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3508 Market Street suite 128, Philadelphia, PA 19104, (215-387-1865)
This address and the phone numbers have changed as of July 15, 2000
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Dear Friends,
"Things certainly are heating up!" exclaimed a visitor who arrived
in the office just as three different articles about FMS came spewing
forth from the fax machine one right after the other. How can we
capture the atmosphere of change that we perceive when for most
families we know there has still been no change?
One year ago on this date, we were aware of fourteen families who
told tragic stories about once kind and loving children who had become
obsessed with being victims, who had become trapped in childhood, who
had cut themselves off from family, who had claimed their parents or
other relatives had done unspeakable things. We thought that was
amazing. In this newsletter we report that we are now aware of over
1,400 such families. That is astounding.
One year ago, we had never heard of anyone giving up these
memories. Today we are aware of more than thirty recanters. Last month
we knew of no Foundation families whose children had given up
memories. Today we can write that two families called to tell us
their daughters had apologized for their false memories. In one case,
we were told that the daughter gave up the memories when her therapist
was written about in the newspaper. In the other case we were told
that FMS materials caused a son-in-law to question and that was enough
to bring about a change.
One year ago we had little idea of the phenomenon with which we were
dealing. Today we have Foundation liaisons in forty-four US states and
three Canadian provinces. Today we have a small library of articles,
legal information and survey data about families. We have received our
first private foundation grant funding for a national conference to be
held in the spring. There are now two graduate students working in
areas related to FMS -- one from the perspective of psychology, the
other from health insurance. We have had professional visitors come to
the office to use our materials to prepare workshops for colleagues.
The biggest change has come in the press. One year ago there was
literally nothing written about FMS (indeed, it did not even have a
name). There are now many well-documented professional and popular
articles about FMS. In this mailing, members will receive three new
articles.
(1) "Inadvertent hypnosis during interrogation: False confessions
due to dissociative state; mis-identified multiple personality and the
satanic cult hypothesis" by Richard Ofshe, Ph.D., (Berkeley), is an
incredible story of a man who confessed to committing ritual satanic
abuse but whose confession is really meaningless since an experiment
showed that he would confess to anything.
(2) "Psychiatric Misadventures" by Paul McHugh, M.D. (Johns Hopkins)
questions the whole notion of Multiple Personality Disorder as being
an artifact of the psychiatric community.
(3) "Call me Mom" by Andrew Meacham challenges the theraputic notion
of "reparenting" in which a person is encouraged to cut off from the
"family of origin" and adopt a "family of choice" which is often the
therapist or 12-step group.
Two recent news articles are also available for handling costs: A
three part series by Mark Sauer and Jim Okerblom from the San Diego
Union-Tribune ,"Haunting Accusations: Repressed memories of childhood
abuse: real or delusions?" and a three-part series by Bill Scanlon
from the Rocky Mountain News, "Skeptics question memories of incest;
Incompetent therapists turn patients'fantasies into repressed reality,
some experts are saying." We have enclosed an order form. If this new
service works smoothly, we will make more articles available. (If you
send copies that can be reproduced, be sure that they are originals,
not copies themselves.)
There is a feeling of change, but the Foundation is not the cause of
the change. You are. One person wrote to us that he felt that after
the first meeting somehow someone would "wave a magic wand and all
this would be behind us or somehow cleared up." There are no magic
wands. Professionals and families together are writing the script to a
drama in which we did not choose to perform. If we want a happy
ending, we'll have to make it happen. No one else has so much at
stake.
Because of the cult-like cutting off by the children and their
therapists, we must work at the level of public awareness to change
the situation. You have written letters to papers; you have knocked on
politicians' doors; you have filed complaints; you have appeared in
public; you have written journal articles; you have even picketed; you
have kept us informed. You are changing the climate. Keep it up. We
will do our part from the office, but the ending depends on you.
PAMELA
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NOTICE TO SIBLINGS
Please send us your stories.
