Problem 3: PTSD Flashcards
Ehlers and clark’s cognitive theory
-general personal memory system
-event specific memory system (Where trauma memory goes when it isn’t properly integrated in the general memory system –> easily triggered. It’s facilitated by associative memory system that operates pre consciously and primes a person to respond to triggers)
-emphasis on maladaptive behavioural strategies & cognitive processing styles
what peritraumatic factors influence the encoding of trauma in Ehlers and clark’s cognitive theory
-data driven: focusses on sensory impressions, subconscious so hard to retrieve voluntarily
-conceptual driven: meaning of situation, putting it into context, more conscious, integrating into autobiographical system
what are the maladaptive behavioural strategies of clark and ehler’s cognitive theory?
-active thought suppressions
-distraction
-avoidance of reminders
-use of substances to control anxiety
-abandonment of normal activities
-adoption of safety behaviours
what are the maladaptive cognitive factors in clark and Ehlers theory?
-selective attention to threat cues
-persistent use of rumination or dissociative responses (no sense of self, automatic mode, not able to integrate what is happening around them)
-derealisation (you have a sense of self but everything around you seems unreal)
what are the main psychological processes in PTSD?
-attentional bias
-memory changes
-dissociation
-cognitive affective reaction (shame, helplessness)
-beliefs
-cognitive coping strategies
what is the emotional processing theory of PTSDn by Foa
-fear responses can be activated by any harmless stimulus
-we have a fear structure/network in our head –> triggering any single part of it will trigger the whole structure
-rigid pre-trauma: rigid positive or negative world view –> more prone to trauma
-two conditions for exposure therapy: in vivo + imaginary
the dual representation theory ideas on how trauma is represented
-trauma memories are represented in a distinct way, they are vivid and uncontrollable and become dissociated from normal memory system
what are the two memory systems in the dual representation theory of PTSD
SAM (situationally accessible memory system)
-sensory memory
-flashbacks
-triggered
-brain: signals go to amygdala immediately
VAM (verbally accessible memory system) is the system in which trauma memories are integrated with autobiographical memories.
-oral/written memories
-deliberate retrieval
-brain: signals go to hippocampus and then to amygdala
how can we heal the VAM and the SAM system when they get impaired by trauma?
-reduce negative emotions caused by cognitive appraisal –> reassessing perceived control and reattributing responsibility
-creating a new SAM –> by changing perceived control and responsibility your bodily reactions are changed, you’ll become less aroused and negative affect is reduced
why are flashbacks in the SAM system
-they only appear in SAM because they are not temporally encoded (no logical integration, anything can trigger it)
-flashbacks are only present in SAM but can be recoded in VAM, decreasing the flashbacks
empirical evidence for dual representation theory in PTSD
-Holmes film: intrusive trauma images are mostly supported by visa-spatial systems rather than verbal
-hellawell & Brewin: flashbacks are related to primary emotions, ordinary memories are related to secondary emotions
what is the mechanisms behind EMDR?
-taxation of working memory: physical task of following the stimulus takes up so much WM capacity that there is no room left for the emotional aspect of the memory.
when WM is taxed too much –> competition between taxing load and recall –> decrease in vividness and emotionality
what are flash forwards
future oriented images and thoughts located in prospective memory, usually stems from something that has happened before
-can be stripped from impact through EMDR
how do we know how much WM is taxed?
-reaction time: people with low WM capacity –> greater benefit because they will be more distracted by the task
what is mental defeat
inability to influence fate during trauma
