Recovered memories

Certain psychological therapies purport to be able to restore forgotten or repressed memories, thus empowering patients with a knowledge of their past. In some cases, there is corroborative evidence for the truth of recovered memories; in other cases, the recovered memories may be totally unexpected and unsupported. In both cases, the exposure of these memories may be shattering for patients and their families. Opponents claim that such memories are usually caused by the suggestions of the therapists themselves, and call the recollection of such memories "false memory syndrome". Some patients, unwilling to accept their recovered memories as truth, for whatever reason, accuse their therapists of manipulation. The fear of such accusations inhibits therapists from assisting patients whose repressed memories may be genuine, and who could be helped by a recovery of those memories.

The idea of repressing memories was first explored by Sigmund Freud, who believed humans could remove unacceptable knowledge to the subconscious.

In both the USA and the UK people have taken therapists to court, claiming their family lives have been destroyed by fantasies planted by unscrupulous therapists.

1. In 1998 the British Royal College of Psychiatrists was divided on whether there was any evidence supporting the truth of memories that can be recovered only with the encouragement of a therapist.

1. One woman committed suicide after being told her memories were false.

1. Unethical practice of health professionals
2. Memory defects
3. Biased recall

1. Proliferation of litigation
2. False accusations

1. Sexual abuse
2. Repressed memories
3. Loss of memory due to torture
4. Hysterical expert assessment of potential crises
5. Hysterical epidemics

1. Perceptual category memory deficits
2. Paramnesia and confabulation
3. Age-related memory loss

1. Preventing false memory implantation
2. Implanting false memory
3. Being fallacious

1. Syndrome
2. Repression
3. Fallacy