Abreaction therapy

A form of Psychotherapy in which a patient suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is made to re-live the experience in a controlled environment. The term abreaction for re-living an experience was coined by Sigmund Freud in 1892. Hypnosis is often used as a tool for recall in abreaction therapy.

The efficacy of this therapy has been likened to "lancing a boil". Exposing the wound releases the "poison" and allows the wound to heal. In the same way that the lancing process is painful, re-living the trauma can be highly distressing for the patient, and memories of the pain can be physically felt.

The therapy has attracted critics such as Richard Chefetz who questioned it in a paper in 1997. Many have questioned the reliability of the recalled memory. Nonetheless, the therapy remains widely practiced.