Client-reported prevalence of repressed memory recovery in therapy: a representative U.K. sample

The prevalence of recovered memories of previously unknown abuse is important because of the risk of memory construction. Asking therapists about such prevalence comes with inherent biases, a problem bypassed by asking a representative sample of therapy clients directly. This study examined client-reported prevalence in a representative U.K. sample of 1507 adults. Of the total sample, 40% reported receiving therapy. Among these, 4.9% reported that a therapist discussed repressed memories of abuse (12% of those who received therapy), with half indicating that the therapist raised it first (2.5% of total sample). Recovered memories of abuse during the course of therapy of previously unknown abuse were reported by 3.6% of the total sample (8.9% of therapy goers). Recovered memories were most associated with primal therapy, internal family systems and psychodynamic therapy. Higher rates of memory recovery in therapy occurred when therapy started in the 1980s and recent decades (2006–2024: 8–12%). Open ended comments provided context to the scepticism in some and belief in repressed memories in others. The findings suggest that recovered memory practices continue to likely affect millions in the UK – resembling U.S. patterns, with implications for disseminating the possibility of memory construction to the public, and in the training of therapists.