The book carefully catalogs childhood sexual abuse memories for the reader as real or false, remembered all along or suddenly remembered. Then he focuses the book on methodically examining how memories, using techniques associated with "recovered memory therapy", may be created. The expectations and bias of the therapist is seen as important contributing factor to those who recall "false memories" (now classified as pseudo memories by the American Psychological Association). The therapist can implicitly, explicitly, overtly or covertly pose questions and images that assist the client in creating images that are nurtured into memories. The client's exposure to a casual conversation, media presentations or reading material with sexually explicit themes may suggest images and activities that can be nurtured into horrid pseudo memories.
A survey of more than at thousand professional colleagues revealed an amazing ignorance on a wide variety of pertinent factors relating to the creation of false memories. Shockingly counselors surveyed were unaware of the malleability of memory. They held erroneous views about hypnosis, repression and working memory and most admitted not verifying whether memories were a genuine experience at all. The impression, this reviewer has after reading the book, was that the therapists may actually not realize that they could be creating memories with covert and implicit suggestive questions and comments.
Dr. Yapko is an expert in hypnosis and proponent of using this skill to help clients with depression but he fully recognizes that hypnosis may make an already vulnerable client even more "suggestible" and with intentional or unintentional suggestive statements and questions the creation of "false memories" would be much more likely. Even if he still thinks some articulated "repressed memories" (now called dissociative amnesia) may be real he also recognizes that many of the memories may not be historically correct and that the consequences (legal, emotional and vocational) can be catastrophic for the accused as well as the accuser. Once the ways of suggesting abuse by therapists has been explained, and the survey of therapists reveals misconceptions about hypnosis and memory. He then reveals that practicing therapists, law enforcement interrogations and authors of "Self Help Therapy Books" have unquestionably nurtured false memories rather than uncovered actual "repressed memories" as believed.
In 1994 this book by a practicing therapist and researcher, who is an expert in hypnosis and believes in repressed memories showed incredible integrity and courage to speak out on "false memories" which he knew were being created by many untrained and uninformed therapists, counselors and friends using do it yourself therapy books. Yapko shares (on pg 17) "I have done therapy with accusers and the accused, spouses and siblings, friends and relatives...The stories people shared with me were intensely painful ones, of broken families, shattered lives, and overwhelming despair. They led me to write this book., one that I hope will provide both valuable information and support for people caught up in truly agonizing circumstances."
This expert who believes in repressed memories recognizes some of the limitations and questions that such a concept has:
"The truth is, we don't know very much about the repression of memories of trauma. We don't know how common repression really is. We don't now how authentic distant memories are that suddenly and dramatically surface in response to a lecture, a self help book, or a therapy session. We don't know whether repressed memories always exist where troubling symptoms are present...We don't know how to characterize the differences between repression and simple forgetting. We don't know from what age repression is even possible. We don't know if trauma makes a repressed memory less or more accurate...We don't know which techniques for recovering repressed memories will alter them in significant ways merely by using them. We don't know why some people repress a particular type of memory and other's don't. We don't know why in some people memories of traumatic events, known to exist in their backgrounds, never surface at all, while in others the memories eventually return. When there is so much we don't know, how can so many therapists be so assured in their belief that what they are doing is legitimate and therapeutic?" (pg 89)
He then discusses the reasoning used by recovered memory therapists (or whatever name they call themselves) to assert that the repressed memories exist:
"Many [therapists] admitted in their responses to my survey that they make little of no attempt to establish what is objectively true in a given case. In fact some therapists consider lack of evidence proof! No specific memories? Repression. No specific images? Denial. No clear recall? Avoidance. It is a very strange notion that the less you know, the more certain you should be, and particularly strange to find it wholeheartedly endorsed by experts."
An updated "Suggestions of Abuse" should be required reading for any aspiring "Counselor" or "Therapist". It lays out how careful one must be in working with vulnerable and highly suggestible clients (which is only magnified with medications today). The book does a great job laying out how "false memories" can be inadvertently created using poor counseling techniques and suggestive material (reading, videos etc) that may or may not be provided by a therapist.
