How much of āunfair smear-campaigns that will be initiated at breakneck speed to everyone the parents know, the lack of compassion, understanding and support from others, and the loneliness, confusion and grief to process after we sever ties.ā ā¦ #dysfunctional family? (1 of 2)
ā¦understanding and support from others, and the loneliness, confusion and grief to process after we sever ties.ā ā¦ are experienced by those whoāve withdrawn from a #dysfunctional family? #nationalredress is approaching settlement for 1 CSA surviving-victim: āApologiesā awaited. (2 of 2)
Although weāre each taught that toddlers-teenagers are to be treated with āpurety + innocenceā, as āchildren of godā, Institutions of #BaptistChurch, #BrisbaneBoysCollege + #BoysBrigade have had their past behaviours brought into question. -(twitter)- #DSS-#NRS will now research their inclusion, in preparation for assessment of these #ChildSexualAbuse impacts. Bless each of you.
Itās great to let you all know that our RCbbc Team, has reached 3 1/2 thousand. With our Podcasts also being pieced together, adding in another media.
In what may be a day to be remembered, our 1st recording of the āProblem Solving Radioā has been shared. Following is a link to where it can be listened to & related APPs should soon be added.
iCloud link (click on image)
Sorry to all the survivours lost, those who are lucky to be alive, their witnesses and family, justice members + even the criminals behind these events.
For those of us who had been denying everything + are slowly realising the past, many decades after is the average until speaking to someone else.
While most previous locations have since been cleaned-up, a fewer amount of Predators are still able to āsneak in the shadowsā.
One of the aims of this podcast of the RoyalCommBBC Blog, is to allow an audio channel viewers can take with them, share with their family/friends and build up more of a library of resources.
Many of those, whoāve already made text comments, will be asked to add their spoken version.
Another addition, will be Relaxation strategies including suggestions of calming music-scents+interviews.
This initial post is being made to give a Preview of whatās being planned for release, within the next few weeks.
Hopes are to arrange regular events, suggest extra channels and to create a Board of CSA Survivours-Family-Supporters.
Youāre not in this alone and there are huge amounts of impacted Child Abuse Survivours, that wont ever enjoy breaking out.
This newsletter covers an update on the National Redress Scheme (the Scheme). It provides a list of accessible Redress Support Services for the Christmas period, a link to new video resources, an update on institutions and recent Scheme data.
The update contains material that could be confronting or distressing. Sometimes words or images can cause sadness or distress or trigger traumatic memories, particularly for people who have experienced past abuse or childhood trauma.
Redress Support Services available between Christmas and New Year
The Scheme recognises that the Christmas period can be a difficult time for some people. We would like to take this opportunity to advise you of the Redress Support Services availability throughout this period.
The Scheme is pleased to inform you that two videos designed to raise awareness and inform people of the Queensland Governmentās participation in the National Redress Scheme have been completed and are now live.
The Scheme is continuously working with institutions that have been named in applications or identified by other means to encourage them to join and participate in the Scheme. To date the Commonwealth, all state and territory governments and 358 non-government institutions covering around 56,061 sites such as churches, schools, homes, charities and community groups across Australia are participating.
A total of 158 non-government institutions have committed to join and finalise on-boarding by no later than 31 December 2020.
