This paper describes a technique designed to assist sexual offenders to recover memories of their offense. We have consistently observed that some sexual offenders present as having no recall of their offense although they are able to remember other events of the day of the offense. This failure to recall offense details prevents the offenders from making an appropriate disclosure which, in turn, blocks attempts to identify their offense pathways and develop relapse prevention plans. The memory recovery technique we describe is based on experimental literature on memory and we outline its use with 22 clients, 20 of whom showed satisfactory recovery of their memories.
Bahrick, H.P. (1984). Semantic memory content in permastore: Fifty years of memory for Spanish learned in school. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 113, 1-29.
2.
Bahrick, H.P. (1954). Semantic memory perma store: Fifty years of memory for Spanish learned in school. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 18, 1-29.
3.
Bahrick, H.P., & Hall, L.K. ( 1991). Lifetime maintenance of high school mathematics content. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 120, 20-33.
4.
Bahrick, H.P., Hall, L.K., Goggin, J.P., Bahrick, L.E., & Berger, S.A. (1994). Fifty years of language maintenance and language dominance in bilingual Hispanic immigrants. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 123, 264-283.
5.
Barbaree, H.E. (1991). Denial and minimization among sex offenders: Assessment and treatment outcome. Forum on Corrections Research, 3, 30-33.
6.
Barrett, K.C. (1995). A functionalist approach to shame and guilt. In J. P. Tangney & K. W. Fischer (Eds.), Self conscious emotions: The psychology of shame, guilt, embarrassment and pride (pp. 25-63). New York: Guilford Press.
7.
Beidel, D.S., Turner, S.M., & Alfano, C. (2003). Anxiety disorders. In M. Hersen & S. M. Turner (Eds.), Adult psychopathology and diagnosis (4th ed., pp. 356-419). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley .
8.
Fiske, S.T., & Taylor, S.E. (1991). Social cognition (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
9.
Garry, M., Loftus, E.F., Brown, S.W., & DuBreuil, S.C. (1997). Womb with a view: Memory beliefs and memory-work experiences. In D. G. Payne & F. G. Conrad (Eds.), Intersection in basic and applied memory research (pp. 233-255). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
10.
Kihlstrom, J.F., & Barnhardt, T.M. (1993). The self-regulation of memory, for better and for worse, with and without hypnosis. In D. M. Wegner & J. W. Pennebaker (Eds.), Handbook of mental control (pp. 88-125). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
11.
Kosslyn, S. M., & Koenig, O. (Eds.). (1995). Wet mind. New York: Free Press.
12.
Loftus, E.F., & Loftus, F.R. (1980). On the permanence of stored information in the human brain. American Psychologist, 35,409-420.
13.
Maletzky, B.M. (1991). Treating the sex offender. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
14.
Marshall, W.L. (1994). Treatment effects on denial and minimization in incarcerated sex offenders. Behaviour Research and Therapy , 32, 599-564.
15.
Marshall, W.L., Serran, G.A., Moulden, H., Mulloy, R., Fernandez, Y.M., Mann, R.E., et al. (2002). Therapist features in sexual offenders treatment: Their reliable identification and influence on behavior change . Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 9, 395-405.
16.
Marshall, W.L., Thornton, D., Marshall, L.E., Fernandez, Y.M., & Mann, R.E. (2001). Treatment of sexual offenders who are in categorical denial: A pilot project. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 13, 205-215.
17.
Nathan, P.E. (1984). Alcoholism: Psychopathology, etiology, and treatment . In P. B. Sutker & H. E. Adams (Eds.), Comprehensive handbook of psychopathology (2nd ed., pp. 451-476). New York: Plenum Press.
18.
Parsons, O.A., & Nixon, S.J. (1984). Behavioral disorders associated with central nervous system dysfunction. In P. S. Sutker & H. E. Adams (Eds.), Comprehensive handbook of psychopathology (2nd ed., pp. 689-733). New York: Plenum Press.
19.
Payne, D.G., & Blackwell, J.M. (1998). Truth in memory: Caveat emptor. In S. J. Lynn & K. M. McConkey (Eds.), Truth in memory (pp. 32-61). New York: Guilford Press.
20.
Payne, D.G., & Wenger, M.J. (1992). Improving memory through practice. In D. J. Herrmann, C. McAvoy , C. Hertzog, P. Hertel, & M. K. Johnson (Eds.), Basic and applied memory research: Vol 2. Theory and context (pp. 184-209). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
21.
Pithers, W.D. ( 1994). Process evaluation of a group therapy component designed to enhance sex offenders' empathy for sexual abuse survivors. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 32, 565-570.
22.
Schlank, A.M., & Shaw, T. (1996). Treating sex offenders who deny their guilt: A pilot study. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment , 8, 17-23.
23.
Shiekh, J.I., Hill, R.D., & Yesavage, J. (1987). Long-term efficacy of cognitive training for age associated memory impairment: A six month follow-up study. Developmental Neuropsychology, 2,413-421.
24.
Tulving, E., & Thomson, D.M. (1973). Encoding specificity and retrieval processes in episodic memory. Psychological Review, 80, 352-373.
25.
Usher, J.A., & Neisser, U. ( 1993). Childhood amnesia and the beginning of memory for four early life events. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 122, 155-165.
26.
Whitehouse, W.G., Orne, E.C., Orne, M.T., & Dinges, D.F. ( 1991 ). Distinguishing the source of memories reported during prior waking and hypnotic recall attempts. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 5, 51-59.
27.
Wilkinson, J. (1988). Context effects in children's event memory. In M. M. Gruneberg, P. E. Morris, & R. N. Sykes (Eds.), Practical aspects of memory: Current research and issues (Vol. 1, pp. 107-111 ). Chichester, England: Wiley.
28.
Wilson, B.A. ( 1987). Rehabilitation of memory. New York: Guilford Press.
29.
Yapko, M.D. (1994). Suggestibility and repressed memories of abuse: A survey of psychotherapists' beliefs. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 36, 163-171.
