Memory recovery in therapy: Recommendations to clinical psychologists & counselors The false memory and recovered memory literature is marked by controversy. It examines the phenomenon a variety of patients have exhibited: purportedly “losing” memories of trauma, only to recover them later in life (Gavlick, 2001). In these cases, temporary memory loss is attributed to psychological causes (i.e. a traumatic event) rather than known damage to the brain (Gavlick, 2001). While some assert that the creation of false memories through therapeutic practice is a serious concern and founded associations like the False Memory Syndrome Foundation (FMSF) in the U.S. and the British False Memory Society (BFMS) in order to advocate against psychological malpractice, other researchers contend that the evidence for “false memory syndrome,” or the recovery of untrue memories, is weak (Brewin & Andrews, 1998; Pope, 1996). The debate arose largely in the 1990s, though a consensus in the literature still has not been reached. Clearly, the debate is of considerable concern to both clients and therapists. Psychologists and counselors must understand the memory research in order to best serve their clients and better represent themselves professionally without inappropriately using memory recovery techniques (Farrants, 1998; Gavlick, 2001). The United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy suggested in its Notes for practitioners: Recovered memories of abuse publication that therapists must be “aware of research and knowledge in relevant areas such as memory and repression” and that they have a “duty to inform themselves of current theory and knowledge” (1997, p. 1; Burman, 2002). This paper seeks to update practitioners who are in clinics rather than resea... ... middle of paper ... ...nan, & MacCauley, 2002; Baddeley, Eysecnk, & Anderson, 2009) o Utilize context reinstatement: encourage the client to elaborate on any details that were relevant about what they saw, how they felt at the time, or any other sensory information. These cues can encourage reporting of more details and activate more related nodes (spreading activation model) o Refrain from asking many questions during recall. The client can only devote attention to so many ideas at once, so repeated suggestions from the clinician can confuse retrieval and even interfere with former memories due to retroactive interference o Consider encouraging the client to remember events from different viewpoints or in different orders. This can lead to improved recall because memory traces are complex and contain various types of information, so altering the perspective may provide different insights
The influence of the investigators parallels the influence of therapists in cases of sexually abused children's recovered memories. Works Cited 1)Silverglate, Harvey A; Takei, Carl:Mistrial- The Capturing of Friedman's DVD sheds new light on the case.
Roediger III, H. L., Watson, J. M., McDermott, K. B., & Gallo, D. A. (2001). Factors that determine false recall: A multiple regression analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 8(3), 385-407.
Tate, R. L., & Pfaff, A., Jurjevic, L. (2000)Resolution of disorientation and amnesia during post-traumatic amnesia. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 68, 178-185
Mechanical or rote repetition of the information is a great way to remember this information. The more time you spend rehearsing the information the longer the information will be remembered. This is actually a poor way of remembering things because it doesn’t make the information meaningful; “surface processing”. Elaborative Rehearsal is a more effective way of remembering information through “deep processing”, which is relating the information to information you already know. This technique is used in more in the education system than maintenance rehearsal. Even with these two ways to store things we still run into filling errors. Filling errors are where your brain has filed information incorrectly. The final step in the memory process is retrieval. Retrieval is the locating of stored information and returning it into your conscious thoughts. There are a few cues that help us retrieve them, such as priming, context, and state. Priming is the nonconscious identification or words and objects, by referring in to particular representations or associations in the memory just before carrying out the action or task. The memories that come back to your conscious mind when you are in a certain place or area are called context, dependent memories. When you are in a certain emotional state you many retrieve memories of when you were also in that same emotional
Human memory is flexible and prone to suggestion. “Human memory, while remarkable in many ways, does not operate like a video camera” (Walker, 2013). In fact, human memory is quite the opposite of a video camera; it can be greatly influenced and even often distorted by interactions with its surroundings (Walker, 2013). Memory is separated into three different phases. The first phase is acquisition, which is when information is first entered into memory or the perception of an event (Samaha, 2011). The next phase is retention. Retention is the process of storing information during the period of time between the event and the recollection of a piece of information from that event (Samaha, 2011). The last stage is retrieval. Retrieval is recalling stored information about an event with the purpose of making an identification of a person in that event (Samaha, 2011).
False memories being created is obvious through many different ways, such as eye-witness testimonies and past experiments that were conducted, however repression is an issue that has many baffled. There seems to be little evidence on the factual basis of repressed memories, and many argue that it does not exist. The evidence for repression in laboratories is slowly emerging, but not as rapidly as the evidence for false memories. It has been hard to clinically experiment with repressed memories because most memories are unable to be examined during the actual event to corroborate stories. Experimenters are discovering new ways to eliminate this barrier by creating memories within the experiment’s initial phase. This is important for examining the creation of false memories during the study phase. This research study will explore the differences between recovered memories and false memories through research and experiments. Other terms and closely related terms will be discussed, while examining any differences, in relation to repressed memories. The possibility of decoding an actual difference between recovered memories and false memories, through biological techniques. Because false memories can be created, examining these creations in a laboratory setting can shed light on facts overlooked. Exploring these issues will also help with the development of better therapeutic techniques for therapists in dealing with memories. This can lead to an easier process for patients and therapists if they must go through the legal system in relation to an uncovered memory.
