Lenore Terr

Last updated
Lenore C. Terr
Born1936 (age 8788)
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater University of Michigan
AwardsBlanche F. Ittleson Award, Agnes Purcell McGavin Award
Scientific career
FieldsPsychiatry

Lenore C. Terr (born New York City, 1936) is a psychiatrist and author known for her research into childhood trauma. [1] Terr graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School with an MD. [1] She is the winner of the Blanche Ittleson Award for her research on childhood trauma. [2] Terr is noted for her work studying the after-effects of the 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping on the 26 children who were buried alive for 16 hours after being kidnapped from a bus. [3]

Contents

Too Scared To Cry

Terr's book Too Scared to Cry (Basic Books, 1990) is divided into four parts focusing on childhood psychic trauma: emotions, mental work, behavior and treatment and contagion. The book describes several cases that illustrate the problem of children's statements and behaviors that are based in factitious traumatic events. Terr concludes children who suffered trauma before the age of three years are rarely able fully describe it verbally, instead reenacting events behaviorally. Terr draws on her interviews and follow-up with the victims of the 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping and with a number of similar children from surrounding towns, used as a control group. Lastly, Terr notes the distinction between a single, sudden traumatic event which is accessible to verbal remembering, versus repetitive or prolonged trauma that severely compromises accurate verbal recall.

Repressed memory theory

Terr has been actively involved in advocating the psychological theory of repressed memory, a controversial proposition which asserts people can recall memories which have been repressed, frequently because of trauma. According to the theory, the memory can be suddenly recalled through visual or auditory stimuli and psychological therapeutic treatment. Terr was the primary expert witness for the prosecution in the criminal case of People v. Franklin (1990)wherein George Thomas Franklin was convicted by a jury in 1990 for the homicide of nine-year-old Susan Nason, a murder that took place more than 20 years previously near Foster City, Calif. The prosecution and ultimate conviction was based solely upon the supposed recovered memory of Franklin's daughter, Eileen, who alleged she witnessed the murder and then for some reason repressed the memory for 21 years before suddenly recovering the memory of the murder and then reporting her recollection of the incident to the San Mateo County, Calif., sheriff's department. Terr was the prosecution's expert witness to support the theory of repressed memory and its corresponding recovery, which was instrumental in the conviction of Franklin. [4] The conviction was later reversed by a federal appeals court, partially because so-called repressed memory is not acceptable as a contributing factor to conviction in a criminal proceeding. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] George Franklin was later exonerated by DNA evidence collected at the crime scene, casting further doubt on the use of repressed memories in criminal trials. [10]

Terr was also the chief witness of the defense in the Gary Ramona trial. [11]

Personal life

In 1937, when she was just one year old, Lenore's parents Sam and Esther Cagen moved with her to Cleveland, Ohio, where she grew up and continued to live until 1957, when she married Abba Terr, a successful allergist, whom she met in 1953 while Lenore was an undergrad and her husband Abba was in medical school.

In 1962, Lenore and Abba moved to Ann Arbor and shortly thereafter had their first child, David, who now holds a doctorate degree in advanced mathematics and is teaching math in Las Vegas. Their second child, Julia, was born the following year and became a successful artist and film maker. Julia died in a tragic car accident in 2009, at age 45.

Lenore and Abba now live in San Francisco, where they have lived since 1970.

Awards

Works

Scientific publications

Books

Related Research Articles

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a person's life or well-being. Symptoms may include disturbing thoughts, feelings, or dreams related to the events, mental or physical distress to trauma-related cues, attempts to avoid trauma-related cues, alterations in the way a person thinks and feels, and an increase in the fight-or-flight response. These symptoms last for more than a month after the event. Young children are less likely to show distress, but instead may express their memories through play. A person with PTSD is at a higher risk of suicide and intentional self-harm.

Repressed memory is a controversial, and largely scientifically discredited, psychiatric phenomenon which involves an inability to recall autobiographical information, usually of a traumatic or stressful nature. The concept originated in psychoanalytic theory where repression is understood as a defense mechanism that excludes painful experiences and unacceptable impulses from consciousness. Repressed memory is presently considered largely unsupported by research. Sigmund Freud initially claimed the memories of historical childhood trauma could be repressed, while unconsciously influencing present behavior and emotional responding; he later revised this belief.