We are working on the book to follow "Confabulations." It will be a
view of False Memory Syndrome through the eyes of the sisters and
brothers.
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OUR CRITICS
Criticism of the Foundation continues.
The King County Sexual Assault Resource Center in Renton, WA
headlined an article in its summer 1992 newsletter about the
Foundation with "The Backlash Has Begun." In this article, Gayle
M. Stringer, M.A. attributes to the Foundation beliefs and motivations
that she must have invented. "In one broad brush stroke, the FMS group
denounces and attempts to discredit those who were victimized as
children and the service providers who treat and support them."
Statements from the Foundation have appeared many times to the effect
that child abuse exists and is an unconscionable crime.
The Utah Daily Herald reported on September 5 that Susan Asher, a
Provo therapist, "believes FMS is nothing more than 'a massive denial
and justification' movement started by perpetrators of child sexual
abuse." We have given this information to our lawyers because people
have suggested that this is libelous, but it really seems too silly to
bother with. It is obvious that Ms. Asher knows so little about
psychology that she failed to recognize the names of the distinguished
researchers who comprise the FMS Foundation Advisory Board. How
embarrassing for her. How sad for her clients.
On National Public Radio, Talk of the Nation in August, Renee
Fredrickson, Ph.D., a person who specializes in "chronic abuse trauma
syndrome & repressed memories" asked why we ever believe recanters. To
be accused of incest is, apparently, to be guilty. Once accused
there's no way the Renee Fredricksons of the world will ever believe
you innocent.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| 300 YEARS AGO |
| |
| From "The Lesson of Salem" by Laura Shapiro |
| Newsweek, August 31, 1992: |
| |
| In 1692, those who "confessed" to witchcraft were spared; only |
| those who insisted on their innocence were hanged. |
| |
| The witch trials represent more than just a creepy moment in |
| history: they stand for the terrible victory of prejudice over |
| reason, and fear over courage -- a contest that has been replayed, |
| with different actors, again and again since 1692. Modern witch |
| hunts include the roundup of Japanese-Americans during World War |
| II, the pursuit of Communists in the '50s and, according to an |
| increasing number of critics, some of today's outbreaks of |
| community hysteria over purported sex abuse in preschools...the |
| evidence in these cases tends to spring from hindsight, fueled by |
| suspicion and revulsion. Whatever the truth may be, it has little |
| chance to surface under such conditions. |
| |
| Today many scholars believe it was clinical hysteria that set off |
| the girls in Tituba's kitchen. Fits, convulsions, vocal outbursts, |
| feelings of being pinched and bitten -- all of these symptoms have |
| been witnessed and described, most often in young women, for |
| centuries. Sometimes the seizures have been attributed to Satan, |
| other times to God, but ever since Freud weighed in, hysteria has |
| been traced to the unconscious. |
| |
| Perhaps the best way to identify a witch hunt, today or 300 years |
| ago, is to look for fear, because fear spawns witches...Nothing |
| could stop the infestation -- except, finally, the will to see |
| clearly, beyond prejudice. Late in the fall of 1692, as the witch |
| craze was fading, several of the afflicted girls were traveling |
| through nearby Ipswich when they encountered an old woman on a |
| bridge. A witch! Instantly they fell into fits. But Ipswich was |
| not on the lookout for witches; it didn't want them. Nobody begged |
| the girls for names or particulars, so they picked themselves up |
| and continued on their way. The witch hunt was over -- until |
| another time, and another Salem. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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HOW IS THE FMS PHENOMENON SPREADING?
Media? We had a phone call this week that gave us some insights into
how the phenomenon or hysteria might be spreading. We talked with a
woman who had called us several weeks ago questioning her own
memories. We called her to ask what she was thinking now that she had
received some material from the Foundation. She told us that she was
certain now that her own therapist had not led her in any way and that
the the therapist had used hypnosis only once at the caller's
request. Indeed, this person told us that she was becoming more and
more convinced that her memories of satanic ritual abuse were real
memories. She told us that since our first chat, she had validated her
memories. She said that she had read stories in the newspaper and had
seen things on television that proved to her that her memories were
real.
