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The purpose of this study was to investigate cognitive behavior therapists and trainees’s beliefs about various aspects of traumatic memory and to investigate cognitive behavior therapists’ practices in relation to alleged traumatic experiences and whether they are linked with their beliefs about various aspects of traumatic memory.

In the current study, the authors surveyed, by a questionnaire (in Italian), certified Italian cognitive behavioral (CB) therapists and trainees with respect to their beliefs in traumatic memories and whether they discussed about the possibility of repressed memory with their patients.

The majority of participants held strong beliefs about many controversial aspects related to traumatic memory, such as the mind being able to block out of consciousness memories of traumatic experiences. Also, more than half of CB therapists stated that they sometimes discussed about the importance of traumatic events in the genesis of their patient’s disorder and half of them sometimes talked with patients about memories for traumatic events of which they may be unaware. Such practices could lead to false memories of abuse

One particularly novel finding relates to the evidence that therapists reported that they had discussed with patients the importance of traumatic events in the genesis of their illness and frequently noted that they talked about the possibility of repressed memories with them. In turn, patients may be induced to recall traumatic experiences from their lives, thereby producing false memories which may tear families apart and could even lead to wrongful convictions.

Investigates situations that were perceived as stressful by Swedish police officers and the kind of support and help they had received in connection with that. A total of 162 respondents took part in the study. Results show that most of the traumatic experiences reported by police officers occurred early on in their careers. The traumatic experiences often remained in their memories in the form of visual, tactile, and olfactory sensations. A variety of stress reactions were described in connection with these experiences. As regards ways of working through the traumatic experiences, more than half reported that it helped them to talk about the event with their colleagues. Only a few had been offered debriefing or professional help in connection with the event. A notable finding is that the majority of the officers did not receive any support at all from their superiors in connection with the event.

This study aimed to examine beliefs in repressed memory and dissociative amnesia from a cross-cultural perspective.

Chinese (n = 123) and Belgian student participants (n = 270) received several statements tapping into various dimensions of repressed memory and dissociative amnesia. Participants provided belief ratings for each of these statements. Because the field of psychoanalysis is less well developed in China, it was expected that Chinese participants would believe less in repressed memory and dissociative amnesia than their Belgian counterparts.

Overall, beliefs in repressed memory and dissociative amnesia were high among all participants. Although confirmatory analyses revealed that most belief ratings concerning statements did not statistically significantly differ between the two samples, Chinese participants did statistically believe less that therapy can recover lost traumatic memories than Belgian participants. Also, exploratory analyses showed that Chinese participants were more critical towards the idea that traumatic memories can be unconsciously repressed and that these memories can be accurately retrieved in therapy than Belgian participants. Many participants also confused repressed memory with plausible memory mechanisms such as ordinary forgetting.

The current study extends previous surveys on repressed memory and dissociative amnesia by comparing their beliefs in different cultures.

The focus of the present study was on police officers reactions to and memories of a manhunt after a shooting incident. Emotional impact and memories of these events are discussed in relation to time elapsed, support from co‐workers, supervisors and professional debriefing.

A total of 11 police officers responding to a mass shooting carried out by a young offender resulting in seven dead civilians were asked to describe the event ten months after the event, five years after the event, and again nine years after the event.

All police officers reported having vivid memories of the mass shooting incident, and visual and auditory memories of the event were best retained, although a decline was observed nine years after the incident. Regarding working through the traumatic experience, the police officers had not been offered professional help in connection with the mass shooting incident.

Owing to the fact that police officers in the present study answered the survey anonymously, it was not possible to work out repeated measures statistics for these memories over time.

Knowing that the psychological distress due to exposure to a traumatic event may be long lasting, it is crucial that police organizations consider time as an important factor in working through these experiences.

Research on emotion and memory is highly relevant to the work of police officers and to the legal system.

The destruction of armed confrontations – ranging from chronic armed conflicts to full-scale wars – leads to enormous loss of human lives and causes wide-scale devastation. They also leave deep and lasting traumas in the minds of those whose lives are torn apart because of a conflict. Memorialisation of conflict-affected sites plays an invaluable part in post-trauma recovery and can contribute to the reconciliation of different groups involved in a conflict as these sites are representatives of communities' collective memory, identity and a source of unity and resilience. This paper aims to investigate post-trauma recovery and reconciliation processes through the phenomena of memorialisation. It aims to answer how and if the memorialisation of sites of pain can contribute to the recovery and reconciliation of affected communities and serve as examples for other people around the world.