Since this book was written "repressed memories" have been repeatedly debunked in peer reviewed academic studies. In addition "Rosanne Barre" who had just come out with repressed accusation in the book has publicly retracted 20 years later. A movie with repressed memories and multiple personalities was still depicted as "true" in 1994 (very popular in the 1980's) has been found to be a fake ("Sybil Exposed" by Debbie Nathan) and the therapist had a huge role in helping the client perpetrate to fake. Therapist induced "illness" has been increasingly recognized as a problem since 1992.
In Chapters 9 & 10 the encouragement to maintain communication and to keep the communication ongoing and as positive as possible is a good one. The caveat missing is that the accused must make sure they stay out of jail and retain their vocation. Sometimes the accusations must be denied publicly and recognized as not historically true in order to evade incarceration, loss of license or termination. It is so unfortunate that the accuser has made such a choice but jail and depletion of resources on legal appeals will not make things "happy" or "healed". I wish that this was recognized by the author. Many people, in seeking to keep the lines of communication open decide to remain neutral. They often become vulnerable to termination, prosecution and incarceration. It does happen in emotional and easy to win over jury cases like these. Everyone wants to side with the child even if the child is presently an adult.
The author also spends a considerable amount of time on persuading the accused and family members to get "good counseling". Given what I have learned from reading a number of books in this genre (over a dozen now) and having experienced being falsely accused I must say such advice seems rather self serving. My wife and I personally experienced being falsely accused. Our other 5 adult children and my sister were "recruited" and saw immediately through it all and so declined to get the suggested "counseling" or see the "therapist". We now think the suggestion of "counseling" to help some family members "recover repressed memories" may have been to develop "corroborating accounts" using this fraudulent and suggestive therapy. So given the experience and the many books we have read we have now concluded a counselor is the last person we want to see. No way to know if any counselor is truthful when he or she says "oh I would never plant a memory". All of us have learned the hard way. We may at some point have to go to a lawyer because reputations have been slandered and defamed with false information. That profession (legal) is not mentioned and I can not help but wonder why. I realize this is a personal reaction so I did not allow this to mitigate the rating of this book.
I do wish that some book would address what certainly is more common now than in 1994: How are are pseudo memories best extinguished and families best restored? That may need an entirely new book.
In the first section below I include OTHER REVIEWS where the reviewer reveals their identity. In the second section I highlight INTERESTING QUOTES with page numbers from "Suggestions of Abuse".
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Dr. Yapko exposed the illogical assumptions of therapists attempting to uncover so called repressed memories. By Amazon Customer on November 6, 2015 Verified Purchase
OTHER REVIEWS of "Suggestions of Abuse"
Excellent book concerning a disturbing time ( False Memory Scandal ) in the practice of hypnotherapy. This book will allow you to avoid the pitfalls of the past. Dr. Yapko was instrumental in exposing the illogical assumptions of many therapists using hypnotic methods to uncover so called repressed memories.
Excellent lay person's guide to the tragic world of 'Implanted False Memories'
By Patricia on April 28, 2013 Verified Purchase
This is an excellent lay person's guide for anyone who finds him/herself embroiled in the tragedy of implanted false memories of childhood sexual abuse. Michael Yapko is an excellent writer who explains it all with just enough detail to be able to clearly understand and connect the dots about how this all could happen to innocent people (our family). He even provides some very helpful suggestions as to what to do when false memories of abuse happen to you (a survivor) or to a loved one - whether you are the accused, the spouse of the accused, or a sibling of the accuser. I can't say enough good things about this book, and how much it has helped us understand our situation, after three very, very long years of trying to figure out what happened to our once loving kid with whom we were very close, to have him cut us and all of his past life off so abruptly and come to have such a drastic and sudden personality change. The experts with whom we've spoken thought the devastation caused by 'recovered memory therapy' gone awry disappeared twenty years ago, after books like this were published and after so many therapists guilty of the practice were sued by their patients. Our only regret is that it took us so long to find this book that is so 'dead on' and enlightening.
