Abstract
The impetus for this paper comes from two different but related professional initiatives: 1) the development of guidelines and scientifically validated standards of practice and 2) the treatment of adults who report delayed memory for past trauma, especially child sexual abuse. The purpose of the paper is the articulation of guidelines for the informed treatment of adults who report childhood trauma. Special attention is devoted to clinical issues that arise when the patient reports new (delayed, recovered, re-instated) memories of abuse during the course of therapy; suspects past trauma/abuse on the basis of recovered or delayed memories that occur within or outside of therapy; or suspects past trauma/abuse in the absence of specific recollections.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
American Medical Association Council on Scientific Affairs (1994). Memories of childhood abuse, CSA Report 5A-94. Chicago: Author.
American Psychiatric Association. (1980). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. ( 3rd ed. ). Washington, DC: Author.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. ( 4th ed. ). Washington, DC: Author.
American Psychiatric Association. (1996). Practice guidelines. Washington, DC: Author.
American Psychiatric Association Board of Directors. (1993). Statement on Memories of Sexual Abuse. Washington, DC: Author.
American Psychological Association (1994). Interim report of the Working Group on Investigation of Memories of Childhood Abuse. Washington, DC: Author.
American Psychological Association (1996). Final report of the Working Group on Investigation of Memories of Childhood Abuse. Washington, DC: Author.
American Psychological Association ad hoc Committee on Legal and Ethical Issues in the Treatment of Interpersonal Violence. (1996a). Potential problems for psychologists working with the area of interpersonal violence. [Brochure]. Washington, DC: Author.
American Psychological Association ad hoc Committee on Legal and Ethical Issues in the Treatment of Interpersonal Violence. (1996b). Professional, ethical, and legal issues concerning interpersonal violence, maltreatment and related trauma. [Brochure]. Washington, DC: Author.
Barach, P. M. (1994). ISSD guidelines for treating dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality disorder in adults. Skokie, IL: The International Society for the Study of Dissociation.
Bass, E., Davis, L. (1988). The courage to heal: A guide for women survivors of child sexual abuse. New York: Harper Row.
Beutler, L., Hill, C. (1992). Process and outcome research in the treatment of adult victims of childhood sexual abuse: Methodological issues. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 204–212.
Blume, E. S. (1990). Secret survivors: Uncovering incest and its aftereffects in women. New York: John Wiley Sons.
Braun, B. G. (Ed.). (1986). Treatment of multiple personality disorder. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Briere, J. (1989). Therapy for adults molested as children: Beyond survival. New York: Springer Publishing Co. Briere, J. (Ed.). (1991). Treating victims of child sexual abuse. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc.
Briere, J. (1992). Child abuse trauma: Theory and treatment of the lasting effects. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Briere, J. (1993). Methodological issues in the study of sexual abuse side effects. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 196–203.
Briere, J. (1995). Trauma Symptom Inventory (TS!) Professional Manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.
Briere, J. (1996a). A self-trauma model for treating adult survivors of severe child abuse. In J. Briere, L. Berliner, J. A. Bulkley, C. Jenny, T. Reid (Eds.). The APSAC Handbook on Child Maltreatment (pp. 140–157 ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Briere, J. (1996b). Therapy for adults molested as children: Beyond survival. ( 2nd Ed. ). New York: Springer Publishing Co.
Briere, J., Berliner, L., Bulkley, J. A., Jenny, C., Reid, T. (Eds.). (1996). The APSAC Handbook on Child Maltreatment. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
British Psychological Association (1995). Recovered memories: The Report of the Working Party of the British Psychological Society. London: Author.
Brown, D. (1995). Pseudomemories: The standard of science and the standard of care in trauma treatment. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 37, 1–24.
Brown, D., Fromm, E. (1986). Hypnotherapy and hypnoanalysis. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates. Burgess, A. W., Groth, A. N., Holmstrom, L. L., Sgroi, S. M. (1978). Sexual assault of children and adolescents. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
Burgess, A. W., Holmstrom, L. L. (1974). Sexual trauma of children and adolescents: Pressure, sex and secrecy. Nursing Clinics of North America, l0, 554–563.
Butler, S. (1978). Conspiracy of silence: The trauma of incest. New York: Bantam Books.
Campbell, J., Courtois, C. A., Enns, C., Gottlieb, M., Wells, M. (1995). Psychotherapy guidelines for working with clients who may have an abuse or trauma history. American Psychological Association Division 17 (Counseling Psychology) Committee on Women.
