Psychological therapy for psychogenic amnesia: Successful treatment in a single case study.

Abstract

Psychogenic amnesia is widely understood to be a memory impairment of psychological origin that occurs as a response to severe stress. However, there is a paucity of evidence regarding the effectiveness of psychological therapy approaches in the treatment of this disorder. The current article describes a single case, "Ben", who was treated with formulation-driven psychological therapy using techniques drawn from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for psychogenic amnesia. Before treatment, Ben exhibited isolated retrograde and anterograde memory impairments. He received 12 therapy sessions that targeted experiential avoidance followed by two review sessions, six weeks and five months later. Ben's retrograde and anterograde memory impairments improved following therapy to return to within the "average" to "superior" ranges, which were maintained at follow-up. Further experimental single case study designs and larger group studies are required to advance the understanding of the effectiveness and efficacy of psychological therapy for psychogenic amnesia.

• Authors: Anneli Cassel, Kate Humphreys
• Journal: Neuropsychological rehabilitation (Neuropsychol Rehabil) Vol. 26 Issue 3 Pg. 374-91 ( 2016) ISSN: 1464-0694 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 25894932 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Topics

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
• Adult
• Amnesia (etiology, therapy)
• Humans
• Male
• Neuropsychological Tests
• Stress, Psychological (complications)
• Treatment Outcome