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ISSN #1069-0484. Copyright (c) 1998 by the FMS Foundation
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The FMSF Newsletter is published 10 times a year by the False
Memory Syndrome Foundation. A hard-copy subscription is in-
cluded in membership fees (to join, see last page). Others may
subscribe by sending a check or money order, payable to
FMS Foundation, to the address below. 1998 subscription rates:
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3401 Market Street suite 130, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3315
This address and the phone numbers have changed as of July 15, 2000
Phone 215-387-1865, Fax 215-387-1917
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INSIDE:
Michele Gregg
Focus on Science
Allen Feld
August Piper, M.D.
Legal Corner
Beth Rutherford, Part II
From Our Readers
Bulletin Board
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Dear Friends,
"When there is a cure for something, everyone knows about it. When
there are 20 cures for something, it's obvious that no one knows
what is going on. There are hundreds of psychotherapies."[1]
We know that from the more than 400 varieties of psychotherapies [2]
there are only a handful of behavioral and cognitive therapies that
have been demonstrated to be both safe and effective for a few
specific conditions. (See FMSF Newsletter, October 1994)
Given the weak state of knowledge, it is unconscionable that the
American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological
Association continue to remain silent about recovered memory therapy,
a technique that has damaged many thousands of families and former
patients. Out of the big bag of therapies, surely professionals could
pull out some others that, at the very least, do no harm.
In any other area of health services, government regulatory agencies
would have stepped in to protect the public. Since the Foundation was
formed in 1992, we have seen several recalls of products when only one
or two items were contaminated. We have read of medical-board reviews
and extensive laboratory testing before new medical procedures can be
applied to patients. But there is no agency to monitor the mental
health industry that can recall a bad therapy or test a new one. It is
an unmonitored entrepreneurial wonderland.
Repressed memory therapy is harmful. It is dangerous. It is a
waste -- a waste of time, of energy, of resources, of emotions, of
arguments, of creativity, of words, of talent, of relationships, of
minds, of health, of families and even of lives. Like any pernicious
waste, repressed memory therapy should be disposed of carefully and
permanently.
Only one group of professionals has had the courage to to take a
strong stand on this issue: the group headed by Dr. Brandon whose
report for the Royal College of Psychiatry is to be published this
month. Leaked versions of this report mention suspending licenses of
any psychiatrists who continue to practice these dangerous memory
recovery techniques.
Repressed memory therapy is not about patients. It is about a
sociopolitical movement. For example, Judith Herman, M.D. writes that
the advance of her work would never have been possible "without the
context of a political movement."[3] She writes that her book, Trauma
and Recovery, "[O]wes its existence to the women's liberation
movement." Laura Brown, Ph.D. another recovered-memory proponent and a
recent candidate for president of the American Psychological
Association writes that she sees "psychology as a path for social
change rather than as a medical intervention." (p. 449) She has argued
"that the initial and ultimate "client" of feminist therapy is the
culture, with the first responsibility always to be the project of
ending oppression that is at the core of feminism."(p 453)[4] If
social change and not a medical intervention is what psychology is
about, what does that say about the use of public funds for those who
practice recovered memory therapy?
Beth Rutherford's story is compelling evidence that repressed memory
therapy is not about patients' well-being. It is not even about female
liberation from the bonds of oppression. It is about the manipulation
of vulnerable women and the destruction of innocent families.
Nor is repressed memory therapy about helping children. There is no
evidence that children have been sacrificed on the altar of Satan, but
there is abundant evidence that untold numbers of children have been
sacrificed at the altar of radical ideology. They have been denied
their human right to know their grandparents-to experience their
cultural heritage. Some children have been in physical danger as their
mothers obsessed with finding memories of abuse. In this issue,
"Sacrificing Children" describes a book endorsed by several well-known
recovered memory proponents. The author/therapist in the book
observes: "I continued to see Sheila's movement toward health take
place at the expense of her children's survival..."
Even though the Victim Compensation Board of Washington has stopped
paying for recovered memory therapy, children of Wenatchee were
subject to it. In an investigative series published in February by the
Seattle Post Intelligencer [5] Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D. is quoted:
"The documents and clinical reports that I have been reviewing for
the past two years present sufficient evidence to support that Cindy
Andrews was diagnosing suppressed memory as an explanation for the
children she was treating who had refused to disclose sexual abuse.
It appears that there was not consideration given to the fact the
children might not have been abused."[6]
The authors of that article note that "Numerous children say they
were hurt horribly -- not by rapists but by the state DSHS caseworkers
and counselors and therapists hired by DSHS or its Office of Child
Protective Services. Their stories are corroborated by clinical
reports, CPS episode reports, and interviews."
How could all this be? How could an effort to stop child abuse
become so dangerous that it now appears to be harming more people than
does the danger it set out to end. In a word: panic. When people panic
-- either for reasons of physical or moral danger --t hey are at risk
of creating more harm than that from which they flee. We have many
examples from history such as the Coconut Grove fire in Boston in 1942
in which 491 people were killed because of the panic, not the
fire. That is why schools have fire drills: to avoid panic.
When people panic, they forget about the insights and techniques and
processes they have developed over the course of human experience to
help each other live together. They allow emotion to supplant
reason. Carl Sagan may have said it best:
We've arranged a global civilization in which most crucial elements
profoundly depend on science and technology. We have also arranged
things so that almost no one understands science and technology.
This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a
while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and
power is going to blow up in our faces...
I worry that, especially as the Millennium edges nearer,
pseudoscience and superstition will seem year by year to be more
tempting, the siren song of unreason more sonorous and attractive...
The candle flame glitters. Its little pool of light trembles.
Darkness gathers. The demons begin to stir. [7]
Recovered memory therapy is the kind of demon about which Sagan was
warning. What is so frightening about this demon is that the very
mental health institutions that are supposed to train their members in
science and human behavior have themselves unleashed and nourished the
demons.
According to sociologist Joel Best,[8] the False Memory Syndrome
Foundation is the exception in opposing the kind of movement
represented by recovered memory therapy. Many people have commented on
the success that FMSF has achieved. What has been accomplished is
because of you. It is because you have had the courage and
determination to turn your own trouble and pain to a better good. I
thank each of you. History will thank you. In time, even the lost
children will thank you.
Until then, we need to continue our work.
PAMELA
[1] Robert Karlin, 2/14/98, Boca Raton, Florida luncheon comments..
[2] Harvard Mental Health Letter, September 1995 Where Does Research
on the Effectiveness of Psychotherapy Stand Today?
[3] Herman, JL (1992) Trauma and Recovery: New York: Basic
Books. (page 32)
[4] Brown, L. The Private Practice of Subversion, Psychology as Tikkun
Olam. American Psychologist 52, April 1997
[5] Series is available free from : Power to Harm, Seattle Post
Intelligencer P.O. Box 1909 Seattle, WA 98111 206-448-8399
[6] Schneider & Barber, February 24,1998 Children Hurt by the system;
Society's protectors bent, broke and ignored. rules. Seattle Post
Intelligencer.
[7] Sagan, C. (1995) The Demon Haunted Universe: Science as a Candle
in the Dark.
[8] Best, J. Victimization and the victim industry. Society,4 (34)
May 15, 1997.
+----------------------------------------------------------+
| SPECIAL THANKS |
| |
| We extend a very special "Thank you" to all of |
| the people who help prepare the FMSF Newsletter. |
| |
| EDITORIAL SUPPORT: Toby Feld, Allen Feld, |
| Janet Fetkewicz, Howard Fishman, Peter Freyd |
| RESEARCH: Merci Federici, Michele Gregg, Anita Lipton |
| NOTICES and PRODUCTION: Ric Powell |
| COLUMNISTS: Katie Spanuello and |
| members of the FMSF Scientific Advisory Board |
| LETTERS and INFORMATION: Our Readers |
+----------------------------------------------------------+
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| HAVE YOU MADE YOUR PLEDGE? |
| |
| Have you made your contribution to the Foundation's annual |
| fundraising drive? If not, please take a few minutes to think how |
| professionals now recognize what false memory syndrome is and how |
| it devastates families. If you are one of those families, try to |
| imagine what it would have been like if there had been no one to |
| call. Without your support, affected families, former patients, |
| professionals, and the media will have no place to turn. Please be |
| generous. Whatever you are able to contribute is deeply |
| appreciated. To those who have already returned your pledge card, |
| our thanks for helping to ensure that those who need the |
| Foundation's help will continue to receive it. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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B O O K R E V I E W
________________________
Sacrificing the Children
by Michele Gregg, M.S.W.
Inside Scars: Incest recovery as told by a survivor and her
therapist Sheila Sisk and Charlotte Foster Hoffman,
Gainesville, FL: Pandora Press, 1987
Editor's Note: Sometimes we can learn a great deal from a book that
has been around for a while. Ms. Gregg adds to our understanding of
the recovered memory movement with this review.
The welfare of the children of recovered memory therapy clients is an
under-researched issue in the recovered memory controversy.
Grandparents consistently ask how it could be good for children to
suddenly be cut off from people they love. How could it be good for
children to be told that their grandparents are people to fear. And
there are other concerns...
A 1987 book suggests that recovered memory therapy can be a disaster
for the patients' children. Inside Scars is an account of "incest
recovery" as told by client Sheila Sisk and her therapist, Charlotte
Hoffman. Ms. Hoffman was Executive Director of a child abuse
treatment program in Florida. The book is endorsed by trauma therapist
Christine Courtois, Ph.D., who writes:
"The two authors are to be commended for their courage in
documenting the therapy... Their account does not hide the pain
associated with the incest experiences nor does it shy away from
describing the pitfalls and rigors of the recovery process."
Sheila Sisk initially sought help for her parenting skills. She did
this at a time when Parent Aide Programs sprang up across the country.
The thrust of the Parent Aide program was: "[h]elping children by
helping parents," and one goal was to avoid foster placements.
Ms. Sisk acknowledged problems with her parenting skills (p. 29) and
she mustered the courage to seek help at a mental health center. The
counselor inquired if she had been sexually abused and Sheila said
that she remembered abuse by her stepfather. Marilyn gave her a copy
of I Never Told Anyone[1] and referred her to Charlotte Foster Hoffman
for therapy.
