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3401 Market Street suite 130, 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,
It's happened. We can say it with confidence. The climate
surrounding the FMS phenomenon has shifted. We see many indications of
change in addition to the media coverage. People are beginning to
understand that FMSF is concerned about issues that arise from our
understanding of memory and suggestibility. It is important to address
these issues so that the good efforts to improve the situation for
children and women are not undermined because of incorrect science,
careless therapy or fraud.
PROFESSIONAL INDICATIONS: An important indication of change is the
resolution by the American Medical Association (AMA) warning of the
potential for misapplication in the use of memory enhancement
techniques in recovered memory of abuse cases. While the specific
techniques are not mentioned in the resolution, our data indicate the
following to be most commonly used by therapists who believe that they
can help clients find hidden memories of events: hypnosis, sodium
amytal, guided imagery, participation in survivor groups, reading
self-help survivor books, interpretation of dreams, and body
massages. "Memories" that develop with these techniques are like all
memories of events. Some may be true, some a mixture of fact and
fantasy and some false. Scientific evidence about memory processes
clearly indicates that memories of events are reconstructed and
reinterpreted. Indeed, the problem with memory enhancement techniques
is that they have the potential to be especially suggestive for
vulnerable clients.
ENFORCEMENT INDICATIONS: A major FBI probe into fraud at private
mental hospitals has taken place as we write this newsletter. See
"economic issues" further in the newsletter.
FAMILY INDICATIONS: The most important indications of change are
reported in your letters. Some families report that the accusations
against them have been downgraded from sexual abuse to dysfunctional
family abuse. Since the beginning of July, the number of families who
have reported renewed contact with an alienated or accusing child has
mushroomed. Last year such reports were like drops, then a trickle,
now a steady stream. Siblings who once believed the accusations are
now inviting parents to dinner. Accusers, mostly younger and
unmarried, are making openings: an embarrassed call in the middle of
the night saying, "I love you," a letter, the first in three or four
years, with "Dear Mom and Dad" and "Love."
Parents who have taken the initiative write that their overtures
were well-received -- not all, but enough to give hope that this
nightmare can end. Sisters and brothers have taken the initiative to
arrange meetings -- not all, but many such arrangements are leading to
regular contact. But will this happen fast enough to help accused
parents in their 70s and 80s?
With this change comes a host of new problems. Families are
desperate for help. In past newsletters we wrote that parents seemed
willing to welcome children back with no discussion of the terrible
things that had been said, even when other family members did not want
anything to do with the accuser. They told us that they thought that
discussion and resolution would follow. Some parents now tell us that
they are refusing to consider resumed contact unless there is a full
retraction. "How can there be a meaningful relationship with such
things unsaid?" they ask. "A mature person must be accountable for his
or her actions."
Letters contain a new set of questions. We do not have the
answers. The hurts and the embarrassments on all sides are almost too
great to comprehend. We are soliciting professional advice.
Professionals and retractors tell us "Please welcome your child. It is
the only way to break the closed system of belief in which they are
caught." But some parents find this suggestion difficult to accept.
The suggestions of professionals and retractors have been to try --
when possible -- to maintain some contact with the person with
memories. If that is the advice, then it speaks to a response when
accusing children initiate contact. Can we step back from the anger
and accept a "process" of reconciliation that may take place in
stages? If a child had been hit by a truck and knocked unconscious
only to recover with a strange and hostile personality, would we be
angry at the child? Can we consider, should we consider that FMS is
the social equivalent of being hit by a truck? These are the questions
on the minds of families in September, 1993.
To step back from the anger, can we think about the issues in these
terms. It is easy to understand how people get caught by natural
disasters, such as hurricanes or tornadoes. It is more difficult for
us to see how people get caught by man-made social disasters. Caught
in a war such as the horror of Bosnia: yes, we can understand that.
Held a prisoner of war and denouncing the homeland: it's more
difficult to understand a traitor. Social contagion? Mind control?
These are very difficult processes to understand. How could FMS be
powerful enough for children to do this? An encapsulated mental
aberration? Is that it? It seems so impossible for those we have loved
and trusted and thought we knew. "Are we just making excuses for our
children," families ask.
The "where there's smoke" type of thinking is affecting families as
well as mental health professionals. It is a reality that families
have to live with, that writers and mental health professionals,
relatives and friends may forever pick, poke and look for the
"pathology" in the individuals or the family situations to try to
explain this phenomenon. Therapists are trained to look for
pathologies, but we wonder if they would do that for an individual or
a family caught in a natural disaster. Unlikely. It doesn't make much
sense to ask why an individual or a family was caught in an earthquake
unless there was a disregarded warning.
Disasters happen, both natural and social. Our children and their
therapists have been caught in a social juggernaut that is wildly out
of control. Insisting on a full retraction as a condition of contact
may reinforce the closed cycle. It is the closed-system thinking
cycle that must be broken and that is likely to be an ongoing process
for many families. If a child were hit by a truck, we would expect the
return to normal to take some time. It is likely the same when people
are hit by "social trucks." Retractors have told us that it took
several years to begin to understand their own experiences.
As people become aware of the issues that FMSF has raised, they also
have begun to understand that the families who contact the Foundation
love their children and want to extricate them from a terrible web of
horrible beliefs in which they have inadvertently become
entangled. This is incredibly difficult for everyone involved. There
are no maps out of this web. Families must create them. The process
will be a real test of the strength of families and love.
PAMELA
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Reprinted from Clinical Psychiatry News, August 1, 1993 |
| copyright 1993, by International Medical News Group, |
| a division of Capital Cities Media, Inc. |
| AMA Wary of using 'Memory Enhancement' |
| to Elicit Accounts of Childhood Sexual Abuse |
| |
| Chicago -- The American Medical Association regards the use of |
| "memory enhancement" techniques in eliciting accounts of childhood |
| sexual abuse "to be fraught with problems of potential |
| misapplication," according to a resolution adopted during the |
| annual meeting of the organization's House of Delegates. |
| The resolution was adopted without comment -- and the lack of |
| debate surprised some psychiatrists, who said that the wording of |
| the resolution was "harsh." |
| There is considerable disagreement among psychiatrists about |
| whether putative long-repressed memories of childhood incest or |
| abuse are genuine or an artifact of treatment by poorly trained |
| therapists using hypnosis and other "memory enhancement" |
| techniques. |
| The issue has gained prominence through media coverage of |
| patients who say they have recovered memories of abuse and have |
| accused family members who insist that such memories are false. |
| The AMA resolution also called for a report by the |
| organization's Council of Scientific Affairs evaluating "the |
| validity of techniques used to help patients recall childhood |
| experiences." |
| Although the AMA council had noted in a 1985 report that |
| accounts elicited with hypnosis "can involve confabulations and |
| pseudomemories," that document did not deal with the issue of |
| repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse. |
| Joan Stephenson |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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SCIENTIFIC ISSUES:
It appears that a number of people who in the past talked about
"repression" now wish to replace that term with "traumatic forgetting"
or "traumatic amnesia." According to Christine Courtois "We should be
talking about amnesia and traumatic amnesia rather than repression or
false memories," (Psychiatric Times, Aug '93).
Olio and Cornell, recently noted that "Whether or not repression
exists is really a moot point. Although experimental verification of
repression is weak, the existence of traumatic forgetting has been
convincingly documented." Studies by Briere and Conte, Herman and
Schatzow, and Williams and Finkelhor are cited as evidence for
traumatic forgetting. (Making Meaning not Monsters: Reflections on the
Delayed Memory Controversy.) Given the fact that more than 20 states
have changed their statutes of limitations based on the theory of
repression, it can not so readily be dismissed
Olio and Cornell argue that "Whether it is possible to 'implant'
memories that differ markedly from the individual's experience, such
as memories of childhood abuse in an individual who does not have a
history of abuse, remains an unanswered question." We must ask just
what Olio and Cornell would accept as an answer. Unless empirical
evidence of abuse during space alien abduction or abuse in past lives
is forthcoming, one must assume that people who have remembered such
experiences are "remembering" something that did not happen. We have
found Hidden Memories by Robert Baker and Human Suggestibility (Edited
by John Schumaker) informative on this topic.
Changing the terminology will not change the basic issues of concern
to FMSF. Memories can be true, a mixture of fact and fantasy, or
false. Memories of events are reconstructed and reinterpreted. People
may forget all sorts of things, even traumatic things, and later
recall them. The literature of documented cases, such as Terr's study
of the Children of Chowchilla indicates that people have difficulty
forgetting most traumatic events.
It appears that a remarkable percentage of clinicians are not aware
of basic information about memory. The following research may give
professionals pause.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| I find that the further back I go, the better I remember things, |
| whether they happened or not. |
| Mark Twain |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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YAPKO STUDY: THERAPISTS' UNDERSTANDING OF MEMORY
Michael Yapko, Ph.D. is a psychologist in private practice who has
expertise in the clinical use of hypnosis. He is the author of a
widely used text, Trancework, and is one of a growing number of
concerned professionals who have independently conducted research
related to issues raised by FMSF.
In 1992, Yapko collected surveys from 869 therapists nationwide He
asked them to agree or disagree with statements in an effort to
examine their understanding about memory processes. His results, which
appear in a new book Suggestions of Abuse, show that the average
respondent was 44 years old, mostly in private clinical practice, had
11 years clinical experience and an education one year past master's.
In an interview with Abe Opincar published in the San Diego's Weekly
Reader (8/19/93) Yapko describes his shock at the results. "It was
scary, to say the least, to find out that my professional colleagues,
by and large, believe in myths which they then pass along to their
patients as fact." Following are some of the survey questions and
Dr. Yapko's comments as they appeared in the Opincar article.
