Repressed Memory

At first glance, The Myth of Repressed Memory seems like it might be an offensive read that denigrates the experiences of millions of abuse and incest survivors. Yet according to Elizabeth Loftus and Katherine Ketcham, the phenomenon of repressed memory is largely a myth. The authors' motives for writing The Myth of Repressed Memory seem noble enough on the surface: to retain the credibility of their professions and prevent the unnecessary traumatizing of clients who were never abused but who are instead duped into believing so. Yet the reader cannot help but wonder why Loftus and Ketcham are so adamant, almost angry, about the scores of stories related to repressed memory.

What Loftus and Ketcham describe in The Myth of Repressed Memory is disturbing; that psychologists routinely tell their patients that buried deep within their psyche is a sexual abuse memory that is causing their current state of...
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