The documentation of such processes and the lessons learnt can offer valuable information for conducting similar exercises in other settings ravaged by a conflict. To achieve this, a review of literature on trauma, memory, memorialisation and difficult heritage was conducted, while the memorialisation processes from different cases such as Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1939–1945), Beirut (1975–1990) and Sarajevo's Vijecnica and Mostar Bridge (1992–1995) were analysed.

It was identified that the potential of memorialisation for post-trauma recovery and reconciliation is vast. However, if these processes can “heal” or “hurt” depend largely on who the stakeholders are; how the site and events are interpreted and presented; how pre/post-conflict relationships and dynamics are harnessed; how symbolic meanings (old and new) are [re]interpreted; the spatial-temporal nature of the site and those interacting with it; and the intended and perceived messages. Altogether, memorialisation of conflict-affected sites is a political and continuous process that should take into consideration all those directly and indirectly involved, the dynamics between them and all the symbolic meanings acquired and attributed to the site.

The study critically explores frameworks of memorialisation and their impact on both the built environment and communities. It contributes to the wider discussion of difficult heritage memorialisation and approaches to reflect on sites and cities emerging from crises such as conflict.

The purpose of this study is to clarify changes in people-place interrelationship and hidden layers of survivors psychological challenges in the reconstructed housing environment, the 2003 Bam and 2017 Ezgeleh-Sarpol Zahab earthquakes occurred in Iran, because perception of earthquake risk in residential dwellings and traumatic experiences during and after its occurrence are among stressful events making communities face with various spectrum of emotional and cognitive consequences. Such events shape memory “traumascapes” and cause changes in mental schemas and as a result, altering decisions and behavioral responses in long-term familiar environments. Because, in the disaster-affected communities, psychological recovery will be greatly influenced by residential experiences.

The current research was performed with a qualitative and multicase study design, and data were collected using deep and semistructured private interviews and discussions in focus groups with participation of 33 people by narrative technique.

According to findings, people are facing enduring cognitive disruptions regarding home concept and its location as a safe and secure paradigm. Findings showed that there are a considerable amount of behavioral responses and emotional consequences in the form of protective behaviors, severe sensitivity to environmental stimuli, fears, phobias in residential dwellings and disturbances in place attachments.

It is noteworthy that despite all time and place differences, the two studied communities had significant similarities in earthquake traumatic experiences and perceptions and also resulting conscious and subconscious responses.

This systematic review (SR) aims to evaluate and summarize the effectiveness of using eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) intervention among individuals diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as to highlight the standardized EMDR-based interventional protocol.

This SR is guided according to preferred reporting items for SRs and meta-analyses standards. Several online databases were used in searching for eligible studies in peer-reviewed journals relevant to the study keywords. The included studies were SRs and clinical trials that used EMDR interventions among patients experiencing PTSD symptoms, older than 18 years and were published in English language from 2015 to 2022. Three researchers independently contributed to study selections, data extraction and study evaluations from different aspects, including quality assessment, risk of bias and study synthesis.

A total of eight published studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this SR; four articles were randomized controlled trials and four were SR and meta-analysis studies. In all included studies, the EMDR was used as a primary psychotherapy intervention for PTSD symptoms. The results of this extensive and comprehensive review showed that EMDR is an effective psychotherapeutic intervention to reduce and control the severity of symptoms among individuals with PTSD.

It is important to acknowledge several limitations inherent in this study. First and foremost, it is noteworthy to mention that only studies conducted in the English language were included in this review, potentially restricting the overall scope and diversity of the findings. Furthermore, the number of studies incorporated into this review was limited, which may have implications for the comprehensiveness and generalizability of the results. Finally, it is worth noting that certain studies within this review had a relatively small sample size, which could potentially limit the statistical power and precision of the conclusions drawn.

This paper, a review of the literature, gives an overview of EMDR effectiveness, provides baseline information and plays a significant role in decreasing the gap in Jordanian literature regarding using EMDR as the strongest evident psychotherapy approach for PTSD treatment to help psychiatrists, psychologists and psychiatric nurses in the health-care sectors to design comprehensive strategies to enhance and improve the quality of health care and patients’ status.

EMDR intervention offers significant alternative treatment opportunities for individuals suffering from PTSD, depression and anxiety. The implementation of EMDR for depression, anxiety and PTSD improves patient outcomes as compared to standard therapeutic modalities in PTSD.