* The mind is like a computer, accurately recording events as they
actually occurred.
"33% of respondents agreed with that. It's a terribly erroneous
statement, a myth, but a third of therapists believe it, which means
that you now have therapists out there who believe that any memory you
have is accurate or that if you can't remember something, it's really
in there, if only we find the right key to unlock it."
* If someone doesn't remember much about his or her childhood, it is
most likely because it was somehow traumatic.
"43% of respondents acknowledged that they'd jump to the trauma
conclusion whenever direct memories of childhood are sparse or not
available. Now the fact is that most people don't remember their early
childhood experiences for purely biological reasons, reasons that have
nothing to do with trauma."
* Someone feeling certain about a memory means the memory is likely to
be correct.
"24 % hold this mistaken belief."
* You can recover memories even from the first year of life.
"41% agreed. It is an erroneous notion that memories are all
accurately stored and retrievable, even those from the first year of
life."
* Do you attempt to distinguish between what appear to be true
memories and false memories?
"60% said they do nothing to differentiate."
* Hypnosis can be used to recover memories from as far back as birth.
"54% agreed."
* Hypnosis can be used to recover accurate memories of past lives.
"28% said yes."
Dr. Yapko described what he thinks is the process by which a client
comes to believe things about herself that may not be true.
"There are different kinds of hypnotic states and different ways of
inducing hypnosis. Often you're dealing with what I call informal
hypnosis, where you don't go through the formality of an actual
induction. You have this situation where you have someone, the
therapist, who has credibility, in a position of legitimate authority.
And you have someone who comes into therapy, very vulnerable, looking
for answers. And here's the therapist who's in a position of
authority, who's viewed as a credible expert. And what's most hypnotic
of all, the therapist presents information in a credible way. When
people aren't sure, they look for guidance. Uncertainty is one of the
most advanced techniques of hypnosis, and it's called the confusion
technique. It's a way of deliberately disorienting someone as a way of
building responsiveness.
"In the confusion technique, you give a person more information than
they could possible keep up with, you get them to question everything,
you make them feel uncertain as a way of building up their motivation
to attain certainty. So, for example, if a therapist says to you, "You
fit the profile of an abuse victim," it sounds very scientific. It
sounds like there is a profile, and it sounds like people can be
identified on the basis of that profile.
"It puts you in a double-bind. It's a no-win scenario. If you now
admit that you were abused as a child, there's something wrong with
you. You were abused. If you don't admit that you were abused, then
there's something wrong with you, because you're obviously not facing
facts, you've repressed the memories. Essentially, in this situation,
there's something wrong with you or there's something wrong with you.
"Many times therapists aren't even aware that they're doing
hypnosis. They're doing what they call guided imagery or guided
meditation, which are all very mainstream hypnotic techniques."
IMPLICATIONS OF YAPKO STUDY: If any other medical product had more
than 5,144 complaints it would be taken off the shelves and
examined. The mental health community simply has no system for doing
this. To date the most concrete response has come from the American
Medical Association (see sidebar on first page). Both the American
Psychiatric and American Psychological Associations have established
task forces to study the problems. This is important, but task forces
to study the issues do not offer much personal hope to people in their
70's and 80's.
It is interesting to compare the response of the medical
establishment when someone found a hypodermic in a soda can this
summer. There was an immediate response. Other cans were examined and
television warnings were given. Although other cans with hypodermics
were found, these were apparently 'copy cat' situations.
The soda-can/hypodermic situation gave clear evidence of imitation.
Does anyone doubt that there is also 'copy-catting' when celebrities
come forth to describe their recovered memories of childhood abuse?
Does anyone doubt that there is imitation when the talk shows, the
docudramas, the soap operas and the print media saturate us with
"undocumented" stories of childhood abuse. Sixty percent of the
therapists in Yapko's study did nothing to differentiate true memories
from false memories. Yes child abuse exists and it is a serious
problem. We must not make a mockery of child abuse because of
ignorance about memory processes.
When clients say (as so many of the children with memories have said
to their families) that they think a parent or the cult is going to
murder them, when they say that they believe they are the focus of
intent of harm from someone, isn't it important to corroborate this
belief for the safety of the client, either real or imagined.
If a driver had an accident because she had not bothered to learn
the rules for driving a new truck, would we hold that person
accountable even though she didn't mean to do it? Obviously we
would. Therapists assume a tremendous power and responsibility when
they begin to advise people about their lives. A part of that
responsibility is understanding the tools of their trade. There has
been a terrible failure of the mental health training and monitoring
system if the data of Yapko's study are representative of the state of
knowledge of memory by therapists.
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THE 25 HIGHEST RATED BOOKS:
NATIONAL SURVEY OF CLINICAL AND COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGISTS.
In a survey of 500 clinical and counseling psychologists conducted
for a forthcoming book entitled The Authoritative Guide to Self-Help
Books to be published by Guilford Press in late 1993, the book The
Courage to Heal by Ellen Bass and Laura Davis came out number one.
This book was rated highest by more respondents than any other
self-help book. Number two was Feeling Good by David Burns and Number
three was Infants and Mothers by T. Berry Brazelton.
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Two studies indicate high rate of personal psychosocial trauma in the
early life of social work students.
Last autumn we reported on a study that indicated that a very large
percent of therapists identified themselves as having been abused in
some way. This is of interest to the extent that it might reflect on
their practice. Two schools of social work have conducted surveys of
their students and also found a very higher rate of family of origin
dysfunction and childhood trauma. These studies recommend that social
work schools revise their programs because of the effect such a
background may have on practice. While a "wounded healer" may have
special insight and sensitivity, if the problems have not been worked
through, the therapist may bring biases that are harmful to the
therapeutic relationship.
"This becomes a fundamental issue of professional competence and
ethical practice." Black et al suggest that the Council of Social Work
Education could facilitate investigation into this issue by
acknowledging it as a priority and by funding needed research.
Russel, R., Gill, P., Coyne, A., & Woody, J. (Winter 1993).
Dysfunction in the family of origin of MSW and other graduate
students. Journal of Social Work Education (29) 1. p 121-129. Black,
P., Jeffreyd, D., Hartley, E. (Spring/Summer 1993). Personal history
of psychosocial trauma in the early life of social work and business
students. Journal of Social Work Education (29) 2. p 171-180
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| To take the valuable therapeutic techniques of discussing memories |
| beyond its legitimate use as a means for exploring current |
| functioning, by employing it as a means for establishing |
| historical events, is intellectually dishonest. Ultimately this |
| practice harms patients, those around them and society as a whole. |
| Our courts do not permit polygraph results to be used as |
| evidence of a defendant's truthfulness, because polygraph results |
| are sometimes accurate and sometimes not. By the same logic, the |
| use of therapeutically derived memories as evidence of historical |
| events should also be banned. |
| Thomas D. Shazer, Forensic Psychologist |
| Detroit Free Press 6/ 3/ 93 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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DELEGATION MEETS WITH NASW
On July 27, 1993 FMSF representatives met staff of the National
Association of Social Work (NASW) at their national headquarters in
Washington. The NASW delegation included the Acting Director of
Professional Affairs and the Director of the Council for Clinical
Practice in addition officers in charge of ethics and accrediting. The
meeting took place in an atmosphere of understanding and
collaboration. The NASW staff members seemed aware of the concerns of
families who have been harmed by false memories. One of the NASW Staff
noted that the issues that faced the social work profession as it
relates to false memories were competence and ethics. Some tentative
strategies of informing NASW members of the harm being created were
agreed to and the development of an appropriate ongoing relationship
with the Clinical Council is being explored.
FMSF members will be kept informed of developments. If any member
wants more details about this meeting please get in touch with the
office
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MORE EVIDENCE OF CHANGED CLIMATE?
Many of you wrote to tell us of your concern that most of the
publications aimed at our accusing children had printed much
inaccurate information about FMSF during the summer. While it is
indeed unfortunate that incorrect information about FMSF has appeared,
we view the effort as a sign of the changing climate. These
publications have devoted a generous portion of their space to issues
of FMS, sometimes as much as 50 percent. They have helped us alert a
vulnerable population to the fact that issues of memory are not
simple. They have helped us remind people that while some memories
are true, some are a mixture of fact and fantasy and some are false.
Sometimes these publications forgot to mention that we have a deep
concern for issues of child abuse and that we care deeply about people
who have been abused. Still, the help that they have given is great
and we hope that they will continue to help us inform people about
some basic issues of memory and why it is important to use caution
when dealing with memories.
It must be a sign of a changing climate that many conferences now
include sessions on the issues of FMS. Most of these conferences are
highly responsible, and they reflect the response of concerned
professionals to the issues we have raised.
A few conferences, however, raise our eyebrows rather than the
issues. We received letters, for example, about the cheering behavior
of therapists attending a conference in Ann Arbor sponsored by Foote
Hospital and the Michigan Psychological Association. On August 7, we
were told, more than 200 therapists stood and cheered as one of the
speakers denounced her parents. Putting aside the truth or falsity of
the abuse allegations because that is not an appropriate topic for
this newsletter, we would comment on the processes involved. The
cheering behavior took place at what had been advertised as a
scientific meeting deemed worthy of continuing education credit. Is a
personal denunciation an appropriate part of a professional meeting?
Some attendees told us that they thought not.
How did the cheering therapists know the truth or falsity or even
the full story of the accusations by the denouncer? What if the story
were not quite right and the denouncer was disturbed? Is it ever
professional for a therapist to cheer someone who denounces his or her
parents?
