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Clinical and Experimental Approaches to Understanding Repression

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Recollections of Trauma

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((NSSA,volume 291))

Abstract

Clinicians working with survivors of traumatic experiences have frequently noted the existence of psychogenic amnesia and the recovery of additional memories during clinical sessions, although amnesia for significant parts of a traumatic event is probably only found in a minority of cases. Recently, surveys of women in therapy for the effects of childhood sexual abuse and other problems have found that a substantial proportion, varying from around 20–60%, report periods of forgetting some or all of the abuse (e.g., Briere & Conte, 1993; Elliott & Briere, 1995; Herman & Schatzow, 1987; Loftus, Polonsky, & Fullilove, 1994; van der Kolk & Fisler, 1995). Follow-up studies of children with documented abuse also find that abuse is sometimes not reported when the children are re-interviewed some years later, both under conditions in which they are explicitly asked about these events (Bagley, 1995) and in which they are not (Williams, 1994). A national survey of the experiences of American psychologists (Feldman-Summers & Pope, 1994) also found reported periods of forgetting in 40% of those reporting abuse.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK

    Chris R. Brewin

  2. University of California, Berkeley, USA

    Arthur P. Shimamura

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  1. Chris R. Brewin
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

    J. Don Read

  2. University of Wales, Bangor, UK

    D. Stephen Lindsay

  3. University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

    D. Stephen Lindsay

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Brewin, C.R., Shimamura, A.P. (1997). Clinical and Experimental Approaches to Understanding Repression. In: Read, J.D., Lindsay, D.S. (eds) Recollections of Trauma. NATO ASI Series, vol 291. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2672-5_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2672-5_6

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