Comments by both Sisk and Hoffman indicate that Sheila Sisk's abuse
of her children increased during the course of her treatment. Hoffman
comments, for example, that "Sheila had already made many calls to her
counselor at all hours of the day and night expressing fear that she
was 'losing it' with her kids. And the children were truly in dire
need of help..."
But the welfare of the children was not the primary concern of Ms.
Hoffman's therapy, even though that is the reason Ms. Sisk sought help
in the first place. In a description of the second therapy session
(p. 53), Ms. Hoffman discloses: "Our second therapy session focused on
the only incident of incest Sheila had remembered up to that point. It
would be another year before she would recall the more brutal and
sadistic sexual abuse she had experienced."
Ms. Hoffman actually notes her fear for the safety of the children
but does not change the focus of therapy from recovering memories.
Ms. Hoffman writes: "Sheila had kept that secret for fifteen years and
now after finally letting it out, she found she was unable to stop the
flow of thoughts that came with it. She was shaking when the session
ended and I feared for her safety...I was also concerned for the
children's safety. With Pandora's box wrenched open and standing
painfully ajar, my fears loomed large..." (p. 56)
Ms. Sisk describes her deteriorating state and the lack of energy
left over for her children. "I returned to Charlotte for the next four
consecutive days. I continued to make attempts at retelling, mostly
reliving, my past... I was increasingly lonely, hurting and
increasingly suicidal. Each day my energy would be so used up on me
that I had little left over for the girls." (p. 63)
As the memory work escalated, the children had two out-of-home
placements. They spent 12 days with one person and seven months in
foster care with another person. Ms. Hoffman notes that: "...The
children were placed out of her home and Ms. Sisk slashed her arm with
broken glass." (p. 47) She acknowledges that: "[t]hings were going
from bad to worse." (p. 69) After swallowing 45 tranquilizers and
passing out in her therapist's office, Ms. Sisk was hospitalized on a
psychiatric unit.
The focus on the past never seems to stop. Ms. Hoffman describes her
therapy after Ms. Sisk was discharged from the hospital. "For the next
several months Sheila's therapy sessions centered around one main theme-
regaining control of herself while recalling events and feelings from
her past. Initially, she would begin talking, then feeling, then
hyperventilating and finally falling out of the chair and onto the
floor in a dead faint." (p. 79)
Ms. Sisk states: "With each new-found, painful memory came a
flashflood of anger-laced emotions. Anger towards me and anger towards
the girls...The girls loved me and I loved them, yet this fact made
little difference in controlling my anger towards them. I still hit
them too hard and too much. I just couldn't seem to help myself...I
was really starting to be afraid for them." (p. 80)
Ms. Hoffman provides a chilling assessment of the progress made in
this therapy: "...In fact, the therapeutic process seemed to make life
as a mother to her two children much worse... But now with the
memories flooding her every waking moment and invading her sleep, her
reserves were even lower. Her patience and tolerance for the girls
were almost non existent." (p. 81)
"The telling of her story had to happen. It was right. But now, it
also appeared to be putting her girls' safety in jeopardy. I continued
to see Sheila's movement toward health take place at the expense of
her children's survival..." (p. 81)
This book was endorsed by leaders of the child sexual abuse
treatment field: Christine Courtois, Eliana Gil, Ellen Bass, Sandra
Butler and Diana Russell. Did they mean to condone a therapeutic
intervention that sacrificed the children? How prevalent is this
practice of survivor therapy at the expense of children's survival?
[1] Bass, Ellen and Thornton, Louise (Eds) 1983 I Never Told Anyone:
Writing by Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse. New York: Harper and
Row.
Michele Gregg is an FMS family member and a social worker in
Seattle. She is a volunteer researcher for the FMSF Newsletter.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Skeletons Without Bones: |
| Dragging Recovered Memories of Sexual Abuse out of the Closet |
| Donna McGraw Laurence and Rosalyn J. Titus |
| Wine Press Publishing, Mukilteo, WA 98275 |
| |
| A story that starts in the 1970s exemplifies the devastating far- |
| reaching effects a false accusation can have. Written from a |
| Christian perspective, this intensely personal story should be of |
| interest to anyone caught up in the False Memory phenomenon. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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F O C U S O N S C I E N C E
From time to time, various scientific articles appear which discuss
issues of childhood sexual abuse, memory, and responses to trauma.
since such studies are often widely cited in the scientific and
popular press, it is critical to recognize their methodological
limits. It is particularly important to understand what conclusions
can and cannot legitimately be drawn from these studies on the basis
of the data presented. As a result, we periodically present analyses
of recent studies, with input from members of our Scientific
Advisory Committee.
We are pleased to
reprint the following editorial from the
prestigious British Medical Journal, No 7130 Vol. 316 14 February 1998
Reprinted with permission
____________________________________________
ReCovered Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse
The Royal College of Psychiatrists issues important precautions
Harrison G Pope, Jr., M.D.
+--------------------------------------------+
| Permission did not include e-mail rights |
| For electronic version, see |
| http://www.bmj.com/archive/7130/7130e2.htm |
+--------------------------------------------+
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_________________________________________________
Can Misinterpreted Dreams Lead to False Memories?
Allen Feld, MSW
Those of us who attended the March 1997 FMSF family conference in
Baltimore were introduced by Elizabeth Loftus to research on dream
interpretation and the creation of false memories. She described some
of her earlier work with an Italian colleague, Giuliana A. L. Mazzoni
from the University of Florence. Dr. Mazzoni is a highly-respected
clinical and cognitive psychologist.
This past February Dr. Loftus updated their work at a conference on
false memory creation cosponsored by The Elliot and Eleanor Goldstein
Foundation and Florida Atlantic University. This research is probably
among the most significant to date on the potentially powerful
influence of therapists in creating false beliefs about events that
did not happen. In addition, it addresses the potential harm in
relying on dream interpretation to establish the accuracy of a
client's memory.
Critics have complained that previous research demonstrating that a
substantial number of people (depending on the design, but often 25%)
will create false memories when they are given even modest suggestions
about events that did not occur. The criticisms typically maintain
that creating memories of being lost in a mall, or knocking over a
punch bowl at a wedding, or even putting one's hand through a window
do not depict "real trauma."
This criticism is disingenuous. Critics who choose this as a route
to denigrate research with which they disagree know that it would be
ethically and professionally wrong to design research that replicated
false memories of sexual abuse.
Another criticism is that this type of research is unlike a clinical
experience. The recent Mazzoni and Loftus research, however,
incorporates an important clinical-like element in what is an
excellent research design utilizing a control group and an
experimental group. In testing drugs, for instance, an experimental
group receives the treatment, a control group receives a placebo and
neither group knows whether they are taking real medications or
placebos. This procedure strengthens the probability that the research
will only measure the effect, if any, of the drug treatment. Mazzoni
and Loftus have incorporated these elements in their research.
A pool of volunteers (typically undergraduate students) at the
University of Florence and University of Washington completed an
instrument called the Life Events Inventory (LEI). Individuals who
reported that it was unlikely that they experienced certain events,
such as being lost for an extended period of time before age three,
were included in the research.The LEI includes three statements that
are referred to as "critical items" ("3. got lost in a public space;
19. was abandoned by parents; 32. found myself lonely and lost in an
unfamiliar place"). The control group completed the 36-item instrument
at two different time intervals, 3 to 4 weeks apart, and that was
their only involvement in the research project.
The experimental group, in addition to completing the LEI twice at
the same intervals as the control group, was also involved in what
they believed to be a different study that had no relationship to the
LEI questionnaire-an experiment on dream interpretation. This
30-minute "clinical interview" was conducted approximately 10 to 15
days after the first LEI session. Regardless of the nature of the
dream, suggestions were made by the interviewer, a clinical
psychologist, that the dream content was a sign of unpleasant and
unremembered childhood memories. The fact that the experimental group
believed that the dream interpretation study was not a part of the LEI
study served to minimize the confounding effect of bias on the part of
research subjects.
The results were analyzed to determine if there were any changes in
the LEI scores on the three critical items between the first and the
second administration. Statistical analysis reveals that the group
that had the dream interview had significantly higher scores on the
three critical items in the second administration. The research
protocol, it should be noted, included appropriate debriefing.
Although students are frequently used in research studies, critics
will likely assert that there is a difference between a clinical
population and student volunteers. But it can be persuasively argued
that the volunteers may be less prone to influence than a clinical
population.
This conclusion might be stated with even stronger conviction when
the issue of relationship is considered. It is reasonable to assume
that the intensity of a relationship in a 30-minute session would not
be as strong as the relationship that one would expect to develop in
an actual therapeutic situation. The potential influence of a dream
interpretation in therapy, therefore, would likely be much more
profound than a "mistaken dream interpretation" in a university study.
This research contributes significantly to our understanding of the
potent effects of suggestions made by an authority figure. That this
influence may be present even when the contact is as brief as a
30-minute interview should be a cautionary harbinger for therapists.
These issues are discussed in: Mazzoni, G. A. L. & Loftus, E. F. (in
press) "Dreaming, believing and remembering." The article will appear
in The Narrative Construction of Reality: Imaginings, Believings,
Rememberings. J. DeRivera & T. R. Sarbin (eds.) Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association.
Allen Feld is Director of Continuing Education for the FMS
Foundation. He has retired from the faculty of the School of Social
Work at Marywood College in Pennsylvania.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Child Sexual Abuse and False Memory Syndrome |
| Edited by Robert A. Baker, Ph.D. |
| 1998 Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books |
| |
| Publishers Weekly: "While this handbook on child sexual abuse will |
| be of primary interest to professionals and legal experts, its 32 |
| lucid articles written by professionals will also be of value to |
| victims, patients and their families. The compendium aims to help |
| those involved identify instances of child sexual abuse while |
| protecting innocent adults who may be wrongfully accused." |
| |
| Includes contributions from Maggie Bruck, Stephen Ceci, Gail |
| Goodman, James Hudson, John Kihlstrom, Elizabeth Loftus, Richard |
| Ofshe, Harrison Pope, Leonore Terr, Ralph Underwager, Hollida |
| Wakefield, Ethan Watters, Michael Yapko, and more than 20 others. |
| Robert Baker is the author of Hidden Memories. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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R E A D T H I S A T Y O U R O W N R I S K!
