Abreaction

What does Abreaction mean in American Law?

The definition of Abreaction in the law of the United States, as defined by the lexicographer Arthur Leff in his legal dictionary is:

A term in psychology, especially psychotherapy, referring to a process of reducing emotional tension by being brought in some way to re-experience a now suppressed happening (e.g., infantile trauma) which originally generated the tension. See also catharsis, for which “abreaction” is sometimes loosely used as a synonym.