For regular updates about the Department of Social Services and the Scheme, you can ‘like’ or ‘follow’ the Australian Families Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FamiliesInAustralia/
ā«ļø Neuroscientific and other research confirm that memory is not a single entity and that different kinds of memory are stored in different parts of the brain. ā«ļøIn broad terms there are two types of memory. Explicit memory is conscious and can be expressed verbally, while implicit memory is largely unconscious and non-verbal. ā«ļøExplicit memory requires focused attention to consolidate while implicit memory is encoded outside of awareness. ā«ļøBoth explicit and implicit memory also include subcategories. For explicit memory, these include declarative (also called `semanticā) and episodic (also called `autobiographicalā or `narrativeā) memory. ā«ļøDeclarative memory (i.e. explicit memory type 1) is the only subcategory of memory that can be deliberately called up, i.e. consciously remembered. It conveys pieces of information to others and has been described as `coldā for this reason (Levine, ibid: 15-16). ā«ļøBy contrast, episodic (i.e. explicit memory type 2, also called `autobiographicalā and `narrativeā) memory can be described as `warmā and textured (Levine, 2015: 16). Episodic memory `emerges somewhat spontaneouslyā, and can be `infused with feeling tones and vitalityā (Levine, ibid: 16-17). E.g. `I remember when I first saw the lakeā¦ā It is less conscious than the `shopping listā type of declarative memories but `more consciousā¦than implicit memoriesā. It forms `a dynamic interface between the `rationalā (explicit/declarative) and `irrationalā (implicit/emotional) realmsā (Levine, ibid: 16-17). ā«ļøThe subcategories of implicit memory can be described as `emotionalā and `proceduralā. Emotional memory ( i.e. implicit memory type 1) puts us in touch with what we are feeling, helps us signal our feelings and needs to others, and is `experienced in the body as physical sensationsā (Levine, 2015: 22; emphasis added). It may also be elicited by an environmental cue such as a smell, sight or sound.
ā«ļøProcedural memories (i.e. implicit memory type 2.)`are the impulses, movements, and internal body sensations that guide us through the how to of our various actions, skills, attractions, and repulsionsā (Levine, 2015: 25). They help us carry out tasks automatically. Procedural memories may be further subdivided into three groupings of learned motor actions, hardwired emergency responses, and response tendencies of approach or avoidance and attraction or repulsion. ā«ļøEveryday use of the word `memoryā (but also in psychology textbooks; Brand & McEwen, 2014) generally refers only to conscious, explicit memory which ignores the ongoing importance and various forms of implicit memories (Levine, 2015).
MEMORY, BRAIN DEVELOPMENT, AND PROCESSES
ā«ļøImplicit memory develops before explicit memory, as conscious recall depends on development of the hippocampus in the second year of life. ā«ļøConscious (explicit) memory, conscious thought and verbalisation are privileged both by health professions and by society in general (Levine, 2015). ā«ļøImplicit, pre-verbal memories do not `disappearā when the hippocampus develops but are stored in different neural networks and can manifest across the life cycle. ā«ļøMemory is not `a discrete phenomenon, a fixed construction, cemented permanently onto a stone foundationā (Levine, 2015: 2). Rather it is complex and involves different types and subcategories which function in different ways. ā«ļøMemory is impacted by the processes of encoding, consolidation, and retrieval. Encoding (or formation) describes the original neural laying down of memory. Consolidation (or retention) describes the stabilisation and storage of memory (a process involving the hippocampus) after encoding. Retrieval (or recall) describes the remembering, revival or restoration to consciousness of memory first encoded and then consolidated.
ā«ļø`When memories are retrieved, they are susceptible to change, such that future retrievals call upon the changed informationā (Rydberg, 2017:94). Research substantiates that `[m]emory is a reconstructive processā, and that `no memory is a literal account, nor an exact replica, of an experience or eventā (Goodman-Delahunty et al., 2017: 46).
TRAUMATIC MEMORY
`REMEMBERING BY RELIVINGā: TRAUMA, REPETITION & BEHAVIOURAL REENACTMENT
ā«ļøCurrent neuroscientific research confirms that trauma is often remembered through behavioural enactment (van der Kolk, ibid). Traumatised people are frequently unable to speak about their experiences and are `compelled to re-enact them, often remaining unaware of what their behaviour is sayingā (Howell, 2005: 56-57).
ā«ļøRemembering `in the form of physical sensations, automatic responses, and involuntary movementsā (Ogden et al, 2006: 165) is characteristic of trauma: `Traumatic memories may also take the form of unconscious `acting-outā behavioursā (Levine, 2015: 8).
ā«ļøThe need to resolve traumatic experience can fuel repetitive and compulsive actions and behaviours (`Unresolved experiences tend to haunt us until they can be finishedā; van der Hart et al, 2006: 246). ā«ļøThe relationship between repetitive, problematic behaviour and unresolved trauma needs to be recognised so that trauma survivors can be better supported towards recovery.
