Implanting false memories of horrific events that never occurred is easy and frequently done by therapists. Hypnosis, guided imagery and visualization are unduly suggestive techniques that always contaminate memory. Recanting of childhood sexual abuse proves that the abuse never happened. Repressed memories are always true. If you think you were abused, you were.
Space permits brief discussion of only the two most central topics.
At the root of the debate is the question of whether repressed memory exists. Although courts and legislatures use the term repressed memory, the proper term is dissociative amnesia . The appearance in the DSM-IV indicates that the concept of repressed memory is generally accepted in the relevant scientific community. The burden of proof is on the minority school of thought to demonstrate that it is respectable, not on the majority to prove that it is right. Voluntary access to memories about the event is unavailable for a significant period of years.