The articles and web sites linked from this page may include passionate advocacy for one position or the other of the controversy surrounding repressed memories of abuse and "false memory syndrome" - a condition that has not been accepted in the literature of helping professionals generally but was coined and made famous by the False Memory Syndrome Foundation. 

In the opinion of your Guide, advocates on both sides of the debate have something important to offer. I believe that children often do repress memories of trauma and, those who do, often recover some or all of the repressed memories years later. In many cases, some or all of the details of the recovered memories are historically accurate. However, memory can be suggestible. Sometimes, we fill in gaps in our memories to form what we believe fits the facts we know or have been told. It is unknown what percentage of recovered memories are historically accurate, particularly in every detail.

How does one determine whether a memory is accurate? That is not an easy question to answer and a question about which many experts disagree. My intent in selecting articles for this page is to present different points of view. I do not endorse every page that I have linked from this page (or my other Netlinks pages). 

It is my strongest recommendation that survivors who choose to read this section proceed with caution and keep in mind that anything you read about memories of abuse may be written by someone with a political or personal agenda. If you are feeling fragile or are easily triggered, I recommend avoiding these pages altogether. author's pages