Twenty-six had 'recovered' a memory of abuse through therapy. It appears that in these cases, recovery and abreaction had serious adverse effects. For more information about the results of this study, read this summary written by Paul Simpson, Ph.D., a former regression therapist and the author of Second Thoughts . The problem following most forms of trauma is an inability to forget, rather than a complete expulsion from awareness, and amnesia for violent events is rare. A growing body of research indicates that partially or completely inaccurate memories are not uncommon.
Memory is vulnerable to suggestion.
Suggestibility and confabulation increase with the length of time between the event and later attempts to recall it. Repeated questioning over time and the authority of the questioner also heighten suggestibility. Memories recalled under hypnosis are recognised to be so unreliable that they are no longer admitted as legal testimony. Of concern is the extent to which people who elicit and report such memories appear to believe them despite their quasi-delusional nature. The encouragement of reverie and imagery of various kinds readily produces trance-like states.