Memory
Updated 01/08/2007
Human Memory and its Improvement
False Memory and Recovered Memory Therapy
Abuse-Excuse.com A father who wrote a book about being falsely accused provides "resource information and more to parents and others unjustly accused of child abuse, physical child abuse (including Shaken Baby Syndrome), child neglect, sexual child abuse, child pornography via the Internet, "repressed" memories, sexual harassment, or domestic violence (spousal abuse)."
- The Candy Cane and the Bear By Deborah David. After recovering from recovered memory therapy, Ms. David agrees with Freud's controversial conclusion: recovered memories of sexual abuse (if they involve memories not present before "recovery") are confabulations
- Criminal Charges Filed in Recovered Memory Case
- Discrediting the False Memory Syndrome Foundation A collection of links to articles attacking the False Memory Syndrome Foundation and the very idea of false memory, dedicated to genuine abuse victims who find themselves accused of false memory syndrome
- False Memory Foundation Organization founded by accused parents, now with many scientific allies, arguing that skepticism is warranted when evidence for recovered memories is lacking
- Falsely Accused Carers and Teachers A site for those falsely accused of abuse
- The Myth of Satanic Ritual Abuse
- Recovered Memories of Sexual Abuse: Scientific Research and Scholarly Opinion Huge resource page by a therapist who works with abuse victims. Explicitly does not address bad therapy or memory distortions, focuses on those cases in which abuse was genuine.
- Recovered Memories A collection of statements about recovered memory from professional psychology organizations, all supporting the False Memory Foundation position
- StopBadTherapy.com A web site which argues strongly against Recovered Memory Therapy. Many good links.
- U-turn on Memory Lane Columbia Journalism Review article attacks False Memory Foundation, its founders and supporters
- Who Abused Jane Doe? A famous case which supposedly documented the reality of recovered memory is re-analyzed and found lacking.
After assembling these links in 2004, I can see that this Recovered Memory/False Memory controversy is still going strong after two decades. As I have been telling my students for years, one must maintain a delicate balancing act to be realistic about this issue. Children are abused, people sometimes do dissociate from the memory until it comes back to them later...but not very often...and false memories do occur. The only rational approach is to avoid simplistic thinking on this issue and pursue objective evidence whenever possible. --Russ Dewey
Write to Dr. Dewey at psywww@gmail.com.
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