Honesty is the Best Policy
By William E. Gleason on January 26, 2014 Verified Purchase
We are having a problem in this world that has escalated to the point of harm. Money and fame over Truth and cop out over professionalism. Suggestions of Abuse is a revaluation book that exposes blatant unprofessional activity in the field of Mental Health. The is evidence that untrue thoughts are planted into patients minds that destroy lives, families and is a black mark on the professional mental health system. Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Councilors and some Hypnotists are exposed in this book. Dr. Michael Yapko is one of the brave to expose this travesty in the field of Mental Health. Do you have courage? Are you interested in the Truth? If so ; read this book and then do something positive. Send Dr. Yapko accolades and praise for his courage to step forward.
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INTERESTING QUOTES from "Suggestions of Abuse"A lethal false memory...
"He finally went to see a therapist for his problems, describing in detail his terrible experiences in Vietnam and his pervasive symptoms. He was diagnosed as suffering from "post-traumatic stress disorder" and was treated for severe depression, extreme guilt, and explosive anger. Treatment did not help quickly enough, however. Less that three years later, he ended his troubled life by inhaling carbon monoxide.
After his death, his widow attempted to get his name on the states Vietnam Memorial, declaring him a casualty of the war as surely as if he'd died overseas. His therapist wrote a letter in support of her petition. Only then was his background researched.
How could anyone have known that he had never been to Vietnam? Since she felt he was justifiably a casualty of war. An extensive search of the man's military record showed that he had never set a foot in Vietnam.
THIS IS A TRUE STORY. THE THERAPIST IN THIS CASE IS ONE OF MY most highly esteemed colleagues. His perplexing client's severe symptoms were associated with such specific memories that he never questioned whether the events themselves had actually occurred. The client's wife believed him. (wouldn't you?) Indeed from all the evidence, the client believed it himself. How could this have happened?
pg 15-16
Why the author wrote this book...
"I have done therapy with accusers and the accused, spouses and siblings, friends and relatives...The stories people shared with me were intensely painful ones, of broken families, shattered lives, and overwhelming despair. They led me to write this book., one that I hope will provide both valuable information and support for people caught up in truly agonizing circumstances."
pg 17
Why therapists harm...
"By locking memory into the child's passive, powerless point of view, therapy imprisons its patients in the painful past rather than releasing them from it. When we remember traumatically the violations and insults are revisited over and over again, and childhood does indeed become the hell from which there is no escape."
"Some will no doubt misinterpret my views, simply because I question the practice of those therapists who use influence unwittingly to create more victims. That they do so unwittingly is a key point of this book."
pg 21
The need for reason...
"The issues associated with child abuse are, understandably, very powerful and emotionally charged. For that reason, it is especially important to step outside a purely emotional framework and to seek a more distant and objective vantage point."
pg 28-29
Goals of the book...
"This book is concerned primarily with those cases in which allegations of abuse are made on the basis of memories that were recovered through the suggestions of the therapist. My goal is to serve as a voice of dissuasion that from jumping to the conclusion that abuse "must have" occurred."
pg 27
Important distinction about memories of abuse and concern...
"It is necessary to distinguish (1) those cases in which someone knows and has known all along that he or she was abused from (2) those cases in which someone independently remembers repressed memories from (3) those cases in which the therapist facilitates recall of repressed memories from (4) those cases in which a therapists suggests memories of abuse. I am concerned about the later phenomenon exclusively."
pg 31
Example of knee jerk diagnosis...
"She told me that she had called another therapist about her poor self esteem, and that the therapist-never having met her-told her that she must have been abused and should be hypnotized to find out when and how. It was not great insight born of therapy that led the therapist to offer such suggestions. It was foolishness of the worst sort, and I consider it tantamount to professional malpractice. Worse, this tendency toward knee jerk diagnosis has permeated the culture.
pg 32
No inner child...
"There is no inner child-it is simply a metaphor! But to millions its existence is now a 'fact' and dictates a way of life. That is a very effective use of suggestion."
pg 34
Cultural encouragement...
"Right now, or culture is encouraging us in may ways to identify ourselves as victims. When John Bradshaw proclaims that 96 percent of Americans grew up in dysfunctional families, nearly everyone gets to share the identity of 'abuse victim'.....nearly everyone can fit the mold. "
pg 37
Therapy fads...
