Recovered vs. False Memories

Presented by: Luise Liebig

November 1st, 2005

The Debate “Debate centers on the question of whether

many clients are amnesic for histories of CSA and whether memory work (techniques used to recover suspected hidden histories of childhood traumas) can lead people who were not sexually abused as children to believe that they were.” (Lindsay, D. S., Read, J. D.)

Historical Background Late 19th century: Hysteria Sigmund Freud vs. Pierre Janet 1950: Kinsey’s research Late 1970’s: Women’s movement 1980: Viet Nam war and PTSD Research on Dissociative Disorder

Recovered Memories Symptoms of sexual child abuse (CSA)

Posttraumatic stress Emotional effects Self-perception Physical effects Sexual effects Interpersonal relations and functioning Social effects and functioning

Recovered Memories CSA victims and psychological disorders Seek treatment Recovery of memory of CSA Use of defense mechanisms to cope with

trauma leads to interference in memory processes

Evidence 33% of women with CSA history 50% of victims without conscious memory Victims are very likely to seek treatment Memory research What role does therapist play in induction of

memory?

False Memories No established guidelines for memory work Techniques used to recover memories Percentage of victims that experienced

repeated, incestuous CSA

Evidence Core of highly salient events tend to be well

remembered Criteria for “diagnosing” CSA Reliability of therapists Patients’ openness to suggestion Bernheim (1884/1889), Loftus (1993) How valuable is recovery of memories?

Graduate Studies Elizabeth F. Loftus, Ph.D.

University of California, Irvine – Human Memory Ph.D. in Psychology and Social Behavior

Karmen Bleile, Ph.D. Acadia University – Attention and Memory Honours Degree in Psychology

Carole Peterson, Ph.D. Memorial University – Children’s memory for stressful

events

References Alpert, J. L., Brown, L. S., & Courtois, C. A. (1998). Symptomatic Clients And

meories Of Childhood Abuse: What the Trauma and Child Sexual Abuse Literature tells us. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 4 (4), 941-995.

Courtois, C. A. (2001). Commentary on “Guided Imagery and Memory”: Additional Considerations. Journal of Counselling Psychology, 48 (2), 133-135.

Farrants, J. (1998). The “False Memory” Debate: a critical review of the research on recovered memories of child sexual abuse. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 11 (3), 229-238.

Lindsay, D. S., & Read, J. D. (1995). Memory Work And Recovered Memories Of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Scientific Evidence and Public, Professional, and Personal Issues. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 1 (4), 846-908.

Madill, A., & Holch, P. (2004). A Range of Memory Possibilities: The Challenge of the False Memory Debate for Clinicians and Researchers. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 11, 299-310.

Rosen, G. M., Sageman, M., & Loftus, E. F. (2004). A Historical Note on False Traumatic Memories. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60 (1), 137-139.