ABSTRACT
Often we find a single memory that, from an engineering perspective, functions as a load-bearing structure in personality. If that memory is altered, the personality reorganizes to reflect the new perspective. Examples are discussed from several cases. In one (from Chapter 4), a woman, who was left at home feeling vulnerable while her parents drove off on vacation together, needed to find her voice and be heard. On the verge of a psychotic break, she needed to know, from a real time experience, that there were others whom she could open up with, depend on, and be safe with. Once the load-bearing memory which depicted the opposing perception was taken down, she could handle the normal anxiety associated with relying on herself emotionally and talking about those feelings. Profound changes can take place almost immediately after dysfunctional load-bearing memories are taken down. Once that memory is taken out, however, what happens next? The therapist needs to reinforce the obvious. Here, that her childhood experience was extremely regrettable. But now she has a therapist she can talk with openly about her needs and fears, and she will be heard and understood. In hindsight, therapists often find, if they have a successful intervention, that they have been involved in “remove and replace” operations with load-bearing structures in autobiographical memory. If a dysfunctional memory is not altered, the client will continue to see things the same way and respond accordingly.
