Clinical Perspectives on Autobiographical Memory

This edited collection reviews and integrates current theories and perspectives on autobiographical memory.

Lynn A. Watson (Edited by), Dorthe Berntsen (Edited by)

9781108402699, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 6 April 2017

401 pages, 11 b/w illus. 7 tables
23 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.65 kg

'Presenting contributions from many of the foremost memory researchers, this work combines excellent research, theory and a rare focus on clinical implications. A necessary addition to the autobiographical memory literature.' James Erskine, St George's, University of London

Autobiographical memory plays a key role in psychological well-being, and the field has been investigated from multiple perspectives for over thirty years. One large body of research has examined the basic mechanisms and characteristics of autobiographical memory during general cognition, and another body has studied what happens to it during psychological disorders, and how psychological therapies targeting memory disturbances can improve psychological well-being. This edited collection reviews and integrates current theories on autobiographical memory when viewed in a clinical perspective. It presents an overview of basic applied and clinical approaches to autobiographical memory, covering memory specificity, traumatic memories, involuntary and intrusive memories, and the role of self-identity. The book discusses a wide range of psychological disorders, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), borderline personality disorder and autism, and how they affect autobiographical memory. It will be of interest to students of psychology, clinicians and therapists alike.

Introduction: 1. Introduction Lynn A. Watson and Dorthe Berntsen
Part I. Trauma and Autobiographical Memory: 2. The complex fabric of trauma and autobiographical memory Richard A. Bryant
3. A basic systems account of trauma memories in PTSD: is more needed? David C. Rubin
4. Construing trauma as a double-edged sword: how narrative components of autobiographical memory relate to devastation and growth from trauma Adriel Boals, Darnell Schuettler and Shana Southard-Dobbs
5. Child maltreatment and autobiographical memory development: emotion regulation and trauma-related psychopathology Deborah Alley, Yoojin Chae, Ingrid Cordon, Anne Kalomiris and Gail S. Goodman
Part II. Intrusive and Involuntary Memories: 6. Intrusive re-experiencing in post-traumatic stress disorder: memory processes and their implications for therapy Anke Ehlers
7. Mental imagery in psychopathology: from the lab to the clinic Ian A. Clark, Ella L. James, Lalitha Iyadurai and Emily A. Holmes
8. Intrusive, involuntary memories in depression Michelle L. Moulds and Julie Krans
9. From everyday life to trauma: research on everyday involuntary memories advances our understanding of intrusive memories of trauma Dorthe Berntsen
Part III. Overgeneral Autobiographical Memories and their Mechanisms: 10. Overgeneral memories and their mechanisms: the relationship with rumination Edward Watkins
11. Overgeneral memory in borderline personality disorder Kris Van den Broeck, Laurence Claes, Guido Pieters, Dirk Hermans and Filip Raes
12. Difficulties remembering the past and envisioning the future in people with complicated grief and trauma histories Richard J. McNally and Donald J. Robinaugh
Part IV. Autobiographical Memory, Identity and Psychological Well-being: 13. A model of psychopathological distortions of autobiographical memory narratives: An emotion narrative view Tilmann Habermas
14. Self-images and autobiographical memory in memory impairment Clare J. Rathbone and Chris J. A. Moulin
15. Experimentally examining the role of self-identity in post traumatic stress disorder Adam D. Brown, Nicole A. Kouri, Amy Joscelyne, Charles R. Marmar and Richard A. Bryant
16. The role of self during autobiographical remembering and psychopathology: evidence from philosophical, behavioral, neural and cultural investigations Lynn A. Watson and Barbara Dritschel
Part V. Discussion: 17. Autobiographical memory in clinical disorders: a final discussion Dorthe Berntsen.

Subject Areas: Neurosciences [PSAN], Clinical psychology [MMJ], Psychiatry [MMH], Pathology [MMF], Mental health services [MBPK], The self, ego, identity, personality [JMS], Memory [JMRM], Cognition & cognitive psychology [JMR], Psychology [JM], Philosophy [HP]