Carlson, E. B. (1996). Trauma research methodology. Lutherville, MD: Sidran Press.
Chambless, D. L. (in press). In defense of dissemination of empirically supported psychological interventions. Clinical Psychology: Science Practice.
Chambless, D. L. et al. (1996) An update on empirically validated therapies. The Clinical Psychologist, 49, 3–18. Cohen, L., Berzoff, J., Elin, M. (Eds.). (1995). Dissociative identity disorder. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aaronson.
Courtois, C. A. (1988). Healing the incest wound: Adult survivors in therapy. New York: W.W. Norton Co.
Courtois, C. A. (1991). Theory, sequencing, and strategy in treating adult survivors. In J. Briere (Ed.)., Treating victims of child sexual abuse. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Courtois, C. A. (1995). Scientist-practitioners and the delayed memory controversy: Scientific standards and the need for collaboration. The Counseling Psychologist, 23, 290–293.
Courtois, C. A. (1996). Practice guidelines for the treatment of adult clients possibly abuse as children (those who initially report no memories of abuse or who do not disclose at the outset of therapy). Unpublished manuscript.
Courtois, C. A., Watts, D. L. (1982). Counseling adult women who experienced incest in childhood or adolescence. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 60, 275–279.
Daniluk, J. C., Haverkamp, B. E. (1993). Ethical issues in counseling adult survivors of incest. Journal of Counseling Development, 72, 16–22.
Davies, J., Frawley, M. G. (1994). Treating the adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse: A psychoanalytic perspective. New York: Basic Books.
Davis, L. (1991). Allies in healing: When the person you love was sexually abused as a child. New York: Harper Perennial.
Dawes, R. M. (1995). Standards of practice. In S. C. Hayes, V. M. Follette, R. M. Dawes, K. E. Grady. Scientific standards of psychological practice: Issues and recommendations. Reno, NV: Context Press.
Dolan, Y. M. (1990). Resolving sexual abuse: Solution focused therapy and Ericksonian hypnosis for adult survivors. New York: W.W. Norton Co.
Draucker, C. (1992). Counseling survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Elliott, D., Briere, J. (1995). Posttraumatic stress associated with delayed recall of sexual abuse: A general population study. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 8, 629–648.
Engel, B. (1989). The right to innocence: Healing the trauma of childhood sexual abuse. Los Angeles: Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc.
Enns, C. Z., McNeilly, C. L., Corkery, J. M., Gilbert, M. S. (1995). The debate about delayed memories of child sexual abuse: A feminist perspective. The Counseling Psychologist, 23, 181–279.
Everly, G. S., Lating, J. M. (Eds.). (1995). Psychotraumatology: Key papers and core concepts in post-traumatic stress. New York: Plenum.
Figley, C. R. (Ed.). (1985). Trauma and its wake: The study and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Figley, C. R. (Ed.). (1995). Compassion fatigue: Coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in those who treat the traumatized. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Flannery, R. B. (1992). Post-traumatic stress disorder: The victim guide to healing and recovery. New York: Crossroad.
Gabbard, G., Wilkinson, S. (1994). Management of countertransference with borderline patients. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Garfield, S. L. (in press). Some problems associated with “validated” forms of psychotherapy. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice.
Geiselman, R. E., Fisher, R. P., MacKinnon, D. P., Holland, H. L. (1993). Eyewitness memory enhancement in the police interview: Cognitive retrieval mnemonics versus hypnosis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 70, 401–412.
Gil, E. (1988). Treatment of adult survivors of childhood abuse. Walnut Creek, CA: Launch Press.
Gudjonsson, G. (1992). The psychology of interrogations, confessions, and testimony. Chichester, England: John Wiley Sons.
Hammond, D. C. et al. (1994). Clinical hypnosis and memory: Guidelines for clinicians and, for forensic hypnosis. Chicago: American Society for Clinical Hypnosis Press.
Hayes, S. C. (1995). What do we want from standards of psychological practice? In S. C. Hayes, V. M. Follette, R. M. Dawes, K. E. Grady. Scientific standards of practice: Issues and recommendations. Reno, NV: Context Press.
Hayes, S. C., Follette, V. M., Dawes, R. M., Grady, K. E. (1995). Scientific standards ofpractice: Issues and recommendations. Reno, NV: Context Press.