August Piper Jr., M.D.
Travel is the most private of pleasures. There are no greater bores
than travel bores. We do not in the least want to hear what they
have seen in Hong Kong.
Vita Sackville-West
Last month, fair notice was given that Sackville-West's appeal-to
avoid using travel tales to narcotize the unwary and the innocent --
would be shamelessly ignored in today's column. That is, I warned of
my intention to comment today on how the false-memory phenomenon has
affected people in one European country -- Germany -- to which I
traveled. Beware, all you who read on! Stupefying boredom may await
you....
Careful readers of this newsletter may remember that the purpose of
the trip was to learn how people of a different culture cope with the
false-memory madness.
I was very surprised to learn that Europeans who encounter articles,
ideas, or concepts exported from the United States tend to regard them
favorably: "Made in America" automatically confers a certain cachet
and prestige. However, it was good to discover that in Germany, such
respect has so far not extended to one series of exports from America:
recovered-memory therapy, lurid accusations against parents, "satanic
ritual abuse," people spending huge sums defending against misdeeds
that allegedly occurred decades ago, "repression," multiple
personality disorder, "truth serum," and all the other assorted
horrors of this country's repressed-memory folly.
This lack of respect means that these recovered-memory monstrosities
are so far rare in Germany. But such rarity also means that
organizations like the FMSF, as nearly as I could tell, are virtually
nonexistent there. A decidedly unfortunate consequence results: those
few German families who have been accused tend to suffer from a lack
of social support. Readers of this newsletter, I am certain, need no
reminders of the importance of this kind of support in weathering the
storms triggered by an accusing child.
Such families suffer isolation for other reasons, too. To the degree
that any such generalization carries any weight, Germans are much more
private about personal matters than Americans. This desire for privacy
makes them less likely to divulge embarrassing details of their lives.
Additionally, in today's Germany, a certain taint of shame and
embarrassment still attaches itself to psychotherapy; to need
psychological counseling is considered something of a sign of
weakness. For these two reasons, it would be unusual for a German to
disclose that a relative was in psychotherapy -- and even more unusual
to reveal that a child had leveled a sexual abuse accusation against a
family member. Also, those tell-it-all, air-out-the-dirty-laundry
television shows, so dearly beloved in America, only infrequently
grace German airwaves. These three factors combine to reinforce
accused individuals' misperception that they are among the very few to
suffer the pain of a child's abuse allegation -- and therefore to
reinforce the perception that they must indeed be wicked, outside the
circle of the human family.
For one obvious reason, the mild stigma attached to being a
psychotherapy patient in Germany inhibits the dissemination of the
false-memory spectacle: it tends to discourage people from publicizing
their accusations. In addition, the German legal system, it seemed to
me, has been extremely skeptical about allowing stale, decades-old
claims into court.
And another powerful brake on dissemination exists. According to my
admittedly unscientific research, the mainstream German medical
establishment appears to have been quite wary of embracing many of the
notions fueling the American recovered-memory debacle (for example,
that childhood sexual maltreatment underlies most adult psychological
difficulties, that these experiences' memories need to be recovered
and "processed" before true psychological improvement can occur, that
evidence for "robust" repression exists, or that hypnosis and Amytal
interviews provide a "royal road" to historical truth). For example,
the use of Amytal is restricted, and German physicians frown on
employing it as "truth serum."
All these comments about traveling remind me of the time Cassius
Clay, now Muhammad Ali, the heavyweight boxing champion, was a
passenger on an airliner. He was not overendowed with modesty. So,
when the flight attendant asked him to fasten his seat belt, he said,
"Superman don't need no seat belt." Without missing a beat or a step,
the attendant replied, "Superman don't need no airplane, either." The
champ buckled up.
August Piper Jr., M.D. is the author of Hoax and Reality: The
Bizarre world of Multiple Personality Disorder. He is in private
practice in Seattle and is a member of the FMSF Scientific Advisory
Board.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| (What will they say next department) |
| How Do Repressed Memories Work? |
| |
| "Studies have shown that during periods of trauma, people make |
| indelible snapshots of emotional experiences. These memories |
| appear to be held below consciousness in the tissue of the body |
| as a kind of protective mechanism. |
| |
| "Unfortunately these repressed memories often cause psychological |
| problems (fear, guilt, shame) and physical discomfort. The |
| connective tissue can bunch around the old hurt, forcing the body |
| into an unnatural position which, over years, can cause problems." |
| |
| Jane Alexander |
| March 17, 1998, Daily Mail (London) |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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L E G A L C O R N E R
FMSF Staff
___________________________________________________________________
Minnesota Appeals Court Affirms Dismissal of Repressed Memory Claim
J.M. v. Merkl, Minnesota Court of Appeals,
No. C5-97-973, unpublished, filed March 10, 1998.[1]
In a March 1998 unpublished opinion, a Minnesota appeals court
affirmed dismissal of a repressed memory claim. At trial a year
earlier, just after the plaintiff had presented her case, the
Minnesota District Court [2] granted a defense motion for a directed
verdict,[3] finding that there was no issue of fact for the jury to
determine and that the claims were barred by the statute of
limitations. Although plaintiff claimed that she first had a
revitalized repressed memory of childhood sexual abuse in 1992 and a
year later a new "memory" indicated that her father was the
perpetrator of the abuse, the court noted that she also testified that
she knew the abuse was wrong at the time it occurred. The district
court also held that "a reasonable person should have known that what
was happening was wrong." citing Blackowiak v. Kemp, 546 N.W.2d 1
(Minn. 1996). The district court concluded that the limitations period
expired in the early 1980s, a decade before plaintiff filed.
The District Court also considered the admissibility of plaintiff's
expert testimony. The court had allowed the plaintiff's expert
testimony regarding the revitalization of repressed memories to be
presented at trial, but after hearing it, found that it failed to meet
the standards set forth in Daubert and in Frye.[4] It was inadmissible
under Daubert because the expert lacked the expertise to qualify as an
expert on the topic of repression. In addition, the testimony did not
meet the Frye standard of general acceptance because the witness
himself agreed that "there are still differing opinions as to the
accuracy of these revitalized memories."
While the district court ruled on both the statute of limitations
and the admissibility of the plaintiff's expert testimony, on appeal
plaintiff raised only the dismissal by directed verdict and did not
raise the issue of the restriction of the expert testimony.
The Appeals Court affirmed the directed verdict which dismissed the
case but also agreed that there was no foundation for the testimony
regarding repressed memory offered at trial. "We conclude that, on
this record, which lacked any admissible expert testimony on the
theory of revitalized repressed memory, the district court did not err
in determining there was no fact issue for the jury and in directing a
verdict for respondent based on the statute of limitations," the court
wrote.
References:
[1] See FMSF Brief Bank #125.
[2] J.M. v. Merkl, Anoka Co. Dist. Ct., Minn., No. C3952826, March 3,
1997.
[3] A court may grant a directed verdict during trial after the
plaintiff's evidence is presented, if the court determines that
the plaintiff's evidence is insufficient as a matter of law and
under the circumstances the court is left with no choice but to
dismiss the case. A directed verdict is based on a consideration
of law rather than the merits of the case. After a directed
verdict, the defense does not need to present their case because
the matter is already dismissed.
[4] Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 113 S.Ct. 1286 (1993).
Frye v. United States, 289 Fed. 1913 (D.C. Cir. 1923).
_____________________________________________
Canadian Psychiatric Malpractice Suit Settled
LeBreton, Mowery, Nickerson, et al v.
Ault, Muskoka-Parry Sound Community Mental Health Service, et al,
Ontario Court of Justice (General Division), No. 93-CQ-40015.[5]
In the Fall of 1997, a psychiatric malpractice suit was settled out of
court in a confidential agreement to the satisfaction of the parties.
The suit had been pending in Ontario, Canada since July 1993 when it
was filed by four former patients of social worker Dale Ault. Each of
the plaintiffs claims that Ault failed to address the problems for
which they originally sought treatment and instead negligently told
them their problems stemmed from childhood abuse. The community mental
health clinic where Ault worked and two of its directors were also
sued for negligent supervision, evaluation and training of Ault.
The Statement of Claims describes how Ault failed to address the
problems for which each plaintiff had originally sought help. Instead,
Ault focused on childhood experiences and stated that he believed at
least one close family member had sexually abused each patient as a
child. Though none of the patients had any independent recollection of
such abuse, Ault convinced them that they had repressed or
"dissociated" the sexual abuse from memory. Ault also told them that
as a result of repressing this memory, each was now suffering from
Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD).
According to the Statement of Claims, Ault used the improper
techniques to convince each of the plaintiffs that he or she was
suffering from MPD including: providing biased reading material, using
hypnosis, and encouraging attendance in group therapy for childhood
abuse and MPD victims. Ault told each of the patients that while under
hypnosis the multiple personalities had communicated with him.
With each of the plaintiffs, Ault engaged in therapy sessions in
meetings outside the office, for example: on walks, drives and in
restaurants. According to the Statement of Claims, Ault told each of
the plaintiffs to sever ties with family and friends and encouraged an
excessive and unhealthy dependence on him. As a result of Ault's
"manipulation, indoctrination and therapy techniques," each became
convinced that he or she was suffering from MPD and had been sexually
abused as a child. The plaintiffs claim the extensive therapy led to
severe long-lasting damages which included: hallucinations, suicidal
thoughts, depression, alienation of family and friends, severe
emotional distress, additional strain in relationships, and an
inability to work or function daily.
As far as we know, this is the first suit of this type to be
resolved in Canada. A similar malpractice suit has been filed in
Canada against therapist Dale Ault. Reportedly, Ault is currently
practicing in the United States. Complainants were represented by
Robert MacKinnon of Toronto, Ontario.
Reference:
[5] See FMSF Brief Bank #186 and BBC, 5th Estate. "Multiple
Personality Disorder," 1/9/93, Michele Mativieau producer.. One of
the plaintiffs hopes to publish a book, The Con of the 90's,
summarizing her experience.
