Processing of Positive Memories Technique

Abstract

Although the majority of research and clinical interventions focused on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) centers on traumatic memories, recent literature suggests the importance of considering emotionally laden memories more broadly among trauma-exposed individuals. Specifically, trauma-exposed individuals have difficulties retrieving positive and negative memories, and interventions focused on enhancing the retrieval of both traumatic and positive memories benefit overall well-being. These findings led to the development of a novel Processing of Positive Memories Technique (PPMT) for PTSD. As the next step in treatment development, PPMT was piloted among 12 trauma-exposed community members seeking therapeutic or assessment services at a university psychology clinic. In this study, we summarize participants' quantitative and qualitative feedback on the content, format, and feasibility of PPMT. Next, we outline proposed formative changes that are critical to the iterative refinement of PPMT, based on the obtained feedback to enhance its scalability, feasibility, and effectiveness. Within clinical practice, PPMT, as implemented in this study, may be feasible, and there may be potential benefits to incorporating positive memory processing using PPMT.

The Effects of the Processing of Positive Memories Technique on Posttrauma Affect and Cognitions Among Survivors of Trauma: Protocol for a Daily Diary Study

“…Secondary measures (eg, difficulties in positive emotional regulation using the "Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-Positive" and the severity of PTSD symptoms using the "PTSD Checklist for DSM-5") are also administered to allow for the assessment of possible mediators and moderators of treatment effects. Table S1 in Multimedia Appendix 1 [40,47,[49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58] provides detailed information on all study measures (including measures for supplemental analyses).…”