The Impact of Implicit Memory on Adult Survivors of Family Abuse
What "the body keeps the score" means in regard to abuse and trauma recovery
In my last article, I discussed the importance of assessing adult survivors of Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA) for symptoms of Structural Dissociation, which is associated with Complex Trauma (C-PTSD). If you missed reading this article, you can find it here. This week, I discuss how body-based Implicit Memory contributes to the FSA adult survivor’s experience of feeling ‘triggered’, which in turn may result in the experience of structural dissociation.
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What Is Implicit Memory?
Something that surprises my clients when they first start working with me is learning that they are experiencing implicit memories when they are feeling 'triggered' or emotionally activated in response to something in their environment.
For adult survivors of childhood abuse, feeling ‘triggered’ and emotionally ‘activated’ is an example of experiencing an implicit memory. Implicit memory arises when the body is remembering past traumatic events, even when we are not consciously aware this process is occurring.
Implicit memory refers to the type of memory that influences our thoughts and behaviors without conscious awareness. Unlike explicit memory, which involves the intentional recall of facts and events, implicit memory encompasses skills, habits, and conditioned responses.
Key Characteristics of Implicit Memory
Automatic and Unconscious: Implicit memories affect our behavior and perceptions without our direct awareness.
Learned Through Repetition: These memories are often formed through repeated experiences and exposure.
Resistant to Change: Implicit memories can be robust and persist even when we are consciously aware of their influence.
Types of Implicit Memory
Procedural Memory: Involves motor skills and routines, such as riding a bicycle or typing.
Priming: Occurs when exposure to one stimulus affects responses to a subsequent stimulus, often without conscious recognition.
Conditioned Responses: Automatic reactions formed through associative learning, such as a fear response to a previously traumatic event.
The Body Really Does 'Keep the Score'
So what does this mean for you as an adult survivor of FSA? It means that when you are experiencing sudden, intense, overwhelming feelings and sensations in response to something (or someone) in your environment (what you might refer to as “feeling triggered”), you are experiencing implicit memory. When exposed to threatening stimuli, your body is remembering past trauma as if it were happening in the present in an effort to cope and survive - and none of this will be in your conscious awareness!
Remembering trauma does not have to be associated with explicit memory, e.g., cognitive memories, complete with names, dates, times, and those kinds of details. Implicit memory accounts for your body remembering trauma when you feel triggered and activated, even when you cannot remember associated past events. Once you start to understand the reality of implicit memory as related to your experiences of family abuse, new pathways of healing may open up to you in regard to your recovery and healing process.
Needless to say, given this reality, your body needs to be a critical aspect of the trauma-informed care that ideally you would receive as an adult survivor seeking to recover from FSA.
TIST: An Integrative Model for Treating Complex Trauma and Structural Dissociation
Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST) is the treatment modality that I prefer to use in my practice when working with family abuse survivors, and this is why I took the time to receive advanced training as a Certified Complex Trauma Treatment Professional (CCTP) under Dr. Janina Fisher, who created the TIST model.
Specifically: Dr Fisher's TIST model integrates Neuroscience research and is based on Structural Dissociation Theory; Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy; Sensorimotor Psychotherapy; Ego State techniques; and Internal Family Systems, or IFS.
The TIST model is based on the assumption that the severe reactions exhibited by traumatized adult survivors are not evidence of a personality disorder or mental illness but instead indicate trauma-related fragmentation and alienation from self. The TIST model focuses on resolving the impact of the trauma - not reliving the trauma. This is because we know today via trauma research that repeatedly sharing and discussing traumatic events does not support healing and can actually be harmful to the traumatized brain.
Clients who feel that they're frequently activated / triggered can benefit from the TIST model's trauma-informed approach, which is based on this fundamental principle of implicit memory. As a clinician treating adult survivors of child psycho-emotional abuse, I also appreciate that the TIST modality has been proven to be an efficacious form of treatment in multiple settings.
If you're an adult survivor of FSA, you'll also find this information on the TIST model helpful in that it can assist you in finding the right kind of Mental Health professional to work with - a trauma-informed professional - one who's properly licensed / certified and trained to help you with the sorts of symptoms that can result from family scapegoating abuse and attendant complex trauma symptoms.
For example, Mental Health providers trained in 'parts therapy' and 'parts language' (such as a therapist specializing in Internal Family Systems (IFS) or Psychosynthesis, as discussed in my introductory guide on FSA, Rejected, Shamed, and Blamed) could be quite capable of helping an FSA adult survivor, for example, even if they are not TIST-certified.
The TIST Model In Practice
I’ve found that the TIST model can be highly effective for those clients open to learning about traumatized 'parts' and how to work with their parts in a therapeutic manner.
In my practice, the client is invited to simply be curious about - and notice - their 'parts' and to begin to understand the actions and reactions of their parts - what the parts might be wanting, needing, feeling; what they might be wanting to express; how they might be showing up in the clients bodily sensations, reactions; emotions; and movements; and what the different parts might be afraid of. Gradually, the parts are made visible, tended to, and integrated, and the client begins to experience a sense of wholeness within, versus fragmentation.
With the TIST model, I can invite my psychotherapy and coaching clients to notice their body and notice their 'parts' without over-stimulating their amygdala, allowing me to work in a trauma-informed manner conducive to long-term healing and integration.
I apply TIST principles to all of my FSA activities and efforts. For example, those of you who found me on YouTube and have written to tell me you are surprised to find my videos “soothing” despite my discussing painful FSA material: This is likely because of my express intention to be mindful of not triggering implicit memories or over-stimulating the amygdala’s of my viewers - something I learned in my TIST training.
As you go about your day today interacting with others in person or online (such as a support forum), watching TV, reading the news, etc, take a few minutes every now and again to check in with your body and just ‘notice’: Are you feeling a sense of calmness and integration during these interactions or activities? Is your breathing deep or shallow? How’s your heart rate? Is there tension anywhere in your body? Are you you feeling ungrounded or overstimulated? Is your mind saying “yes” while your body is saying “no”? Such quick check-ins can serve as good reminders of the importance of taking care of your ‘parts’ and seeing what they might be wanting to say to you that your conscious mind may not be aware of.
To learn more about Structural Dissociation and the Personality, read this detailed article from CPTSD Education.
Watch my video on FSA recovery and TIST Treatment here
Learn more about Dr Janina Fisher's TIST model here. Search for a TIST-trained therapist here. For a more comprehensive discussion of how I work with clients traumatized by family scapegoating abuse, read Dr Fisher's book, Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors.
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