City Research Online

Abstract

We present the case of a man, JK, who initially came to believe during therapy that he had been abused by his father, but later repudiated this claim. We had access to JK’s clinical records, including detailed notes from a psychiatrist who had intensively treated him. In total, we analyzed and coded 143 documents, including therapy notes, with two primary aims: (1) to examine the veracity of JK’s retraction narrative, and (2) to identify factors relevant to the formation of false beliefs or memories. The records indicated that JK underwent narcoanalysis intended to uncover repressed memories, during which the psychiatrist used suggestive techniques to elicit memories of abuse. As a result, JK came to believe that he had been abused by his father in childhood. Later, after reading a newspaper article discussing the potential for psychiatrists to implant false memories, JK retracted this belief. This case study offers insight into the complex processes by which traumatic experiences can be both recovered and subsequently retracted, highlighting the potential influence of therapeutic techniques and external information on memory formation.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2025 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Publisher Keywords:	Retractor, Memory Wars, repressed memory, false memory, recovered memory
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Departments:	School of Health & Medical Sciences School of Health & Medical Sciences > Department of Psychology & Neuroscience
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

Export

Downloads