Editor's note: This month we learned of four investigations by state
licensing agencies concerned with unprofessional conduct of
therapists employing recovered memory techniques. One of the
investigations was initiated by the mother of the therapist's
patient. The FMSF Foundation has been tracking 25 similar
investigations by state agencies.
________________________________________________________________
Washington Therapist Faces New Charges of Unprofessional Conduct
In the Matter of Registration or Certification to Practice
of John W. Laughlin,
State of Washington, Dept. of Health, Counselor Programs,
No. 98-01-B-1026MH.[6]
In January 1998 new charges of unprofessional conduct were laid
against physician's assistant John Laughlin by the Washington State
Department of Health.[7] Laughlin was charged with unprofessional
conduct under four sections of the Washington Code RCW 18.130.180.
The Statement of Facts issued by the investigating agency summarized
Laughlin's treatment records for one of his former patients. According
to these documents, Laughlin "recommended [his client] read The
Courage to Heal and Healing the Child Within, books which deal with
physical and sexual abuse and repressed memories. [Laughlin] made this
recommendation despite [his client's] denial of an abusive history,
and without adequately assessing or evaluating [his client], without
reaching a supportable diagnosis indicative of repression or
dissociation, and without developing an adequate treatment plan.
[Laughlin] pursued repressed memory therapy without offering [his
client] an explanation of this treatment, and without offering any
alternative therapy for [his client's] presenting problems...Instead,
[Laughlin] focused his therapy on breaking through [his client's]
'denial' of childhood abuse using hypnosis, progressive
relaxation...and visualization."
Despite the fact that psychological testing "did not support
Laughlin's decision to continue repressed memory therapy, and to
pursue childhood abuse as the source of [his client's] complaints,
[Laughlin] ...encouraged his client to believe that visualizations,
childhood nightmares, 'body memories,' and 'recovered' memories, all
indicated that she had been sexually abused as a child by a relative,
that the abuse had been ritualistic and satanic, and that she might
still be in danger from a cult. [Laughlin] further encouraged [her]
to believe that she had multiple personalities. He persisted in these
suggestions even though [his client] continued to question whether the
'memories' were literally true." As his client's illness worsened,
Laughlin did not reassess the treatment program or refer his client to
another health care practitioner.
Laughlin is also charged with failure to observe clear professional
boundaries and encouraging his client to become dependent on
him. Laughlin has denied all of the allegations regarding his
treatment of the client. Laughlin also denied that his license to
practice was suspended by the Washington Medical Quality Assurance
Commission in December 1997.
References:
[6] See FMSF Brief Bank #142b. For related reports see FMSF Newsletter
June1997.
[7] In December 1997, the Washington State Medical Quality Assurance
Commission suspended his license to practice, placed him on
probation and fined him $5,000 following an investigation of
unprofessional conduct. Three former patients have sued Laughlin
for negligently inducing false memories of sexual and ritual
abuse.
_______________________________________________________
Washington State Board of Health Investigates Therapist
In the Matter of Registration or Certification to Practice
of Regina S. Gamage,
State of Washington, Dept. of Health, Counselor Programs,
No. RC710, MH 30002323.[8]
In January 1998, the Washington State Counselor Program charged
hypnotherapist Regina S. Gamage with unprofessional conduct. Gamage
allegedly caused a patient serious emotional distress by using
repressed memory treatment. Gamage also convinced the client that
members of her family were in a satanic cult, and were trying to kill
her. When the patient's condition worsened, Gamage did not change the
course of treatment or refer her to another counselor.
Reference:
[8] See "Washington state disciplines health care providers," Business
Wire, Feb. 13, 1998. See also FMSF Newsletters July 1996, April
1995.The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (5/21/96) reported that after
settling a malpractice suit in which one of Gamage's former
patients alleged her therapy caused delusions and indirectly led
to a fatal auto accident, Gamage continued to practice in
Vancouver, Washington.
__________________________________________________________________
Psychiatrist Accused of Implanting False Memories of Satanic Abuse
is Under Investigation by State
Patricia Crawford v. Donald C. Garland, Jr.,
Investigation, Arizona Board of Medical Examiners, No. 9940.[9]
Tucson psychiatrist Donald C. Garland, Jr. is under investigation for
implanting false memories of satanic abuse in a patient and destroying
the patient's family ties. The Arizona Board of Medical Examiners,
which has the power to discipline doctors and revoke their licenses,
voted to continue the investigation and has scheduled a final hearing
for March 27, 1998. The investigation is in response to a complaint
filed against Garland in May 1996 by the mother of one of Garland's
patients.
According to Board of Medical Examiners records, the woman sought
therapy for marital problems and depression, but was soon diagnosed
with MPD as a consequence of childhood abuse and satanic ritual abuse.
The patient reportedly recovered memories of physical, sexual and
ritual abuse by her family, including memories that she had been raped
with knitting needles and a shoehorn by her mother and grandmother,
and also her father to a lesser extent. All were supposedly involved
in satanic cult activities. The alleged abuse purportedly began around
age 2 and continued through most of the patient's childhood, according
to Garland's records.
Board investigators said they were unable to find any documented
evidence for these claims. They also found no evidence that Garland
tried to verify the patient's claims by talking to family members or
by any other means. Garland's records of the patient's therapy show
numerous hospitalizations, a suicide attempt and her claim that her
sister had been similarly abused. The sister denies any abuse and says
that their home was a happy one. Garland confirmed that he was still
treating the patient. After seven years of therapy, he said her
"hundreds" of multiple personalities are beginning to "integrate" and
she no longer believes some of her initial accusations.
"Not only have I lost my daughter, but Dr. Garland has done us a
terrible injustice," the mother told the board. "Without the action of
the Board, there is nothing to prevent Dr. Garland from continuing to
treat my daughter. The Board has already stated that she has been done
harm. Will this be allowed to continue?"
Board member Dr. Pamela Powers stated at a November 1997 hearing, "I
believe this patient has been harmed. I believe that she has literally
become disabled...and she has lost some years of functioning...And I
think that a disciplinary action is in order."
Reference:
[9] See Carla McClain, "Doctor accused of implanting satanic abuse
memories," Tucson Citizen, 2/12/98.
___________________________________________
California Psychologist Placed on Probation
for Using Unfounded Techniques
In the matter of John Daniels Lovern,
California Department of Consumer Affairs' Board of Psychology,
No. __, decision Feb. 13, 1998.[10]
In February 1998, the California Board of Psychology placed
psychologist John Daniels Lovern on probation for seven years for
using unfounded techniques and theories in treating a suicidal
woman. According to the complaint, psychologist Lovern was charged
with applying "naive, uninformed and unproven or unprovable
pseudoscientific theories of multiple personality disorder, cultism,
and satanic ritual abuse to his treatment of her." The complaint
stated that Lovern blamed the woman's problems and her failure to
respond to treatment on cult members who he believed were controlling
her. During the 2 1/2 years of treatment by Lovern, the woman
attempted suicide at least three times. According to the complaint,
Lovern deprived his patient of adequate reality testing, so that when
the patient was hospitalized and being treated by other therapists,
she was suspected of being delusional.
The Board has placed Lovern on monitored probation for seven years,
during which time he must undergo psychological evaluation, complete
an approved course in psychology, and reimburse the board $14,000 for
the costs of investigation and enforcement.
Reference:
[10] See "Psychologist Probation," City News Service (Calif), 2/13/98.
_______________________________________________________
Child Sexual Abuse Conviction Overturned after 12 Years
Snowden v. Singletary, 1998 U.S. App. LEXIS 2624, Feb. 18, 1998.
In February 1998, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a
unanimous ruling, overturned the conviction of Miami police officer
Grant Snowden. Mr. Snowden had been sentenced in 1986 to five life
terms on charges he had committed sexual crimes against small
children. He was convicted with the help of testimony from alleged
experts in child sex abuse and from young child witnesses subjected to
endless hours of interrogation designed to extract accusations of
molestation. Mr. Snowden had spent nearly 12 years in prison.
The 11th Circuit Court noted, pointedly, the so-called "evidence"
against officer Snowden consisted only of stories told by three young
children, the oldest of whom was age 6 at the time of the trial,
reporting abuse that supposedly occurred two years earlier, when the
oldest child was 4. The judges also note in their decision, "The only
physical evidence that a child might have been abused by anyone was
that one of the children had been treated for an ailment that can be
transmitted sexually, though it is also known to be transmitted by
other means."
Given "the circumstances of the trial underlying this case," the
judges wrote, and "considering the lack of other evidence of guilt,"
they came to their decision granting Mr. Snowden's petition for
relief, and ordering his release, "unless the state affords him a
speedy new trial." The prosecution has not yet decided whether to
appeal the ruling.
A recent Wall Street Journal editorial (2/20/98) noted that in this
and many other cases tried during the mid-1980s the case depended
heavily on the testimony of the state's experts -- experts who could,
for instance, persuade juries that children who maintained under
questioning that they had not been molested were not telling the
truth. And that indeed, the more the children maintained they had not
been molested, the more certain it was that they had been abused. A
child who denied being abused was described, as a prosecution expert
in the case against the Amiraults did, as "not ready to disclose."
The Wall Street Journal reminds us that one medical expert for the
prosecution in the Amiraults trial testified that a four-year-old
child could be penetrated anally with a butcher knife without leaving
signs of injury. "The function of such expert witnesses," the
editorial continues, "is to convince juries to disbelieve the evidence
of their common sense experience. We are speaking here of junk science
-- employed in all manner of cases, not least in these now notorious
child abuse prosecutions."
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "A diary aids memory. When I reread journals I wrote twenty years |
| ago, I feel as if another person had written them. I read about |
| old friends, and places that were once home for me, and often must |
| read five or six pages before I can recall them clearly. Often |
| there is little similarity between what I remember and what |
| actually happened. But both versions have meaning for me as a |
| writer..." page 41 |
| The Writer's Handbook, 1990 |
| Edited by Sylvia K. Burack, |
| "Should You Keep A Diary?" |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
A R E T R A C T O R S P E A K S - P A R T II
by Beth Rutherford
Editor's note: Part I of Beth's story, her experiences in
therapy which led to memories of parental abuse, was
published in the FMSF Newsletter, January/February 1998.
