Do you want to learn How to Process Emotions and improve your Mental Health? Sign up for a Therapy in a Nutshell Membership, you'll get access to all of Emma’s courses, workbooks, and a Live Q and A with 100’s of exclusive videos: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.co...

The idea of repressed memories goes all the way back to Freud, through the 90’s when therapists accidentally implanted people with false memories, through the courtrooms, and into today where the idea of repressed memories is still popular among lay people and controversial among therapists and researchers.

So today you’ll learn three skills for better understanding lost memories, aka dissociative amnesia or repressed memories (or at least my opinion about it).
The idea of repressed memories goes all the way back to Freud, one of his first patients, Anna O had all sorts of unexplained physical symptoms, when she began talking with her doctor about her life, previously forgotten memories of trauma came back and as she talked about them, her physical symptoms went away. Freud developed the concept of repression, that current symptoms are all related to something that happened in the past, that we repress the memories to protect ourselves, and that we must analyze our psyche in order to uncover it, integrate it and then be freed from it. So that’s where the whole process of psychoanalysis came from, the idea of patients laying on a couch, talking about their childhood.
But this concept of repressed memories has become very controversial, because of the way memory works.
Most people assume that memory is like a video, your memory records things as they actually happened and stores those memories away, permanently. But memory doesn’t work like that, memories are highly influenced by our biases and how we’re feeling during or after an event.

If you want to see for yourself how this can work, watch this YouTube video “Take This Test and Experience How False Memories Are Made”.    • Take This Test and Experience How Fal...  

After I filmed this video on repressed memories and dissociative amnesia, the NYT published a very relevant article and two strong opinions on it: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/27/op...
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/29/op...

0:00 Intro: how to heal from trauma part 3
1:22 Why repressed memories are controversial
5:54 How I approach repressed memories/dissociative amnesia as a therapist
7:06 Why we sometimes forget trauma
9:19 What you can do if you have repressed memories

Looking for affordable online therapy? My sponsor, BetterHelp, connects you to a licensed professional from the comfort of your own home. Try it now for 10% off your first month: https://betterhelp.com/therapyinanuts...

Learn more in one of my indepth mental health courses: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.co...
Support my mission on Patreon:   / therapyinanutshell  
Sign up for my newsletter: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.co...
Check out my favorite selfhelp books: https://kit.co/TherapyinaNutshell/bes...
Check out my podcast, Therapy in a Nutshell: https://tinpodcast.podbean.com/

Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health.
In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a biopsychosocial approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mindbody connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction.
And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/c...

If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ or 1800273TALK (8255) or your local emergency services.
Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC