Why false memory phenomenon is not unique to hypnotherapy

The process of experiencing and remembering is regulated by many factors including how salient the experience was, expectations, beliefs, attitudes, internal or external focus, mood, substance mis/use at the time, previous similar experiences, and so on.

Any of these things may distort the way an experience is assimilated by the brain. It is clear from eyewitness testimonies that although people may have ‘seen’ the same event, their view of that event and the details they are able to recall may be different to someone else experiencing the very same incident. Memory distortion, therefore, is not unique to hypnotherapy (Yapko, 2003). 

Loftus & Palmer (1974) conducted research into how the memory of an eyewitness can be systematically distorted by the questioning that occurs subsequently. In a study, participants were shown a film of multiple car accidents. After viewing the film, the participants described the incident in their own words and then answered a number of questions. Some of the participants were asked, “About how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?”, whereas for others ”smashed into” was replaced with the word “hit”. The estimated speed was affected by the verb used, averaging 10.5 mph when “smashed” was used versus 8.0 mph when “hit” was used.

One week later all participants were asked “Did you see the broken glass?” There was actually no broken glass, but 32% of the group who were given the verb “smashed” reported seeing glass compared to only 14% of the participants who were given the verb “hit”. According to the researchers, information from leading questions permanently alters the memory representation of that incident; the previously formed incident is overwritten and destroyed and it can be very difficult to retrieve the original memory. 

Hypnotherapists commonly use age regression techniques to recover repressed memories. Whilst such techniques are very useful, hypnotherapists make their clients aware that a ‘recovered’ memory recalled during hypnosis is as susceptible to distortion as it would be in the non-trance state. It is affected by perceptions, how it is stored, decay, expectations, and events that have occurred since.

Traumatic events are often stored as fragments, a fact that makes their interpretation difficult (Shapiro, 2000). Shapiro describes one instance where an EMDR client was being treated for sexual dysfunctions and intimacy problems and she reported experiencing sensations of being violated at the same time that images of her father’s face emerged in her consciousness. Given this strong association, it would have been very easy for the therapist and client to jump to the conclusion that her father was responsible for the abuse. However, further investigation of the memory fragments revealed that the attacker was a high school boy and that the image of her father involved him coming to her rescue (p294). 

Shapiro (2001:299) describes a case of vicarious traumatisation (identification with someone else that experienced trauma and experiencing it for oneself). Despite the obvious impossibility of the situation, a client requested help with PTSD that included having flashbacks of having been killed at Auschwitz during the Holocaust.

Two scenes had repeatedly appeared in flashbacks and nightmares for many years. The client was not old enough to have experienced the Holocaust. EMDR was used to treat the man and it became apparent that the person whom he thought was himself in the chamber, was actually his uncle. He then remembered the stories he had been told as a child about his uncle dying in Auschwitz during the war.  

In the above case, the impact of vicarious traumatisation was enough to cause the client to feel that the experience was real as if they had actually been there and experienced it themselves.

Likewise, symptoms of sexual dysfunction or issues with intimacy may also be caused by vicarious traumatisation or traumatic events that have no relation to sexual abuse.

Shapiro describes another example where a client was experiencing symptoms such as panic, problems with men, and fears of abandonment and betrayal. During EMDR the client discovered a memory of her father being killed whilst he was driving her to a birthday party (p300). The symptoms had no connection to her experiencing a sexual assault.  

Now and again, hypnotherapists will receive requests from clients to help them discover whether they were abused as a child. It would be unwise to let them entertain the idea that hypnotherapy could provide a definitive answer. Memories may not be found, or if found, may be false, distorted or wholly fantasised. Getting further verification and corroborative evidence outside of the therapy room is advisable and may in fact be all that is necessary. Most people find it hard to broach the subject with others and hypnotherapy could proceed with the sole intention of empowering them through confidence-building and assertiveness training.

Well trained hypnotherapists are taught to never remove the memory of abuse, even if the client thinks it is untrue and just an unwelcome intrusive thought. Only in rare circumstances could abuse be totally ruled out due to known facts. Sensitively working on the likely reward they have in thinking they were abused is possible with non-psychotic clients.

 References 

Loftus, E. F., & Palmer, J. C. (1974) 'Reconstruction of automobile destruction: An example of the interaction between language and memory.' J of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour, 13, 585-589.  

Shapiro, F. (2001) Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing: Basic principles, protocols, and procedures (2nd ed.). NY: Guildford Press. 

Sheehan, P., & McConkey, K. (1993) 'Forensic hypnosis: the application of ethical guidelines.' in J. Rhue, & I. Kirsch (Eds.), Handbook of clinical hypnosis (pp.493-508). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. 

Udolf, R. (1983) Forensic hypnosis: Psychological and legal aspects. Lexington. MA: Lexington. 

Yapko, M. D. (2003) Trancework: An introduction to the practice of clinical hypnosis. (3rd ed.). NY: Brunner-Routledge. (esp. p335-8).