What are the historical origins of Repressed Memories?
The original methods associated with recovered memories originate with Sigmund Freud in 1897. He used both the suggestive methods of hypnosis and his “pressure technique” to induce scenes of childhood sexual abuse in 18 women who had no spontaneous account of this. Hypnosis involved the method of inducing a state of relaxation during which suggestions are made and imaginative processes encouraged. His “pressure technique” (which therapists may regard as a form of “body work” today) involved the placing of the hands on the head and asking the patient to state the first thing that comes to mind. If the “repressed memory” does not emerge, the process continues until it does. While it appears like a physical therapy, Freud wrote that his pressure technique was “the most convenient” method of applying “suggestion”. Following criticism from those who demanded evidence, Freud was to abandon these particular methods in favour of his talking cure of classical psychoanalysis. This revelation cam