As is typical of reports that are received by FMS, the parents were
not allowed to be present. They were told it was a professional
conference and that they were not qualified to attend. Information
that might have presented an alternative view or hypothesis was not
allowed. The only difference between most of the reports we receive
and this one is that instead of one or two therapists present for the
denunciation, there were more than 200. A characteristic of FMS is the
assiduous avoidance of any conflicting information. The organizers and
participants at the Ann Arbor conference assiduously avoided any
alternative explanation on this topic.
This conference is a highly public and visible example of the
attitudes and behavior of some therapists that cause families to
contact the Foundation. Two hundred therapists cheering at a
denunciation of parents does not present an image of therapists as
professionals. We wonder if cheering therapists can recall that part
of their code of ethics that states: do no harm.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| According to a notice in U.S. News and World Report on August 23, |
| recovery book sales have taken a deep drop this year estimated |
| between 11% and 40%. In the same notice was information that |
| several new books that debunk or lampoon the "recovery movement" |
| will soon be available. Suggestions of Abuse by Michael Yapko and |
| Enough Is Enough: Weekly Meditations for Living Dysfunctionally, |
| are published by Simon & Schuster. Heeling Your Inner Dog by |
| Nicole Gregory & Judith Stone, Times Books |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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ECONOMIC ISSUES:
INSURANCE INITIATIVES: Two managed health care providers informed us
of newly implemented policy changes that they thought others would be
interested in knowing about. In one case, the provider will now only
make third-party payments to the therapist who actually services the
client rather than to a licensed professional who supervises
unlicensed employees. The provider told us that this has greatly
improved their monitoring process. In another example, a provider will
no longer make payments in "recovered memories of abuse" cases unless
it can be shown that good faith efforts were made to involve the
accused parents in the diagnosis process. There are many small steps
that can be taken by concerned people to help alleviate the problems
of the FMS phenomenon.
PRIORITIES: The economic issues of health care are increasingly
discussed. "We're spending 14 percent of our GNP" on health care
according to Bernard Blook, a Penn professor who specializes in
evaluating medical treatments (Philadelphia Inquirer, 8/29/93). Such
discussion has already begun to focus on what types of mental health
care will be covered. Will it be a priority that insurance pay for
"recovered memories" of past lives, space alien abductions, and
satanic cult conspiracies, especially if memory enhancement techniques
are involved?
FRAUD: Investigations into private mental hospitals and health care
continue. "Federal officials have said that medical fraud may account
for $80 billion to $100 billion of the more than $900 billion that
Americans will spend on health care this year," The New York Times,
(8/28/93), p 1. A recent television documentary captured two examples
in which private mental hospitals gave a diagnosis to an insurance
carrier before doctors had even interviewed the clients.
"NME Offices Raided in Major Fraud Probe" is the headline in the Los
Angeles Times, August 28, as we write this newsletter. Besides the
fact that sixteen insurers have sued National Medical in federal court
for overbilling in the about of $750 million, there are more than 100
civil suits alleging abuse and mistreatment of patients at
company-owned facilities. The investigation of this hospital chain,
which includes facilities about which many parents have complained, is
taking place across the country and involves the FBI, Health and Human
Services, IRS, Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the
U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The economic implications of raising the simple question of the
evidence for "repressed memories" are far reaching and may explain
some of the very strong organizational opposition to FMSF. The
economic aspects of the FMS phenomenon will emerge as part of the
independent ongoing larger federal investigations into medical fraud.
The factors that brought about such investigations overlap with
factors that brought FMSF into existence.
A possible history of how FMS fits into the fraud investigations
might be inferred from a Publishers Weekly, July 5 article by Margaret
Jones entitled, "Getting away from the 'R' word," about the dramatic
loss in recovery book sales this past year -- in some cases up to 40
percent.
"By 1990, recovery had exploded into the mass culture, accounting
for an estimated $60 million per year in retail book sales. The boom
was supported during the '80s by the insurance industry, which paid
for the in-patient recovery programs to which corporations across
America were sending tens of thousands of employees.
"Then in the late '80s, insurance companies pulled the plug on the
inpatient hospital treatment programs. Many treatment centers
downsized or closed, and word-of-mouth was dramatically reduced. The
insurance bust converged with the glut of books, which coincided with
the recession."
Is it a coincidence that accusations based on the "recovery of
repressed memories of abuse" began to explode just when insurance
payments for other in-hospital recovery were cut? Childhood abuse was
said to cause post traumatic stress syndrome, a condition still
covered by insurance. This is the sort of question families and
investigators are asking.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| When a memory is distorted, or confabulated, the result can be |
| what has been called the False Memory Syndrome -- a condition in |
| which a person's identity and interpersonal relationships are |
| centered around a memory of traumatic experience which is |
| objectively false but in which the person strongly believes. Note |
| that the syndrome is not characterized by false memories as such. |
| We all have memories that are inaccurate. Rather, the syndrome may |
| be diagnosed when the memory is so deeply ingrained that it |
| orients the individual's entire personality and lifestyle, in turn |
| disrupting all sorts of other adaptive behaviors. The analogy to |
| personality disorder is intentional. False Memory Syndrome is |
| especially destructive because the person assiduously avoids |
| confrontation with any evidence that might challenge the memory. |
| Thus it takes on a life of its own, encapsulated, and resistant to |
| correction. The person may become so focused on the memory that he |
| or she may be effectively distracted from coping with the real |
| problems in his or her life. |
| John Kihlstrom |
| Recovery of Memory in Laboratory and Clinic |
| A Paper presented at the joint convention of the Rocky Mountain |
| Psychological, Association and The Western Psychological |
| Association, Phoenix, April 1993 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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WHINING ABOUT ABUSE IS AN EPIDEMIC
Rowland Nethaway
Des Moines Register, August 9, 1993
reprinted with permission
A recent Jules Feiffer cartoon hit home. It had eight panels and
showed an attractive young couple standing face to face. In the first
panel, the woman says, "I just met you. So I'm concerned about
date-rape." The man in the first panel has a big smile and a look of
anticipation.
In the second panel, the woman says, "So don't hold my hand." The
man is still smiling, but a bit less. In the third panel, the woman
says, "Don't put your arm around me." The man stops smiling. In the
fourth panel, the woman says, "Don't kiss me." The man looks
puzzled. In the fifth panel, the woman says, "Don't fondle me." The
man frowns.
In the sixth panel, the woman, looking angry, says, "Don't grope."
The man looks angry. In the seventh panel, the woman looks surprised
as the man turns away. In the last panel, the woman yells at the now
departed man, "Rejection is abuse, you know!" Well, of course it is,
dear. What isn't abuse these days?
Is it just me, or does it seem as though abuse is sweeping the
country? It's hot. It's in. It's bigger than recycling, spotted owls,
rain forests and the ozone hole.
Many Americans feel they just haven't lived unless they've been
abused. There are now support groups in cities and hamlets from sea
to shining sea for every imaginable form of abuse. Abuse exploded out
of the closet into a major American industry. It's the subject of
movies, television shows and countless articles.
Abuse is such a hot topic that it constitutes abuse if you can't
remember ever being abused. And why not? Why should you be left out
when all your friends and all the big tabloid stars have heart-rending
stories about their abuse? It just isn't fair.
But where there's a will, there's a way. A theory advanced in a
hot-selling book comes to the aid of people who can't recall being
abused. As I understand it, the logic behind this theory is flawless.
If things aren't going as well in your life as you believe they
should be going, then you probably have suffered abuse you can't
recall. It's buried deep inside. It's clogging things up. It prevents
you from feeling better and reaching your full potential.
To overcome this inability to recall abuse in your life, you must
sit down and try to picture being abused. Sometimes it helps to pay a
professional abuse seeker to bring this out. But if you keep working
at it, eventually the abuse will come to you. Then you can sue your
parents or the other guilty parties, share your story with friends and
literary agents and be on your way to recovery.
Where did this nationwide epidemic of abuse come from? My guess is
television. It's responsible for everything else that's wrong in
America. Why not abuse, too? Of course there are handguns, trial
lawyers, foreigners and Congress to consider.
Abuse is blamed for the breakup of families, poor academic
achievement, drug use, violence, crime, unemployment, dead-end jobs,
sloth, greed, promiscuity and burned corn bread. America is becoming a
nation of whiners. No stone is left unturned in search for excuses.
Abuse now starts before conception. It is practiced by prospective
parents, parents, adults, siblings, peers, teachers, lovers, spouses,
employers, government and society.
Feeling left out and picked on by all the other abused Americans,
wealthy white males now say they are being abused. That's a good sign.
Now everyone in America is a victim of abuse. We all have excuses. We
can start clean, take responsibility for our lives and hope it becomes
the next trend.
**********************************************************************
LEGAL ISSUES:
Rules for scientific testimony changed: "For 70 years, the Supreme
Court has used a standard for admitting scientific testimony into
evidence in federal courts based on 'general acceptance': A scientific
technique had to be generally accepted by the scientific community
before evidence derived from it could be admitted." In June, a
decision in the case Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals the Court
threw out the old standard, known as the Frye test, and told the
judges to think like scientists. Judges will now "have to decide which
experts will be allowed to testify before a jury and what they may
discuss." A report by the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology
and Government, Science and Technology in Judicial Decision Making
will be one source of help to judges in making these decisions. "Most
experts say it will take considerable time to measure the impact of
the court's new standard on the quality of scientific witnesses in the
courtroom." Science (261) 2 July 1993.
