False memory syndrome

False memory syndrome was a proposed pattern of beliefs and behaviors in which a person identity and relationships are shaped by false memories of psychological trauma, memories that the person strongly believes but that the accused contest. It is not listed as a psychiatric illness in the ICD-11 or the DSM-5. The idea was put forward as a result of recovered memory therapy, a scientifically discredited approach meant to recover memories. It was conceived by the False Memory Syndrome Foundation, which sought a term for the pattern it saw after patients underwent that therapy, and the psychologist Elizabeth Loftus was the most influential figure in its genesis. Scientists widely accept that people can hold false memories and that outside influence can shape them, but there is debate over whether this explains detailed memories of repeated abuse and major personality changes. This record is a reference summary of a disputed concept, not medical advice.