The DOI matches its Crossref record; 39 of the 41 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Debunking Myths about Trauma and Memory
Open accessAbstract
How trauma victims remember—or forget—their most horrific experiences lies at the heart of the most bitter controversy in psychiatry and psychology in recent times. Whereas experts maintain that traumatic events—those experienced as overwhelmingly terrifying at the time of their occurrence—are remembered all too well, traumatic amnesia theorists disagree. Although these theorists acknowledge that trauma is often seemingly engraved on memory, they nevertheless maintain that a significant minority of survivors are incapable of remembering their trauma, thanks to mechanisms of either dissociation or repression. Unfortunately, the evidence they adduce in support of the concept of traumatic dissociative amnesia fails to support their claims. The purpose of this review is to dispel confusions and debunk myths regarding trauma and memory.
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“Furthermore, the reconstructive, changing nature of memory (e.g., Schacter, 1996) challenges the notion that fragmentation is unique to trauma, as it is expected that all memories will be recounted with varying detail and coherence over time (McNally, 2005).”
From Dissociation and memory fragmentation in post-traumatic stress disorder: An evaluation of the dissociative encoding hypothesis (2012) · cites this paper as McNally, 2005
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Cites
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Research works printed but not linked: 6
- McNally RJ, 2003, Remembering trauma
- Spiegel D., 1997, Repressed memories, 5
- Bloom SL, 1994, J Psychohistory, 21, 461
- 10.1037/0022-006X.62.6.1167 · DOI
- 10.1002/jts.2490060104 · DOI
- Clancy SA, McNally RJ. Recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse: Forgetting as a consequence of voluntary suppression. Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice. Forthcoming.
Cited by
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Brewin, C. R. (2014) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0033722 · Cited by 492
The Nature and Significance of Memory Disturbance in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Brewin, C. R. (2011) · Annual Review of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032210-104544 · Cited by 428
Dissociation debates: everything you know is wrong
Loewenstein, R. J. (2018) · Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience · doi:10.31887/dcns.2018.20.3/rloewenstein · Cited by 231
PTSD: A problematic diagnostic category
McHugh, P. R., & Treisman, G. J. (2006) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2006.09.003 · Cited by 215
The Return of the Repressed: The Persistent and Problematic Claims of Long-Forgotten Trauma
Otgaar, H., Howe, M. L., Patihis, L., Merckelbach, H. L. G. J., Lynn, S. J., Lilienfeld, S. O., & Loftus, E. F. (2019) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691619862306 · Cited by 229
Metadata
- Authors
- McNally, R. J.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- McNally, Richard J
- ORCID
- McNally, Richard J
- Venue
- The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2005-11
- Volume
- 50
- Issue
- 13
- Pages
- 817-822
- ISSN
- 0706-7437 (ISSN-L)
- 1497-0015
- OpenAlex
- W2121060610
- Cited by
- 195
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 38 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 0.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (5r01mh061268-04)
- National Institute of Mental Health (MH 61268)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Cultural Studies › Memory, History, Trauma, Identity
- Keywords
- traumatic amnesia, dissociative amnesia, repression, dissociation, traumatic memory, trauma survivors, memory and forgetting
- MeSH terms
- Amnesia, Child, Child Abuse, Sexual, Dissociative Disorders, Humans, Repression, Psychology, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
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