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6th World Congress on
Mental Health, Psychiatry and Wellbeing
March 20-21, 2019 | New York, USA
The survivor experience:
Memory, identity, and
self-worth
Emma J. Heisler-Murray
Columbia University, USA
Introduction: With the growth of
recent movements like #metoo
and Time’s Up, sexual assault has
become a popular topic. While
awareness has increased, there is
still much more work to be done
within the field of psychological
research.
Objective: This study aims to
investigate the effects sexual
assault has on autobiographical
memory in relation to
survivorhood, PTSD, and
satisfaction with life.
Method: 45 female students at
Sarah Lawrence College ages 18-
24, recruited via online student
group postings, filled out an
online survey that assessed for
levels of PTSD, satisfaction with
life, significant autobiographical
events and memory
characteristics of traumatic and
non-traumatic experiences.
Results: PTSD is significantly
higher in survivors than in
non-survivors and survivors’
autobiographical memories are
significantly more vivid and have
more sensory details than those
of non-survivors.
Conclusion: These results
further support findings that
sexual assault is correlated with
PTSD diagnosis and memory is
significantly impacted by such
traumatic events. However, not
just traumatic memories, but
other forms of autobiographical
memory are impacted.
Biography
Emma J. Heisler-Murray is a recent graduate
of Sarah Lawrence College where she studied
cognitive psychology. She is now pursuing
her master’s degree in clinical psychology at
Teachers College, Columbia University where
she is concentrating in Sexuality, Women,
and Gender. She also works full time at
Weill Cornell Medical College where she is
a Research Assistant studying the impacts
of therapy on depression, suicidality, mild
cognitive impairment, and chronic pain. She
aspires to attain her Ph.D. in psychology in an
effort to launch a career in academia studying
feminist issues like sexual violence against
women. She hopes that one day her research
can impact policy in a way that betters the
treatment of survivors of intimate assault and
relationship abuse. In addition to her work in
academia, she has also been very involved in
advocacy work, volunteering for organizations
such as It’s On Us, One Love, and the National
Organization of Women.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EMERGENCYMENTAL HEALTH AND HUMAN RESILIENCE 2019, VOLUME 21
DOI: 10.4172/1522-4821-C2-029
SCIENTIFIC TRACKS| DAY 1