Mr. Harvey et Jl. Herman, AMNESIA, PARTIAL AMNESIA, AND DELAYED RECALL AMONG ADULT SURVIVORS OFCHILDHOOD TRAUMA, Consciousness and cognition, 3(3-4), 1994, pp. 295-306
Clinical experience suggests that adult survivors of childhood trauma
arrive at their memories in a number of ways, with varying degrees of
associated distress and uncertainty and, in some cases, after memory l
apses of varying duration and extent. Among those patients who enter p
sychotherapy as a result of early abuse, three general patterns of tra
umatic recall are identified: (1) relatively continuous and complete r
ecall of childhood abuse experiences coupled with changing interpretat
ions (delayed understanding) of these experiences, (2) partial amnesia
for abuse events, accompanied by a mixture of delayed recall and dela
yed understanding, and (3) delayed recall following a period of profou
nd and pervasive amnesia. These patterns are represented by three comp
osite clinical vignettes. Variations among them suggest that the pheno
mena underlying traumatic recall are continuous not dichotomous. Futur
e research into the nature of traumatic memory should be informed by c
linical observation. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.