Dissociation is a concept that has been developed over time and which concerns a wide array of experiences, ranging from a mild emotional detachment from the immediate surroundings, to a more severe disconnection from physical and emotional experiences. The major characteristic of all dissociative phenomena involves a detachment from reality, rather than a false perception of reality as in psychosis.

Schizotypal personality disorder, also known as schizotypal disorder, is a cluster A personality disorder. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) classification describes the disorder specifically as a personality disorder characterized by thought disorder, paranoia, a characteristic form of social anxiety, derealization, transient psychosis, and unconventional beliefs. People with this disorder feel pronounced discomfort in forming and maintaining social connections with other people, primarily due to the belief that other people harbor negative thoughts and views about them. Peculiar speech mannerisms and socially unexpected modes of dress are also characteristic. Schizotypal people may react oddly in conversations, not respond, or talk to themselves. They frequently interpret situations as being strange or having unusual meanings for them; paranormal and superstitious beliefs are common. Schizotypal people usually disagree with the suggestion that their thoughts and behaviors are a 'disorder' and seek medical attention for depression or anxiety instead. Schizotypal personality disorder occurs in approximately 3% of the general population and is more commonly diagnosed in males.

Psychological trauma is an emotional response caused by severe distressing events that are outside the normal range of human experiences. It must be understood by the affected person as directly threatening the affected person or their loved ones with death, severe bodily injury, or sexual violence; indirect exposure, such as from watching television news, may be extremely distressing and can produce an involuntary and possibly overwhelming physiological stress response, but does not produce trauma per se. Examples include violence, rape, or a terrorist attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Loftus</span> American cognitive psychologist

Elizabeth F. Loftus is an American psychologist who is best known in relation to the misinformation effect, false memory and criticism of recovered memory therapies.

Depersonalization-derealization disorder is a mental disorder in which the person has persistent or recurrent feelings of depersonalization and/or derealization. Depersonalization is described as feeling disconnected or detached from one's self. Individuals may report feeling as if they are an outside observer of their own thoughts or body, and often report feeling a loss of control over their thoughts or actions. Derealization is described as detachment from one's surroundings. Individuals experiencing derealization may report perceiving the world around them as foggy, dreamlike, surreal, and/or visually distorted.

Elissa Panush Benedek is an American psychiatrist specializing in child and adolescent psychiatry and forensic psychiatry. She is an adjunct clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical Center. She served as director of research and training at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Ann Arbor for 25 years and was president of the American Psychiatric Association from 1990 to 1991. She is regarded as an expert on child abuse and trauma, and has testified in high-profile court cases. She also focuses on ethics, psychiatric aspects of disasters and terrorism, and domestic violence. In addition to her own books, book chapters, and articles, she has collaborated with her husband, attorney Richard S. Benedek, on studies of divorce, child custody, and child abuse.

Dissociative disorders (DDs) are a range of conditions characterized by significant disruptions or fragmentation "in the normal integration of consciousness, memory, identity, emotion, perception, body representation, motor control, and behavior." Dissociative disorders involve involuntary dissociation as an unconscious defense mechanism, wherein the individual with a dissociative disorder experiences separation in these areas as a means to protect against traumatic stress. Some dissociative disorders are caused by major psychological trauma, though the onset of depersonalization-derealization disorder may be preceded by less severe stress, by the influence of psychoactive substances, or occur without any discernible trigger.

Susan A. Clancy is a cognitive psychologist and associate professor in Consumer behaviour at INCAE as well as a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University. She is best known for her controversial work on repressed and recovered memories in her books Abducted and The Trauma Myth.

Recovered-memory therapy (RMT) is a catch-all term for a controversial and scientifically discredited form of psychotherapy that critics say utilizes one or more unproven therapeutic techniques to purportedly help patients recall previously forgotten memories. Proponents of recovered memory therapy claim, contrary to evidence, that traumatic memories can be buried in the subconscious and thereby affect current behavior, and that these memories can be recovered through the use of RMT techniques. RMT is not recommended by professional mental health associations. RMT can result in patients developing false memories of sexual abuse from their childhood and events such as alien abduction which had not actually occurred.