What responsibility does the media play in this? People have always
used myths and stories to help explain their own lives. There is
nothing strang or unusual in that. One anecdote is not scientific
evidence. Just because one person has told us that she was able to
validate her own memories from television, does not mean that others
do. But it raises a flag. Could self-reports of abuse be contaminated
by media stories? Could the phenomenon be feeding on itself through
the widespread coverage that survivors have engendered?
THERAPIST BIAS? If a therapist had a preconceived notion that sexual
abuse is the cause of a vast array of symptoms, then it is likely that
therapist will find incest. People tend to find what they are looking
for and they tend to neglect to consider alternative hypotheses. This
is referred to as "attentional bias." "Attentional bias can be
understood as failure to look for evidence against an initial
possibility, or failure to consider alternative possibilities." Baron,
J. (1988) Thinking and Deciding, Cambridge U, p 247. Because we are
not privy to the actual therapy sessions, we must rely on other types
of information to look for potential bias. Here are a few examples:
A PARENT: My daughter said, "The therapist told me, 'Your damaging
dreams and your past behavior are a text book case of sexual abuse as
a child. You will never be able to live a normal life until you face
the problem.'"
A SOCIAL WORKER: "I would automatically suspect sexual abuse in
someone with an eating disorder." Nita Daniels-Levin, a psychiatric
and clinical social worker in Toronto, Cosmopolitan, May 1992 p 248.
A PSYCHOLOGIST: "It's (sexual abuse) so common that I'll tell you, I
can within 10 minutes, I can spot it as a person walks in the door,
often before they even realize it. There's a trust, a lack of trust,
that's the most common issue. There's a way that a person presents
themselves. There's a certain body language that says I'm afraid to
expose myself. I'm afraid you're going to hurt me." CNBC program Real
Personal on April 27, 1992. Brenda Wade, Ph.D. who was identified as a
licensed San Francisco family therapist and as "Good Morning America's
On-Air Psychologist."
A RECANTER: "I went to a counselor who said she specialized with
helping people get in touch with repressed feelings. It was helpful
for the first year and a half. I worked through stuff. But then it
moved to sexual abuse awareness. I began to wonder, 'Did anything
happen to me?' I got an anxiety that wouldn't go away. From that point
the therapist pushed to get at this repressed stuff. Pressure,
direction, subtle. I began to doubt my own uneasiness but I thought,
'She's trained. She knows what she's doing,' But then I got to the
point of a mental breakdown."
AN ADVERTISEMENT: "Remembering incest and childhood abuse is the
first step to healing. We can help you remember and heal.
1-800-531-4848. This ad, which we read in the United Airline Magazine
in July, went on to list symptoms ".*Mood swings *Panic disorder
*Substance Abuse *Rage *Flashback *Depression *Hopelessness *Anxiety
*Paranoia *Low self-esteem *Relapse *Relationship problems *Sexual
fear *Sexual compulsion* Self mutilation *Borderline personality
*Irritable bowel *Migraine *P.M.S *Post traumatic stress *Bulimia
*Anorexia *A.C.O.A .*Obesity *Multiple Personality *Hallucinations
*Religious addiction *Parenting problems * Suicidal feelings*"
Do these examples indicate possible therapy bias? You decide.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Where do 1,415 families live? |
| AK(2) AL(4) AR(1) AZ(34) CA(185) CO(18) CT(22) DE(1) |
| FL(54) GA(17) HI(2) IA(12) ID(12) IL(48) IN(16) KS(22) |
| KY(7) LA(5) MA(27) MD(27) ME(5) MI(61) MN(25) MO(30) |
| MS(1) MT(5) NC(14) ND(2) NE(6) NH(2) NJ(58) NM(9) |
| NV(7) NY(64) OH(52) OK(13) OR(21) PA(126) RI(3) SC(5) |
| SD(3) TN(6) TX(50) UT(70) VA(24) VT(3) WA(58) WI(60) |
| WY(2) DC (2) Canada - AB(1) BC(10) MB(8) NS(1) ON(84) |
| PQ(2) SK(2) England(1) France(1) Israel(2) |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THERAPISTS?