The Court gave some guidelines for screening scientific evidence
under Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. Included in these
guidelines is a statement that the court should determine whether the
theory or techniques in question can be (or have been) tested. How
will this relate to the "theory of repression?"
**********************************************************************
WHO IS ADVERSARIAL?
FMSF has been accused of being adversarial. We cite the following: On
the Oprah Winfrey show that was broadcast on July 26, 1993, the
following exchange occurred between Jack Collier of Santa Cruz and
Ellen Bass (also of Santa Cruz):
Collier: My daughter followed your book to the letter, including
choosing her attorney off page 311.
Bass: The Courage to Heal does not tell anyone that they should sue,
it doesn't even tell anyone that they should confront.
We are sure that Ms Bass was sincere in that claim. Perhaps she
forgot. Just before listing those attorneys on page 311 the book
quotes the first of them as follows (page 310):
In my experience, nearly every client who has undertaken this kind
of suit has experienced growth, therapeutic strengthening, and an
increased sense of personal power and self-esteem as a result of
litigation...a lot of my clients also feel a tremendous sense of
relief and victory. They get strong by suing. They step out of the
fantasy that it didn't happen or that their parents really loved and
cared for them in a healthy way. It produces a beneficial separation
that can be a rite of passage for the survivor.
Therapeutic litigation! Please note that Ms Bass is technically
correct -- the book does not tell anyone that she should sue. And it
doesn't say that she should confront, indeed, on page 143:
Whatever your reasons, if you're not ready for a confrontation, or
if it's not right for you, don't feel obligated to do one. You can
heal without it.
But this comes after we read on page 139:
There are many ways to confront or disclose. You can do it in
person, over the phone, through a letter, in a telegram, or through
an emissary. Twenty years ago, a woman went to her grandfather's
funeral and told each person at the grave site what he had done to
her. In Santa Cruz...There they are, ten or twenty women surrounding
a man, giving tangible support to the survivor, as she names what he
has done to her. This makes for a dramatic and effective
confrontation. One survivor told us the story of a woman who exposed
her brother on his wedding day. She wrote down exactly what he'd
done to her and made copies. Standing in the receiving line, she
handed everyone a sealed envelope, saying, "There are some of my
feelings about the wedding. Please read it when you get home." The
initial confrontation is not the time to discuss the issues, to
listen to your abuser's side of the story, or to wait around to deal
with everyone's reactions.
We ask again. Who is adversarial?
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Who is adversarial? |
| |
| Richard Kluft, M.D. continues to provide us with quotations. On |
| the Aug 10 telecast of the 700 Club he said "We're seeing a |
| terrible thing because we're seeing an adversarial process brought |
| into to disrupt the healing process." Strangely enough he was |
| complaining about us. Besides Courage to Heal, perhaps he should |
| look at the recent article by Sylvia Chute that advocates "Adult |
| Survivor Litigation as an Integral Part of the Therapeutic |
| Process" in The Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Vol 2(1) 1993. |
| |
| Dr. Kluft took the same occassion to provide more evidence of our |
| effectiveness when he complained "It is a rare day that half of my |
| patients don't mention the False Memory Syndrome Foundation |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
POLITICAL ISSUES -- IS THIS A WITCH HUNT?
The ongoing coverage by the media is another sign of the change in
climate. The vast majority of the coverage is increasing in depth and
understanding of the varied and complex issues of memory and
suggestibility.
FMS is just a part of a larger phenomenon. The Frontline documentary
on the Little Rascals case in Edenton, NC resulted in many
professional calls to the Foundation, even though the topic was
alleged sexual abuse in a day care setting. In this program, several
jury members said that they saw no evidence, did not think a person
was guilty of the crimes charged and yet voted to convict."I didn't
know it was this bad," said one doctor. "It was the most chilling show
I have ever seen," said a professor of psychology. "Sex abuse hysteria
is real. It really is a witch-hunt," said a reporter. We agreed with
each of them.
And from Africa: "I'm finding a lot of people suffering from stress
that is presenting itself as a psychosomatic illness," said Maxwell
Okonji, a Kenyan psychiatrist. "They can't see the connection between
the pressures they are suffering under and the way they feel. It is
easier for them to see it as something cast on them." An explosion of
"witch-hunting" in Kenya this summer has left 50 people dead. In one
example four sons hacked their parents to death claiming the couple
bewitched them. It appears that a basic belief in witchcraft has
fueled a hunt for witches to blame for the country's worsening
economic crisis. (Associated Press, D. Schanche, 7/30/93)
Witch hunts can and do happen and the definition of "witch" is
culturally determined. In times past, many treatises were published on
the signs and symptoms of witches. Now we have books on the signs and
symptom of "abusers." Do many books about a topic make is so?
**********************************************************************
FROM OUR READERS
A large proportion of our mail is from professionals. With this
issue, we begin to print some of the positive and negative letters
from professionals.
Dear Editor
I've just finished listening to the audio tapes of the April, 1993
conference, "Memory and Reality: Emerging Crisis," at Valley Forge,
Pennsylvania. I was quite impressed with the quality of presenters -
experts on hypnosis, memory, forensic psychiatry, etc. However, I was
dismayed at the bashing that several presenters engaged in against
both the diagnosis of multiple personality disorder (MPD) and the
International Society for the Study of Multiple Personality and
dissociation (ISSMP&D).
Your readers should know that MPD is an official diagnosis which has
been in the American Psychiatric Association diagnostic manual (DSM)
since 1980. MPD has been discussed in the scientific literature since
the mid-eighteenth century, although it has been called by different
names and will have yet another name change, dissociative identity
disorder, when DSM-IV is published in 1994. In the past several years
there has been a tendency towards an over-diagnosis of MPD, so the
diagnostic criteria have been tightened by the addition of an amnesia
criterion for DMS-IV. In North America there still appears to be
professional skepticism towards MPD as a diagnosis, but this comes
mostly from older clinicians who claim never to have seen a case.
Although the precise incidence of MPD is unknown, it is recognized as
occurring more commonly than previously, and other dissociative
symptoms have been noted as occurring extremely commonly both in the
general and psychiatric populations.
The ISSMP&D is a professional organization devoted to research and
education about MPD and the other dissociative disorders. It was
founded in 1983 and has grown from about 40 charter members to well
over 2500 members at the present time. The official journal of the
ISSMP&D is Dissociation, which is now in its sixth year of
publication. In October the ISSMP&D will have its tenth annual
scientific meeting. Two years ago the theme of our conference was
memory and a number of memory and hypnosis experts from around the
country served as plenary speakers. Contrary to what some people
believe, the ISSMP&D does not sponsor workshops on satanic ritual
abuse (SRA), although there have been various symposia presented on
SRA at our meetings, and Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center
has sponsored conferences on SRA, usually after the ISSMP&D annual
scientific meeting.
Other experts on MPD including myself have spoken and published and
participated in peer review examinations on the therapeutic abuses
that many of your speakers addressed in your April, 1993
conference. These include misdiagnosis of MPD and sexual abuse,
failure to obtain collateral information from family members, failure
to maintain therapeutic boundaries, failure to maintain therapeutic
neutrality, misuse of insurance monies, etc. Currently members of the
ISSMP&D are working on therapeutic guidelines to address these abuses.
As a past President of the ISSMP&D I would hope that we could
establish a dialogue between our respective organizations. We need to
attend and speak at each others' conferences and read each others'
literature. I publish a "Recent Articles and Books" column for the
ISSMP&D Newsletter and would welcome the submission of items of
scientific literature that address false or pseudomemories.
The occurrence of childhood sexual abuse is a tragic phenomenon of
our society; the occurrence of false claims of sexual abuse is equally
tragic. Both rip at the very fabric of our traditional family, long
considered the mainstay of American society. We must work together to
lessen the incidence of both phenomena.
Sincerely yours,
Philip M. Coons, M.D.
We welcome a dialogue with Dr. Coons and hope it is a beginning of
dialogue with many professionals who may hold some notions with which
we may not agree. When people surround themselves only with those who
think exactly the same, ideas will not be challenged. It is by
challenging ideas that we refine our theories and develop new
theories.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Where do 5,144 families live? Aug 28, '93 |
| AK(10) AL(18) AR(18) AZ(145) CA(845) CO(89) CT(51) DE(19) |
| FL(209) GA(63) HI(7) IA(40) ID(28) IL(214) IN(55) KS(48) |
| KY(19) LA(22) MA(133) MD(91) ME(26) MI(166) MN(91) MO(97) |
| MS(6) MT(33) NC(70) ND(6) NE(25) NH(24) NJ(124) NM(39) |
| NV(21) NY(238) OH(182) OK(46) OR(130) PA(273) RI(16) SC(23) |
| SD(12) TN(39) TX(201) UT(159) VA(73) VT(24) WA(238) WI(163) |
| WV(10) WY(11) DC(7) VI(3) PR(1) Canada: AB(18) BC(54) |
| MB(39) NS(11) ON(146) PQ(4) SK(7) PE(1) Australia(5) |
| England(150) France(2) Germany(1) Ireland(1) Israel(2) |
| Netherlands(1) New Zealand(1) |
| Each family represents many people. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
In the May newsletter we printed a list of criteria that we thought
had been designed to indicate characteristics of incestuous families.
