How can psychologists apply what they know about recalling repressed memories to help people?
Psychologists differ in their beliefs about the very notion of repressed memories. Many, most notably those with a psychoanalytic orientation, believe that traumatic memories can be repressed into the unconscious mind and influence our behavior without our awareness. Many others, most notably those who doubt the validity of psychoanalytic concepts, believe that there is no such thing as a repressed memory. Many critics fear that belief in repressed memories has led to an epidemic of adults claiming to suddenly recall repressed memories of childhood sexual and physical abuse that did not actually occur. This is an important issue, because we need to bring child abusers to justice while at the same time not accusing people of child abuse based on false memories.
