[Narration as a means of restoring self-coherency: Thoughts on processing traumatic experiences]

Traumatic memories are characterized by not being accessible to intentional recall nor being integrated into the matrix of autobiographical memory. Based on this description, the authors discuss the process of narration as a central means of regaining a sense of self-coherence after traumatic experiences. Formally correct narratives are characterized by three functions: orientation, reference and evaluation. Through so-called "memory talk" with socio-culturally competent partners, children learn how to reconstruct memories and to represent experience by narration. It is therefore suggested that narratives are the basic ingredient of autobiographical memory. The process of re-establishing a sense of coherence after trauma relies on the capacity for coherent narration. The latter is often not possible with traumatic experiences.

We conducted a literature search in multiple databases for linguistic analyses of trauma narratives empirically correlating narrative style and posttraumatic psychopathology.

It is recommended that research in psychopathology and psychotherapy should take issues of language into account more systematically.