_________________________________
My Journey Home and Back to Truth
At the end of 2 1/2 years of therapy, I had come to fully believe that
I had been impregnated by my father twice. I "remembered" that he had
performed a coat hanger abortion on me with the first pregnancy and
that I performed the second coat hanger abortion on myself. I also
"recalled" that he had inserted a curling iron, scissors and a meat
fork inside of me, and other "horrors." I came to believe this without
a doubt and could "remember" it happening detail by detail.
I was told by my therapist that I had to separate from my parents in
order to break this cycle of "abuse" in my family. Otherwise, my
therapist said, I would be at risk to abuse my own children some day
when I became a mother. By the end of this 2 1/2 years of therapy, I
had so physically deteriorated that my weight was down to 87 pounds,
unable to eat because of the emotional and mental battle that was
raging inside me. I was on medication and my mind was sinking deeper
and deeper into blackness. With my last bit of energy and in an effort
to begin to "get well," my middle sister, Lynette, and I renter a
U-haul and moved away from my parents in Springfield, MO to Oklahoma
City, OK. My youngest sister, Shara, went into hiding in Springfield,
afraid that my father would murder her. Both of my sisters had come to
believe my "memories" of abuse. We cut off all communication with my
parents.
However, moving away from my parents also put me out of direct
contact with my therapist. This was the best thing that could have
happened to me, although I didn't realize it at the time. After four
months of continual phone contact with my therapist in Missouri, I was
instructed by her to try and find a new therapist to continue my
"treatment." But, I decided, I had participated in all the therapy I
could handle and wanted a break from the tormenting sessions that
dwelt exclusively on abuse events. This crucial decision was the
beginning of my journey home. When you don't have someone interpreting
your parents' every move and word, you begin to think on your own.
After I left home, my father and mother were brought before the
southern Missouri state leadership of our church. My father's
ministerial credentials were taken from him because he was charged
with molesting and abusing me as a child. My mother was accused of
participating in some of the molestation by restraining me so my
father could carry out his sadistic acts.
Three months before these accusations were made, my father had lost
his job at our denominational world headquarters, but he never knew
the real reason why he was fired. Now, however, he began to realize
what had really been going on behind the scenes. My parents were told
that they were not to contact my two sisters or me. It was explained
to them that if they didn't sign a statement of guilt, their file
would be turned over to the district attorney's office and my father
would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and he would
face seven years to life in prison. My parents refused to admit guilt
to our denominational leadership for something they had not done.
All communication ceased between us. I fully believed that my
parents had committed these atrocities as much as they fully knew that
they had never done them. What changed my mind? What brought me to the
truth?
On April 19, 1995 at 9:02 AM, a bomb went off in Oklahoma City. My
mother, a nurse like me, was working at the hospital that day in
Springfield, MO. As she went from patient to patient, she overheard
TV reports about the shocking devastation in Oklahoma City. A lot of
horrible things happened that day, but one good thing came out of it
all.
My mom knew that two of her daughters were in Oklahoma City. She was
worried about my sister and me, knowing we worked in the vicinity of
the explosion. She also knew that she had been told that if she
contacted her children it could be used in a court of law against her
as harassment. But she decided, "There is no law against expressing
love and concern for my children. If they want to lock me up for
trying to find out if my daughters are alive, then let them." When
worry overcame fear, she called. But I was not home, so she left a
message on the answering machine.
My sister and I were caught in the massive traffic on the interstate
that day. We missed the phone call, but it is a day I will never
forget. It was our first contact from home. You see, when I came home
and listened to my mom's voice, it was the most soothing and
comforting thing that could have happened. As I later learned, my mom
had prayed for an opportunity to be able to show her love for her
daughters, and kept her mind and heart open to any circumstances that
would allow it. She didn't know if it would happen in months, years or
even maybe never, but she was looking and hoping. With that thought in
her heart, her words that day were ones of love and concern. She
stated that if we needed anything to let her know and that they (my
parents) were always there for us. She then hung up the phone. I can
remember listening to that message and hearing that "past" mom that I
had hidden away in my memory, and I thought of times when she would
rock me at night as a little girl or hold me when I was upset. For a
brief moment, good true memories crept into my thinking. I quickly
shoved them back into the "closet," though, as I felt I had to keep
hatred toward them alive. But, it was the next little step in my
journey back home.
My youngest sister, who during this time had been living in hiding
from my parents in Springfield, MO, started making contact with my
parents. She was the first to go home. She called and told me that
after having a nine-hour talk with our parents, she was planning to
move back home. I felt so betrayed. I told her, "Shara, you and I will
always be sisters and in that context I will always love you. But, you
have stabbed me in the back and I feel betrayed." I hung up the phone
and turned to my sister Lynette and cried. I said, "Lyn, please don't
ever do to me what Shara has just done." I can remember lying in bed
at night and hurting over being so betrayed.
Shara and I had very little conversation on the phone from then
on. I can remember thinking that if I proved to Shara that she was
wrong, she would come back and "join my side" again. I decided that
the best way to do this was to show my parents how much better off I
was without them in my life and Shara would perhaps see how cruel my
parents were to me when I was with them. After all, my parents were
horrible monsters and only mean things would come out of their mouths
at me. In my desire to prove Shara wrong and to show my parents I
really didn't need or want them in my life, I made another contact. In
retrospect, it was actually another giant step toward home.
I called up my mom and asked her if she wanted to go shopping with
me. I told her that I would meet her halfway (in Tulsa, OK) where my
aunt and uncle lived, and we could shop together if she would agree
not to talk about "the situation." She agreed and off to the mall we
went!! So many important things happened in that one afternoon that
were so vital to my coming back home. I want to share them with you
and explain why it was so helpful to me.
1. WE MET IN A NEUTRAL PLACE. By meeting in a neutral place there
were no emotional attachments to it. If I had met my mom at their
home, it would have been too emotionally threatening. If I left that
day thinking good and warm thought about her, I would have later
chalked it up to having been emotionally manipulated into feeling that
way. It needed to be a place that had no emotional components.
2. WE MET IN A PLACE OF ACTIVITY. By meeting in a place surrounded
by action and noise, the pressure was not there to talk. If we had met
in a favorite restaurant, it would have been difficult for me-too much
eye contact, too much quietness. It would have been very uncomfortable
for me to sit across a table staring at my mother and struggling to
talk about something. In fact, I probably would have gotten up and
walked out because of the sheer awkwardness that would have been
present. However, at the mall there was no pressure for conversation.
3. WE DISCUSSED NEUTRAL TOPICS. Since we are both nurses, we talked
about work and our frustrations and enjoyments about a career in
nursing. We talked about our dog, Ginger. I missed her dearly and my
mother talked about the newest crazy thing she had just done. We never
talked about my dad or what was occurring in our lives because of my
belief in the sexual abuse. By my mother keeping her agreement not to
address the "situation," I soon came to realize that my parents would
respect the boundaries that I had placed and that they could be
trusted. My mom and I laughed together and for a few hours our
relationship was just like what it had always been.
4. SHE ASKED MY PERMISSION TO DO THINGS. While at the mall, my mother
asked me if she could buy me a loofah sponge. I said, "yes," and she
bought it for me. I can remember standing at the counter and holding
back tears as she paid for it. You see, I knew my father was
unemployed and I knew that she didn't have money to be spending.
Watching my mother's love in action was something I thought about
after we had parted ways. Also, when my mother asked me if she could
buy something for me, it left me with the consequences of my decision.
If I had said "no," I couldn't have walked away thinking "See my
mother doesn't even care about me. She never even offered to do
something for me." If I said "yes," I couldn't walk away and say, "My
mother feels guilty for what she did to me as a child, so she is
buying me gifts to make up for it." By her asking me, I couldn't
misinterpret her gift.
These basic elements in our meeting together for the first time made
such an impact on me. How could such an evil parent be loving and warm
toward an accusing daughter? I began to think for the first time that
this picture wasn't lining up. However, I didn't allow myself to dwell
on those thoughts for too long. You see, it would be too conflicting
on the inside to do so. It was easier to just ignore thoughts of love
and affection for or from my mom. Fortunately, this was a short-lived
pattern. Although my mom wondered what good the shopping trip had
done, little did she know that as I drove back to Oklahoma City I
dwelt on every word said, every twinkle in her eye and her smile. Her
objective of showing LOVE had been accomplished, but only I knew that.
Since my experience with my mother had gone so well, we kept in
touch and I became more open to the idea of seeing my father. A short
time after the shopping visit, my mom began asking me repeatedly if I
would allow my father to see me. I repeatedly told her "no." I
explained to my mom that I would vomit if I saw my father. I still
believed that he was a monster of a human being. My mom, again,
respected my answer but continued to gently prod on. I finally agreed
to see my dad. It happened at my uncle and aunt's house in Tulsa, OK.
I came down from upstairs and walked into the kitchen. I was a
nervous wreck! Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my dad coming across
the kitchen toward me. I closed my eyes and was waiting for the impact
of his fist. I thought he was going to hit me, as I believed he was an
evil man. Although he had never hit me with his fist before, I had
come to believe through therapy that this was a common occurrence in
my growing-up years.
Beside me, I heard muffled sobbing. I opened my eyes and there next
to me stood my dad. I stood in disbelief. Why is he crying? He quietly
whispered through his tears, "Thanks for letting me see you. . . I
thought I had lost you forever. . . . I didn't think I would ever see
you again . . . Can I say your name?" I nodded my head quietly in a
"yes" motion. He began to say my name over and over. He explained "It
just hurt too much to say it before." You see, I was expecting an
angry man to come at me with accusations and tones of hatred. I
expected that he would demand answers and give me ultimatums or
threats of permanent alienation. But he displayed the exact opposite.
He showed a heart of a real dad, full of love. I remember standing at
the kitchen counter that day. It was a tender moment that my dad and I
share to this day. It still brings tears to our eyes when we talk
about it together. But standing there that day, I was blown away in my
thinking. How could such an ugly monster be so caring, loving, broken
and tearful? I started to wonder if all those memories were
true. After all, this just wasn't lining up. Let me explain some
things that began to turn my thinking around that day.