This SR gives an overview and explains strong supportive evidence for the effectiveness of EMDR interventions among individuals with PTSD. Therefore, EMDR therapy could be assumed as one standard treatment option for PTSD, aiming at reducing treatment duration and cost of treatment and restoring the mental well-being and functionality of those suffering from PTSD.

In bereavement, memories of the loss, especially traumatic ones, can be distressful and complicate the grieving process. Although some conventional therapies have proven beneficial in lessening complicated bereavement, African indigenous methods used for the same purpose have not been well-documented. This study explored Northern Sotho traditional healers’ lived experiences regarding the medicinal benefits of Bolebatša when used in mental health-care.

Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, this study explored traditional healers’ (n = 19; 5 = males; females = 14; mean age = 65 years, SD: 11.6) experiences and their insights regarding the management of traumatic memories in bereavement. Participating healers were sampled using convenience and snowball strategies while data was collected using face-to-face dialogues, observations and a digital camera. Qualitatively derived data was transcribed and translated from the local language to English before it was analysed phenomenologically.

Data analysis resulted in four major themes: characterisation of Bolebatša as a herb used to manage mental and spiritual conditions; descriptions of the herb’s administration, dosage and related user health risk; perceived therapeutic benefits of the herb; and observed link between herbal medicine and African spirituality. The study findings suggest that the Bolebatša herb, derived from the tree scientifically called Lannea schweinfurthii is primarily used to induce forgetfulness of bereavement and trauma-related memories to enhance coping.

Whilst this study illustrates the perceived healing benefits of Bolebatša in mental health care, it is noted that the findings may not necessarily be extrapolated to other contexts. Therefore, more studies are needed with the participation of traditional healers from different ethnic backgrounds to lend support to the present findings. Data from service users’ experience of traditional healing in conjunction with traditional healers would have further benefited this study.

The findings are important for mental health professions as they open avenues for other forms of treatment for mental conditions that also need attention. Equally, there is a need for western trained mental health-care practitioners and researchers to study indigenous knowledge systems of healing for reverse knowledge transfer purposes.

The findings also call on governments, and in this context, the South African government, to recognise, support and empower traditional healers as important role players in primary mental health care. Collaboration between western mental health practitioners and traditional healers could indeed be one important strategy towards the relief of the overwhelmed mental health-care systems in low-and-middle-income countries such as is the case in South Africa.

The findings open new avenues to scientific explorations of the significance of traditional medicines in bereavement care and coping. More importantly, on the Bolebatša herb’s anti-depressive and memory altering effects in mental health care.

This paper aims to discuss the utility of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy as a treatment for children with intellectual disabilities (ID) who have experienced trauma.

Relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance and literature were reviewed to provide support for the use of EMDR as a treatment for trauma in children with ID.

There is a growing body of evidence which demonstrates that EMDR therapy is successful for the treatment of trauma in adults and children. However, for children with ID, the research is limited despite those with ID being more likely than non-disabled peers to experience trauma such as abuse or neglect.

EMDR can only be facilitated by trained mental health nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists (clinical, forensic, counselling or educational) or occupational therapists or social workers with additional training. Finally, general practitioners who are experienced in psychotherapy or psychological trauma and have accreditation. Therefore, this highlights that there may be a lack of trained staff to facilitate this intervention and that those who are generally working with the client closely and long term such as learning disability nurses are not able to conduct this intervention.

This paper presents an account of NICE guidance and evidence of the efficacy of EMDR as a treatment for adults, children and those with ID.

This chapter is building conceptual background of psychological risk for international tourists. Drawing on Place Attachment Theory, Moral Disengagement Theory, Followership Theory, Job Demands-Resources, Acculturation Theory and Goal Progress Theory of Rumination, this chapter proposes a framework of psychological risks with six psychological risks that tourists could encounter in foreign destination: destination detachment risk, moral disengagement risk, risk of false risk assessment, burnout risk, risk of loneliness and risk of rumination. High destination detachment could lead tourists to behave less environmentally friendly, while high moral disengagement could lead tourists to behave less ethically friendly. Followership to the influencers in social media could lead tourists to engage in risk-taking behaviours and false risk assessment, leading to burnout risk, risk of loneliness and risk of rumination, where negative autobiographical memory is created and forming memory-related distress when they arrive homes. Place detachment and moral disengagement risk local environmental and social health, while burnout, loneliness and rumination pose risks for the tourists' psychological health. Several studies propose suggestions for the destination manager and tourists to manage the risk effectively and adequately, including place attachment and moral engagement campaign, careful travel planning and social support.