who aren't familiar with the signs and causes of domestic violence, you may want to drop by the HelpGuide for a comprehensive overview.

On to the questions!

1. What kind of therapy would a teenage girl go through after she's been in an abusive relationship? 

 If you're looking for the name of a therapy, I'd say a likely choice would be Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) coupled with feminist therapy.  The feminist aspect is  important for DV (domestic violence, a catchall term for relationship violence) because it does not blame the survivor (note the use of the word survivor rather than victim); in fact, it looks at how society cultivates violence against women via things like the popular media, attitudes that women should be subservient, court systems that don't provide adequate consequences for batterers, and so on.

2. Are there any books or websites you could recommend for more information dealing with therapy post break-up?

Getting a sense of the feminist theories and approaches that make therapy for DV unique will be a big help.

• PDF Article: Beyond Victim Blaming: Feminist Therapy and Battered Women
• Online Article: Theory and Techniques of Feminist Therapy
• I have not read Lenore Walker in a long time, but she is one of the experts on DV.  You might check Amazon or your local library to see whether they have copies of her work.

3. Since there is a new love interest in the MC's life, would he be involved in any sessions? 

No. Definitely not, unless, say, they're ready to get married and wanted to do some premarital counseling. Even then, I'd want them to see a separate therapist for the couples therapy. In fact, if a client asked the therapist if she could involve her new boyfriend, the therapist might want to explore what makes her want to bring him into therapy. The therapist's response would vary based on what she said, but without any extra information (as I write this), s/he might wonder about your MC's confidence in her independence and ability to function without a man.  Not in a blaming way, but s/he might want to work with her even more on autonomy, recognizing her unique strengths, and feeling (and behaving) as if she is equal in a relationship.

4. Is there a way for him to learn how to be there for her, or is that something that is never considered?

Absolutely, there are things he can do, and he'd be a keeper if he really tried to do these things!

Many people believe DV is rooted in sexism, so fighting sexism in himself and the people around him would be huge.

A man who has feminist attitudes can be a great support.  I should probably clarify -- a lot of people feel like "feminist" is a bad word. Like many people, until I was exposed to feminist therapy and truly began to understand what feminism meant, I bought into the stereotype that feminists are militaristic man-haters. Though certainly some fall into that category, they are the exception rather than the norm.  All feminism is is the belief that women should have equal rights and opportunities.

The Maine Coalition to End Violence has a great resource that shows what a feminist man's attitudes and
behaviors would be like.

The nice thing is that younger men often do have more feminist attitudes than older men. Overall a supportive man would believe that what had been done to your character was wrong and that she didn't deserve it and doesn't deserve any blame for it. He wouldn't push her around, smother her, or breathe down her neck -- he'd trust that she is a capable human being.  

Other attitudes that are much more subtle are things like avoiding assumptions of male privilege.  For example, he doesn't assume he should be the one who drives, even when they're taking his car. He can open doors and be nice, but he's not seizing control of things just because he's male. 

He wouldn't put up with sexist jokes and overt exploitation of women -- ie he's not going to endorse pornography that shows women saying "no" when they "really" mean yes. He's not going to see shoving yiour character against the wall or pinning her down as sexy.  (Don't get me wrong, perfectly healthy couples can play at things like that if they've agreed to it and have safety words in place -- but something like this would probably scare someone who's been abused.  So he'd need to be sensitive to things like that.)  

He would need to leave room for her opinions, and respect them even if he disagrees with them.  (He can disagree openly, but he doesn't try to intimidate her into anything, or blame her if, say, she chooses a movie he
doesn't like.)

I don't know how old your characters are or if they're sexually active, but if she was raped, that's definitely something to address in therapy.  He would really need to respect her boundaries and he'd want to make sure she knew it was okay to ask him to stop if she got scared or uneasy.

 5. From what I've read, girls who've experienced relationship abuse may have posttraumatic stress disorder after it's over. Do you have any other resources you'd recommend?

An absolutely fantastic book on PTSD is Aphrodite Matsakis' I Can't Get Over It: A Handbook for Trauma Survivors.

Remember, if YOU have a psychology in fiction question you want to see answered here, use the Q&A form on the Archetype site or send an email using my QueryTracker email address to the right. (Please use Q&A in your Subject Line!).