1. MY FATHER AVOIDED ANY KIND OF ANGRY TONE OR HOSTILITY. Had my dad
told me that I was all wrong and that if I ever wanted to see him
again, I must apologize, I would have promptly gotten my keys and gone
home. If he had wanted to hash out all of my accusations and go over
them, I also would have left. But, by wanting nothing more than to see
me and by not bringing up a single detail of the wreckage of his life,
I went away thinking only of his tears and gratitude toward me for
allowing him to see me.
2. MY FATHER LET HIS EMOTIONS SHOW THROUGH. This perhaps had the
biggest impact on me, for I had never seen my dad cry like he did that
day. I learned that my father did not let this devastating experience
harden him. Instead, it softened and broke his heart and that softness
was what won mine.
3. WE WERE ONLY TOGETHER FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. Had my father
and I spent all day together, it would have been too emotionally
overwhelming for me. The short encounter allowed me to dwell on the
details in a better way. It also kept him from saying the wrong
things! In other words, I didn't have too much to remember from our
meeting, and what I did have to remember weren't the wrong kinds of
things.
Remember (parents), the therapist suggests that you are monsters. Be
careful to do and act in whatever manner that keeps you from looking
like and acting like a monster or someone you are not!!! That
doesn't mean it is easy to do. If you were to ask my parents, they
would tell you that there were times when they wanted to come to
Oklahoma City and barge into my place. For they thought that if I
would just see them, it would "snap me out of it." But, this would
have been the worst thing they could have done. I would never have
come home. I became a returner before I became a recanter.
Over the next few months, we began to talk on the phone. The
conversations were neutral and short. Finally, I told my parents that
I wanted to talk with them. They came to Oklahoma City and came to my
place for the first time. My parents battled between themselves over
whether or not they should address my accusations with me. But, they
decided to let me bring that subject up when I was ready, and in my
case it was the right thing to do.
I eventually brought up the subject, and when I did we had an
eleven-hour talk. We even went to a fast-food drive-thru so that we
didn't have to stop and make dinner. We talked the whole way there and
the whole way back!! It was in those 11 hours that I first heard the
words "false memories." Over time I came to understand what had
happened to me. My parents did a lot of the right things in that first
discussion of the whole situation. (Although if you were to ask my
parents, they would say, "We had no idea what we were doing. We felt
like we were walking on thin ice not knowing from one moment to the
next if we might say the wrong thing and ruin the progress made.")
These are some of the things they said that really helped me:
1. ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS OUT OF MY PARENTS' MOUTHS WHEN I
ANNOUNCED I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT WHAT HAD HAPPENED IN OUR FAMILY WAS,
"BETH, WE DON'T CARE WHAT IT WAS THAT BROUGHT YOU TO BELIEVE THESE
THINGS ABOUT US. What matters most is that we have you." My parents
continually reassured me that no matter what I told them about my
therapy sessions or the beliefs I once held about them that they would
always love me and want me in their lives. As the conversation
progressed, so did the feeling of guilt on my part. It was their
reassurance of love that kept me continuing the path back home and not
shutting the door for fear I would cause them to want to desert me.
2. MY PARENTS UNDERSTOOD WHAT HAD HAPPENED. By my parents'
understanding what happened to me even before I understood it, I found
I wasn't shocking them as I unfolded details of my therapy. They were
already aware and familiar with the therapy process. It made me not
feel so stupid when I realized I wasn't the only one who had had this
kind of therapy.
3. MY PARENTS WERE NON-THREATENING. I never felt like "a big
punishment" was going to be given to me when I walked in the front
door. They accepted me just as I was, pieces and all.
In time, my parents and I sat down and talked about the whole
ordeal. This included everything that my mom and dad had been
through. My sisters and I have talked, too. We have asked my parents
for their forgiveness and they willingly and quickly gave it.
My prayer to God shortly after we were reunited was, "God, pour so
much Elmer's glue over us that we won't ever be separated again!!" And
God has answered my prayer. My family and I love each other so much
and we're as close as before, but I'd say even closer because we've
individually and collectively survived this almost fatal
nightmare.Yes, we are still a normal family with our differences of
opinion and personalities, but we cherish our times together as never
before, knowing we almost lost each other.
Family love is strong and resilient. Love prevails . . . It bears
all things, believes through all things, hopes through all things,
endures through all things. We now walk our life's journey TOGETHER.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| What happened to the therapist who treated Beth? |
| |
| A telephone call to the Assemblies of God headquarters produced |
| the information that the therapist to whom Beth turned, Donna |
| Strand "is not one of our ministers so she would not come under |
| our discipline." As far as we know, Donna Strand, continues to |
| practice. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| THE RUTHERFORD FAMILY SPEAKS TO FMSF FAMILIES |
| "It helped me realize what my daughter went through!" A Dad |
| Don't miss it. |
| Order form on last page. |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
+---------------------------------+
| Pressed for rules and verities |
| All I recollect are these: |
| Feed a cold to starve a fever. |
| Argue with no true believer. |
| Think too-long is never-act. |
| Scratch a myth and find a fact. |
| Phyllis McGinley - Times Three |
+---------------------------------+
**********************************************************************
F R O M O U R R E A D E R S
__________________
I Will Not Give Up
After seven years of hoping, I try to deal with the sad reality that
my daughter may never come back. Sometimes I am very tired of
fighting. But I know that I will not give up until this insidious
movement is completely defeated.
I have seen so much harm done to people in the name of healing, so
much injustice, so much heartbreaking indifference, so much incredible
hypocrisy and cowardice, so much junk "research" parading as science.
I no longer fight just for my daughter and my family, but for the
thousands of women still trapped in their lonely world of therapy-
induced delusions and for the men and women wrongfully in prison.
My family came to Canada from communist Europe 30 years ago. After
living in a lawless society for most of my early years, I adored this
fabulously free and secure country. In my worst nightmares I would not
have been able to imagine that one day I would be corresponding with
innocent men whom the corrupt justice system sent to prison on the
basis of the flimsiest "evidence" imaginable: that of someone's
uncorroborated "recovered memories."
P. T.
_________________
What a Difference
Recently we were visiting in my hometown and went to the church where
I had grown up. The pastor was telling about his wife's experiences as
a prison counselor and people not taking responsibility for their
actions. The message was that evil does not have the last word, and it
was our duty as people of faith to resist evil in whatever form we
find it. Evil does exist in the world whether or not you personify it.
After the service, I told the pastor I had just the book for him. I
went out to the car and got Pam and Eleanor's book, Smiling Through
Tears. (Now I have to buy another book, but this was money well
spent!) That created the opportunity to tell him more about the False
Memory Syndrome and the Foundation. And being in the New York
Conference, he already knew a man who had spent 10 years in prison on
false allegations that arose from a church day care center.
We had the privilege of meeting that wrongfully imprisoned man,
Pastor Nathaniel Grady and his charming wife at the January 1997
conference in Salem, Mass commemorating the 300th anniversary of the
Day of Contrition. What a difference time (thanks to the FMSF and the
professional volunteers) has made-people know about false accusations
and want to hear more.
A Mom
________________________
She Must Apologize First
My wife and I feel compelled to comment on the many letters printed in
your newsletter, from parents with returning but not recanting
daughters. We too have lost our daughter due to false accusations of
sexual abuse, the so-called memories having been recovered in
therapy. We have tried through many letters, sending of educational
material, seeking to work through her in-laws, etc. to convince her of
her folly, all to no avail. At her insistence, she has separated
herself from the family for over six years. About two years ago she
offered to forgive us with the implication that by so doing we could
reestablish a relationship.
Since we are completely innocent, we have categorically refused to
accept her forgiveness. Although we have repeatedly told her that we
love her and want her back in the family, we have established firm
conditions for her return. We have consistently maintained that we
will have no relationship or communication with her that is not
related to the accusation or that is not preceded by the following:
* her complete retraction of all accusations
* her recognition of how horribly cruel and unjust these accusations
were and the harm they have done
* her request for forgiveness coupled with her unconditional and
sincere apology
In order to help her come back to reality, we have made one
exception in our position. We will discuss her false memory problems
with her, and provide for her whatever related educational materials
she will accept. We still love our daughter and are filled with
compassion for her, and it is our fervent prayer that she will be
restored to the family. Nonetheless, we believe that it is a necessary
prerequisite, to her regaining mental health and for us to be able to
trust her again, for her to recognize our innocence and for her to
admit her guilt and responsibility.
We note in the many letters to the FMS Newsletter that people seem
to regard their daughters as victims of their therapists. It seems to
us that by doing this the parents continue to permit the daughter to
consider herself a victim and avoid responsibility.
While we also lay blame upon her therapist as well as upon many
others (including many so-called Christian organizations, politicians,
the media, NOW, the psychology industry, etc.) we do not excuse our
daughter and her husband. We hold them accountable for the terrible
thing they have done.
We should all have compassion for people's weaknesses and problems,
but we believe very strongly that people's weaknesses and problems do
not relieve them of accountability for their actions. The false memory
problem is one of the fallouts of the concept of victimhood that
permeates our whole society.
To allow our daughter back in the family without her accepting
culpability for what she did is to perpetuate the evil. This, my wife
and I absolutely will not do.
We do not judge the people who disagree with us and have accepted
their daughters back without the conditions we have imposed. We have
the support of our two sons and other family members and it may be
easier for us to take a hard line than for some others. We do
question, however, how anyone can ever again trust a daughter who has
not recanted, apologized, and fully understood the magnitude of what
she has done. A trust once violated and shattered is not easily
restored.
A Father and Mother
__________________
Filing A Complaint
Several years ago I filed a well-documented complaint with the
California Board of Behavioral Science Examiners charging fraud,
negligence and gross injury to my family, including my accusing
daughter. The Board rejected my complaint on the basis that I am a
third party and the wall of confidentiality precluded their action.
I then filed a similar complaint with the therapist's professional
group, the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.
