repressed memories

[PAS]

Was poking around on a few places on the malesurvivors only thread... and this was posted in response to a question about "what stopped you from telling"...

In my head, I really do think I have this inner criminal defense attorney asking, "Sean, how can you say these things about your stepdad if you can't even remember EXACTLY what he did?" Or "Sean, you mean to tell me that you 'recovered' these memories in therapy? If this really happened, you would have remembered it from the beginning, don't you think?"

I just felt like I wanted to try and provide some support on this... since I respect the wish for partners NOT to post on the malesurvivor only forum, - I put my response on this forum instead.

I just want to say to the poster or anyone else that reads this that I might have something that might help ease the mental "courtroom"...

While I'm not a psychologist, I have suffered from depression and other issues related to my own traumatic/violent psychological/emotional/ verbal abuse history that has spanned several decades...

In my own recovery I have read many professional psychological articles that conclude that the brain DOES indeed split off very traumatic events from conscious awareness as a means to protect the survivor, and the memories can sometimes return many years or decades later.

Unfortunately, there were and still are are still many in the legal system, police, social services, etc. etc. who are just not not "in the know" about how the mind works, and/or continue to use old, lame arguments that challenge repressed memories. I just wish that this type of challenge/argument in a courtroom could be outlawed - surely we're much more enlightened in 2004 on this subject... anyone can pick up a psychology 101 textbook in any college bookstore and read up on repressed memories.

I bet many a rape/SA/abuse/assault trial today often uses psychologists as "professional resources" who can attest to the fact that repressed memories are a common result of trauma of MANY kinds, and the fact that a victim might be coming forward years or decades later does NOT mean that this never happened.

I dunno why I felt compelled to put this on here. Maybe I feel like I'm kind of regressing at the moment in my own relationship with my fiance and I felt the compulsion to redirect that futile, stagnant energy towards trying to help someone else who might be suffering with the effects of abuse.....

Dont know this post did any good, but... I tried.

P

 

[Lloydy]

whichever side of this debate wins in the end, the side effect is exactly the one you quoted there SAR.
We read about the cases where "expert witness" are used to either discredit or justify someones 'beliefs' and we then get insecure about our our own memories, As Sean posted

I have this inner criminal defense attorney

who does us NO favours.

It's a BIG debate, but this aspect is largely forgotten.

Dave

 

[PAS]

I am wondering though if in some cases nowadays expert witnesses are also used to CREDIT the existence and validity of repressed memories?? Do psychologists often testify in this regard??

There's certainly a lot of literature that supports their existence and validity, at least this knowledge might help to support the survivor.. I dont know.. twas indeed just a thought.

Anyhow, I'm mostly mulling this over in light of the fact my fiance's perp is being investigated as a result of a case that my fiance brought forward.. case will likely go to a hearing within 12 months... I dont know if repressed memories are an issue with his case or not (I dont have all details).


P

 

[Lloydy]

PAS
I'm sorry I got you mixed up wit SAR, but to us dyslexics it easily done

If you haven't read some of the works by Loftus, then it's a good place to look.
She's equally belived and disbelieved by each party in this argument, but you can't seem to escape the fact that she's respected for her work.

https://faculty.washington.edu/eloftus/

Dave

 

[Lloydy]

Another good article on this difficult subject from the excellent HAVOCA ( UK Survivors ) web site.

https://www.havoca.org/Articles/art%20Backlash%20A%20Look%20at%20the%20Abuse-Related%20Amnesia%20and%20Delayed%20Memory%20Controversy.htm

Dave

 

[Caetel]

I can testify that I am one of those survivors who suffered from repressed memories (and still suffering). 21 years after the last traumatic abuse, I "remembered"; I was not in therapy, I had used neither hypnosis or EMDR. Stuff just came flowing into consciousness. The most horrible memory that resurfaced last year was so violent that I understood how I survived: splitting myself in two, leaving my body, escaping the trauma by litterally floatting above my body. I am not too keen on actually getting all of the memories back because the pain is beyond words, too overwhelming for my body or my brain to bear.
All therapists working in the traumatic field know that, unfortunately there are still a lot of ignorance out there.
I can recommend this very good book :
"Repressed memories: a journey to recovery from sexual abuse" by Renee Frederickson
I have learnt in therapy to work on a lot of things outside the memories themselves and it worked ! I also intend to use all these "other" elements in court.
With all my love and support for those of you struggling right now
Caro