We looked at the list and at the data from the family surveys and
suggested that such a list might also be a helpful indicator of
non-incestous families. In doing this we caused great distress to the
originator of the criteria which was not our intention. We received
the following letter:
July 5, 1993
Dear Editor:
I am responding to the article entitled "The Calof Criteria," in
the May 3, 1993, FMS Foundation Inc. newsletter. To begin with the
tone of this article is very off-putting to me. It appears that my
research with incestuous families is not being used to develop an
objective exploration of issues of memory and traumatic memory, as
much as it is being manipulated to support a previous bias. This is
no more scientific than the preponderance of the publicity being
generated by the Foundation. My list of characteristics were never
intended as a weighted checklist nor does the absence of any trait
in any case reliably rule out sexual abuse. Certainly, the absence
of multiple personality disorder does not preclude abuse. The
"member" who cited my incestuous family criteria fails to mention
anything about patients' symptoms in determine whether they have
survived abuse or trauma.
You're stated attitude that "it is not clear if accused parents
should accept any of the burden of proof in these cases" also puts
me off. It speaks to a sense of entitlement that I am sure you would
not tolerate in the reverse. I am wondering what you will do if
truly abused individuals start bringing suits against their
perpetrators, charging their perpetrators with "false memory
syndrome," due to the propagandistic and proselytizing efforts of
the Foundation. Will you then say those accusing others of false
memory syndrome need offer no burden of proof?
This article, like most of the rest of the literature I have seen
generated from you group, patently denies the distinction between
forensic psychology and psychotherapy. Routinely, you ask therapists
to violate confidentiality in order to obtain corroborative evidence
for their patient's claims. The "member" is quoted as stating, "One
would hope that a therapist whose client develops memories of incest
would think it routine to check this list against the record." This
statement is astonishing to me in two ways. First, it shows absolute
ignorance of issues of confidentiality and privacy in conducting
effective psychotherapy. Second, it contains a maddening
presupposition that some kind of "record" can be reliably checked
for crimes committed decades ago.
For the anonymous "member" who would have me being Columbo to my
patients' claims, I have several questions. Would this "member" be
willing to advocate for greater funding of community mental health
centers where the vast majority of traumatized individuals are being
seen? At present most of the therapists there all have waiting lists
of patients who are in dire straits and who need treatment. Even if
it was intellectually and therapeutically sound for therapists to
become detectives, how does this individual propose to pay for the
many extra hours this kind of investigative work would entail?
I'm wondering also if your members would submit to the same
standards they propose. Would they agree that if they come to
therapy alleging "false memory syndrome" in a member of their
family, that their therapist should have free access to physicians,
teachers, childhood friends, and associates, to establish whether
they are lying, or suffering from a dissociative disorder or
alcoholism? Would they encourage a therapist to independently seek
verification for any statements they produce in therapy? If they
placed themselves in this scenario, I'm sure they will see how this
confusion of roles is antithetical to psychotherapy itself.
Lastly, your movement began as an attempt to mount legal defenses
for allegations of abuse in your families. That is where you should
confine your efforts. It is clear that your Foundation will
contribute very little to increase our knowledge of effective
psychotherapy. Your attacks and sometimes vicious ad hominem attacks
on therapists do nothing to advance the level of the debate. Deal
with the obvious pain in your own families. You will be far more
credible to others if you are able to heal the obvious dysfunction
in your own families. Simply because your families are in a state of
siege, does not uniquely qualify you to speak to scientific issues.
Because the Foundation's efforts have been disruptive, re-
traumatizing and hurtful to innocent people, I can only assume that
your motives are disingenuous if these uniformed and mean-spirited
attacks continue.
I remain available for a true scientific dialogue on issues of
traumatic memory but I must demand in the strongest terms that my
clinical research not be allegedly"scientifically" reviewed by a lay
individual who as a matter of record has an axe to grind.
Sincerely,
David L. Calof
FMSF Response: The possibility that the Calof Criteria might be used
to argue that abuse did not take place appears to have upset
Mr. Calof. Actually a good question presents itself: just what was the
purpose of his list of the sixteen traits "most often used by
incestuous families to maintain the integrity and homeostasis of the
family unit"? One would have thought that at least one of their
purposes is to make it easier to recognize incestuous families (as
suggested by Mr. Calof when he calls them "my incestuous family
criteria"). And one would have thought that the extent to which the
Calof Criteria can do that must have some connection with the extent
to which the Calof Criteria can make it easier to recognize
non-incestuous families.
To consider his points in the sequence presented, we do not disagree
with "nor does the absence of any trait reliably rule out sexual
abuse." Of course not. But we wonder about the absence of most or
even all of them? Mr. Calof says that "the absence of multiple
personality disorder does not preclude abuse." This confuses us. Is
MPD considered a family trait? Is the absence of MPD then confirmation
of false memory syndrome? Mr. Calof then complains that we failed "to
mention anything about patients' symptoms." We are confused.
We are sorry that Mr. Calof is put off by the sentence: It is not
clear if accused parents should accept any of the burden of proof in
these cases. But he might have noticed the antecedent in the previous
sentence: Lawyers use the phrase "proving a negative" to describe the
impossible task of proving that something did not happen. Mr. Calof
goes on to ask "Will you then say that those accusing others...need
offer no burden of proof?" No, we would not say that at all. We are
saying that the accuser should offer the burden of proof. It's the
accused that maybe shouldn't. This is a fundamental aspect of our
legal system and our logic system: It is the accuser who should offer
the burden of proof. "When did you stop beating your wife?" is the
classic example given to school children.
As for the next two paragraphs, in which Mr. Calof tries to make it
appear ludicrous that anyone would suggest that a therapist should be
concerned with checking the record, we would remind him that the
answer appeared in the same issue as The Calof Criteria, indeed, on
the same page. Perhaps Mr. Calof should address Dr. Paul McHugh about
his "absolute ignorance of issues of confidentiality and privacy in
conducting effective psychotherapy," particularly when Dr. McHugh
advises asking whether the accuser's therapist has also asked for
information from these sources.
Mr. Calof asks, "Would they agree that if they come into therapy
alleging 'false memory syndrome' in a member of their family, that
their therapist should have free access to physicians, teacher,
childhood friends, and associates, to establish whether they are
lying, or suffering from a dissociative disorder or alcoholism? Would
they encourage a therapist to independently seek verification for any
statements they produce in therapy." YES, YES, YES! That's just what
the families are asking for. When he writes "If they placed themselves
in this scenario, I'm sure they will see how this confusion of roles
is antithetical to psychotherapy itself" it seems that Mr. Calof must
be assuming that we are guilty.
In his "Lastly" paragraph Mr. Calof seems to be saying that he was
being attacked. Does the printing of the Calof Criteria constitute an
attack? We would point out that Mr. Calof makes unsubstantiated
assertions about how our "movement began," about our "vicious ad
hominem attacks on therapists," about the "obvious dysfunction" in our
families, about the Foundation's efforts being "disruptive,
re-traumatizing and hurtful to innocent people." And then he refers to
"these uninformed and mean-spirited attacks." Indeed. Who is attacking
whom?
Mr. Calof follows the "Lastly" paragraph by saying that he "must
demand in the strongest terms that [his] clinical research not be
allegedly 'scientifically' reviewed by a lay individual who as a
matter of record has an axe to grind." We did not suggest that we were
scientifically reviewing research. We thought that we noted that a
list of criteria for recognizing incestuous families was already in
the literature. We suggested that if such a list could be used to note
incestuous families then the same list could be used to note
non-incestous families by the absence of the characteristics. We are
sorry that this assumption has so upset Mr. Calof. from our readers -
families
**********************************************************************
STORY AFTER STORY: IMPRESSIONS OF AN FMSF MEETING
"One freshly initiated law suit. Other stories all similar. The
Courage to Heal book over and over. Some families with no contact for
three or four years. Some with letters returned, unopened. Some
taking money from home, both checks and cash. Some never cash the
checks that are sent as gifts. Heartbroken moms and dads not seeing
their children or grandchildren. Some quite elderly. They are so sad.
Tears. Some, the father alone was supposedly the molester and some the
mother supposedly helped and held her legs. Eight attempted suicides
by one daughter. Some siblings with parents, others validating the
accuser. People in high positions not wanting publicity. Ministers
with daughters doing this. Therapists with daughters doing this.
Story after story.
**********************************************************************
MANY KINDS OF TRAUMA
"Millions for Counseling Riot Victims Went Unspent" was the August
13 headline in the Los Angeles Times. Half of a federal $5.9 million
dollar grant for trauma victims of the Los Angeles riots had to be
returned because mental health agencies could not find ways to use the
money. Not enough victims came to the agencies for support, was one
reason given. Minority victims are wary of involvement with government
agencies it was explained. Contrast the efforts to help victims in
this real, tangible current trauma, documented in reality trauma, with
the efforts mounted for possible sex abuse victims in the article,
"Family Service chosen for child abuse funding," Desert Post, August
11. Note that in the latter case, the agency and therapists have gone
into high gear to find the victims. They are using volunteers and
bilinguals to help find minority victims.
"Fires, shootings, looting, vandalism, racial riots do not seem to
incur the wrath of therapists. But undocumented projections of child
abuse bring therapists running to claim child victims to be removed
from their families. Maybe I am misinterpreting, but that's what it
seems to me is the case.
A Mom
**********************************************************************
FEELINGS AFTER CONTACT IS RESUMED
"My dilemma, is that in spite of the peace offering and the fact
that she is going through a very tough time, I still find it very hard
to forgive her, and this makes me feel ashamed. Telling her how I felt
did make me feel a bit better, and I hope to come around before long,
though I suspect she still has feelings of animosity towards me. This
may be why I'm reluctant, for I wonder if she only wants new material
for her therapy group."
A Mom
**********************************************************************
EVIDENCE OF A MIND SET
"A friend of mine was arrested for drunk driving. She later told me
about the twenty-four questions she was asked during her
interview. Twenty-two questions focused on her past driving record and
the other two were, "Do you believe you were sexually abused?" and "Do
you think you were ever sexually abused?" She said that she answer
"no" to these questions as she did to most of the other questions.
