By: Yoyo Rita
Workplace investigations often deal with and require deconstructing traumatic memories. It is a crucially important part of the work we do to determine the likely veracity of a set of facts. This is especially true when dealing with allegations of sexual assault, workplace violence, or other objectively traumatizing events. Whether a traumatic incident is part of the complaint, whether the Complainant has a previous history of experiencing similar trauma, or whether any of the other parties have a history of trauma (including the Respondent and any witnesses), the fact remains: workplace investigators must understand the science behind trauma in order to act as trauma-informed (and thus, effective) interviewers and data analyzers.
We must first consider how traumatic memories are stored and recalled in the brain. Recent peer-reviewed science clearly demonstrates that traumatic memories function as “an alternative cognitive entity quite distinct from other representations of memory, including sad memories.”[1] This 2024 study done by Investigator Ilan Harpaz-Rotem, Ph.D., of Yale University and Daniela Schiller, Ph.D., of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai suggested that traumatic memories in individuals with PTSD are recalled in a unique manner, launching “idiosyncratic” hippocampus activity that is unparalleled by, say, simply “sad” memories with no traumatic content. The study compounds “the notion that traumatic memories are not experienced as memories as such, but rather are fragments of prior events.”
Furthermore, the field of psychiatry lends us greater insight into the complexity of traumatic memory recall. As we all may intuitively understand, memory recall is an imperfect process in which the very act of recalling over time can shape and distort our memories over time. While no human memory recall is “perfect” or a complete picture of objective fact, one particular minefield within trauma recall is the possibility of an individual inadvertently recreating “memory amplification.” What is memory amplification? This is when “people tend to remember more trauma than they experienced […] the more amplification people demonstrate, the more likely they are to report the “re-experiencing” symptoms associated with PTSD, such as intrusive thoughts and images.”[2] While “memory amplification” cannot be measured, nor is it our goal as investigators to assign this to individuals, it is important to consider this phenomenon as yet another possibility within the complex matrix of trauma-informed investigations.
It is of great importance to consider that the science, too, behind traumatic memory and how it functions when attempting recall is itself incomplete. Our primary goal as investigators therein should be to stay abreast of the latest science, and resulting best practices for interviewing. Appreciating the nuances and the “unknowns” will lead to greater impartiality on our parts, and more complete, factual outcomes for our clients. As psychologist Chris Brewin raises, “Appreciation of the real nature of trauma memory is often crucial in legal settings [e.g., investigations], where there may be an incorrect expectation on the part of juries [or, investigators and decision-makers] that memories are invariably lucid, detailed, and complete. The findings also support the well‐documented instances of forgetting and subsequently recovering traumatic memories (Andrews et al., 1999; Dalenberg, 2006; DePrince et al., 2012).”
Do you need further expert guidance in trauma-informed investigations? Contact ILG Strategic Services today for expert trainings and in-house investigative insight!
[1] https://bbrfoundation.org/content/ptsd-trauma-memories-are-not-represented-brain-other-memories-study-suggests
[2] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4337233/