A Sampling of Literature on False Memory: 1992-1998
By Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D.
Calof, David, (1995) Facing the Truth about False Memory. The Family Therapy Networker, Oct-Sept, p. 39 – 45:
The author reports on work with over 400 clients who were abused as children, and “very few could recall severe abuse” during the initial history-taking. He states that suppression of traumatic memories of all kinds is common and that therapists should never assume abuse has taken place and it is not necessary for therapists to track down the details of possible abuse. He discourages clients from pursuing lawsuits against abusers because of the emotional toll. He is aware that hypnotically recovered memories can be distorted and that a client’s testimony may be barred if it relies on memories recovered during hypnosis. He uses hypnosis to bring adult insights to bear on childhood perceptions. Hypnosis can help clients create positive expectations about their future coping skills, and for cognitive restructuring. Therapists can help abuse survivors by believing in the truth of their stories and helping them adjust to the current demands of daily life.
Gaines, Dorothy, (no year given—possibly 1998) False Memories: Truth or Confabulation? Interlink; Newsletter for Clinical Hypnotherapy. p. 5-6.
Dr. Gaines describes the False Memory Syndrome Foundation, established to support families wrongly accused of sexual abuse. False memories are usually the work of “impaired therapists.” At present, there are few bona fide studies to determine the prevalence of false memories or even how to distinguish false memories from real ones. Some “victims” are suing their “abusers” while recanters are suing their clinicians. Memory and recall are not fully accurate and clients can be highly suggestible, even in “waking states.” In some cases hypnosis can improve memory, but distortions can also occur. The author cites studies showing that people do repress traumatic memories of childhood, while other studies show that false memories are easily implanted by suggestion. Example: the McMartin Nursery School Case of 1984, in which much of the children’s testimony was later found to be false.
Jaroff, Leon, (1993) Lies of the Mind, Time Magazine, November 29, p. 52 – 59.
Repressed memory therapy is creating False Memories and thereby harming psychiatric patients, devastating families and intensifying a backlash against mental health practitioners. While childhood sexual abuse is widespread and under-reported, recovered memories, have reached “epidemic proportions” according to psychiatrist Paul McHugh, Chair of the Psychiatry Department at Johns Hopkins University. The author makes the case that lawsuits brought against maligned parents are like the witchcraft trials of the 17th century.
Many recovered-memory accusers have recanted and are now suing clinics and therapists; some recanters seek the assistance of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation. Mental health organizations are now addressing the issue. The article cites experts on both sides of the debate. False memories emerge from popular culture and misguided therapists. While some psychiatrists say that the increase of multiple personality disorder is evidence that childhood abuse is coming into the open, others say it is the overuse of a misdiagnosis. “Recovered memories” of satanic abuse are particularly bazaar and disconcerting; and many simply cannot be corroborated by any evidence.
Levin, Robert (no year given-- possibly 1998) Hypnosis and Memories. Interlink: Newsletter for Clinical Hypnotherapy. p. 7.
The author, an attorney, states that while therapists use hypnosis to help clients recover memories of abuse, testimony that emerges as a result of hypnosis can be disqualified in the courts. Judges are concerned about confabulation and false memory. There is also the problem that clinical records can be accessed by court order so that the judge “can determine if the client has been hypnotized.” Therapists should inform their clients that hypnotically retrieved memories may be inadmissible in court.
Loftus, Elizabeth, (1993) The Reality of Repressed Memories. American Psychologist, May, Vol. 48, No. 5, p. 518-537.
Loftus cites numerous research studies to dispel the myth that human memory is infallible and immune from distortion. Her work demonstrates that human memory is inherently subject to inaccuracy, fabrication, confusion and alteration. She argues that “repressed” memories of childhood sexual abuse may be entirely false, and the product of a therapist’s suggestion. “At this point, nobody can distinguish between false and real memories without collaboration.”
Ratican, Kathleen (1992) Sexual Abuse Survivors: Identifying Symptoms and Special Treatment Considerations. Journal of Counseling and Development, Sept.-Oct. Vol 71, p. 33 – 38.
The author described the symptoms of childhood sexual abuse, which include depression, anxiety, and somatization, guilt and shame, and issues with relationships and sexuality. Memories of the abuse are often repressed, as a result of dissociation from the trauma. Counselors can facilitate disclosure of the abuse and hypnosis may be helpful in recovering repressed memories. After disclosure, clients may have a need to deny the abuse, or feel guilty for having told the secret. Treatment goals and approaches are discussed.
Rubiner, Betsy, Memories Serve, In Court. USA Today, November 29, 1993.
This article points out that False Memory may be the case in the law suits emerging against Catholic Clergy with allegations of sexual abuse by priests. The author summarizes the controversy surrounding false memories of childhood abuse.
Wylie, Mary Sykes (1995) Trauma and Memory. The Family Therapy Networker,
Sept-Oct, p.18 – 28.
The author makes the case that since non-abused people forget ordinary happenings of daily life, it makes sense that some people would forget memories of early childhood abuse. She cites case studies of war veterans and concentration camp survivors showing that these people blocked out traumatic memories. Both amnesia and hypermnesia are characteristic of PTSD.
Wylie, Mary Sykes, (1995) The Shadow of a Doubt. The Family Therapy Networker, Oct-Sept, p. 18 – 28.
This article describes the trauma that occurs when adult children accuse their parents of childhood sexual abuse. The False Memory Syndrome Foundation is comprised of 4000 families who say they have been falsely accused of sexual abuse. Some have faced costly court proceedings and ostracism in their communities. The parents blame overzealous therapists. The book The Courage to Heal (Bass and Davis, 1988) has also been implicated in false memories. FMSF advocates state that memories of abuse are seldom repressed---and in fact, intrude relentlessly into victims’ lives. They claim that current estimates of childhood abuse are exaggerated and that social workers are given to over-reporting. They argue that not all childhood abuse causes mental illness, that most mental illness is the result of other factors, and that allegations of abuse are a way of blaming parents for one’s own irresponsible actions.
On the other hand, Christine Courtois, Director of the Center for Abuse Recovery at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington, D.C., and author of Healing the Incest Wound, points out that abuse victims often enter therapy without any memory of abuse, but for other stress-related problems. Some women recover their memories even without the help of a therapist or a book. She believes “traumatic memory is encoded differently than normal memory.” She is skeptical about laboratory research showing that false memory can be created by suggestion. She believes no therapist could implant the horror of abuse.
Yapko, Michael (1995) The Seductions of Memory. Family Therapy Networker, Oct-Sept, p. 31 – 37.
The author cites examples of how therapy clients can extrapolate False Memories from symptoms such as nightmares, depression, low-self-esteem, and failed relationships, coupled with the suggestions of an over-zealous therapist. False allegations of abuse can tear families apart and cause intense anguish. Some clients come to therapists with a suspicion of abuse, and then ask the therapist to help them verify it by “recovering” the memories. Yapko warns that therapists use cautious in this regard.
Yapko, a hypnotherapist, points out other therapists and the general public are ignorant and misinformed about the use of hypnosis in recovering memory. Memories recovered in hypnosis are not always accurate, and details are not evidence of reliability. Clients and therapists alike tend to latch on to a diagnosis of child abuse in attempts to understand “seemingly senseless” symptoms. Therapists are often in a quandary about the reliability of memory and should be cautious in their language and presuppositions.
Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D. is a Licensed Professional Counselor, writer, and speaker with a counseling and coaching practice in Springfield, Virginia, specializing in hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Her web site is www.engagethepower.com.