ABSTRACT
This chapter emphasizes the importance of restoring autobiographical memory for recent events with clients who do not remember, or claim not to remember, their own behavior. Memory problems exist along a continuum and are heavily influenced by motivational factors, both external and internal. The view of memory as a continuum avoids power struggles with clients. A variety of techniques are described, including highlighting feelings and destigmatizing the associated behaviors, ample reinforcement for the process of trying to remember, offering abundant cues with rehearsal and role play of associated feelings, and “listening in” for hidden states. These techniques are guided by current cognitive science research, which supports the role of motivation in memory, particularly the theory of motivated forgetting (Andersen & Huddleston, 2012). Traumatic memories for events involving maltreatment or pain must be disconnected from the ongoing autobiographical memory functions for a child or teen for them to move along an appropriate developmental trajectory. Forgetfulness may also be associated with dissociative phenomenon, as some children develop a global strategy of avoidance which can affect memory for homework, chores, and other responsibilities. Remembering traumatic events is not as important a goal as memory for ongoing autobiographical information.