"Later, she told me that she was incensed to discover the written
remarks accompanying the questions. "Subject denies being abused" and
"Subject is in deep denial." Remarks accompanying the other questions
were "yes" or "no."
"There is no way that someone cannot have been abused when questions
are handled in this way. If a person says "yes" then they were abused
and if they say "no" then they are classified as denying their
abuse. It is quite remarkable.
A Friend
**********************************************************************
IT'S IMPORTANT TO WRITE LETTERS
"We can make a difference. One TV executive told me he received a
letter and he was sure that the person who wrote it had no idea what a
stir it made. It went from office to office until finally it was
answered. One letter is equated to the feelings of 100,000 people, he
said. That's how few people write. We can make a difference"
**********************************************************************
A DAUGHTER'S CALL
"My daughter called me about two weeks ago.This was the first
contact since last November at which time I had despaired and had
decided to not initiate further calls to her. It was all just too
upsetting. So this recent call came as a surprise. She called as
though nothing much was wrong, almost as though she had been on a long
trip, perhaps to another planet, and was now calling to bring me up to
date on her life.
"The first hour went reasonable well though she talks incessantly
about herself and showed relatively little interest in learning about
others. During this time, she disclosed that, as a nurse, she has
embarked on a graduate program in psychiatric nursing and is now
herself doing therapy at some unfortunate small hospital. In the
course of making some extravagant claims about her talents and gifts
for this line of work, she allowed that the enormous amount of
suffering that she went through as a child probably contributes to her
inestimable skill as a therapist. She said this, or words to that
effect a couple of times. The first time I let it go, but not the
second. It was too much.
"An unpleasant conversation followed. I think that you might find
the following revelations to be of interest. One is that her father
and I have been downgraded from child "abusers" to "negligent
parents." Mainly, it seems, we were negligent because, for one thing,
her father was away at work a lot of the time (which is true). Another
reason is that she remembers that I sometimes became angry. The third
is -- and this is the frosting on the cake -- she did not feel "safe."
Probing on my part revealed that this meant that she did not always
feel "safe" to disclose to her father and me all of her inner
feelings. And that's it. She is now sure that she was not sexually
abused.
"For this, I have not seen her or my grandchildren for more than
four years and was not even spoken to for more than three. For this, I
have received devastating, vitriolic letters.
"A friend of mine has confided in me about her 34 year old daughter.
This young lady has accused them of not showing sufficient love for
her, mainly because they never made her work for anything. They gave
her everything, she complains -- expensive college, trips to Europe,
nice clothes, etc. She hadn't thought much about this, she says until
she went to a therapist. Then she realized that what she had
experienced was a form of child abuse, and she is quite angry about
it.
A Mom
**********************************************************************
TAKING ACTION
Our family's story is entering a new chapter. Collectively the
family decided it's time to gain the offensive. We reached that
decision because my daughter's psychological condition compared to a
year ago is much worse. The charges are becoming increasingly bizarre.
We are consulting with an attorney with the intent of filing a lawsuit
so we can gain custody of her. As terrible as that sounds and as hard
as this will be for her, we no longer feel we have an alternative.
Parents
**********************************************************************
EVEN IN SOUTH AFRICA
"In May my wife and I celebrated our golden wedding. It was the
happiest occasion for my wife and me, surrounded (as we then thought)
by the love and loyalty of our family.
"Some six weeks later, when my wife was working in the garden, she
was called into the house. She found the family assembled there, the
children and their spouses. They were sitting at the large dining room
table and she was asked to join them. Without any preliminaries, she
was told that while under a truth drug one daughter had implicated me
and one of her brothers. There was a tape recording of what she said.
"My wife was stunned. The shock could have turned her mind or killed
her. It was sprung on her without warning: there had been no private
discussion with one or other of the children prior to her being hauled
before this tribunal. What was virtually a cross-examination followed:
was she not aware that I, her husband for 50 years, was a child
molester? After enduring this cruel exchange she left and I happened
into the room only to hear the same thing.
"That night my wife and I were completely alone. A wall of shame and
suspicion had been thrown around our cottage. The bricks were thin by
comparison.
"'Your public image as a respected and honourable man fits perfectly
with the profile of a child molester' said the therapist when we met
to complain. She then made a threat of imprisonment. Speaking more to
my wife than to me she said the courts these days weren't showing much
sympathy for molesters and that one had recently been jailed for three
years on evidence no stronger than that against me.
"Our accusing daughter has cut all communication. She will not allow
her children to telephone her or visit. A mother and grandmother could
suffer no greater deprivation and heartbreak.
A Dad
**********************************************************************
PLEASE HURRY UP
"I cannot admit something I know didn't happen. My daughter is so
wrong. Since I know I didn't do this, I feel she has been brainwashed
by her therapists and made pathetically sick herself. I used to feel
hurt and angry at her, but now I feel sorry for her. The therapists
who do this to people who used to have nice homes, parents, husbands
and children are actually the perpetrators. They have destroyed my
daughter's mind as well as her life and devastated our lives, a mother
and six other children. I am 72 years old now and just wish she would
recant but if she is still in therapy and conducting an incest therapy
group with her sick mind, not having known about it for 38 years, she
is helping to devastate more families and their children. She has no
training at all to influence people in this way. She has a BA degree
in Sociology. She is in no way trained to counsel other people.
"I wish so much your foundation would hurry up, but I know it takes
time. I am happy to see that the American Psychiatric Assn and the
American Psychological Assn are forming task forces to study this
problem and come up with something to help us old parents and
families.
**********************************************************************
LOGICAL THINKING?
We felt it necessary to comment on an article that appeared in the
June Vanity Fair. Our letter as it was published:
With the publication of "Nightmares on Main Street" the editors of
Vanity Fair have lent the dignity of a serious magazine to the
satanic-conspiracy theory.
If you do wish to compete with the talk shows, then you ought to
consider all the other conspiracy-therapy fashions. You might start
with the space-alien abduction specialists -- their credentials are
much more impressive. Contact John Mack M.D., the Pulitzer Prize-
winning professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and he
will supply you with all sorts of material which will prove, among
other things, that far more people have memories of being physically
examined by space aliens than have memories of satanic abuse.
May I suggest that if you really wish to move any of these
theories out of the talk shows you should apply the same standards
of journalism as have been your tradition with other issues.
PAMELA FREYD, Ph.D., Executive Director
False Memory Syndrome Foundation
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Under the letter appeared:
LESLIE BENNETTS REPLIES: Although false-memory-syndrome activists
like to equate ritual-abuse reports with U.F.O. abduction stories,
the comparison is dishonest and misleading. Believing the self-
proclaimed survivors of U.F.O. abductions requires that one believe
in the existence of extraterrestrials who are regularly invading the
earth and kidnapping its occupants. Believing the reports offered by
ritual-abuse survivors requires only that one believe humankind is
capable of rape, torture, infanticide, and cannibalism, all of which
are amply documented throughout human history. Moreover, although
Ms. Freyd implies otherwise, my article did not take a position on
the ritual-abuse controversy; it simply reported both sides.
Apparently Ms. Freyd demands that one subscribe to her agenda in
order to be deemed journalistically responsible.
In just 117 words Ms. Bennetts succeeds in documenting two of the
more disturbing habits of our critics. Every person who complains
about the comparison we're making has so far replied to our question
"what is the difference" by answering that the big difference -- the
only difference Ms Bennetts cares to mention -- between the process
that produces memories of U.F.O. abductions and memories of
ritual-abuse is that in one case the memories are believable and in
the other case they aren't. What is disturbing about this habit is not
the answer itself. We like that answer because that is just our
point. We are the ones who are suggesting that the major difference
between "memories" of abduction by space aliens, satanic conspiracies,
past lives and previously unknown abuse is the believability
(probability) that it could have happened. Our point is that the
processes used to arrive at all these "memories" are the same and
involve the sorts of "memory enhancement techniques" about which the
AMA has given warning. That being the case, then caution should be
used in making precipitous judgments without corroboration. What is
disturbing is the lack of critical thinking that might prompt our
critics into realizing just that.
The other disturbing habit is seen in therapists who insist that
they don't take a stand on the validity of their patients' memories
but who also insist on calling their patients survivors and their
patients' parents perpetrators. We have lost count of the number of
times that we have had to point out that to be consistent they might
try to use the words accuser and accused. Ms. Bennetts -- even while
writing that she "did not take a position on the ritual-abuse
controversy." -- is able to write about Believing the self-proclaimed
survivors of U.F.O. abductions as opposed to Believing the reports
offered by ritual-abuse survivors.
**********************************************************************
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER FMSF MEETINGS
Families & Professionals Networking Together
Notices for meetings scheduled in October must reach us by September
25th in order to be included in the October newsletter. Please mail or
fax your announcement to Nancy's attention.
PROFESSIONAL SEMINARS
PHOENIX, ARIZONA
October 1, 1993 - all day
False Memory Syndrome: Current
Research and Practical Implications
Paul W. Simpson, Ed.D and Eric Nelson
7-continuing education credits
Call Beth Morris 602-831-1929
MARYWOOD COLLEGE, SCRANTON, PA
October 13, 1993
8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
False Memory Syndrome
Richard Ofshe, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology, Berkeley
Pulitzer Prize for expose of Synanon
APA-approved program
Call 717-348-6237
WESTERN STATES
ALASKA
Anchorage
Saturday, September 24, 1993 - 1 pm
"Perspectives on Recovered Memories"
Dr. Ganaway tape from FMS Conference:
Dissociative Disorders: Trauma vs.
