The Repressed Memory Epidemic ― How It Happened and What We Need to Learn from It

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the concept of repressed memories. It provides a history and context that documents key events that have had an effect on the way that modern psychology and psychotherapy have developed. Chapters provide an overview of how human memory functions and works and examine facets of the misguided theories behind repressed memory. The book also examines the science of the brain, the reconstructive nature of human memory, and studies of suggestibility. It traces the present-day resurgence of a belief in repressed memories in the general public as well as among many clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, “body workers,” and others who offer counseling. It concludes with legal and professional recommendations and advice for individuals who deal with or have dealt with the psychotherapeutic practice of repressed memory therapy.

Topics featured in this text include:

• The modern diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) (once called MPD)
  
• The “Satanic Panic” of the 1980s and its relation to repressed memory therapy.
  
• The McMartin Preschool Case and the “Day Care Sex Panic.”
  
• A historical overview from the Great Witch Craze to Sigmund Freud’s theories, spanning the 16^th to 19^th centuries.
  
• An exploration of the cultural context that produced the repressed memory epidemic of the 1990s.
  
• The repressed memory movement as a religious sect or cult.
  

The Repressed Memory Epidemic will be of interest to researchers and clinicians as well as undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of psychology, sociology, cultural studies, religion, and anthropology.

Mark Pendergrast is the author of Victims of Memory; For God, Country and Coca-Cola; Uncommon Grounds; Mirror Mirror; Inside the Outbreaks; Japan’s Tipping Point; Beyond Fair Trade; City on the Verge; and three children’s books. See www.markpendergrast.com for reviews. One critic called Pendergrast “the ultimate free-lance journalist with an eclectic mind.” He calls himself an independent scholar, although he has worked on five college campuses. Pendergrast was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, the fourth of seven children in a family that valued civil rights, the environment, sailing, reading, and games of chase and charades. He earned a B.A. in English literature from Harvard, taught high school and elementary school, then went back to Simmons College for a masters in library science and worked as an academic librarian—all the while writing freelance articles for newspapers and magazines. In 1991, he began writing books full time.

Pendergrast’s books have been published in 15 languages. For God, Country & Coca-Cola was named a notable book of the year by the New York Times, and Discover Magazine chose Mirror Mirror as one of the top science books of the year. Pendergrast has given speeches to professional groups, business associations, and college audiences in the United States, Canada, the U.K., and Germany. He has appeared on dozens of television shows, including the Today Show, CBS This Morning, and CNN, and has been interviewed on over 100 radio programs, including All Things Considered, Marketplace, and many other public radio shows. He lives in Colchester, Vermont.