Earliest Childhood Memories: Volume 1: Theory and Application to Clinical Practice

How is a sense of self formed from memory? It is difficult to conceptualize a psychology of the self without memory serving as the foundation. Earliest Childhood Memories provides a structure and a theory by which this question can be addressed. Cognitive-Perceptual Theory is the only personality theory grounded on autobiographical memory. In addition, Cognitive-Perceptual Theory addresses how personal growth and personality affect memory organization.

When a personality change occurs, early memories change in a parallel manner to reflect the current world view (realign). The Early Memories Procedure (EMP), the first procedure to assess autobiographical memory, consists of five spontaneous early memories, a particularly clear or important memory (lifetime), fifteen directed memories of various types, several rating scales, and open-ended questions. The procedure assesses all major clinically relevant areas of autobiographical memory. The first non-edited book on early memories addressed to professionals, this volume will be of interest to analysts, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, school psychologists, and counselors.