AMNESIA, PARTIAL AMNESIA, AND DELAYED RECALL AMONG ADULT SURVIVORS OFCHILDHOOD TRAUMA

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.