"Uncovering traumatic memories" is a popular trope in psychotherapy, which has been lacking in convincing empirical evidence. This commentary also warns against preparing patients for this speculative side effect. The danger of false memories seems relevant especially in psychedelic treatments.
Tim Kaiser
Critical commentary on a recent paper reporting emergence of dissociated traumatic memories during psilocybin treatment now out in the Journal of Eating Disorders, with @trpwolff.bsky.social, @manojdoss.bsky.social, Lilian Kloft-Heller, and @henryotgaar.bsky.social.
doi.org/10.1186/s403...
In their recent case report article, Peck and colleagues suggested that two patients recovered dissociated traumatic memories during psilocybin treatment for anorexia nervosa. These case reports are of clinical and scientific interest and confirm that psychedelics may induce vivid memory-like experiences. However, the reports warrant scrutiny. Here, based on what is known about recovered memories and the effects of psychedelics, we argue that the authors may not have adequately considered alternative explanations. The cases do not necessarily demonstrate that psilocybin induces recovery of dissociated traumatic memories or could treat dissociative amnesia. We further caution against the authors’ suggestion of explicitly preparing patients for the emergence of forgotten material.