It was rejected out of hand. Why? No doubt because of internal
politics.
Recently I filed a complaint with the Attorney General of the State
of California as an out-of-state person. I need the support of many
accused parents in the state who are willing to file complaints that
are well documented.
For those concerned about therapists in California, you may want to
contact:
Mr. Daniel Lungren
State Attorney General
P.O. 944-255
Sacramento, CA 94244
I urge residents of other states also to file complaints with their
attorneys general. If we don't care enough to do something, who will?
A Dad
___________
Reflections
It is an honor to be part of FMSF. Many things have happened that have
changed me -- and changed people change people. Most of us do not like
to change, because change can produce pain, but pain can produce
growth which in turn produces love and an abundant life. You're never
too old to change.
Yesterday is a cancelled check, tomorrow is a promissory note. Today
is cash. Don't take it for granted. Spend it wisely. Trust in God and
live an abundant life.
A Mom and Dad
_________________
Patience and Love
Neither of my girls has actually retracted, but they have eased back
into my life and I feel a good measure of love and respect from them.
I'm grateful for this turn of events and would just like to pass this
encouragement on to other parents: We wait 9 months from conception to
the birth of our children, then we wait approximately another 20 years
while they grow into adults and can be on their own. When terrible
things such as FMS happen and cause rifts in our lives, if we are
patient, kind and always loving, our world will probably turn around
for the better.
A Mom
_________
Thank You
I want to thank the FMSF for being there through the dark days from my
daughter's first accusation. Thank God, we found you because I read
letters from other parents and we did what they suggested. I wrote
non-confrontational letters to her monthly. One of my two sons kept in
touch with her and never fought with her about her beliefs.
That son got married in September and my daughter came to the
shower, our rehearsal dinner and the wedding. She hugged her father
and me and acted just like before the "memories." She has not recanted
yet but we don't intend to press her. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
A Mother
______________________
Does it Have Pictures?
Our eldest son cannot apologize enough... He says it over and over..
He never accused us but he is so sorry for his absence... Again last
night when we were talking on the phone he gave another expression of
sorrow.
I asked him if he would like to read a book or two so that he could
understand the dynamics to understand how all of this evolved... His
reply was typical for him, "Does the book have pictures?"
Fortunately, I can honor that request, and when he comes next I will
present him with Smiling Through Tears.
A Mom
+------------------------------------------------+
| E S T A T E P L A N N I N G |
| |
| If you have questions about how to include the |
| FMSF in your estate planning, contact |
| Charles Caviness 800-289-9060. |
| (Available 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Pacific time.) |
+------------------------------------------------+
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Notice in a church bulletin in Orlando, Florida |
| February 8, 1998 |
| |
| "If you are taking counseling of any nature and "regression |
| therapy" is being used... I encourage you to visit with me and let |
| me share with you the dangers inherent in this type of therapy." |
| |
| "'Repression' is a theory about how memories are lost, and |
| 'regression' involves theories of how memories are recovered." |
| |
| "Some 'Christian' therapists are using these techniques... but |
| there is NO Biblical support for such!" |
| Your Pastor |
| |
| The pastor had attended the conference for clergy at Rollins |
| College in November. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
* S T A T E M E E T I N G S *
**********************************************************************
* _______ *
* MONTANA *
* "Memory Retrieval Techniques: Extended Implications" *
* *
* April 18, 1998: 9:00 AM - 4:30 P.M. *
* Best Western Heritage Inn Great Falls Montana *
* April 25, 1998: 9:00 AM - 4:30 P.M. *
* 4B's Inn & Convention Center Missoula, Montana *
* *
* For more Information call Lee or Avone: 406-443-3189 *
* *
* CEU Credits Available *
**********************************************************************
* ________________________________ *
* CONNECTICUT/SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND *
* FMS Group Meeting *
* Sunday April 19, 1998 1:30 P.M. *
* Unitarian Church 700 Hartford Turnpike *
* Hamden, CT *
* Call Paul Thomas for details/directions: 203-458-9173 *
**********************************************************************
* ________ *
* MICHIGAN *
* "What Are The Courts Doing To Stop Junk Psychotherapy?" *
* May 5, 1998 7:00 P.M. *
* Temple Beth Emeth, St. Clare's Episcopal Church *
* 2309 Packard Road Ann Arbor, Michigan *
* Speaker: Demosthenes Lorandos, J.D., Ph.D. *
* Presented by the Ann Arbor Friends of FMS Foundation *
* For more information call Martha: 734-439-4055 *
* (leave a message if necessary) or 734-439-8119 *
* *
* Ride-share information *
* Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo areas - Marge: 616-383-0382 *
* Troy area - Nancy: 248-642-8077 *
**********************************************************************
* _________________ *
* MINNESOTA MEETING *
* Saturday May 16, 1998 9 A.M. - 2:30 P.M. *
* Ft. Snelling Officers Club, St. Paul, MN *
* For more information call: *
* Dan or Joan: 612-631-2247 *
* Terry or Colette: 507-642-3630 *
**********************************************************************
* _______ *
* INDIANA *
* Saturday April 18, 1998 8:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. *
* Speakers: The Rutherford Family *
* Continental breakfast and delicious luncheon included. *
* The meeting will be in Indianapolis and is sponsored by *
* the Indiana Association for Responsible Mental Health Practices. *
* For more information call: *
* Nickie: (317) 471-0922; Fax: 317-334-9839 or Pat: 219-482-2847 *
**********************************************************************
* ________________________ *
* NEW MEXICO - ALBUQUERQUE *
* April 18, 1998 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. *
* Albuquerque Hilton Hotel 1901 University Blvd, NE *
* For more information contact: Sy at 505-758-0726 *
* *
* Speakers will include: *
* Pamela Freyd, Ph.D. Eleanor Goldstein *
* Don Tashjian, M.D. Paul Simpson, Ed.D. *
* Lee McMillian, Esq. *
**********************************************************************
* ________ *
* NEW YORK *
* Family Meeting Sunday May 3, 1998 2 P.M. - 5 P.M. *
* Shenendehowa Methodist Church *
* Rt. 146 Clifton Park, NY *
* Speakers: Pamela Freyd, Ph.D. Eleanor Goldstein *
* For more information call *
* Dorothy: 518-399-5749, Evelyn: 518-371-7661 *
* Friday May 8, 1998 6 p.m. - 10 p.m. *
**********************************************************************
* _________________ *
* VANCOUVER MEETING *
* Friday May 8, 1998 6 p.m. - 10 p.m. *
* Mount Pleasant Community Centre *
* 3161 Ontario St. Vancouver, BC *
* Pot Luck Dinner *
* Speakers: *
* Pamela Freyd, Ph.D. Eleanor Goldstein *
* For Further Information call Ruth 604-925-1539 *
**********************************************************************
* _______ *
* ONTARIO *
* Annual Meeting of Ontario and Quebec *
* Families, Friends & Professionals *
* Saturday May 30, 1998 10 A.M. - 4 P.M. *
* Edwards Gardens Centre 777 Lawrence East Toronto, Ontario *
* Speakers: *
* Pamela Freyd, Ph.D. Eleanor Goldstein *
* Campbell Perry Alan Gold *
* Donna Laframboise *
* For more information call Pat: 416-445-1995 *
**********************************************************************
_____________________________________
F M S B U L L E T I N B O A R D
Key: (MO)-monthly; (bi-MO)-bi-monthly; (*)-see State Meetings list
Contacts & Meetings:
_____________
UNITED STATES
ALASKA
Bob (907) 556-8110
ARIZONA
Barbara (602) 924-0975; 854-0404(fax)
ARKANSAS
Little Rock
Al & Lela (501) 363-4368
CALIFORNIA
Sacramento - (quarterly)
Joanne & Gerald (916) 933-3655
Rudy (916) 443-4041
San Francisco & North Bay - (bi-MO)
Gideon (415) 389-0254 or
Charles 984-6626(am); 435-9618(pm)
East Bay Area - (bi-MO)
Judy (510) 376-8221
South Bay Area - Last Sat. (bi-MO)
Jack & Pat (408) 425-1430
3rd Sat. (bi-MO) @10am
Central Coast
Carole (805) 967-8058
Central Orange County - 1st Fri. (MO) @ 7pm
Chris & Alan (714) 733-2925
Orange County - 3rd Sun. (MO) @6pm
Jerry & Eileen (909) 659-9636
Covina Area - 1st Mon. (MO) @7:30pm
Floyd & Libby (818) 330-2321
San Diego Area
Dee (619) 941-4816
CONNECTICUT *
S. New England - (bi-MO) Sept-May
Earl (203) 329-8365 or
Paul (203) 458-9173
FLORIDA
Dade/Broward
Madeline (954) 966-4FMS
Boca/Delray - 2nd & 4th Thurs (MO) @1pm
Helen (407) 498-8684
Central Florida - 4th Sun. (MO) @2:30 pm
John & Nancy (352) 750-5446
Tampa Bay Area
Bob & Janet (813) 856-7091
GEORGIA
Atlanta
Wallie & Jill (770) 971-8917
HAWAII
Carolyn (808) 261-5716
ILLINOIS
Chicago & Suburbs - 1st Sun. (MO)
Eileen (847) 985-7693
Liz & Roger (847) 827-1056
Joliet
Bill & Gayle (815) 467-6041
Rest of Illinois
Bryant & Lynn (309) 674-2767
INDIANA *
Indiana Assn. for Responsible Mental Health Practices
Nickie (317) 471-0922; fax (317) 334-9839
Pat (219) 482-2847
IOWA
Des Moines - 2nd Sat. (MO) @11:30 am Lunch
Betty & Gayle (515) 270-6976
KANSAS
Kansas City - 2nd Sun. (MO)
Leslie (913) 235-0602 or
Pat (913) 738-4840
Jan (816) 931-1340
KENTUCKY
Louisville- Last Sun. (MO) @ 2pm
Bob (502) 361-1838
LOUISIANA
Francine (318) 457-2022
MAINE
Bangor
Irvine & Arlene (207) 942-8473
Freeport - 4th Sun. (MO)
Carolyn (207) 364-8891
MARYLAND
Ellicot City Area
Margie (410) 750-8694
MASSACHUSETTS/NEW ENGLAND
Andover - 2nd Sun. (MO) @ 1pm
Frank (508) 263-9795
MICHIGAN *
Grand Rapids Area-Jenison - 1st Mon. (MO)
Bill & Marge (616) 383-0382
Greater Detroit Area - 3rd Sun. (MO)
Nancy (810) 642-8077
Ann Arbor
Martha (313) 439-8119
MINNESOTA *
Terry & Collette (507) 642-3630
Dan & Joan (612) 631-2247
MISSOURI
Kansas City - 2nd Sun. (MO)
Leslie (913) 235-0602 or Pat 738-4840
Jan (816) 931-1340
St. Louis Area - 3rd Sun. (MO)
Karen (314) 432-8789
Mae (314) 837-1976
Springfield - 4th Sat. (MO) @12:30pm
Dorothy & Pete (417) 882-1821
Tom (417) 883-8617
MONTANA *
Lee & Avone (406) 443-3189
NEW JERSEY (So.)
