https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801219832903 Violence Against Women 1–22 © The Author(s) 2019 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1077801219832903 journals.sagepub.com/home/vaw Research Article Opening the Black Box: Identifying Common Practice Approaches in Urban and Rural Rape Crisis Centers Tonya E. Edmond 1 , Rachel J. Voth Schrag 2 , and Annah K. Bender 3 Abstract This study sought to open the black box of services at rape crisis centers (RCCs), particularly related to counseling, to better understand what is available to survivors in urban and rural settings. Findings from a survey of directors and counselors in Texas RCCs reveal a number of strengths: supporting services for survivors of sexual assault and insights that can help to further advance the implementation of evidence- based trauma treatments in this sector. Although many areas of congruence were found between urban and rural settings, differences were noted that have implications for implementation of evidence-based trauma treatments. Keywords sexual assault, rape crisis center, mental health, urban/rural differences Introduction Sexual violence is a serious problem in the United States, with national surveillance data indicating that 18.3% of American women have experienced rape and 44.6% of American women have experienced other forms of sexual violence in their lifetime (Black et al., 2011). Other recent studies have found prevalence rates from 7-44% 1 Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA 2 University of Texas at Arlington, USA 3 University of Missouri–St. Louis, USA Corresponding Author: Rachel J. Voth Schrag, School of Social Work, University of Texas at Arlington, 211 South Cooper Street, Arlington, TX 76019, USA. Email: Rachel.vothschrag@uta.edu 832903VAW XX X 10.1177/1077801219832903Violence Against WomenEdmond et al. research-article 2019