Answers to these questions are complex and incomplete. As an anxiety disorder, PTSD has its foundations in fear and "emotional memory." Like factual memory, emotional memory also involves the storage and recall of events and details; this has been termed the explicit or conscious memory (2). Emotional memory, though, has a second, distinct component. This facet, t...
For instance, I have been working with my patient for about 2 years now and she does not still know me. She tends to ask me the same questions frequently, just minutes a part. My client name is Margaret and she is 95 years old. Margaret does not know the year or she lives at times. There are some days that she insists of going home, even though she is in her house. There are times when she wants to cook and speak upon an imaginary stove that is next to her. Sadly, it seems as Margaret remembers a few things from the past rather than from the presence. Margaret memory loss is very difficult for her children because they have to repeatedly remind her everything.
An alternative view to this debate, are from practicing therapist who argue that most recovered memories are true, and that there is still some evidence to support the concept of repressed memories (Briere & Conte, 1993). They claim that traumatic memories such as sexual abuse tend to be different from ordinary memories because they are encoded in a way that prevents them from being accessible in everyday life. In addition, they argue that certain procedures during therapy are necessary in order to bring the repressed memories back into conscious awareness, and this is deemed necessary in order to help the patient recover. Despite these claims, there is little evidence to support the validity of reported cases of recovered memories, and most of the theories are mainly based on speculation rather than scientific evidence. However, there have been some cases in which a recovered memory did corresponded to an actual event that occurred. For example, an article by Freyd (1999), reported a case in which a man called Frank Fitzpatrick recovered memories of sexual abuse from childhood. Although this
The goal of this therapy is to focus on the past traumatic memories that are contributors of the traumatic problem, disturbing present situations and the necessary skills that could be beneficial to the client for the future (Shapiro, 2014). The focus of this therapy is to provide effective psychotherapy treatment without need to expose the client to detailed description of the traumatic event (Shapiro, 2014). Some of the other goals of this therapy is to strengthen positive beliefs, eradicate negative physical events, and ascertain skills needed for functioning and integrating learning (CEBC, 2015).
Traumatic amnesia is a documented, verifiable syndrome. The numerous studies that have been seen made , some concurrent with the sexual abuse, others come from memory recall of the abused are statistically reliable and evidentiary of the facts. Sexual abuse creates trauma that is impossible to duplicate in a laboratory setting because the emotional responses that are experienced by the abused are far more complex than anything that can be stimulated artificially. Our better understanding of memory and how it works is really new paradigms for differentiating traumatic ,memory recall from false memory (implanted ideas that are subsequently “recalled.”In the article by Ann Cossins (recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse- fact or fantasy?), Cossins builds an excellent foundation for the acceptance of memory recall to validate the existence of abuse while rejecting the proponents of FMS, as potentially unscientific and basing their “truths” to be the subjective judgements of the accused. To adhere to a belief that recalled memory of sexual abuse is not reliable. We know empirically that this is not true. To return to our question of the reliability of recovered memory from childhood, I would have to conclude that the recovered memory is reliable.
In phase 1, the client’s history and traumatic events are identified (Solomon et al., 2009). Phase 2 is the preparation phase, during which EMDR process is explained and a therapeutic alliance is established (Solomon et al., 2009). Phase 3, assessment, involves identifying the target memory and accessing it (Solomon et al., 2009). Phase 4 comprises bilateral stimulation that helps to desensitize the client in processing the past (Solomon et al., 2009). In phase 5 a new, positive cognition is established and is installed (Solomon et al., 2009). In phase 6, the body is scanned to ensure that the client is no longer left with any residual body sensations (Solomon et al., 2009). Phase 7 focuses on closure, and is followed by phase 8, reevaluation (Solomon et al.,
Expect distress from the patient at times over the memory loss and be ready to reassure.Merck, Dissociative Amnesia, http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec07/ch106/ch106c.html
...fugue amnesia): This covers episodes of amnesia linked to psychological trauma. It is usually temporary and can be triggered by a traumatic event with which the mind finds it difficult to deal. Usually, the memory slowly or suddenly comes back a few days later, although memory of the trauma may remain incomplete.
False memories can be very helpful at times. This syndrome can have a good effect by planting it into someone's