The narrative reconstructions of incest survivors.

Abstract

Elizabeth Loftus (May 1993) presented clinical psychologists with several challenging and valid points regarding their responsibilities when patients recover repressed memories. She underscored the importance

An ego/object relations approach to treating childhood sexual abuse survivors.

“…When neurotic clients have hidden childhood abuse from themselves through repression or dis-sociation, the therapeutic situation becomes more complicated. While a larger discussion of the recovered memory debate is not within the scope of this article, a general guideline has been suggested by Byrd (1994), who has noted that "when hidden trauma is strongly suspected on the basis of objective criteria and the patient's suffering is severe, methods aimed at 'de-repression' are justifiable" (p. 439). Kernberg (1983) has proposed that neurotic clients generally use repression or defensively motivated forgetting rather than borderline splitting as their primary defense.…”

“…Therapists who introduce de-repression techniques such as reviewing old photographs or visiting old neighborhoods are advised, however, to keep contextual cues as neutral as possible (Byrd, 1994) so that the client does not receive the impression that the therapist is suggesting or expecting a particular outcome. Therapists who introduce regressive techniques such as guided imagery or affect bridges in order to de-repress memories must also take great care to maintain therapeutic neutrality.…”

Incest memories recalled in hypnosis—a case study: A brief communication

“…Others show that participants using hypnosis do not experience improved memory in a laboratory, although confidence in recalled events is significantly greater than with nonhypnotized participants (Whitehouse, Dinges, Ome, & Ome, 1988). Byrd (1994) states that it is impossible to differentiate accurate accounts of incest survivors from those shaped by contextual cues. Indeed, it is likely that pseudomemories can readily be created, presumably by well-meaning therapists, who hold certain assumptions about childhood abuse, symptom formation, post-traumatic stress disorder, and the reliability of memory (Coulson, 1993;Lynn, 1994).…”

Risk management for psychologists: Treating patients who recover lost memories of childhood abuse.

“…“Premature conclusions can bias the subsequent direction of the search… . As the patient accumulates memory traces without contextual biasing, the process of event reconstruction becomes less like a projective test being administered to the therapist” (Byrd, 1994, p. 439). The nature of the debriefing should be recorded in detail.…”