For example, memories for any experiences that occur during the first few years of life are very unlikely to be consciously accessible in adulthood. Forgetting trauma is rareĮvidence shows that, in general, traumatic experiences are much more likely to be remembered than forgotten There are some exceptions to this generalisation.

In fact, there is no credible evidence for the operation of this psychoanalytic notion of repression and very strong evidence that the conditions under which therapy takes place are indeed ideal conditions for the generation of false memories. Such beliefs and practices are still commonly used both in the US and the UK. It is maintained that the only way to deal with these psychological problems is to recover the repressed memories and “work through them” guided by a skilled psychotherapist. They also believe that, although such memories can no longer be consciously accessed, they still exert a damaging influence, resulting in a wide range of common psychological problems including anxiety, depression, eating disorders and low self-esteem. The therapists involved typically believe that memories for traumatic experiences are automatically banished to the unconscious mind as a defence mechanism. Techniques to recover allegedly repressed memories can include hypnotic regression, guided imagery, and dream interpretation, and are based on certain notions of how memory works. (False memories are memories for events that are either grossly distorted or never took place at all.) But why are there such fears around these kind of therapies? In particular, it has been suggested that certain forms of therapy run a high risk of unintentionally generating false memories of sexual abuse. Recent media reports have raised questions over the therapy undergone by several people making allegations of historical sexual abuse against prominent public figures.