"During the time I have been in practice I have seen many diagnostic and treatment fads come and go....At any given time there is an 'in diagnosis' and a 'revolutionary new approach' to therapy which is often greeted enthusiastically by professionals but with little objectivity necessary to evaluate accuracy and effectiveness."
pg 43
Expert comments on survey of therapists about hypnosis and memory...
"The responses (to the survey of over 1000 therapists)...indicate a grave cause for concern. While the great number of therapists are well intentioned people who genuinely want to help their clients, the survey data make it abundantly clear that too many therapists hold beliefs that are sometimes arbitrary, sometimes sheer myth, and sometimes outright dangerous to their clients' well-being."
pg 60
Therapists admit harm...
"Nearly one in five therapists surveyed claimed they know of cases of trauma where a trauma's victim was more likely suggested by a therapist than a genuine experience."
pg 61
Memory...
"The phrase to remember is that 'memory is reconstructive, not reproductive'. Memories are formed from multiple sources of information and may be modified over time."
pg 65
Reasons for forgetting...
"In fact, forgetting can occur for many reasons that have little to do with psychological defenses, including interference of subsequent events that block access to a memory, lack of retrieval strategy and the possibility that the memory was never rehearsed long enough to pass from short term to long term memory."
pg 70
Misinformation effect...
"misleading information was credibly presented to witnesses, who accepted the suggested information as accurate and incorporated it into their narratives as genuine.....misleading information that is credibly presented after an event can lead people to create and believe erroneous memories. Can misinformation credibly presented in therapy about experiences in the distant past lead to similar revisions?"
pg 72-3
Memories, detail, confidence and truth...
"Clarity of memories and volume of detail are not enough to judge truthfulness. Believing something to be true isn't the same as it being true. That is why lie detector tests used with accusers are often useless. Lie detectors measure the degree of conviction you have about what you are saying, and not whether it is really true."
pg 80
How do you distinguish real memory from a confabulation?
"Without external corroboration, you can't. Virtually all of the experts I have interviewed agree that there is no reliable means for distinguishing truth from fiction. Continued questioning only yields more details, plausible but unverifiable. Lie detectors measure only the degree of believing, not truthfulness. We can only speculate about motives. Finding out that parts of person's memory can be verified are accurate doesn't mean the whole memory is accurate. Likewise finding out that part of the memory is wrong doesn't mean the whole memory is wrong."
pg 81
Therapist confirmation bias...
"The confirmation bias can be so great that therapist literally believe that the "evidence" for repression is greatest from the person who least suspects it. In other words, if you were directly asked whether or not you were abused, and you said, 'No,' the therapist with confirmation bias would feel justified in saying, 'Well you have the symptoms of someone who has been abused, and since you don't think you were, you must be repressing the memories of abuse....And if you must always leave open the possibility you were abused, then how would you safely conclude you weren't?"
pg 86-7
Hypnosis expert, who believes in repressed memories comments...
"The truth is, we don't know very much about the repression of memories of trauma. We don't know how common repression really is. We don't now how authentic distant memories are that suddenly and dramatically surface in response to a lecture, a self help book, or a therapy session. We don't know whether repressed memories always exist where troubling symptoms are present...We don't know how to characterize the differences between repression and simple forgetting. We don't know from what age repression is even possible. We don't know if trauma makes a repressed memory less or more accurate...We don't know which techniques for recovering repressed memories will alter them in significant ways merely by using them. We don't know why some people repress a particular type of memory and other's don't. We don't know why in some people memories of traumatic events, known to exist in their backgrounds, never surface at all, while in others the memories eventually return. When there is so much we don't know, how can so many therapists be so assured in their belief that what they are doing is legitimate and therapeutic?"
pg 89
[Some memory experts (ie Loftus) are convinced that repressed memories do not exist. Repressed memories are believed in as part of a cultural mythology despite the evidence.]
How much is known about repression?
"Little is known about repression, including how frequently it occurs and why some do and other's don't repress memories of trauma."
pg 91
Hysteria...
