ABSTRACT
Autobiographical memory theory helps us understand what needs to be prioritized in insight-oriented therapy. If we do not know what kind of help a client needs, lacking key autobiographical memories to provide guidance, we are reliant as therapists on luck and instinct. A work-related PTSD demonstrated that a negative work experience triggered an underlying family of origin trauma never addressed in therapy until the EMP uncovered the past incident. Treating the present PTSD involved returning to the family of origin and re-enacting with the family what should have been done when the client was a child. When that happened, the feelings associated with the work-related PTSD largely disappeared. Why? I suspect that the older trauma created more pain and more damage than the newer one. This case provides an opportunity to reflect on what we want to accomplish when we choose to use memories as part of a therapeutic process. Four early memories models are presented, including the present one. Each takes us in a different therapeutic direction.