We preface this section by noting our deep appreciation for the
majority of mental health professionals, including psychiatrists,
psychologists, social workers and counselors, who are supporting the
FMS Foundation. We could not function as a credible organization
without the professional commitment we receive. The professionals with
whom we are in contact are very disturbed by the behavior of a subset
of that community. As one doctor put it, "I've been very worried about
what was going on. Your organization gives me a way to begin to do
something about it." We are not "out to get therapists." We do,
however, expect an accounting from those therapists who have cruelly
alienated children and grandchildren from their families and who have
ruthlessly ruined the reputations and lives of thousands of people.
According to a report by Daniel Goleman, "Surprising Portrait of
Psychotherapists as Abuse Victims" in the New York Times on September
9, 1992, 70% of women and one-third of men therapists "had
experienced some form of abuse, including milder forms like sexual
harassment." The information he reported has come from a national
survey of clinical and counseling psychologists to be published in the
journal Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.
Some professionals indicated that this was positive. "Many experts see
in the data sign of the Jungian notion of 'wounded healers," who are
adept at treating emotional wounds because they too have suffered
them." Other experts see this as startling. Dr. Jesse Geller at Yale
University was quoted as saying "I've heard that the most common slip
that therapists make is to substitute the word 'parent" for 'patient.' It
suggests that in some symbolic sense, many therapists go into the field
to cure their parents, to undo how they were raised."
Do therapists view themselves as abuse victims? This report would
indicate that they do. If so, how does this add to our understanding
of the spread of the phenomenon? What does this mean for training
institutions?
Some therapists ignore research evidence.
We also know that the therapists who have alienated children from
their families ignore research evidence. Most of them urge their
clients to read The Courage to Heal which states in its preface that
it is based on no psychological theory. That book perpetuates many
unscientific myths ranging from inflated rates of child abuse to the
intergenerational transmission of violence to the so-called signs that
indicate abuse. Following are three references that should make
therapists more cautions about "signs" of abuse.
"CURRENT EVIDENCE DOES NOT SUPPORT THE HYPOTHESIS THAT CHILDHOOD
SEXUAL ABUSE IS A RISK FACTOR FOR BULIMIA NERVOSA." Harrison & Hudson,
1992. "Is childhood sexual abuse a risk factor for bulimia nervosa?,
American Journal of Psychiatry 149:4 April.
"AS YET, THERE IS INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO CONFIRM A RELATION
BETWEEN A HISTORY OF CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE AND A POSTSEXUAL ABUSE
SYNDROME AND MULTIPLE OR BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER." Beitchman,
Zlucker, Hood, DaCosta, Akman & Cassavia, 1992. "A review of the long
term effects of child sexual abuse." Child Abuse & Neglect, Vol 16 pp
101-118.
"OVERALL, STUDY FINDING INDICATE THAT EARLY ABUSIVE TRAUMA AND ADULT
FUNCTIONING HAVE NO SIMPLE RELATIONSHIP." Martin & Elmer, 1992.
"Battered children grown up: A follow-up study of individuals severely
maltreated as children." Child Abuse & Neglect, Vol 16, pp 75-87.
Of course, other articles stating different positions can readily be
found. We urge readers to examine the research presented on all sides
with an open mind. Be critical of the sample size, whether it's a
case study or controlled study, etc. It is our opinion that the above
studies are sound and ought to be taken very seriously.
