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This article discusses the problem of therapy-induced memories and the difficulty of distinguishing between true and false memories. It examines the features of human memory that make it possible unconsciously to create complex false memories—for example about early sexual abuse—and underlines the responsibility of the therapist in not allowing this development to occur.
The problem of falsely accusing someone of sexual abuse, based on false memories of this abuse, has obvious legal and ethical implications. The article proposes that instead of complementing each other's fields of expertise in finding a solution to this problem, there seems to be an unfortunate antagonistic attitude between psychotherapists on one hand and cognitive scientists on the other. Furthermore, it is suggested that this might actually prevent a fruitful cooperation between the fields of clinical and cognitive knowledge that is essential in overcoming the problem of therapy-induced false memories.