See Wayne, PA
NEW MEXICO *
Albuquerque - 1st Sat. (MO) @1 pm
Southwest Room - Presbyterian Hospital
Maggie (505) 662-7521 (after 6:30 pm)
Sy (505) 758-0726
NEW YORK *
Westchester, Rockland, etc. - (bi-MO)
Barbara (914) 761-3627
Upstate/Albany Area - (bi-MO)
Elaine (518) 399-5749
Western/Rochester Area - (bi-MO)
George & Eileen (716) 586-7942
NORTH CAROLINA
Susan (704) 481-0456
OHIO
Cleveland
Bob & Carole (216) 888-7963
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma City
Dee (405) 942-0531
HJ (405) 755-3816
Rosemary (405) 439-2459
PENNSYLVANIA
Harrisburg
Paul & Betty (717) 691-7660
Pittsburgh
Rick & Renee (412) 563-5616
Montrose
John (717) 278-2040
Wayne (includes S. NJ) - 2nd Sat. (MO)
Jim & Jo (610) 783-0396
TENNESSEE
Wed. (MO) @1pm
Kate (615) 665-1160
TEXAS
Houston
Jo or Beverly (713) 464-8970
El Paso
Mary Lou (915) 591-0271
UTAH
Keith (801) 467-0669
VERMONT (bi-MO)
Judith (802) 229-5154
VIRGINIA
Sue (703) 273-2343
WASHINGTON
Phil & Suzi (206) 364-1643
WEST VIRGINIA
Pat (304) 291-6448
WISCONSIN
Katie & Leo (414) 476-0285
Susanne & John (608) 427-3686
_____________
INTERNATIONAL
BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA *
Vancouver & Mainland - Last Sat. (MO) @ 1- 4pm
Ruth (250) 925-1539
Victoria & Vancouver Island - 3rd Tues. (MO) @7:30pm
John (250) 721-3219
MANITOBA, CANADA
Winnipeg
Joan (204) 284-0118
ONTARIO, CANADA *
London -2nd Sun (bi-MO)
Adriaan (519) 471-6338
Ottawa
Eileen (613) 836-3294
Toronto /N. York
Pat (416) 444-9078
Warkworth
Ethel (705) 924-2546
Burlington
Ken & Marina (905) 637-6030
Sudbury
Paula (705) 692-0600
QUEBEC, CANADA
Montreal
Alain (514) 335-0863
St. Andre Est.
Mavis (514) 537-8187
AUSTRALIA
Irene (03) 9740 6930
ISRAEL
FMS ASSOCIATION fax-(972) 2-625-9282
or E-mail fms@netvision.net.il
NETHERLANDS
Task Force FMS of Werkgroep Fictieve
Herinneringen
Anna (31) 20-693-5692
NEW ZEALAND
Colleen (09) 416-7443
SWEDEN
Ake Moller FAX (48) 431-217-90
UNITED KINGDOM
The British False Memory Society
Roger Scotford (44) 1225 868-682
___________________________________________
Deadline for the May Newsletter is April 15
Meeting notices MUST be in writing
and should be sent no later than TWO MONTHS PRIOR TO MEETING.
**********************************************************************
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Do you have access to e-mail? Send a message to |
| pjf@cis.upenn.edu |
| if you wish to receive electronic versions of this newsletter and |
| notices of radio and television broadcasts about FMS. All the |
| message need say is "add to the FMS-News". You'll also learn about |
| joining the FMS-Research list (it distributes research materials |
| such as news stories, court decisions and research articles). It |
| would be useful, but not necessary, if you add your full name (all |
| addresses and names will remain strictly confidential). |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
**********************************************************************
The False Memory Syndrome Foundation is a qualified 501(c)3 corpora-
tion with its principal offices in Philadelphia and governed by its
Board of Directors. While it encourages participation by its members
in its activities, it must be understood that the Foundation has no
affiliates and that no other organization or person is authorized to
speak for the Foundation without the prior written approval of the Ex-
ecutive Director. All membership dues and contributions to the Founda-
tion must be forwarded to the Foundation for its disposition.
**********************************************************************
Pamela Freyd, Ph.D., Executive Director
FMSF Scientific and Professional Advisory Board, April 1, 1998
AARON T. BECK, M.D., D.M.S., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,
PA; TERENCE W. CAMPBELL, Ph.D., Clinical and Forensic Psychology,
Sterling Heights, MI; ROSALIND CARTWRIGHT, Ph.D., Rush Presbyterian
St. Lukes Medical Center, Chicago, IL; JEAN CHAPMAN, Ph.D., University
of Wisconsin, Madison, WI; LOREN CHAPMAN, Ph.D., University of
Wisconsin, Madison, WI; FREDERICK C. CREWS, Ph.D., University of
California, Berkeley, CA; ROBYN M. DAWES, Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon
University, Pittsburgh, PA; DAVID F. DINGES, Ph.D., University of
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; HENRY C. ELLIS, Ph.D., University of
New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM; 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., Charing Cross Hospital, London; DAVID A. HALPERIN,
M.D., Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY; 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; ROBERT A. KARLIN, Ph.D. , Rutgers University, New
Brunswick, NJ; HAROLD LIEF, M.D., University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, PA; ELIZABETH LOFTUS, Ph.D., University of Washington,
Seattle, WA; SUSAN L. McELROY, M.D. , University of Cincinnati,
Cincinnati, OH; PAUL McHUGH, M.D., Johns Hopkins University,
Baltimore, MD; HAROLD MERSKEY, D.M., University of Western Ontario,
London, Canada; SPENCER HARRIS MORFIT, Author, Boxboro, MA; ULRIC
NEISSER, Ph.D., Emory University, Atlanta, GA; RICHARD OFSHE, Ph.D.,
University of California, Berkeley, CA; EMILY CAROTA ORNE, B.A.,
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; MARTIN ORNE, M.D.,
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 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; AUGUST T.
PIPER, Jr., M.D., Seattle, WA; HARRISON POPE, Jr., M.D., Harvard
Medical School, Boston, MA; JAMES RANDI, Author and Magician,
Plantation, FL; HENRY L. ROEDIGER, III, Ph.D. ,Rice University,
Houston, TX; CAROLYN SAARI, Ph.D., Loyola University, Chicago, IL;
THEODORE SARBIN, Ph.D., University of California, Santa Cruz, CA;
THOMAS A. SEBEOK, Ph.D., Indiana University, Bloomington, IN; MICHAEL
A. SIMPSON, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., M.R.C, D.O.M., Center for
Psychosocial & Traumatic Stress, Pretoria, South Africa; 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, Piscataway, NJ;
JEFFREY VICTOR, Ph.D., Jamestown Community College, Jamestown, NY;
HOLLIDA WAKEFIELD, M.A., Institute of Psychological Therapies,
Northfield, MN; CHARLES A. WEAVER, III, Ph.D. Baylor University, Waco,
TX.
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Y E A R L Y FMSF M E M B E R S H I P I N F O R M A T I O N
Professional - Includes Newsletter $125_______
Family - Includes Newsletter $100_______
Additional Contribution:_____________
PLEASE FILL OUT ALL INFORMATION
___VISA: Card: #________-________-________-________ exp. date ___/___
___MASTER CARD: #________-________-________-________ exp. date ___/___
___Check or Money Order: Payable to FMS FOUNDATION IN U.S. DOLLARS.
______________________________________________________________________
Signature
______________________________________________________________________
Name (PLEASE PRINT)
______________________________________________________________________
Street Address or P.O.Box
______________________________________________________________________
City State Zip+4
(_____)_____________________________(_____)___________________________
Telephone FAX
* MAIL the completed form with payment to:
FMS Foundation, 3401 Market ST, Suite 130, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3315
This address and the phone numbers have changed as of July 15, 2000
* FAX your order to (215) 287-1917. Fax orders cannot be processed
without credit card information.
**********************************************************************
V I D E O T A P E O R D E R F O R M
for
"W H E N M E M O R I E S L I E...
T H E R U T H E R F O R D F A M I L Y
S P E A K S T O F A M I L I E S"
Mail Order To:
FMSF Video
Rt. 1 Box 510
Burkeville, TX 75932
DATE: / /
Ordered By: Ship to:
Please type or print information:
+--------+-----+------------------------------------+-------+--------+
| QUANT- | # | DESCRIPTION | UNIT | AMOUNT |
| ITY | | | PRICE | |
+--------+-----+------------------------------------+-------+--------+
| | 442 | The Rutherford Family | 10.00 | |
| | | Speaks to Families | | |
+--------+-----+------------------------------------+-------+--------+
SUBTOTAL | |
| |
+--------+
ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTION | |
| |
+--------+
TOTAL DUE | |
| |
+--------+
U.S. Shipping & packaging charges are included in the
price of the video.
FOREIGN SHIPPING AND PACKAGING
Canada $4.00 per tape
All other countries $10.00 per tape.
Allow two to three weeks for delivery. Made all checks payable to FMS
Foundation. If you have any questions concerning this order, call
Benton, 409-565-4480.
The tax deductible portion of your contribution is the excess of goods
and services provided.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST
**********************************************************************