Repressed memories? (tw sa)

So I've been seeing my therapist since November and we've been doing emdr. We've done 4 emdr sessions. For the fourth one I had a random flash at home that I wanted to explore in emdr so we used that for the initial image.

I have no memories of sa (neither a), physical abuse, etc. I was mostly verbally assaulted and emotionally neglected.

How emdr goes for me is that I focus on the starting image and then wait and then my mind goes on. I have had three very interesting very detailed scenes (two that could not be memories because some of the content is not physically possible in real life) and one that is probably a composite memory.

At home I was doing laundry and I went to switch one of my husband's shirts from the washer to the dryer and had a flash of my dad's face with the thought, What did you do to me?

This was just random, out of the blue, never has happened before.

So in this fourth session I started with that image and my mind went to a scene involving my naked dad in bed and me going over and we eventually have sex. I felt like it wasn't my idea to have it but this what we do. Then it moved to having sex in a college auditorium (this couldn't have happened because he never set foot on my college campus). Then it went on back to the bed but me walking more purposefully toward him. The first image I was about seven and in the third about 16.

My therapist said after we stopped that it may not have been my dad but she does think there's sexual abuse in my past because I was isolated and different (she thinks I'm hfa/add, so does my husband). After the session it struck me as something a therapist shouldn't say. Say something like "other people with this imagery have suffered sa" but not "I think there's sa in your past."

We meet once a week Thursdays and after this last emdr she suggested we meet twice a week for a bit so I see her Monday and plan to bring this up.

I don't know if I believe in repressed memories or not (mixed feelings). First couple of days I was like definitely not a memory and I wasn't sa ever my brain is just trying to tell me about some other trauma and when it's big your mind goes to sa because of how graphic and violent it is. Now I'm doubting myself. Definitely feel my therapist was out of line saying that and I have no problem bringing up stuff to her.

So.... Did it? Did it not? Is it possible? Do repressed memories exist?

Posted Feb 15, 2026, 3:06 AM UTC

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