Recovered Memories of Child Sexual Abuse: Psychological, Social, and Legal Perspectives on a Contemporary Mental Health Controversy (American Series in Behavioral Science and Law)

The media typically portray the controversy over recovered memories as a battle between two camps, one claiming that all recovered memories are true and the other claiming that all are false. This book attempts to present a more balanced view of seven scientists, clinicians, and scholars who have studied the controversial issue of recovered memories of sexual abuse from a variety of perspectives. They discuss the history of the recovered memory phenomenon, the social factors that contributed to its development, the issues that face clinicians whose patients report memories of past abuse, the data obtained from scientific studies on memory and memory distortion, and the ways in which the legal system has dealt with claims based on recovered memories of abuse. Major topics include: the False Memory Syndrome Foundation; a historical, scientific view of the recovered memories controversy; clinical aspects of recovered memory; repression, dissociation and the human stream of consciousness; discovered memories and the ³delayed discovery doctrine;² recovered memory experiences; and recovered memories in the courts. This most timely book will appeal to not only all mental health professionals but also to social workers, attorneys, judges, and others who seek an up-to-date reference point in the journey to understand ³recovered memory² and how society can come to deal with it.