Questions raised by the controversy over recovered memories of incest

The controversy in the mental health community over recovered memory has been heated. The devastation to families falsely accused of incest has been profound. A fortunate consequence, however, has been the vigorous pursuit of answers to a variety of mind-behavior questions raised by the controversy. In this article I raise some of the important questions and in reply I review and summarize some of the data. Some questions deal with the nature of memory and of unconscious processes, especially the role of implicit memory; the techniques of recovered memory therapy and the evolution of pseudomemories and its relevance to clinical practice; the effects, real and alleged, of trauma; the place of dreams, flashbacks, and repetitive patterns of behavior in the understanding of memory and behavior; and finally, questions dealing with the definition of reality. All of these are important issues for the psychoanalyst.