Forensic Experiential Trauma Interview (FETI): A Conversation with the Brain

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Derrick Rich
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1 Forensic Experiential Trauma Interview (FETI): A Conversation with the Brain Sergeant Kevin Howdyshell Henrico Police Division Chrissy Smith Henrico County Commonwealth Attorney Victim / Witness 1

2 Forensic Experiential Trauma Interviews (FETI) A Conversation with the Brainstem 2

3 Forensic Experiential Trauma Interviews Investigation of sexual assault is unlike any other type of criminal investigation due to the uniquely intimate and invasive nature of crime Your victim is your crime scene. Therefore, the victim interview is one of the most important pieces of evidence that you will have in your case Mishandling the interview can irreparably damage your case 3

4 Trauma, Trauma, Trauma The assault experience is remembered in fragments but infused with intense emotion and recollections of sensations such as tastes, smells, and sounds. Some victims may become haunted by feelings and senses they know are related to the trauma, but have difficulty identifying the source of the feeling or sensation 4

5 Memory and Recall No one is a human video recorder When we recall an event that recall becomes our most recent memory Like a photograph when we take a photograph and look at it we most often do not recall most of the details in the original memory 5

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7 Memory What we can t recall, we invent Memory is designed to filter the world and discard what we deem irrelevant We tend to hone in on the details of the event called weapon focus we recall the grisly details of the weapon pointed at us, but we may not remember the robbers face or the other people in the store If our brains were perfect video cameras we would be paralyzed by information overload Funes, the Memorious 7

8 Blackout vs. Passout Blackout conscious & awake but does not record memory Passout losing consciousness Blackout consent is common defense 8

9 Prefrontal Cortex Chooses where you focus attention and thoughts Holds thoughts, memories, and other information in mind (so you can imagine alternatives to your present and past) Inhibits habits and automatic responses, including unhelpful ones Regulates emotions, including how strong they are, how long they last, and how you express them (or not) 9

10 Non-Traumatic Situations Top-down guidance of attention and thoughts: Your conscious goals for the situation and your values determine what you focus on and what you think, including problem solving Inhibition of inappropriate actions: Stopping yourself before acting on an unhelpful impulse, going too far down a wrong path 10

11 Non-Traumatic Situations Regulating emotions: Decreasing the intensity of your feelings; reducing their grip on how you perceive things, think, and act Reality testing: Checking out whether perceptions and beliefs about a situation are correct Error monitoring: Recognizing when your responses don t work 11

12 THE BRAIN DURING A SEXUAL ASSAULT 12

13 High Stress = Impaired Prefrontal Cortex Stress chemicals basically turn it off Old and primitive brain structures take control We can t Control our attention Remember our values Think logically Over-ride emotional reflexes or habits Evolutionary origins: Stop to think you re lunch 13

14 Traumatic Experiences: Assault or Combat Loss of prefrontal regulation: Chemicals from brain stem impair prefrontal cortex, turn it off Bottom-up attention: Automatically captured by anything dangerous or threatening Emotional reflexes: Amygdala-triggered automatic responses 14

15 Sexual Assault: PERPETRATOR Personal History Vast majority are repeat offenders: Have done it before, likely many times. It s rewarding even intoxicating. Thoughts and actions are planned, practiced even habitual. Brain During Assault Not traumatized or even stressed, unless victim fights fiercely Prefrontal cortex in control (even if driven by compulsion) Plan of action, with practiced strategies and tactics Focus on overcoming resistance, with threats and force, while engaging in habitual assault behaviors 15

16 Sexual Assault: VICTIM Personal History Not trained to detect signs of coming sexual assault or to resist May have childhood training from being verbally, physically and/or sexually dominated or abused May have child s emotional habits of responding and behaving Brain During Assault Shocked, fearful, overwhelmed, traumatized Emotional brain in control No prefrontal cortex thinking, problem-solving, etc. Attention and thoughts controlled by perpetrator s actions Emotional reflexes and habits, including based in childhood 16

