In a UK sample, EMDR and other trauma therapists indicate beliefs in unconscious repression and dissociative amnesia
The current study provides data on UK mental health professionals’ beliefs about repression and dissociative amnesia and two dissociative trauma-related disorders, DID and PNES.
Article Abstract
“This study explored UK mental health professionals’ beliefs (N = 178) for autobiographical memory function for trauma in the context of adverse therapeutic outcomes, e.g., false memories. It captures novel data on controversial memory beliefs for unconscious repression, dissociative amnesia and dissociative identity disorder (DID). Study participants were mental health professionals and included non-trauma-focused, (n = 92), trauma-focused EMDR practitioners (n = 62) and (non-EMDR) trauma-focused practitioners (n = 24). Most study participants indicated some degree of belief in repression (>78%) and dissociative amnesia (>84%). EMDR and other trauma-focused practitioners showed elevated agreement for controversial memory notions. The EMDR practitioner group also showed more belief in the diagnostic validity of DID. New data on mental health professionals’ beliefs about the aetiology of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) was also captured. Most study participants “Somewhat agreed” or “Agreed” that “blocked out” trauma memories are causally related to dissociation and physical symptoms, e.g., PNES (>78%); EMDR practitioners showed the highest degree of agreement (91%). The impact of memory beliefs alongside EMDR theory and practice is considered in the context of adverse therapeutic outcomes, e.g., false or non-experienced memories. Recommendations are made for future research to mitigate against adverse health outcomes.”
—Description from publisher
Article Access
Open Access
Radcliffe, P. J., & Patihis, L. (2025). In a UK sample, EMDR and other trauma therapists indicate beliefs in unconscious repression and dissociative amnesia. Memory, Latest Articles. Open access: https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2025.2498929
Date
May 11, 2025
Creator(s)
Pamela J. Radcliffe, Lawrence Patihis
Topics
Dissociation
Practice & Methods
Mechanisms of Action
Extent
24 pages
Publisher
Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Rights
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
APA Citation
Radcliffe, P. J., & Patihis, L. (2025). In a UK sample, EMDR and other trauma therapists indicate beliefs in unconscious repression and dissociative amnesia. Memory, Latest Articles. Open access: https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2025.2498929
Audience
EMDR Therapists, Other Mental Health Professionals
Language
English
Content Type
Article, Peer-Reviewed
Access Type
External Resource, Open Access
