Repressed Memories: Some Clinical Data Contributing toward Its Elucidation

Recently there has been considerable controversy about the reality or validity of patient’s memories of abuse recovered while in psychotherapy. The debate has been polarized by those who maintain the impossibility of such “strong repression” versus those who maintain that repressed memories of abuse underlie a wide variety of psychiatric dysfunctions. This article presents two well-documented cases of patients with the diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) that presented unique opportunities to verify by independent means some abusive experiences suffered in chtldhood.