17 Perpetrator vs Victim Not stressed Prefrontal cortex in control Thinking and behavior: Planned Practiced Habitual Terrified, overwhelmed Amygdala in control Attention and thoughts driven by perpetrator actions Behavior controlled by emotional reflexes and habits from childhood (incl. abuse) 17

18 Who will have memories of the assault that makes more sense? 18

19 Critical Incident Amnesia Memories may be selectively accessible Temporary loss of detailed memory about event Inability to provide coherent narrative but may have an emotional knowing of the event Aware of associated perceptions without being able to articulate the reasons for feeling or behaving a certain way May be interpreted as being untruthful about lack of memory Wait two sleep cycles for in-depth interview Allows brain to heal itself and will provide a more accurate account of what occurred 19

20 Evolved and Adaptive Responses of Brain and Body Freeze: Assess situation, avoid (more) attack Fight or Flight: Avoid (more) attack When flight is impossible and fight useless Dissociation: Protect from overwhelming sensations and emotions Tonic immobility: Last ditch attempt to avoid (more) attack or at least survive 20

21 Snake Video 21

22 Fight or Flight is misleading We evolved to freeze first, and then try to flee. Fighting happens when flight fails and even then, goal is fleeing from attacker. 22

23 Cops Video 23

24 Escape When There s No Escape When escape is, or appears, impossible the organism can respond with drastic and powerful self-preservation reflexes 24

25 Dissociation Disintegrated experience. The disruption of mental processes involved in memory or consciousness that are ordinarily integrated. Mental functions and processes, pieces and streams of experience that are normally associated that is, go together are disconnected, or dissociated. 25

26 Tonic Immobility Tonic immobility is characterized by pronounced verbal immobility, trembling, muscular rigidity, sensations of cold, and numbness or insensitivity to intense or painful stimulation (Marks, 1991) Tonic Immobility is induced by conditions of fear and physical restriction, although it can also occur in the absence of the latter, so the important aspect may be the perceived inability to escape (Heidt, Marx, & Forsythe, 2005) 26

27 Tonic Immobility Common in sexual assault and other traumas or assaults involving perceived inescapability and extreme fear/terror: ~33-50% Not a learned response Sudden onset, usually after failed struggle Sudden termination too, followed by more struggle or escape efforts Can last from seconds to hours Does not impair alertness or memory encoding 27

28 Tonic Immobility Serious traffic accident, assault or physical aggression, sexual assault, serious danger of losing their life, and potentially fatal disease 44.4% experienced significant immobility 11.4% experienced extreme immobility Which groups experienced more physical inability than any other? Sexual assault (Bados, et al., 2008) 28

29 The Brain in the Aftermath of Sexual Assault 29

30 Immediate Post-Assault Effects Disorganization, loss of control of mind and body Intrusive memories, nightmares Flashbacks: Reliving or reenacting experience Extreme emotions vs. numbing, dissociation Fear and hyper-vigilance vs. calm and denial Guilt, shame Shock, disbelief Irritability, angry outbursts Depression, suicidal thoughts, self-destructive acts Sleeplessness, fatigue Physical pain Hopper,

31 Post Assault Outward Adjustment Attempts to deny or minimize impact Rationalize why it happened, including self-blame Avoid reminders Continued fear, anxiety and depression Decreased intrusive memories and flashbacks Can easily return to crisis mode Increased or decreased ability to experience and express emotions about assault Develop some coping skills Hopper,

32 What Gets Encoded During Trauma Parts or fragments of experience deeply burned into memory Traumatic emotions Sensations processed as central details Not sequence of events Minimal or no words or narrative Hopper,

33 Paradigm Shift: Forensic Experiential Trauma Interview Acknowledge their trauma/pain/difficult situation What are you able to tell me about your experience? Tell me more about or that What was your thought process during this experience? What are you able to remember about the 5 senses What were your reactions to this experience Physically Emotionally What was the most difficult part of this experience for you? What, if anything can t you forget about your experience? Clarify other information and details after you facilitate all you can about the experience 33

34 Thank you! Kevin Howdyshell Chrissy Smith 34

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