Louis August Gottschalk was an American psychiatrist and neuroscientist.

The trauma model of mental disorders, or trauma model of psychopathology, emphasises the effects of physical, sexual and psychological trauma as key causal factors in the development of psychiatric disorders, including depression and anxiety as well as psychosis, whether the trauma is experienced in childhood or adulthood. It conceptualises people as having understandable reactions to traumatic events rather than suffering from mental illness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self-destructive behavior</span> Behaviours that are harmful to the individual engaging in them

Self-destructive behavior is any behavior that is harmful or potentially harmful towards the person who engages in the behavior.

Childhood trauma is often described as serious adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Children may go through a range of experiences that classify as psychological trauma; these might include neglect, abandonment, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and physical abuse, witnessing abuse of a sibling or parent, or having a mentally ill parent. These events have profound psychological, physiological, and sociological impacts and can have negative, lasting effects on health and well-being such as unsocial behaviors, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and sleep disturbances. Similarly, children whose mothers have experienced traumatic or stressful events during pregnancy have an increased risk of mental health disorders and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transgenerational trauma</span> Psychological trauma

Transgenerational trauma is the psychological and physiological effects that the trauma experienced by people has on subsequent generations in that group. The primary modes of transmission are the uterine environment during pregnancy causing epigenetic changes in the developing embryo, and the shared family environment of the infant causing psychological, behavioral and social changes in the individual. The term intergenerational transmission refers to instances whereby the traumatic effects are passed down from the directly traumatized generation [F0] to their offspring [F1], and transgenerational transmission is when the offspring [F1] then pass the effects down to descendants who have not been exposed to the initial traumatic event - at least the grandchildren [F2] of the original sufferer for males, and their great-grandchildren [F3] for females.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prolonged grief disorder</span> Medical condition

Prolonged grief disorder (PGD), also known as complicated grief (CG), traumatic grief (TG) and persistent complex bereavement disorder (PCBD) in the DSM-5, is a mental disorder consisting of a distinct set of symptoms following the death of a family member or close friend. People with PGD are preoccupied by grief and feelings of loss to the point of clinically significant distress and impairment, which can manifest in a variety of symptoms including depression, emotional pain, emotional numbness, loneliness, identity disturbance and difficulty in managing interpersonal relationships. Difficulty accepting the loss is also common, which can present as rumination about the death, a strong desire for reunion with the departed, or disbelief that the death occurred. PGD is estimated to be experienced by about 10 percent of bereaved survivors, although rates vary substantially depending on populations sampled and definitions used.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ver Berkmoes, Ryan (June 4, 1991). "Can you outgrow childhood trauma?". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 2019-10-12.
  2. "About Lenore Terr, M.D. ~ Adult and Child Psychiatry". Archived from the original on 2009-04-19.
  3. Timnick, Lois (October 21, 1990). "Coping With Trauma's Fallout : TOO SCARED TO CRY: Psychic Trauma in Childhood By Lenore Terr (Harper & Row: $21.95; 372 pp.)". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2019-10-12.
  4. McLean, Harry H. (1993). Once Upon a Time: A True Story of Memory, Murder and the Law . New York: Harper Collins. ISBN   9780060165437. OCLC   27265335.
  5. Los Angeles Times http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/george-thomas-sr-franklin
  6. Franklin v. Duncan Court Order https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3066228776991890480
  7. Repressed Memory versus False Memory: Going to Court. Library Index. http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/1437/Repressed-Memory-Versus-False-Memory-GOING-COURT.html
  8. Victims of the State: George Franklin. http://www.victimsofthestate.org/CA/Franklin.htm
  9. Franklin v. Fox, Murray, et al. 312 F2d 423. Justia U.S. Law. http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/312/423/608793/
  10. "George Franklin - National Registry of Exonerations". www.law.umich.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
  11. Smolowe, Jill (23 May 1994). "Dubious Memories". Time. Archived from the original on 21 April 2008. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
  12. Liu, Howard Y.; Hilty, Donald (2019). Professional Development for Psychiatrists, An Issue of Psychiatric Clinics of North America, Ebook. Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 365. ISBN   9780323661072.
  13. "APA Council Reports". American Journal of Psychiatry. 169 (2): 229–236. February 2012. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2012.169.2.229.