Return of the Furies: An Investigation Into Recovered Memory Therapy - Softcover

Wakefield, Hollida

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0812692721 ISBN 13: 9780812692723

Publisher: Open Court, 1999

Synopsis

Recovered memory therapy, which has become a rapidly-growing industry in the past ten years, is based on the controversial theory that adults often suffer emotional problems because of forgotten childhood traumas. People who experience everyday difficulties like anxiety of overeating are now often told by therapists that the root of their trouble is a 'repressed memory' of abuse in childhood. The cure is to bring back the memory - a process that usually takes many months - and then publicly humiliate the alleged perpetrators of the abuse, most often the victim's parents. But are the supposed memories recovered in therapy genuine? Or are they concocted by therapists and clients in the course of therapy? Attempts to find independent corroboration of recovered memories have drawn a blank. Contrary to folklore, there is not a shred of scientific evidence for the notion that a memory can be repressed, and there is plenty of evidence that false memories can be created.

About this title

Synopsis

Recovered memory therapy, which has become a rapidly-growing industry, claims that adults often suffer emotional problems because of forgotten childhood traumas. People who experience difficulties like anxiety or overeating are now often told by therapists that the root of their trouble is a "repressed memory" of abuse in childhood. The cure is to bring the memory back to the surface - a process that may take many months - and then to confront and publicly humiliate the alleged perpetrators of the abuse, most often the victim's parents. But are the supposed memories recovered in therapy genuine? Or are they inadvertently concocted by therapists and clients in the course of therapy? Attempts to find independent corroboration of recovered memories have drawn a blank. Contrary to folklore, there is not a shred of evidence for the notion that a memory can be repressed, and there is plenty of evidence that false memories can be created. Wakefield and Underwager have studied recovered memory therapy thoroughly and have become recognised as its leading critics.

In "Return to the Furies", they give a comprehensive analysis of this new witch-hunting craze, in all its ignorance, irrationality and cruelty. Their work is founded on a thorough grasp of competent research, some of it the authors' own. It presents a new and fascinating account of the backgrounds and motivations of recovered memory therapists; documents the appalling human suffering inflicted by these therapists and their gullible clients; explains what is known about the actual working of human memory; identifies financial and other ulterior motives for false accusations of sexual abuse; reveals the striking differences between typical true cases of sexual molestation and typical bogus accusations; and gives specific, detailed advice on how to tell competent therapists from dangerous ones.

Edition details

• Publisher: Open Court
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0812692721
• ISBN 13: 9780812692723
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 419