Snapshots from therapy: exploring operationalisations and ways of studying flashbulb memories for private events.
A total of 13 clients (10 women and 3 men, mean age 32.85 years, SD 10.50) were interviewed after finishing group therapy, and 7 were re-interviewed 4-5 months later. The clients recounted all the specific episodes they remembered from the therapy. The memories were classified as flashbulb memories or non-flashbulb memories according to two different criteria: consistency and phenomenological clarity. Clients had flashbulb memories from therapy according to both operationalisations. Flashbulb memories according to a phenomenology-based operationalisation referred to more unusual episodes and more often to episodes associated with insight than non-flashbulb memories. The consistency operationalisation did not differentiate between flashbulb and non-flashbulb memories with respect to characteristics of the remembered events. Number of remembered episodes was positively related to the subjective evaluation of the therapy.
Thomsen
Dorthe Kirkegaard
DK
University of Aarhus, Denmark. dotho@akh.aaa.dk
Berntsen
Dorthe
D
D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D032882:Comprehension; D004538:Eidetic Imagery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group; D016896:Treatment Outcome