REMEMBERING & `FORGETTINGā
ā«ļøWhile our brains are wired to remember experiences important to survival, under some circumstances survival may be assisted by `forgettingā (Levine, 2015; Freyd & Birrell, 2013; Silberg, 2013). ā«ļøAs children depend on adult caregivers, `forgettingā traumatic experiences can have survival value in preserving the attachment bond: `[F]orgetting abuse is a way to preserve the attachment relationship when the abuser is someone the victim is dependent onā (Freyd & Birrell, 2013: 58); `Disruptions in memory may be adaptiveā¦ if trauma and caregiving emanate from the same sourceā (Silberg, 2013: 12).
ā«ļøThe impacts of stress on the brain, the different neural networks in which memory is stored, the differences between conscious, explicit and unconscious, implicit memory, and the capacity of the mind to compartmentalise and/or detach from experience (`dissociateā) help explain the phenomenon of `recoveredā memory (i.e. delayed onset memory recall).
RECOVERED MEMORY (DELAYED ONSET MEMORY RECALL)
ā«ļøThe term `recovered memoryā describes sudden intrusion of memories which were previously unavailable: `[r]ecovered memories are those memories that have been forgotten for a period and then rememberedā (Barlow et al, 2017: 322).
ā«ļøResearch confirms that trauma can disrupt memory in numerous ways and at any one or more of its various stages (āIf recovered memory experiences appear counter-intuitive, this is in part due to misconceptions about trauma and memoryā;Brewin, 2012:149). ā«ļøDelayed recall of traumatic, implicit memory usually occurs spontaneously, without warning, triggered by a prompt or cue. In trauma, these recovered memory/ies were previously dissociated (i.e. unassimilated and unintegrated) because they were too overwhelming to process. ā«ļøThe phenomenon of traumatic amnesia and subsequent delayed conscious recall of traumatic events is well documented in diverse populations (e.g. war veterans, Holocaust survivors, and survivors of natural disasters) as well as adult survivors of childhood trauma (van der Hart et al, 1999; Elliott, 1999). ā«ļøLargely because of the founding of the so-called False Memory Syndrome Foundation in 1990 -on the premise that people were wrongly accused of sexual abuse on the basis of recovered memories -the term `false memoryā has come to apply solely to the context of recovered memories of child sexual abuse rather than other contexts as well. ā«ļøResearch establishes that recovered memories are no less likely to be reliable than explicit consciously recalled memories which were never forgotten (Barlow et al, 2017,ref. Chu et al, 1999; Williams, 1995; Dalenberg, 2006). ā«ļøIn the current period there Is a contrast between the `fantasyā or `sociocognitive modelā (which proposes that recovered memories result from cultural/environmental influence and/or therapist suggestion) and `the trauma modelā (which notes the intrusion of memories unable to be assimilated because the experiences were too overwhelming (Vissia, Giesen., et al. 2016). The `trauma modelā contends that traumatic implicit memory/ies were dissociated or `split offā from conscious memory and are recovered when they intrude. ā«ļøMemories recovered in therapy represent a small proportion of the total recovered memory reports (Eliott, 1997; Wilsnack, Wonderlich, Kristjanson, Vogeltanz-Holm, & Wilsnack, 2002 cited in Dalenberg et al, 2012) Recovered memories tend to occur without warning and can certainly occur outside of psychotherapy or in its absence.
ā«ļøStrong, recurrent, and/or disabling, traumatic memories, including delayed onset recall (recovered) memories, may lead the person to become conscious of what they signify. While this experience can be destabilising at first, it can subsequently enable integration of the previously split off (dissociated) memory and pave the way for trauma recovery.
