Bad memories

摘要

As the scale of historical sexual abuse perpetrated by British celebrities and politicians becomes clearer, another scandal may be brewing. Recovered-memory therapy - claimed to be able to draw out suppressed memories of childhood trauma -is in danger of rearing its ugly head and undoing much of the progress that has been made towards transparency and closure (see page 8). There is no specific allegation that any new claim of abuse has been precipitated by memories regained as a result of this therapy. But memory researchers are concerned. A surprising number of practitioners in the UK still use recovered-memory therapy, and as more people come forward with claims of historical abuse, there is a danger that people will become victims of a different kind.