ABSTRACT
Memory is not a fixed store, each time a memory is retrieved it is reconstructed. The reconstruction may not, however, be recognisable to others that were present at the time of the trauma. The ‘photograph’ taken of the trauma, like all memories, is idiosyncratic. However, if cognitive avoidance is an issue for the person, they may not ‘show’ the photograph to significant others and the utility of the ‘snapshot’ for current functioning cannot be questioned. In this chapter, a case example of the vagaries of mental time travel is illustrated. However, it is not a part of the theoretical model for the treatment of the client that there is a fragmentation of the memory surrounding the worst moment or ‘hot spot’, as a trauma-focussed theoretician would assert. The evidence for such fragmentation is considered weak. The example furnished illustrates that there can be characterological ways of taking ‘photographs’ that give rise to an exacerbation of pre-existing problems as well as the development of new disorders such as PTSD and binge eating disorder.
