On the 'true-false' memory syndrome: The problem of clinical evidence

Abstract

Faced with a lack of external confirmatory data and basing their judgments on sometimes dubious evidence, psychoanalytic clinicians are faced with a need to establish criteria on which to base decisions regarding historic truth, however lacking in certainly. This report, not a characteristic case history, endeavors to establish some standards that may enable analysts to decide between historic and psychic reality. Data from a case of 'true-false' memory syndrome will be presented to illustrate both the problem and tentative attempts at solution.