What Is Memory?

The What is Memory? information handout introduces clients to the three key processes of memory (encoding, storage, and retrieval) and can be used to highlight a specific memory process relevant to their difficulties.

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Professional version

Offers theory, guidance, and prompts for mental health professionals. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.

Client version

Includes client-friendly guidance. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.

Editable version (PPT)

An editable Microsoft PowerPoint version of the resource.

Overview

Memory difficulties are common and can result from stress, fatigue, aging, neurological disorders, or psychological conditions. For clients experiencing these challenges, psychoeducation about how memory works—specifically the processes of encoding, storage, and retrieval—can reduce distress and foster understanding. This handout introduces these core memory processes in a clear and accessible way. It can help normalize memory lapses, explain why they occur, and support therapeutic engagement by building clients’ insight and motivation. Clinicians can also use the resource to highlight a specific memory process relevant to a client's symptoms.

Why Use This Resource?

Understanding memory and how it operates is relevant for many clients. This resource can be used to:

Explain what memory is and how it works.
Educate clients on memory processes and potential causes of memory failures.
Normalize memory-related issues.

Key Benefits

Education

Explains how memory works.

Awareness

Helps clients recognize why and how they might experience memory difficulties.

Versatility

Applicable to clients with diverse neurological or psychological challenges.

Accessibility

Easy to understand.

Who is this for?

Neurological Disorders

Clients with stroke, traumatic brain injury, or progressive neurological conditions showing memory impairment.

Anxiety

Individuals struggling with working memory tasks due to anxiety.

Depression

Clients less able to recall positive memories due to mood disorders.

Cognitive Stress

Clients facing memory issues from stress, fatigue, or aging.

Integrating it into your practice

Identify

Use the handout to identify and explain specific memory processes relevant to the client’s condition.

Educate

Provide the handout as a source of psychoeducation to discuss the client's experiences and beliefs about memory.

Discuss

Use it as a discussion tool to explore underlying issues or misconceptions about memory.

Theoretical Background & Therapist Guidance

Memory is an essential cognitive function involving encoding, storage, and retrieval. The information is perceived, temporarily stored in short-term memory, and encoded for long-term storage. Memory can be explicit, involving episodic or semantic knowledge, or implicit, reflecting learned skills like riding a bike. The handout employs a "filing cabinet" metaphor to aid client understanding and is suitable for diverse applications, including neurological conditions. Practical use of memory, including retrieval practice, assists both healthy individuals and those with brain injuries, enhancing recall over time.

What's inside

Explanation of memory processes — encoding, storage, retrieval.
Simplified language and structure for clarity across diagnoses.
Uses the "filing cabinet" metaphor to concretize memory processes.
Suitable for a broad range of clients, including those with memory-impairing disorders.

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FAQs

Memory is the capacity to store and later retrieve information that has been experienced. It involves three processes: encoding, storage, and retrieval.

Retrieval practice, recalling information regularly, improves long-term memory retention, assisting both healthy individuals and those with brain injuries.

Memory issues can arise from stress, fatigue, anxiety, depression, neurological disorders, or age-related decline, impacting cognitive function.

The handout serves as a psychoeducational tool to normalize and explain memory processes, aiding client understanding and therapeutic engagement.

How This Resource Improves Clinical Outcomes

Using this handout can improve client outcomes by:

Providing clear, structured information on memory processes.
Enhancing client understanding and management of their memory issues.
Strengthening therapist-client discussions centered around memory-related issues.

References And Further Reading

Baddeley, A. D. (1997). Human memory: Theory and practice. Psychology Press.
Baddeley, A. (2013). Essentials of human memory (Classic edition). Psychology Press.
Craik, F. I., & Lockhart, R. S. (1972). Levels of processing: A framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 11(6), 671–684.
DeLuca, J. (2005). Fatigue, cognition and mental effort. In J. DeLuca (Ed.), Fatigue as a window to the brain (pp. 37–57). MIT Press.
Evans, F. A., Wong, D., Lawson, D. W., Withiel, T. D., & Stolwyk, R. J. (2020). What are the most common memory complaints following stroke? A frequency and exploratory factor analysis of items from the Everyday Memory Questionnaire-Revised. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 34(3), 498–511.
Levin, H. S., Amparo, E., Eisenberg, H. M., Williams, D. H., High, W. M., McArdle, C. B., & Weiner, R. L. (1987). Magnetic resonance imaging and computerized tomography in relation to the neurobehavioral sequelae of mild and moderate head injuries. Journal of Neurosurgery, 66(5), 706–713.
Linton, M. (1975). Memory for real-world events. In D. A. Norman & D. E. Rumelhart (Eds.), Explorations in cognition (pp. 376–404). W. H. Freeman.
Mathias, J. L., & Mansfield, K. M. (2005). Prospective and declarative memory problems following moderate and severe traumatic brain injury. Brain Injury, 19(4), 271–282.
Mateer, C. A., & Sira, C. S. (2006). Cognitive and emotional consequences of TBI: Intervention strategies for vocational rehabilitation. NeuroRehabilitation, 21(4), 315–326.
Moran, T. P. (2016). Anxiety and working memory capacity: A meta-analysis and narrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 142(8), 831–864.
Spaan, P. E., Raaijmakers, J. G., & Jonker, C. (2003). Alzheimer’s disease versus normal ageing: A review of the efficiency of clinical and experimental memory measures. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 25(2), 216–233.
Sumowski, J. F., Wood, H. G., Chiaravalloti, N., Wylie, G. R., Lengenfelder, J., & DeLuca, J. (2010). Retrieval practice: A simple strategy for improving memory after traumatic brain injury. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 16(6), 1147–1150.
Tulving, E. (1972). Episodic and semantic memory. In E. Tulving & W. Donaldson (Eds.), Organization of memory (pp. 381–403). Academic Press.
World Health Organization. (1993). The ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioural disorders. World Health Organization.