The Repressed Memories Debate: Science vs. Trauma Hype

Two psychologists critique the modern revival of ‘repressed memories’ and dissociative amnesia, arguing that trauma memories are not uniquely fragmented, recovered memories often reflect suggestion and misattribution, and that popular therapies lack robust evidence; they trace the memory-war’s history, critique van der Kolk’s claims, and highlight science-based counterpoints such as Michael Scheeringa’s work.