A member asked:

What do you think about sexual abuse exisiting only in repressed memories?

8 doctors weighed in across 3 answers

Not true: This is a controversial topic. My experience has been that some sexual victims repress some memories (sometimes all memories) of the abuse, while others don't. The major problem in this area occurs when poorly trained (or overly eager) therapists work too hard to find "repressed" memories and encourage patients to fabricate memories of abuse from vague recollections.

Answered 10/3/2016

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Malignant therapy: During the 1990's especially, there was a school of often-amateur psychotherapy that focused on trying to get troubled people to remember "forgotten" sexual abuse. It was a mental-health disaster. If you or a loved one is offered this, run the other way. A better life comes from looking at the future, at the world outside, learning new skills, learning to love others rather than blaming & hating.

Answered 5/10/2016

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Possibly: The phenomenon has been abused, with totally unqualified "therapists" creating issues where none had previously existed. There is substantial evidence that repression of traumatic events occurs and these can be retrieved with psychotherapy. The purpose and utilization of such information should be the purview of a competent and experienced therapist, and not for the purposes of litigation.

Answered 5/10/2016

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