`BETRAYAL BLINDNESSā
ā«ļøāBetrayal blindnessā, or āunawareness and forgettingā has survival value. It stems from the concept of `betrayal traumaā, which assists understanding of how the `forgettingā of early life abuse serves to preserve the attachment bond to caregivers on which children depend (Freyd, 1991) It also has wide application to a range of contexts: `Although there are various ways to remain blind to betrayal, perhaps the most effective way is to forget the event entirelyā (Freyd & Birrell, 2013: 58). ā«ļøThe `survival strategyā of betrayal blindness applies to relationships in which dependence of some kind fosters the need to preserve the relationship and can `trump the need to take protective actionā (Freyd & Birrell, 2103, p.56) ā«ļøāNot seeingā, `not knowingā and `not rememberingā traumatic experience is not confined to children (`Adults are also prone to a kind of magical thinking ā¦to gain a sense of control over overwhelming eventsā (Chu, 2011: 34).
ā«ļøWhile `forgettingā the trauma of betrayal (i.e. conscious explicit absence of recall as distinct from implicit memory of traumatic experience) potentially assists survival it can also threaten health if the trauma is not resolved.
THE DYNAMICS OF DISCLOSURE
ā«ļøThe process of disclosing traumatic memory (i.e. when able to be spoken about, which involves a different area of the brain and depends on a number of contingencies) `is highly dependent on the reactions of othersā (Freyd & Birrell, 2013: 126). ā«ļø`{M]ost people who experience childhood sexual abuse do not disclose it until adulthood, and many may never tell at allā (Freyd & Birrell, 2013, p.123). ā«ļøDisclosure is often not a single event, but rather a process affected by social context, issues of safety and the potential for adverse repercussions.
ā«ļøāNondisclosure, delayed disclosure, and retraction are particularly likely in cases in which the perpetrator is close to the victimā (Freyd & Birrell, 2013, p.123).
THE RELIABILITY OF MEMORY AND THE ROLE OF SOCIAL CONTEXT
ā«ļøDepending on the context and conditions, both remembering and `forgettingā (i.e. in the explicit, conscious sense because `the body remembersā [Rothschild, 2000] at an implicit level) can be healing and/or destructive ā«ļøSocial contexts and power disparities, as well as neurological factors, affect the encoding, retrieval, and reliability of memory: `[s]ocial power not only dictates what is appropriate to say out loud, but even what it is appropriate to rememberā (Barlow et al, 2017: 320). ā«ļøāBoth internal and external processes operate to keep us unawareā (Freyd & Birrell, 2013: 95); `To the extent that it is not safe to disclose externally, it is not safe to know, or disclose internally, to oneselfā (ibid: 116).
ā«ļøāContrary to the widespread myth that traumatic events are seldom if ever forgotten, much trauma is not remembered until something happens to bring it to mindā (Brewin, 2012: 165). ā«ļøCurrent research establishes that memory is not fixed and unchanging and that all memory -implicit and explicit -undergoes a degree of reconstruction. This does not mean that either is necessarily unreliable. ā«ļøResearch has shown that recovered (implicit) memory can be as accurate as continuous i.e. (explicit, conscious) memory (Dalenberg et al. 2012): `Memories that are recovered ā those that were forgotten and subsequently recalled-can often be corroborated and are no more likely to be confabulated than are continuous memoriesā (Chu, 2011, p.80 citing Dalenberg, 1996; Kluft, 1995; Lewis, Yeager, Swiza, Pincus & Lewis, 1997); also Dalenberg et al, 2012). ā«ļøNumerous legal cases in various parts of the world have demonstrated that recovered memories have been verified and corroborated by independent evidence, admissions of guilt by perpetrators, or findings of guilt by courts. https://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/case-archive/legal-cases/
ā«ļøāThe cognitive processes that underlie everyday memory are the same processes that lead to errors in processing traumatic memoriesā¦Like any memory , the availability of memory for traumatic events depends on how it is assessedā (Barlow, 2017: 323, referencing Sivers, 2002). ā«ļøAssessment of the reliability of memory must take account of a range of factors. These include the social context of memory, the possibility of betrayal trauma, the survival value of (explicit, conscious) `forgettingā, the impact of power disparities, and the centrality of emotional and physical safety around recall and disclosure.
To read the full paper The Memory of Truth and the Truth of Memory ā Different Types of Memory and the Significance of Trauma; click here
To read our four summary Fact Sheets on Memory ā Classification, Understanding Memory, Understanding Traumatic Memory, Recovered memory, click here
