Hypnosis and the elicitation of true and false memories of childhood sexual abuse

Abstract

The False Memory Syndrome (FMS) has continuity with earlier conceptualizations of erroneous recall, most notably confabulation. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it pertains to purportedly repressed memories of sexual abuse during childhood, “retrieved” much later, but which are erroneous. A recent Canadian case of FMS is first described in an attempt to illustrate the problem. Reasons for calling it a syndrome are then examined; it is concluded that a syndrome can be defined in terms of the procedures that are utilized to elicit a particular phenomenon — in this case, a false memory of sexual abuse. The paper proceeds to examine the main issues involved in employing hypnosis as a memory recovery technique within the context of therapy. It concludes with some recommendations for future research; in particular, it focuses upon the development of procedures that may assist in differentiating true and false reports of incest and paedophilia.