Book Review: Michael D. Yapko, Suggestions of Abuse

Written by John Waide

[This article was published in Psychobits in 1994.]

Michael D. Yapko. Suggestions of Abuse: True and False Memories of Childhood Sexual Trauma. Simon & Schuster, 1994. 236 pages + notes, bibliography & index.

Yapko's Suggestions of Abuse is a timely, not timeless, book. Even though it may become unimportant in a decade, I think it is important both to read it now and to read it critically. Yapko addresses the hotly contested topic of whether reports of childhood sexual trauma are reliable. In effect he says that childhood abuse happens; delayed memory happens; and false accusation happens, sometimes because of therapist suggestions. If client reports (even intense abreactive reports) might not be true, we need to be cautious in our handling of such reports and such clients. On the surface, Yapko tries to position himself in reasonable middle ground. Unfortunately, he does not, as I will explain, manage to carry his project through with fairness and balance.

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