Trauma expert notes how relying only on Amber Heard's expressions of feelings can be confusing
Amber Heard will be telling the truth on the stand when she testifies against ex-husband Johnny Depp as trauma expert revealed that the way the actor showed emotions didn't indicate she was lying.
After the court ruled in Depp's favor in the highly publicized defamation case, a jury member told Good Morning America that Heard lost the case because she was not "credible."
However, trauma experts now caution against relying solely on how domestic abuse victims react when recalling their traumatic experiences because it can be misleading.
Kate Porterfield, a clinical psychologist in the Bellevue Hospital Program for Survivors of Torture, told Insider that domestic or sexual abuse survivors may appear frightened when recounting their experience, but then move quickly in an effort to quell the agitation. Can "flip" from.
"Thus, the person can then become flat, isolated and disconnected," Porterfield said. "All of this is difficult for a jury to understand because it seems counterintuitive that a person might look flat or maybe even be bored, or that a person would have difficulty remembering the details of something terrible that he or she went through."
Jim Hopper, a clinical psychologist and nationally recognized expert on psychological trauma, told the publication that it is natural for people to make judgments about how they have feelings.
"You're only human, so you can't help it," spilled the outlet. "The question is, what knowledge base do you have? If they were someone who was traumatized, would you be able to empathize with someone who might express that trauma in different ways?"
"When police officers and soldiers talk about their military experiences, they don't always convey a lot of emotion and they don't even want to talk to people who aren't there and don't understand," Hopper said. Told.
"People can experience and express all kinds of different emotions, and it can be very unique to the individual, and it can be unique to the context."
Hopper continued: "The courtroom was packed with Johnny Depp fans who were constantly directing massive animosity at Amber Heard and all of her witnesses."
"So it wasn't just one person really traumatized, and what would that look like? But, also, what it's like to remember your trauma in public, with a bunch of hostile people staring at you and making you look dirty the whole time. Is it?" he added.
Julie Rendelman, a criminal defense attorney and legal analyst, told Insider, "When I tell someone bad news, I actually laugh a little, right? Because I get nervous."
"Everyone has a different reaction, and so it's always terrifying to think that the jury will decide something based solely on what I or someone else feels, but it should be at least a factor for them when they Considering determining someone's credibility."