Also called recovered memory syndrome, this controversial concept emerged in the USA, and was picked up later by some experts in the UK. It holds that abused children sometimes suppress their unpleasant memories, and that subsequent psychotherapy could help them recover these memories thus possibly aiding rehabilitation. This recall of ‘repressed’ memories, however, is believed by many to be a false memory implanted into the victim’s subconscious by the psychotherapy itself, or perhaps invented by the individual for personal motives.