Herman, J. L. (1981). Father-daughter incest. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Herman, J. L. (1992a). Complex PTSD: A syndrome in survivors of prolonged and repeated trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 3, 377–391.
Herman, J. L. (1992b). Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence from domestic to political terror. New York: Basic Books.
Herman, J. L., van der Kolk, B. (1987). Traumatic antecedents of borderline personality disorder. In B. van der Kolk (Ed.). Psychological trauma (pp. 111–126). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc. Hill, C., Alexander, P. (1993). Process research in the treatment of adult victims of childhood sexual abuse.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 8,415–427.
Hotelling, K. ( 1995, August). Ethical issues in the recovery of sexual abuse memories. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, New York City.
Janet, P. (1889). L’automatisme psychologique. Paris: Alcan.
Jehu, D. (1988). Beyond Sexual Abuse: Therapy with women who were childhood victims. New York: John Wiley Sons.
Kempe, C. H., Silverman, F. N., Steele, B. F., Droegemueller, W., Silver, H. K. (1962). The battered child syndrome. Journal of the American Medical Association, 181, 17–24.
Kepner, J. I. (1995). Healing tasks: Psychotherapy with adult survivors of childhood abuse. San Francisco: JosseyBass.
Kluft, R. P. (Ed.). (1985). Childhood antecedents of multiple personality. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Kluft, R. P. (Ed.). (1990). Incest-related syndromes of adult psychopathology. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Kluft, R. P., Fine, C. G. (Eds.). (1993). Clinical perspectives on multiple personality disorder. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Kovacs, A. A. (1995). We have met the enemy and he is us! The Independent Practitioner, 15, 135–137.
Lindsay, D. S. ( 1996, June). Increasing sensitivity. Paper presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute, Port de Bourgenay, France.
Lindsay, D. S., Read, J. D. (1994). Psychotherapy and memories of childhood sexual abuse: a cognitive perspective. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 8, 281–338.
Linehan, M. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. New York: Guilford. Littauer, F., Littauer, F. (1990). Freeing your mind from memories that bind: How to heal hurts from the past. San Bernadino, CA: Here’s Life Publishers.
Loftus, E. (1993). The reality of repressed memories. American Psychologist, 48, 518–537.
London, R. (1994). Therapeutic treatment of patients with repressed memories. The Independent Practitioner, 64–67
McCann, I. L., Pearlman, L. A. (1990). Psychological trauma and the adult survivor: Theory, therapy, and transformation. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
McCann, I. L., Pearlman, L. A., Sakheim, D. C., Abrahamson, D. J. (1988). Trauma and victimization: A model of psychological adaptation. The Counseling Psychologist, 16, 531–594.
Meichenbaum, D. (1994). A clinical handbook/practical therapist manual for assessing and treating adults with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: Institute Press.
Meiselman, K. C. (1978). Incest: A psychological study of causes and effects with treatment recommendations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Meiselman, K. C. (1990). Resolving the trauma of incest: Reintegration therapy with survivors. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
National Institute of Mental Health, Division of Biometry and Applied Sciences, Antisocial and Violent Behavior Branch. (1990). Research workshop on Treatment of Adult Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Washington, DC.
Neumann, D. A., Houskamp, B. M., Pollock, V. E., Briere, J. (1996). The long-term sequelae of childhood sexual abuse in women: A meta-analytic review. Child Maltreatment, 1, 6–17.
Ochberg, F. M. (Ed.). (1988). Post-traumatic therapy and victims of violence. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Payne, A. B. ( 1995, August). Training and supervision issues regarding trauma and recovery of memories. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, New York City.
Pearlman, L. A., Saakvitne, K. W. (1995). Trauma and the therapist: Countertransference and vicarious traumatization in psychotherapy with incest survivors. New York: W. W. Norton.
Peters, J. J. (1976). Children who are victims of sexual assault and the psychology of offenders. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 30, 398–421.
Pope, K., Brown, L. (1996). Recovered memories of abuse: Assessment, therapy, forensics. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Poston, C., Lison, K. (1989). Reclaiming our lives: Hope for adult survivors of incest. New York: Little, Brown. Putnam, F. W. (1985). Dissociation as a response to extreme trauma. In Kluft, R. (Ed.). Childhood antecedents of multiple personality (pp. 65–98). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association Press, Inc. Putnam, F. W. (1989). Diagnosis and treatment of multiple personality disorder. New York: Guilford Press
Ross, C. A. (1989). Multiple personality disorder: Diagnosis, clinical features, and treatment. New York: John Wiley Sons.
