mory in order to get better. Richard Ofshe, Ph.D. and Ethan Watters noted that, "No one -- not the patients, therapists, parents or critics of recovered memory therapy -- question that this therapy is an intensely difficult and painful experience. That the pain of therapy is real should not be accepted, however, as an argument that the memories uncovered are accurate. One's emotional reaction to a perceived memory need not correlate with the veracity of that event, but rather only to whether one believes that event to be true."[note 4] Therapists may believe that they are helping clients and improving a culture in which sex abuse is far too prevalent. A patient may find group acceptance in the cadre of survivors and find "the" reason for problems. Patients suffering from severe psychological symptoms are known to engage in what is called, "effort after meaning" (Bass & Davis, 1988), in that they seek some explanation, however remote, for suffering. So, should accounts of repressed memory be dismissed out of hand? Of course not! But there should be an attempt to corroborate such memories with independent evidence and testimony before drawing conclusions about actual abuses or crimes. Such accounts should be taken very seriously and should be critically examined, giving them all the attention and investigative analysis we would give to any allegation of crime. But we should not rush to judgement, either about the accuracy of the memories of about the causal connection between past experiences and present problems. We should neither automatically reject as false memories which have been repressed for years and are suddenly recollected, nor should we automatically accept such memories as true. In terms of verification of their accuracy, these memories should not be treated any differently than any other type of memory. NOTES 1. Yet, it has happened. In a modern version of the Salem witch hunts, the McMartin pre-school case exemplifies the v...