"Is it coincidence that "there was a 65 percent increase in reported abduction cases following the release of Strieber's book?" ["Communion" was a book on the author's belief and detailed account of how he was abducted by extraterrestrials.]
pg 93
False memory permanence...
"In many studies of hypnotically implanted false memories, subjects have remained confident of the accuracy of their new memories despite graphic evidence that the memories were suggested."
pg 98
Attitude, belief and memory...
"Believing that your parents were terribly abusive generates very different feelings than does your believing your parent weren't very skilled at parenting. "
pg 100
Authority and suggestion...
"One of the most potent forms of suggestion available to therapists is the 'process of suggestion', which purposely offers general or even ambiguous ideas to the client, who is invited to fill in the blanks with his or her own details."
pg 105
Proof...
"Many admitted in their responses to my survey that they make little of no attempt to establish what is objectively true in a given case. In fact some therapists consider lack of evidence proof! No specific memories? Repression. No specific images? Denial. No clear recall? Avoidance. It is a very strange notion that the less you know, the more certain you should be, and particularly strange to find it wholeheartedly endorsed by experts."
pg 111
pg 111
Uncertainty...
"Uncertainty generally increases responsiveness to others influence "
pg 111
pg 111
Interpretation and speculation...
"Dream interpretation involves making projections about some one elses projections. Who says a dream falling down means this, while a dream of flying means that? This area is the astrology of psychotherapy. Body memories are another vagary that defy reasonable analysis. In the absence of clear memories of abuse how can we know...."
pg 122
pg 122
Motivations for claiming abuse...
"People can have a variety of motives for adopting the belief of having been abused, including the value of abuse as an explanation for confusing symptoms; the belief that believing it will provide a cure; the lack of ability to separate fact from fantasy; revenge; the avoidance of even more threatening problems and the relief in absolving oneself of personal responsibility for one's life decisions."
pg 154
pg 154
Suggestion through questioning...
"...research shows that the more often a leading or suggestive question is repeated, the more likely the respondent is to accept as true whatever the question implies"
pg 162
pg 162
Talk about repressed memories..
"'If you talk about your repressed memories long enough, you will intuitively know they are real'
"'If you talk about your repressed memories long enough, you will intuitively know they are real'
pg 165
Doubt...
"People simply don't tolerate uncertainty well, and lack of resolution or completion leaves people frustrated. Whenever anything happens people immediately seek to explain why."
pg 168
pg 168
Family...
"Once the accusation of sexual abuse on the basis of repressed memories is leveled against someone, there is a chain reaction that is as inevitable and as lethal to the entire family as that of a nuclear explosion.....Beyond the families, these individuals are connected to friends and colleagues in an even larger network of people who eventually come to hear of allegations of abuse. They may jump to the same damming conclusion that so many people do: that the mere accusation is sufficient evidence of guilt."
pg 178-9
pg 178-9
Cutoff doubters...
"...it is terribly destructive that so many therapists encourage accusers to cut themselves off from any who have doubts about the accusations."
pg 181
pg 181
Advice to the accused..
"...your accuser is not intentionally lying, but actually believes in the truth of the allegations. Likewise you must appreciate that any denial you offer will likely be interpreted as further evidence of your presumed guilt, and will trigger apredictable subsequent accusation that you are in denial and maintaining a conspiracy of silence....the important thing is to keep the lines of communication open...."
pg 183
pg 183
No win scenario...
"For the falsely accused, it is all too easy to get trapped in a "no win" scenario. Admit to the abuse just to hold on to your child and you're forever branded a monster. Deny it and you're forever branded a monster and a coward. The safest immediate solution is neither to confirm nor to deny the abuse, but to get someplace fast where these issues can be dealt with openly and fairly as possible."
pg 184
pg 184
"By locking memory into the child's passive, powerless point of view, therapy imprisons its patients in the painful past rather than releasing them from it. When we remember traumatically the violations and insults are revisited over and over again, and childhood does indeed become the hell from which there is no escape."
pg 268
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This is an effort to Break the Cycle of Shame
and Save Others from Similar Tragedy!
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