Safety of Amobarbital

Letter to the Editor

Sir: I agree with Dr. Marcum’s conclusion that sedative interviews
are of questionable value in recovering repressed affects
and memories. In fact, prior placebo-controlled studies
have shown that intravenous sedatives have minimal value in
the anamnesis of the neurotic patient. By comparison, the superiority
of a sedative versus placebo in a medication-facilitated
interview has been demonstrated in catatonia.