Preliminary Survey Data
We know a bit more about the specific therapists who have caused
such distress to Foundation families. Holly Wakefield and Pam Freyd
have been reporting data from 150 initial surveys. This is what
families have reported:
N = 122 yes no
Know the therapist 70 52
Qualifications
Psychiatrist 7
Psychologist* 23
Social Worker 18
Counselors 21
Ministers/Pastors 7
Therapist gender
Female 62
Male 23
Age of therapists by gender
age F M
20-29 2 0
30-39 19 4
40-49 15 10
50-59 3 5
60-69 0 0
70-79 0 1
*Preliminary results indicate that most of the therapists are female
aged 30 to 50. Since many people do not make a distinction between
psychologist and psychotherapist, we question the number for
psychologists.
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WHAT CAN FAMILIES DO?
Families tell us that they are profoundly frustrated. They write and
phone and say they feel a sense of urgency. They tell us "My child
seems to be growing worse, not better," or they ask, "How can this be
good for my grandchildren that I am not allowed to see?" Some families
have become so desperate for action that they have picketed a
therapist's office (we must report that we did receive a phone call
from a client of that particular therapist asking us to thank the
picketing families for helping her to confirm her suspicions about
the treatment she was receiving).
Many families have asked us to put them in contact with other
families whose children may have the same therapist so that they can
make complaints and explore legal actions together. For example, three
weeks ago a family in state A asked us if we could help them get in
touch with the Attorney General in state B. We happened to know of
families in state B who were already in the process of making
complaints with the Attorney General and were able to put them in
contact.
With this newsletter all families are receiving a one page
"therapist survey." Please help us by filling it out immediately with
as much information as you now have. Even if you have sent us this
information in a letter, we ask that you send it again on the enclosed
form so that (1) the information we receive will be consistent and (2)
the information can be entered into the computer more efficiently and
quickly. If you return the survey immediately, we will have the data
entered and ready to analyze by December.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE THERAPIST: A reputable
therapist should be willing to send you a resume if you call the
office and ask for one. If a therapist is employed in a clinic, the
clinic should provide a resume, and also give you the name of the
therapist's supervisor if there is one. Reputable therapists and
clinics will tell you their fees. If the therapist is licensed,
information can be obtained from the state licensing boards. We have
sent licensing board information that we have to the people who are
acting as state liaisons.
IF YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO THE THERAPIST IS: Some parents have told
us that they hired private detectives to find out the names of those
responsible for rewriting their children's history. Others have told
us that it is less expensive and just as good to ask family members or
friends who may have some contact with the accusing child to help get
this information.
IF YOU WANT TO MEET WITH THE THERAPIST: Some parents have been able
to arrange meetings with their children's therapists. We are sorry to
report that most parents have told us these were disastrous. Parents
were generally not prepared for the type of interview or confrontation
that took place. With the help of professionals and families, the
Foundation has written guidelines to help families prepare for a
meeting with their child's therapist. members may write and ask for
"Guidelines for meeting with child's therapist." Please include a
self-addressed envelope.
IF YOU FILE A COMPLAINT: Many families tell us that they have
started the process of filing complaints with various government an
professional organizations. "As we receive information and guidelines,
we will send them to the state liaisons since these are state-level
issues. One word of warning has been given to us from the
organization, Stop Abuse by Counselors. If you file a complaint, you
may want to have i checked with a lawyer. If you intend future legal
action when the time is appropriate, the wording of any complaints
written now could be important.
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CONFERENCE
April 16-18, 1992
Philadelphia, PA
Details in November newsletter.
The FMS Foundation conference in the spring is certain to be an
interesting event.The main focus will be the presentation of academic
papers that relate to issues of False Memory Syndrome. An committee
will organize the invitation of presenters, panels and workshops for
both professional and family interests We will solicit papers that
represent differing views on the reality of repressed memories and the
techniques used to elicit these sorts of memories.