Conflict/Deficit
For information call Kathleen (907) 333-5248
CALIFORNIA
Sacramento
Saturday, September 18, 1993 - 1- 5 pm
Call Charles or Kay (916) 961-8257
Central Coast Meeting
Saturday, September 11, 1993 - 10 am-1 pm
Saturday, October 9, 1993 - 10 am-1 pm
For details, call Carole or Dan (805) 967-8058
Upland Meeting
1st and 3rd Mondays, 7:30 pm
Contact Marilyn (909) 985-7980)
North County Escondido
Wednesday, September 15, 1993 - 7:00 pm
Contact Joe or Marlene (619) 466-5415
Valencia
September 25, October 23
Saturday, 10 am
For details, call Jane (805) 947-4376
SOUTHWESTERN STATES
COLORADO
Denver
4th Saturday each month - 1:00 pm
Cherry Creek Branch, Denver Public Library
3rd & Milwaukee
Contact Roy (303) 221-4816
NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque
Thursday, September 16, 1993 - evening
Guest Speaker: Eleanor Goldstein
Contact Bill (505) 268-6535
ARIZONA
Tempe
Saturday, September 18, 1993 - 9 to 4 pm
Embassy Suites Hotel
Luncheon $18 at Brown Derby
Guest Speaker: Eleanor Goldstein
Contact Jim (602) 860-8981
or Barbara (602) 924-0975
TEXAS
Houston Area Meeting
Saturday, September 18, 1993, 1-5 pm
Contact Lucy (713) 975-1883
or Pat (713) 785-5746
MIDWESTERN STATES
MICHIGAN
Grand Rapids Area - Jenison
2nd Monday each month
For details, call Catherine (606) 363-1354
KANSANS & MISSOURIANS
Kansas City
"We need your help to educate professionals"
2nd Sunday each month
Call Pat (913) 238-2447 or Jan (816) 276-8964
MINNESOTA STATE MEETING
St. Paul
Kelly Inn, 9 am - 3 pm
For details, call Terry/Colette (507) 642-3630
NORTHEASTERN STATES
WESTERN NEW YORK
Saturday, September 11, 1993 - 1:30 pm
First Presbyterian Church of Pittsford
21 Church St, Pittsford (SE of Rochester, NY)
Call Loni (716) 385-4873
PHILADELPHIA/SOUTH JERSEY
Wayne, PA
2nd Saturday each month - 1 pm
Contact Jim or Jo (215) 387-1865 for details
TRI-STATE MEETING
CONNECTICUT/NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY
Sunday, September 19, 1993 - 1:00 pm
West Side Jewish Center, Manhattan
Guest Speakers:
Richard Gardner, MD & Steve Hauck, JD
Contact Renee, (718) 428-8583
Grace (201) 337-4278 or Barbara (914) 761-3627
NEW ENGLAND AREA MEETING
Sunday, September 26, 1993 - 1:00 pm
The Carriage House, Chelmsford, MA
Call Jean (508) 250-1055 for details
MARYLAND
State Organization Meeting
for November seminar underway.
For more information,
please contact Milt (410) 647-6339
SOUTHERN STATES
FLORIDA
State-wide Meeting - Orlando
Saturday-Sunday, October 9-10, 1993
Best Western Buena Vista Hotel
For information, call Esther (407) 364-8290
Rose (305) 947-0095 Jackie (813)
OTHER NOTICES
ARIZONA
Nationwide: 'Fight the Problem' Seminars
Call Steve (602) 391-1211
or Barbara (602) 924-0975
or Walter (602) 792-8021
MICHIGAN
The Michigan Information Newsletter
P O Box 15044, Ann Arbor, MI 48106
(313) 461-6213
Notices about meetings and state related topics appear in this newsletter.
OHIO &KENTUCKY
Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky Area
Interested in forming a support group?
Call Anne (513) 871-2226
or Dixie (606) 356-9309
WISCONSIN
Attention Wisconsin!
If you wish to participate in a telephone tree,
please call Katie or Leo (404) 476-0285.
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING
Kansas City, October 2 & 3
Interested members, call Nancy for details
CANADA
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Vancouver and Mainland
Saturday, September 18, 1993 - 2:00 pm
For information, call Ruth (604) 925-1539
Victoria & Vancouver Island
Tuesday, September 21, 1993 - 7:30 pm
(3rd Tuesday each month)
Contact John (604) 721-3219
UNITED KINGDOM
Affiliated Group
Adult Children Accusing Parents
Parents with relatives in the UK can contact
Roger Scotford at ACAP on (0) 225 868682
**********************************************************************
VIDEO TAPES OF DALLAS MEETING (8/13/93)
Available for sale
Send self addressed envelope for information
Att: Nancy
Video tapes of Memory and Reality Conference
Available for loan
Send self addressed envelope for information
Att: Nancy
**********************************************************************
CORRECTION
In the July FMSF Newsletter, an announcement appeared on page 15
about SIRS new book, True Stories of False Memories, by Eleanor
Goldstein and Kevin Farmer. Due to the length of the book--517
pages--the publisher increased the price to $16.95.
To order, call 1-800-232-7477 or Fax 1-407-994-4704. MasterCard and
VISA orders accepted. Mention FMSF and 40% of the cover price will be
contributed to the Foundation.
**********************************************************************
Elsie is a retired Helpline Counsellor in England who, at 74, has a
wealth of experience dealing with callers ringing up with their
problems, some of which were caused by sexual abuse in their
childhood. She wrote the following for the ACAP Newsletter #1 of July
1993.
AH YES, I REMEMBER IT WELL..
So sang the elderly lovers in Gigi, although they disagreed about
almost all their recollections. Not an unusual state of affairs, for
memory is notoriously selective -- and deceptive. It seems to me that,
until very recently, nobody would have disputed such a fact. And this
is in respect of what might be called ordinary memory. One might
think, therefore, that extraordinary memory -- "recalling" events
which have been forgotten for years -- should be treated with a double
dose of caution.
There is nothing new about False Memory Syndrome, even if it was
once called something else. At one time the word cryptomnesia was used
to describe how a person, usually under the influence of hypnosis or
"regressive therapy," would recall events which they could not
possibly have witnessed or taken part in. These were explained as
being memories of previous lives (the reincarnation theory).
There was the American woman who wrote the "Bridie Murphy" memoirs.
Novelist Joan Grant believed that she had experienced previous lives
in Ancient Egypt and elsewhere. But the truth of such memories was
questioned when another woman claimed previous incarnations in Ancient
Rome and Medieval York: a researcher found that the information she
had produced was available in various books, including works of
fiction. This is not to say, of course, that she was merely
fantasizing and certainly not that she was consciously lying -- it was
simply that information which she had read or been told about had been
stored in her mind, apparently forgotten, and when later reactivated,
was presented in the light of what she had come to believe in
(i.e. reincarnation), as her own personal experience. How much more
likely it is, then, that "this-life" experiences which have been read
about, talked about, and suggested may be recycled and presented as
having actually occurred. How much more important is it to exercise
caution when we encounter a spate of such "memories," all of which
relate to claims of having been sexually abused as a child, usually by
a parent.
One has only to read the literature on sexual abuse of children to
see how theories have progressed, if that's the right word. Freud has
been misinterpreted a great deal recently. He did not deny that sexual
abuse occurred but came to realize that fantasy was involved in many
of the stories he heard. The eminently sensible approach, that sexual
abuse as a child might result in emotional problems later, i.e. that
is was a possible explanation of such problems, has recently become
distorted into a probable explanation, veering further and further to
the extreme until it is suggested as almost a certainty. Worse still,
the reverse argument is put forward: that since sexual abuse leads to
emotional problems, then all emotional problems must be due to sexual
abuse. This is patently illogical.
What exactly is "sexual abuse of children"? Most people think of it
in terms of the gross and cruel instances which sometimes come to
court -- rape, buggery and perverted conduct which would be a crime in
any circumstances and especially horrifying if carried out by a
parent. But it can also include a whole range of inappropriate
actions which may merge almost imperceptibly into what is entirely
innocent and quite usual. For example, at what age would it be
considered inappropriate for a child to be allowed into a parent's
bed? Opinions may well differ. At what age would it be considered
inappropriate for a small girl to be helped in the bath and the toilet
by her father? Again, opinions, probably differ. But we are in
ill-defined territory where different opinions may well lead to
different, sinister interpretations.
It is important to realize this, especially when considering the
steps which may lead to the False Memory Syndrome.
The extensive literature on sex abuse follows a definite script or
scenario. Very few such cases ever come to court, since it is
difficult for a child to complain against a parent, and even more
difficult for a case to be proven. It follows that most of the
literature is based on the testimony of people (usually women, but
some men) who claim to have been sexually abused as children, and/or
therapists who have been in receipt of such confidences. In other
words, it is anecdotal. This does not of course mean that it should
not be believed, only that our old friend caution should be listened
to. Especially when we read, as we do more and more frequently, about
the adult (again usually a woman, but sometimes a man) who, in the
course of therapy for emotional problems, suddenly "remembers" that
she was abused as a child. These "memories" often cover years of
alleged abuse and may go back to an age when it is doubtful that we
remember anything, sometimes to babyhood. And the adult who
"remembers" may well now be in her thirties, forties or fifties.
