ABSTRACT
In recent years, a great deal of controversy has focused on the nature of client memories of child sexual abuse and the manner in which psychotherapy is related to the retrieval of such memories (Alpert et al., 1996; Enns, McNeilly, Corkery, & Gilbert, 1995). Crit-5 ics charge that therapists have contributed to the creation of false memories through the use of leading questions or suggestive techniques such as hypnosis and age regression methods (e.g., Lindsay & Read, 1994; Loftus, 1993; Ofshe & Watters, 1994; Yapko, 1994). 10 The existing research literature relevant to this issue has focused on the extent to which delayed memory for child sexual abuse exists (e.g., Briere & Conte, 1993; Cameron, 1994; Elliott & Briere, 1995; FeldmanSummers & Pope, 1994; Herman & Schatzow, 1987; 15 Loftus, Polonsky, & Fullilove, 1994; Williams, 1994) and on the nature of techniques that psychotherapists use when working with potential sexual abuse survivors with delayed memory for abuse (Polusny & Follette, 1996; Poole, Lindsay, Memon, & Bull, 1995). 20
Both areas of study have relied primarily on retrospective self-reports. Surveys of self-identified survivors of child sexual abuse have found that between 19% (Loftus et al., 1994) and 59% (Briere & Conte, 1993) of respondents indicated that they had forgotten 25
abuse or did not remember abuse for some period of time. Most studies based on self-reports have found that between 28% and 42% of survivors of child sexual abuse revealed delayed memory of that abuse (Cameron, 1994; Elliott & Briere, 1995; Feldman-Summers & 30 Pope, 1994; Herman & Schatzow, 1987). Surveys of psychologists (Polusny & Follette, 1996; Poole et al., 1995) have inquired about the degree to which they ever used various techniques for the purposes of memory recovery. Findings reveal a lack of agreement 35 regarding the appropriateness of techniques that are potentially suggestive. Furthermore, roughly one quarter of psychologists have reported using one or more techniques such as journal writing, guided imagery, and dream interpretation with clients who had no spe-40 cific memories of child sexual abuse (Polusny & Follette, 1996; Poole et al., 1995).