WHY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES? We feel a need to explain why we will
invite speakers with differing views. Because so much has appeared
with never a question about the reality of all recovered memories,
some people have suggested that we should have a conference that
presented only the skeptical side.
We must have a conference in which all sides are presented because
the lives of thousands of people will be affected by the results. In
the best academic tradition, researchers must publicly present their
evidence, listen to criticism and respond. In the best academic
tradition the body of evidence must be weighed and some operating
principles determined. We have been advised that clinicians and
researchers who are strong believers in the total validity of all
repressed memories will refuse to appear. Since this conference will
be public, we expect that academics, families and the press will
question any researchers who refuse to participate should such an
unlikely situation arise. This is not an ordinary academic
conference. Families and reputations are in the balance. The FMS
Foundation has nothing to hide. We support an open, balanced and
public conference.
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FMS FOUNDATION AD
The following material is to use if you wish to place an ad
announcing the 800 number.
"Have you been falsely accused by an adult on the basis of "recovered
memories?" You are not alone. Help us document the extent of this
phenomenon. Call the False Memory Syndrome Foundation at
1-800-568-8882."
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MEETINGS
We urge every person who receives this newsletter to call the
contact person for the state in which you live. We now have FMS
Foundation liaisons in almost every state.
Some liaisons have expressed frustration that we do not give the
names of people who call the Foundation. We understand that
frustration because it is frustrating from the perspective of the
central office too, and it creates lots of extra work. To date we have
tried to solve this problem by offering to send out flyers on a
state-by-state basis to let members know about meetings. As our
numbers continue to increase, however, it is getting to be more
difficult to do that. We are looking for more efficient ways to let
people know about meetings.
Here are some suggestions:
1) Plan a regular schedule for meetings. We will include this along
with the name of a contact person when we send the original packet.
2) Try to plan meetings enough in advance so that we can announce them
through the newsletter rather than through special flyers -- although
we understand that emergency meetings will happen from time to
time. Please send us in writing any notice you would like to have
included. This should help reduce the number of mistakes.
NEW ENGLAND AREA
Note change of date
Sunday November 1, 1992
1:30 P.M.
Call Joe 508-752-0554 for details
SOUTHWEST REGION
LA, OK, TX, CO, AR, KS, NM
Saturday Nov 7, 1992
9:00 A. M.
Austin, Texas
Rally at the Capitol Bldg
to Encourage Mental Health Reform
for details call Lynn 214-352-7221
or Rosemary 405-439-2459
OHIO AREA
Sunday November 15, 1992
2:00 P.M.
Call Bob or Carole at 216-888-7963
Some groups have asked about forming official branches. For the time
being, it will be the biggest help to the Foundation if you consider
yourself an informal group of "Professionals and Parents in Support of
the FMS Foundation."
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DEFENDING PARENTS FROM UGLY CHARGES
by Lucia Herndon
Philadelphia Inquirer, Sunday, September 20, 1992
A group of young people met recently in a pleasant family room in a
suburban house. How ironic, I though. Meeting in a family room to hear
tales of families torn apart.
The group was made up of people whose siblings have accused their
parents of incest -- a crime that the parents hotly deny. The group
members had gathered to find ways to support one another and their
parents in the face of these ugly accusations.
Their stories were disturbingly similar -- and nearly always
involved women. A sister undergoes therapy for depression or some
other emotional disorder. She announces that she remembers instances
of childhood incest. She then wants her parents to confess to the
abuse and she wants other family members to admit that they were aware
of the situation. If that doesn't happen, she may very well cut off
contact with her entire family.
Devastating to parents, yes. But equally devastating to those
siblings who question the allegations.
They are the peers, the ones left to sort through the situation from
ground level. Initially, the stories sound authentic because they are
recounted with such sincerity. But one woman said that when she
questioned her sister, she discovered that the sister's accusations
failed to hang together. The sister told of being abused as a
2-year-old, but gave the location of the abuse as a house the family
moved to years later.
