Çili Soljana - Autobiographical memory and the self : relationship and implications for cognitive-behavioural therapy

Autobiographical Memory and the Self is that rare work in psychology that provides a synthesis across subfields that is both theoretically original and of immediate practical value to the clinician. By demonstrating the powerful role of memory in ongoing thought, emotion, and motivation, the authors illustrate the centrality of remembered experience in goal definition and goal pursuit. Taking this a step further, they provide research on the linkage of autobiographical memory recall to both well-being and psychological disorder. Finally, they provide concrete evidence for how attention to memory processes can be a critical factor in the healing work of practitioners. This book is essential reading for both researchers and therapists.

Jefferson A. Singer, Ph.D., Dean of the College, Faulk Foundation Professor of Psychology, Connecticut College, USA

Autobiographical Memory and the Self

Autobiographical memory shapes our understanding of ourselves, guides our behaviour, and helps us to develop and maintain relationships with others. The ways in which we interpret and narrate our memories have important implications for our psychological well-being, and can sometimes contribute to the onset and maintenance of a variety of psychological disorders.

Autobiographical Memory and the Self: Relationship and Implications for Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy synthesises the growing cognitive, social, personality, and clinical psychological literature on the memory-self relationship. It creates an interdisciplinary dialogue which explores autobiographical memory and its relevance for clinical practice, especially cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT).

The authors propose a model for understanding the mechanisms of change involved in therapeutic interventions targeting negative or traumatic memories whilst providing insights into recent debates and avenues for future research. Autobiographical Memory and the Self will be useful to clinicians and clinical trainees, researchers, and psychology postgraduate students.

Soljana ili is Lecturer in Psychology at the University of the Arts London and a visiting academic at the University of Southampton, UK. Her research focuses on the memory-imagery-self relationship.

Lusia Stopa is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Southampton, UK. Her research examines how imagery represents the self and how imagery interventions can change negative self-views.

Autobiographical Memory and the Self

Relationship and Implications for Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy

Soljana ili and Lusia Stopa

To my parents, Suzana and Ferdinant ili, and my sisters, Egla and Nikolina

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To my husband,BruceHunt and my children Chloe and James Stopa-Hunt for all their support

LS

Contents

We would like to thank the staff at Routledge, especially Ceri McLardy (our Editor) and Sophie Crowe (Editorial Assistant), for their support. I, Soljana, am grateful to Professors Dan P. McAdams and Jonathan M. Adler for answering my questions at various stages of the writing and to Professor Jefferson A. Singer for providing valuable suggestions for .

In April 2016, media outlets such as The Independent and Vanity Fair reported a statement made days earlier by Sir Ian McKellen at the Oxford Literary Festival, United Kingdom. Talking about the memoirs he had initially agreed to write for a British publishing house, he reportedly stated:

I put nine months aside to do it, and I got a very handsome advance. Then I sent the money back It was a bit painful. I didnt want to go back into my life and imagine things that I hadnt understood so far.

(Oppenheim, 2016)

While for some people this may have been simply a curious piece of news (the advance Sir Ian had returned was, after all, rumoured to be around 1 million), for anyone who has a painful past or just happens to be a memory researcher, Sir Ians decision made sense. Fortunately or unfortunately, the past does not stay in the past. It shapes our personality, colours our views of ourselves and the world around us, and affects our emotions and how we behave or interact with our environment. As such, our past accompanies us in the present and shapes our future for better or worse. When it involves negative experiences, thinking about it can be painful and may be best avoided even when you are offered 1 million to do it!

Memory has attracted scholars attention for centuries. In fact, some modern conceptualisations of memory have much in common with arguments made by Socrates and Aristotle (see Bloch, 2007; Ricoeur, 2004). The interest in memory especially autobiographical memory (AM) grew significantly in 17th-century Europe, where social and economic changes led to a weakening of the extended family structure and to the rise of an individualistic culture that viewed individuals as autonomous and distinct from their social context (see Nelson, 2003). This was reflected at the time in the growing interest in individuals unique life stories, for example those presented in novels and biographies. It continued to develop further into the 19th century, when there was an increased sense of conflict between the individual and society that resulted from social, economic, and political unrest and that led to a growing focus on the need for individuals to define their own selves and purposes in life (see Baumeister, 1987). Further social transformations occurring in the 20th and 21st centuries intensified the interest in memory. The last decades, in particular, have witnessed a worldwide rise in individualism, potentially as a result of factors (e.g., socioeconomic development and reduced infectious disease prevalence) that have contributed to a reduction in individuals need to rely on their social groups (see Santos, Varnum, & Grossmann, 2017). In some countries this has been accompanied by a shift towards