The nature of such memory was well illustrated in a recent letter to
The Guardian in response to an article on False Memory Syndrome. The
writer stated that she had "no conscious memory" that her father
abused her but that after receiving therapy, she "believed what her
body told her" -- whatever that means. Clearly the therapist had told
her that her emotional problems were due to sexual abuse as a child
and she grasped at this "explanation" as at a lifeline. This process
may sound innocuous. In times past she might have been told by the
priest that her sufferings were due to her sins, from which he would
then absolve her. She would be happy and no one else would suffer. But
the "diagnosis" of child abuse may have far-from-innocuous
results. The client's unhappiness may be increased and if the desire
for revenge takes hold of her -- which it seems often happens -- she
pillories her parents, sues them for damages and visits bitterness and
strife upon her family. This is surely the very opposite of the
healing that therapy is designed to produce, even if the complaint
against the parent is genuine.
Most of us could recollect some wrongdoing by our parents, of which
sexual abuse may well not be the worst. Few would wish to demolish
their lives because of it. Ah! how much more appalling is it when
there is not even a conscious memory? One can't help being reminded of
the witchcraft panics of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries. Educated and otherwise intelligent men believed the most
absurd nonsense. Demented women believed they flew through the air on
broomsticks and others, equally demented, believed they saw them do
it. Here also, there was an extensive literature on the subject which
lent conviction and authority to the prevailing view on the basis that
such an immense body of evidence must be true.
I write as someone completely uninvolved and therefore disinterested
and neutral. I was not sexually abused as a child, neither do my adult
children accuse me. I am not a professional of any kind, nor am I
involved with anyone who has been, or claims to have been, sexually
abused. But I did for many years work on a Helpline for people needing
to talk about their problems and some of them asserted that they were
sexually abused as children. Most of these people remembered their
experiences only too well -- for them it is a haunting and oppressive
memory. They cannot forget. They want to forget, they try to forget,
but they find this an impossible task. They often still feel affection
for the abuser and, quite irrationally, guilt. In this respect they
are not much different from most victims of physical and emotional
abuse, who tend to suffer from a poor "self-image." They reason
unconsciously: "I must be a bad person to have attracted such bad
treatment."
Those who claim to have suddenly remembered that they were sexually
abused as children attract suspicion right from the start because they
are so different from the others. They usually have emotional
problems, for which they have received treatment and therapy and it is
often while receiving therapy that the "memory" surfaces. It is
obvious that such vulnerable people are particularly susceptible to
the suggestion that they may have been sexually abused as a child and
that someone is to blame for their misery -- namely their parents.
These "memories" vary from the vague to the astonishingly
detailed. One suspects that the accusers have immersed themselves in
the literature. Later, in some cases, there are retractions, denials
that they were ever abused and admissions that they "made it all up"
-- which isn't true either, since at the time they made the claim they
had probably been "brainwashed" into believing it. These sad people
wander about in a dark area of confusion and uncertainty.
I also appreciate that my experience is only anecdotal, but it is a
point of view which, I think, needs to be heard. The people who are
falsely accused might not be burned as the witches were, but theirs is
a dreadful predicament. One day the wheel will turn full circle and
the accusers will be sorry -- perhaps too late for the accused. It was
no comfort to the "witches" of Salem to be pardoned centuries after
they had been put to death. You might think human beings would learn
from the past. However, in this area, as in so many others, it seems
that they do not.
Elsie
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| There are some things so strange only an expert can believe them. |
| |
| Please let us know the source for this quote which we heard |
| at a recent meeting. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
We receive many calls from members asking for information about FMSF
interviews that have aired on TV. The following two companies make
inexpensive transcripts of TV programs and can be contacted directly.
Burrelle's Transcripts
P.O. Box 7
Livingston, NJ 07039
1-800-777-8398
Burrelle's offers "Is Your Repressed Memory a Lie?" aired on the Oprah
Winfrey Show, July 26, 1993. Among the guests were Richard Ofshe,
Ph.D., Courage to Heal author, Ellen Bass, Melody Gavigan, a
retractor, and FMSF members, Jack and Pat Collier.
Journal Graphics, Inc.
1535 Grant St.
Denver, CO 80203
tel 303-831-6400
fax 303-831-8901
JG can provide a list of shows on repressed memories (Set
7321). Contact them for details.
On August 10, an interview with Pamela Freyd, Ph.D., Harold Lief,
M.D., an FMSF family and Richard Kluft, M.D., conducted by Jennifer
Robinson was aired on 700 Club. To obtain a video call
1800-289-1777. The cost is $19.95.
**********************************************************************
FMSF FAMILY SURVEY -- SRA AND RELIGION
At almost every meeting, we are asked about the relationship
between belief in Satanic Ritual Abuse Conspiracies and religious
activity. The data from the family survey that has been analyzed to
date is as follows:
Coded SRA Not SRA
N = 47 N = 239
Very active 33.3% 18.8%
Active 33.3% 35.5%
Fairly 10.4% 12.4%
Somewhat 10.4% 15.1%
Inactive 12.5% 11.4%
According to our data, families who reported SRA accusations were
almost twice as likely to report being very active in their religion.
**********************************************************************
RECOMMENDED READING
The power of nonspecific effects in healing: Implications for
psychosocial and biological treatments. Alan Roberts, Donald Kewman,
Lisa Mercier, Mel Hovell Clinical Psychology Review, Vol 13, pp
375-391, 1993
**********************************************************************
Although unproven therapies seem to work, people would do even better
with scientifically proven treatments
"Those who choose to continue using the concept of repression may do
so, but they must do so with the knowledge that, despite sixty years
of research, there is no evidence for the concept. I think that our
current regulations concerning truth in packaging and protective
product warnings should be extended to the concept of repression. The
use of the concept might be preceded by some such statement as,
Warning. The concept of repression has not been validated with
experimental research and its use may be hazardous to the accurate
interpretation of clinical behavior."
David S. Holmes
In Repression and Dissociation
The University of Chicago Press, 1990
**********************************************************************
As we prepared to rush this newsletter to the printer, we opened up
the New York Times Science Section , August 31, 1993, only to find an
article that we suspect should be required reading. "Seeing and
Imagining: Clues to the Workings of the Mind's Eye." Three quotes of
interest:
"It is amazing that imagination and reality are not confused more
often, said Dr. Marcia Johnson, a Princeton psychologist who in her
laboratory can make people swear that they saw or heard things that
never happened. In general, she said, images are fuzzier and less
coherent than real memories, and humans are able to differentiate them
by how plausible they seem." .
"In visual perception," Dr. Kosslyn [of Harvard University] said, "you
prime yourself to see an object when you only have part of the
picture. If you expect to see an apple, its various fragments can
drive the system into producing the image of an apple in your visual
buffer. In other words, he said, you prime yourself so much that you
actually play the apple tape from your memory banks.
"Thus people can be fooled by their mind's eye," Dr. Kosslyn said.
**********************************************************************
The FMSF Newsletter is published 10 times a year by the False Memory
Syndrome Foundation. A subscription is included in membership
fees. Others may subscribe by sending a check or money order, payable
to FMS Foundation, to the address below. 1993 subscription rates: USA:
1 year $20, Student $10; Canada: 1 year $25; (in U.S. dollars);
Foreign: 1 year $35. Single issue price: $3.
**********************************************************************
FMS Foundation
3401 Market Street, Suite 130
This address and the phone numbers have changed as of July 15, 2000
Philadelphia, PA 19104-3315
Phone 215-387-1865
ISSN # 1069-0484
Pamela Freyd, Ph.D., Executive Director
FMSF Scientific and Professional Advisory Board,
August/September 1993
Terence W. Campbell, Ph.D., Clinical and Forensic Psychology, Sterling
Heights, MI; Robyn M. Dawes, Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University,
Pittsburgh, PA; David F. Dinges, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania,
The Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, PA; Fred
Frankel, M.B.Ch.B., D.P.M., Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical
School, Boston, MA; George K. Ganaway, M.D., Emory University of
Medicine, Atlanta, GA; Martin Gardner, Author, Hendersonville, NC;
Rochel Gelman, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, CA; Henry
Gleitman, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; Lila
Gleitman, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; Richard
Green, M.D., J.D., UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA; Ernest
Hilgard, Ph.D., Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA; John Hochman,
M.D., UCLA Medical School, Los Angeles, CA; David S. Holmes, Ph.D.,
University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS; Philip S. Holzman, Ph.D., Harvard
University, Cambridge, MA; John Kihlstrom, Ph.D., University of
Arizona, Tucson, AZ; Harold Lief, M.D., University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, PA; Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D., University of Washington,
Seattle, WA; Paul McHugh, M.D., Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore,
MD; Harold Merskey, D.M., University of Western Ontario, London,
Canada; Ulric Neisser, Ph.D., Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Richard
Ofshe, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, CA; Martin Orne,
M.D., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, The Institute of Pennsylvania
Hospital, Philadelphia, PA; Loren Pankratz, Ph.D., Oregon Health
Sciences University, Portland, OR; Campbell Perry, Ph.D., Concordia
University, Montreal, Canada; Michael A. Persinger, Ph.D., Laurentian
University, Ontario, Canada; Harrison Pope, Jr., M.D., Harvard Medical
School, Cambridge, MA; Thomas A. Sebeok, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of
Linguistics & Semiotics, Indiana Univeristy, Bloomington, IN; Louise
Shoemaker, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA;
Margaret Singer, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, CA; Ralph
Slovenko, J.D., Ph.D., Wayne State University Law School, Detroit, MI;
Donald Spence , Ph.D., Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center, Princeton,
NJ; Jeffrey Victor, Ph.D., Jamestown Community College, Jamestown, NY;
Hollida Wakefield, M.A., Institute of Psychological Therapies,
Northfield, MN.