A high school student said her older sister's revelation Initially
made her fearful of her father.
"I couldn't believe it was true," she said. "But my sister seemed so
sure it happened. After she told me, I didn't want to see my
father. It took me a while to realize that it wasn't true. My sister
nearly wrecked my relationship with my parents."
Others told of their sisters' trying to convince them that they,
too, had been incest victims but were in a stage of deep denial.
"For a while you ask yourself, 'Did this happen to me and forgot
it?'" said one women. "But I realize now that my sister basically has
written a play and has assigned us roles. I'm supposed to be the
repressed victim. My parents are the bad guys."
The question these family members ask is not whether the incest
occured -- they, finally, do not believe that it did. But they do
wonder how these "memories" suddenly materialized. Some think the
answer lies in over-eager therapists who plant the notion of abuse
that an emotionally unstable patient then believes actually happened.
"We're not denying that incest and sexual abuse does occur," said
Pamela Freyd, executive director of the False Memory Syndrome
Foundation, a Philadelphia-based organization of parents whose
children have accused them of sexual abuse.
"But we question charges that surface in a particular situation; one
where adults have spend their entire lives with no memory of these
incidents. When they get into therapy, these memories suddenly
appear. We ask the therapists to use extreme caution, especially if
they are using hypnosis to tap these so-called memories, and [we ask
that] every attempt be made to verify the charges."
Patricia Dice, a family therapist who attended the recent meeting,
said she has dealt with many cases of childhood sexual abuse. But in
those cases, the victims never forget the episodes. The memory does
not fade away, only to return decades later.
Since its inception in March, the False Memory Syndrome Foundation
has been contacted by 1,200 family members across the country who
have been accused of incest. Its mission is to help every member of
the family.
"Parents are understandably upset," said Freyd. "But the siblings
also suffer."
One result frequently is alienation, and not only of the
accuser. Family members have missed graduations, weddings, and other
gatherings because of the rift caused by the accusation -- especially i
the siblings are divided about which people they believe. One woman
said that her sister accused their father not only of years of incest
but also of the ritualistic killing of the family dog in the bathroom.
"It is very clear to me that none of these things happened," said the
women. "But what is true is that my sister believes it happened and
has pulled away form the family because non of us believes it. I was
close to my sister, but now I rarely see her."
Freyd said that incidents such as this are why her organization is
"hard at work to put some restraints on this. The memories tend to get
more and more bizarre. They move on from sexual abuse into satanic
rituals...It's not that bizarre things don't happen, but the pattern
of these memories ought to make therapists stop and say, 'Wait a
minute.'"
Efforts to reason often fail. "I tired to talk to my daughter about
her accusations" of father-daughter incest, said one woman. The
daughter's therapist nixed the conversation. The mother continued: "I
asked her to let me talk to her therapist, but she refused to give me
the name. There is no way we can get to the bottom of this."
One sibling blamed unscrupulous therapists for4 nurturing this type
of accusation.
"They pick on upper-middle-class women," she said. "Those are the
women who have the money for therapy. You won't find poor people making
these kinds of charges. And you won't find therapists going to the
ghetto to look for patients. There's no money there."
"research has shown how easy it is to influence memory," Freyd said,
"I think that most of the therapists involved are sincere, caring
people who are concerned about their patients. But there is a tragic
lack of understanding about the nature of memory."
There was a lot of heartache expressed at this meeting. Yet these
participants seemed to feel the need to try to maintain a relationship
with their sister. It was hard for me to believe that they could
continue the effort, especially when they often were rebuffed.
"They can maintain a lifeline to their sister," Patricia Dice
said. "They can keep the lines of communication open. A place should
remain for that missing family member should they want to return. Often
a sibling can ensure that that space is available."
"Even though it's upsetting for me, I try to keep in touch with
her," said one woman. "I would like my sister back."
For more information contact the False Memory Syndrome Foundation
at 1-800-568-8882.