Trauma can have an extreme impact on someone’s memory and how they are able to recall specific memories. A crucial part of memory recall has to do with the level of encoding that takes place at the time of the experience. When it comes to traumatic experiences, your body has a tendency to automatically focus on doing what it takes to survive. That being said, the steps needed to properly encode details within memory are typically skipped over. Memory performance has been found to be negatively correlated with CAPS (Clinically Administered PTSD Scale) scores. Meaning, the higher someone falls on the PTSD scale, the worse their memory performance is. Because of this, people suffering from post traumatic stress disorder may often have trouble recalling specific details about the event that caused this stress. This difficulty in recall not only increases difficulty for clinicians to fully understand the cause of the client’s PTSD, but it also makes it more difficult to effectively treat this client’s disorder.

                  One of the many problems that memory and cognition has to do with the development of PTSD involves Freud’s concept of defense mechanisms such as repression and displacement. In this case, a military member who has experience traumatic events overseas may regress to repressing his experience overseas and therefor push these events out of his conscious memory. By doing so, the military member will continue to hold on to these memories but not be able to easily recall what happened. This form of defense mechanism may lead to the development of PTSD because the military member will continuously recall parts of those traumatic events in though he may not be able to recall every detail. This could happen in the form of flashbacks and nightmares that are focused on one specific moment of their time overseas. Instead of being able to cope with these emotions and memories, the military member is trapped in a cycle that will only continue to develop into worse conditions. Additionally, a common symptom associated with PTSD is a change in mood, cognition and an increase in aggressive behavior. This aggressive behavior is closely connected to displacement, a common defense mechanism in which individuals will satisfy an impulse with a substitute object. Many times, for people with PTSD, this object is anything that is within reach. This often makes it difficult for people with PTSD to transition back into their normal lives because they may become aggressive from the stimulation of even the slightest trigger.

                  In addition to memory and cognition effecting—and leading to the development of—disorders such as PTSD, the inability to recall details of traumatic events can have a direct impact on how effective treatment is for these individuals. If an individual can’t recall certain stimuli that may be causing their triggers, it is difficult to address the cause of the symptoms directly. A key concept of cognitive behavioral therapy is to identify thoughts related to the client’s symptoms and then manipulate these thoughts to create more positive behaviors and reactions. While addressing the associations that they military member with PTSD is consciously aware of can be an effective way to begin counseling, eventually, in order to help this military member transition back into civilian life, he will need to alter even the subconscious thoughts that may be related to the symptoms he is experiencing. Essentially, if a therapist can find the root cause of a problem, they are able to be much more effective and specific with their treatment options.