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.
University of Aarhus, Denmark. dotho@akh.aaa.dk
Dorthe Kirkegaard
DK
Thomsen
Dorthe
D
Berntsen
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