Russell, D. E. H. (1986). The secret trauma: Incest in the lives of girls and women. New York: Basic Books.
Salter, A. C. (1995). Transforming trauma: A guide to understanding and treating adult survivors of child sexual abuse. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Scharff, J. S., Scharff, D. (1994). Object relations therapy of physical and sexual trauma. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aaronson Inc.
Schein, A. W., Shapiro, J. L. (1989). Trance on Trial. New York: Guilford.
Scurfield, R. M. (1985). Post-trauma stress assessment and treatment: Overview and formulations. In C. R. Figley, (Ed.). Trauma and its wake: The study and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (pp. 219–256 ). New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Selye, H. (1976). Stress in health and disease. Boston: Butterworth.
Sgroi, S. M. (1982). Handbook of clinical intervention in child sexual abuse. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books. Shapiro, F. (1995). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: Basic principles, protocols, and procedures. New York: Guilford.
Spiegel, D. (Ed.). (1994). Dissociation: Culture, mind, and body. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Spiegel, H., Spiegel, D. (1978). Trance and treatment: Clinical uses of hypnosis. New York: Basic Books. Spira, J. L. (Ed.). (1996). Treating dissociative identity disorder. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Steinberg, M. (1995). Handbook for the assessment of dissociation: A clinical guide. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Kolk, B. (Ed.). (1984). Post-traumatic stress disorder: Psychological and biological sequelae. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Kolk, B. (1987). Psychological trauma. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Kolk, B., Fisler, R. (1995). Dissociation and the fragmentary nature of traumatic memories: Overview and exploratory study. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 8, 505–525.
Kolk, B., McFarland, A., van der Hart, O. (1996). A general approach to treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder. In B. van der Kolk, A. McFarland, L. Weisaeth (Eds.). Traumatic stress: The effects of overwhelming experience on mind, body, and society (p. 417–440 ). New York: Guilford.
Kolk, B., McFarland, A., Weisaeth, L. (Eds.). (1996). Traumatic stress: The effects of overwhelming experience on mind, body, and society. New York: Guilford.
Waites, E. A., (1993). Trauma and survival: Post-traumatic and dissociative disorders in women. New York: W.W. Norton Co.
Walker, L. E. (1984). The battered woman syndrome. New York: Springer.
Williams, M. B., Sommer, J. F. (Eds.). (1994) Handbook of post-traumatic therapy. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Wilson, J. (1989). Trauma transformation and healing: An integrative approach to theory, research, and post-traumatic therapy. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Wilson, J., Lindy, J. (Eds.). (1994). Countertransference in the treatment of PTSD. New York: Guilford.
Wilson, J., Raphael, B. (Eds.). (1993). International handbook of traumatic stress syndromes. New York: Plenum.
Yapko, M. D. (1994). Suggestions of abuse: True and false memories of childhood sexual trauma. New York: Simon Schuster.
Beutler, L. E., Williams, R. E., Wakefield, P. J. (1993). Obstacles to disseminating applied psychological science. Applied and Preventative Psychology, 2, 53–58.
Brown, D. (1995). Pseudomemories, the standard of science and the standard of care in trauma treatment. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 37, 3–29.
Ceci, S. J., Loftus, E. F. (1994). “Memory work:” A royal road to false memories? Applied Cognitive Psychology, 8, 351–364.
Finkelhor, D. (1994). Current information on the scope and nature of child sexual abuse. The Future of Children, 4. 31–53.
Lindsay, D. S., Read, J. D. (1994). Psychotherapy and memories of childhood sexual abuse: A cognitive perspective. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 8, 281–338.
Piper, A., Jr. (1993). “Truth serum” and “recovered memories” of sexual abuse: A review of the evidence. Journal of Psychiatry and Law, Winter, 447–471.
Read, J. D., Lindsay, D. S. (1994). Moving toward a middle ground on the “false memory debate:” Reply to commentaries on Lindsay and Read. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 8, 407–435.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Courtois, C.A., Lindsay, D.S. (1997). Informed Clinical Practice and the Standard of Care. 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_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2672-5_13
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-2674-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-2672-5
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive