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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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IN THIS ISSUE:
FMSF Advisory Board Statement
Legal Corner THIS ISSUE COMBINES
Charlotte Vale Allen
August Piper, M.D. JULY AND AUGUST
Make a Difference
From Our Readers
Bulletin Board
**********************************************************************
Dear Friends,
"Because of our sense of social responsibility..."
Thus begins the Statement of the FMSF Scientific and Professional
Advisory Board. The assembled members of the Board agreed unanimously
on a number of fundamental points about what research has shown about
memory and therapy practices. It is a strong statement and it is with
particular pleasure that we publish it in this issue.
It is sobering to compare the views of our Board members with those
of some other professionals. The Board writes:
"No major mental health professional association has acted
decisively to prevent members from contributing to this public
health problem."
Contrast that with these words of Dr. David Spiegel:
"I'm not worried about the Texas case and I'm not worried about the
Chicago case, because I think these were outliers where there are
serious questions about what they were doing. I am worried, though,
that there is a militant, aggressive advocacy group that is
encouraging all kinds of restrictions on therapy, including
requirements for disclosures, consent forms and restriction on
ordinary, everyday, sensible psychotherapy, and that part of it
bothers me." [1]
The Texas case, Carl v Keraga, was settled for $5.9 million. The
Chicago case, Burgus v Braun, settled for $10.6 million. Yes, we all
fervently hope that these cases are outliers and we all fervently hope
that they do not reflect the nature of the majority of psychiatrists.
We agree that there are "serious questions" about the practices of
the psychiatrists in these cases. But it should be noted that neither
of the named psychiatrists worked in a vacuum. Both Dr. Keraga and Dr.
Braun practiced their outlier therapies in accredited hospitals, in
plain view -- and with the implicit endorsement -- of their
professions. Both were well known psychiatrists and were well known
in their communities. Dr. Braun was well known as a international
authority in his field, indeed, he served as President of the
International Society for the Study of Dissociation where he exhibited
his then-patient, Pat Burgus, as a stellar example of his work.
Both Dr. Keraga and Dr. Braun are still practicing psychiatry.
If a profession cannot or does not curb the extreme "outliers," what
confidence can the public have? What does it say to the public that
nothing has yet been done, not one statement written, to discredit
space-alien-abduction-abuse, past-life-abuse, satanic ritual abuse
therapy or all the other "outlier" therapies? What does it say to
mental health consumers that no professional organization has taken
any steps to prevent its members from engaging in risky practices that
endanger the public?
If professionals who have given approval to "outlier" practice by
their silence do not want external restrictions, they must act to
solve what they claim is a small problem. One puzzles over Dr. David
Spiegel's description of people who are addressing a public health
problem as a "militant, aggressive advocacy group." Does the FMSF
Advisory Board statement fit that description? We think it is
reflection of professionals who do have a sense of social
responsibility and who feel obliged to try to protect the public.
This past month, we read an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer
Magazine [2] about the psychiatric diagnosis of Borderline Personality
Disorder that indicated to us that critical aspects of the belief
system underlying the FMS problem are endemic in professional
thinking. Can you guess what many therapists think is the cause of
Borderline Personality? Childhood trauma, of course. Can you guess
what many therapists think is a way to cure it? Reparenting, of
course. It is breathtaking to think that a profession that has been
shown to be in error about the the identical etiology and supposed
cure for homosexuality, for schizophrenia, and even for autism could
still be promoting the same untested tired ideas.
Perhaps David Spiegel, M.D. is wrong. Perhaps it is not just an
"outlier" problem. Perhaps the reason that there has been no decisive
action on the part of mental health professional associations to
protect the public is because the majority of members of those
associations adhere to the same belief system. To challenge "outliers"
means challenging some of the fundamental beliefs held by many
professionals. We would like to be proved wrong.
In the meantime, we are very pleased that at least one body of
highly regarded professionals in the United States has a sense of
social responsibility and has issued a strong statement on memory and
therapy practices.
And we are very pleased, indeed, to be members of the organization
in whose name they speak.
PAMELA
[1] Grinfeld, J. (12/1997) "Criminal Charges Filed in Recovered Memory
Case: Psychiatrists Liable for Millions in Civil Suits,"
Psychiatric Times.
[2] Hochman, G., Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine.June 14, 1998
+----------------------------------------------------------+
| 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_______________________________
/ \
| Allen and Toby Feld thank the many people who have sent messages |
| and cards. |
| |
| On Sunday June 7, Allen was hit by a car while he and Toby were |
| bicycling. He suffered serious injuries and remains hospitalized. |
| |
| Allen has been a prolific contributor to this newsletter. He is |
| Director of Continuing Education for the Foundation, a position he |
| has held since retirement as a professor of social work. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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S T A T E M E N T
by
The PROFESSIONAL and SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD
of
The FALSE MEMORY SYNDROME FOUNDATION
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
May 17, 1998
Because of the continuing misuse of trust, power, and authority in
some forms of mental health treatment, and because of our sense of
social responsibility to the victims of these treatments, we, the
assembled members of the Scientific and Professional Advisory Board of
the False Memory Syndrome Foundation, unanimously agree to the
following:
1. We endorse the major conclusions of the Working Group on Reported
Recovered Memories of Child Sexual Abuse of the Royal College of
Psychiatrists that "there is no reliable means of distinguishing a
true memory from an illusory one other than by external confirmation.
There are, of course, some memories so bizarre or impossible that they
are not credible. If something could not happen, it did not happen."
(British Journal of Psychiatry, 1998, 172, p. 304)
2. We also endorse their conclusion that "Evidence does not support
the existence of 'robust repression'." We would add that because
exactly what is meant by the terms "repression" and "dissociation" is
far from clear, their use has become idiosyncratic, metaphoric, and
arbitrary.
3. Moreover, we find no credible evidence that procedures based on
assumptions of the historic accuracy of "recovered memories" of
childhood sexual abuse benefit distressed individuals.
4. In contrast, we find increasing evidence that such procedures can
severely harm patients and their families.
5. Despite growing awareness of these concerns in public and
professional circles, no major United States mental health
professional association has acted decisively to prevent its members
from contributing to this public health problem.
Therefore, we recommend the following goals for the Foundation:
a. The Foundation should continue its mission of assisting patients
and families, providing scientific and legal information, and
educating the community.
b. The Foundation should seek to dissuade mental health professionals
and the public from the practices and beliefs that promote false
allegations and ineffective and potentially harmful treatment.
c. The Foundation's activities should include education of mental
health professionals in all disciplines, their respective professional
organizations, and the private and public institutions supporting
their work.
d. The Foundation should also direct its educational efforts toward
related professionals, such as judges and attorneys, and those in
social services and law enforcement.
e. Finally, the Foundation should strongly encourage further rigorous
scientific research in all those disciplines bearing on these issues.
__________________________SIDEBAR__________________________
/ \
| Events to note: |
| |
| The DOGGETTS from Wenatchee were released from prison in |
| June, 1998. |
| |
| CHERYL AMIRAULT was granted a new trial in April but the |
| judge noted that the children may not testify because |
| their memories are so tainted by the interview procedures |
| |
| NBC Dateline is expected to feature a one-hour program on |
| BURGUS v BRAUN in July. |
| |
| The Leeza show is expected to air a program featuring |
| NADEAN COOL on August 25, 1998. |
\___________________________________________________________/
___________________________________________________________
Peer Review of Medical Expert Witness Testimony (H-265.993)
Medical doctors are going to be held accountable by their peers when
they serve as expert witnesses. At the American Medical Association
interim meeting in December 1997, a new policy was adopted by the
House of Delegates. Among the reasons given for this change in policy
is the "increase in the amount of medico-legal expert witness
courtroom testimony given by physicians which ignores scientific
studies, as well as universally accepted standards of medical care;"
and the concern that "junk science" does harm to the credibility of
the medical profession.
The proposal for the change was introduced by the Illinois
Delegation. It was also noted that the state of Florida has already
established an Expert Witness Committee as an arm of the Board of
Censors. All county and state AMAs are being encouraged to do the
same. The policy states:
"(1) the giving of medico-legal testimony by a physician expert
witness be considered the practice of medicine, and
"(2) all medico-legal expert witness testimony given by a physician
should be subject to peer review of medico-legal expert witness."
(Res.221,I-97)
_________________________________________________________
Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction
to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults:
The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study.
Felitti V.J., Anda R.F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D.F., Spitz,
A.M., Edwards, V., Koss, M.P., Marks, J.S.
Am J. Prev Med 1998;14(4)
A questionnaire was mailed to 13,494 adults who had received medical
evaluations at Kaiser Permanente in San Diego with a 70.5% response
rate. The questionnaire contained seven categories of adverse
childhood experiences: (1) physical, sexual or psychological abuse and
(2) four measures of household dysfunction: substance abuse, mental
illness, suicide attempts or imprisonment. A statistical analysis
showed that the more categories of adverse child experiences, the
greater the likelihood of adult multiple health risk factors.
The adult risk factors included: smoking, severe obesity, physical
inactivity, depressed mood, suicide attempts, alcoholism, any drug
abuse, parental drug abuse, high lifetime number of sexual partners
and history of sexually transmitted disease. Disease conditions
included ischemic heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic bronchitis,
emphysema, diabetes, hepatitis, and skeletal fractures.
The authors note the limitations of this study such as: self-report,
retrospective, and the probability that some persons with disease may
be more likely to report adverse childhood experiences. They state
that the data can "only demonstrate associations between childhood
exposures and health risk behaviors, health status, and diseases in
adulthood."
Nevertheless, after stating the limitations, the authors slide into
the implication of causality. Specifically, the press release states
the study "suggests that child abuse and household dysfunction lead to
the development decades later of the chronic diseases that are the
most common causes of death and disability in this country." (Emphasis
added.)
This is a violation of the most elementary rules taught in
Psychology I. The fact that A is associated with B does not permit the
conclusion that A leads to B. It is shocking to see an elementary
mistake in such a comprehensive and expensive study.
Child abuse is wrong regardless of the consequences. Sloppy science
undermines the cause.
_________________________________________________________________
What Science Says -- and Doesn't Say -- About Repressed Memories:
A Critique of Scheflin and Brown
August Piper, Jr., M.D.
Journal of Psychiatry and Law, Spring 1998
In the Summer 1996 issue of the Journal of Psychiatry and Law, Alan
Scheflin, Esq. and Daniel Brown, Ph.D., assert that 25 investigations
confirm the reality of dissociative amnesia in sexually-abused
individuals. "What Science Says..." disputes that claim.
Piper makes a careful analysis of the Scheflin and Brown paper,
noting two methodological difficulties. The first is that nine of the
25 investigations were either poster sessions, unpublished
manuscripts, or papers read only at conferences. This means that no
independent evaluation of these studies is possible. The second
difficulty is that two papers were written in Dutch or published only
in The Netherlands. Piper was able to obtain only one of these
papers. After excluding the non-peer-reviewed and unavailable studies,
he was left with 15 studies to critique.
Piper examines the studies from three perspectives: 1) defining
sexual abuse, 2) verifying abuse, and 3) defining and verifying
dissociative amnesia.
Only three of Scheflin and Brown's 15 investigations provide
evidence that they adhered to well-defined criteria for "sexual
abuse." Because Scheflin and Brown have such vague criteria for
including studies, no one can know how memorable the subjects'
putatively-traumatic events actually were. Piper says, "These
investigations, therefore, cannot answer a critical question: do they
truly demonstrate 'repression' or 'dissociative anmesia'-- or do they
merely show that subjects forgot nonmemorable events?"
Of the 15 investigations, only two provide any documentation that
abuse actually occurred. The other studies failed to corroborate
histories of alleged maltreatment, or accepted an overly relaxed
definition of "confirmed" abuse.
Finally, the studies reviewed by Scheflin and Brown fail to
rigorously define "dissociative amnesia." One cannot tell if a person
truly cannot recall an event, is merely feigning amnesia, or is
choosing, for whatever reason, not to discuss the event with the
interviewer.
A number of studies asked people if there was ever a time when they
could not remember their abuse. In comment, Piper quotes Ofshe and
Watters:
Asking patients to remember a time when they couldn't remember
something is a logical quandary. The question borders on the
ridiculous, because it assumes the subject would have knowledge of
the status of a memory during a period when that memory, by the
subject's own admission, never came into consciousness (Making
Monsters: False Memories, Psychotherapy, and Sexual Hysteria,
Schribner's, 1994 p. 308.)
Piper concludes that because of the "methodological weaknesses of
the studies reviewed by Scheflin and Brown, and the strength of the
evidence against the dissociative amnesia position," dissociative
amnesia in sexually abused individuals has most assuredly not yet
satisfied the criteria of science.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| COSA Newsletters are now available electronically: |
| |
| Casualties of Sexual Allegations, Inc. (COSA) is the organization |
| in New Zealand to which falsely accused families have turned. This |
| organization's fact-filled newsletter is now available |
| electronically. |
| Web: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/6708/wcosa.html |
| Email: f.goodyear-smith@auckland.ac.nz |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Treating Patients with Memories of Abuse: Legal Risk Management |
| Samuel J. Knapp, Ed.D. and Leon VandeCreek, Ph.D. |
| American Psychological Association, 1998 |
| |
| Appendix B - Statements That May Reflect Substandard Practices |
| |
| 1. "You have the symptoms of someone who was abused." |
| 2. "Studies show that (or, My expe rience is that) most people |
| with [fill in the particular diagnosis or symptoms here] were |
| sexually abused." |
| 3. "If you think you were abused, then you probably were." |
| 4. "Remembering is essential if you want to be healed." |
| 5. "This technique (hypnosis, guided imagery, sodium amytal, etc.) |
| is designed to help you remember." |
| 6. "Suing (Forgiving, Detaching from, etc.) your family is a |
| necessary part of healing." |
| 7. "You have to get worse before you get better." |
| 8. "Your body holds accurate memories of past events." |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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T H E R A P Y T R A I N I N G
FMSF Staff
* Therapy should be safe and and it should be effective.
* There are over 400 varieties of therapies.
* Only a handful have ever been tested for effectiveness.
* As the FMS problem has shown, some therapies can be extremely harmful.
* No professional organization or government regulatory body in the
United States has acted to remove dangerous therapies.
* Professional organizations and government oversight boards have
failed in their responsibility to protect the public.
We find no standards for approving continuing education (CE) programs
in mental health. Following are some examples of educational programs
for therapies whose effectiveness is not known.
Past Life Therapy
"Under the guidance of Dr. Weiss, participants will gently travel back
in time to retrieve and release memories of childhood and previous
lives..."
From an announcement for "Body & Soul Comes to San Francisco" (Fall
1997) sponsored by New Age Journal. CE credits from:
California Board of Registered Nursing
National Board for Certified Counselors
Illinois Department of Professional Regulation for Registered Social
Workers
Focusing
"Focusing is a step-by-step process of paying attention to a bodily
sense of a situation, problem or creative project. Access to an at
first unclear bodily sense-of can be taught -- but is not yet widely
known. It is more physical than feelings, and not merely body
sensations, but the juncture where meanings are bodily [sic]. Creative
change arises at this directly sensed edge of awareness, whether in
thinking, psychotherapy, self growth, art, or healing."
The following Specialty Workshops are offered:
* Dreams and Focusing * Interactive Focusing * Thinking Experientially
* Inner Child Work and Focusing * Psychotherapy and Focusing * Body
Work and Focusing
"Come Think at the Edge..." was a Focusing program offered in
September 1997. The brochure included the following statement:
"Our bodies are at least plants. Philosophy and Psychology can not
begin with Perception. Interaction is prior."
The Focusing Institute in New York State is an approved
AmericanPsychological Association provider, although Focusing is not a
therapy.
Physio-Affective Reassociation Therapy (PART)
"PART combines the research base of psychoneuroimmunology, stress and
chronic pain/chronic illness with the intuitive understanding and
wisdom of subtle energy channels in the body that can block or
facilitate healing. When united with the artistry of Ericksonian
hypnotic techniques, the result is a powerful synthesis of Eastern and
Western approaches to healing."
The above description comes from a brochure for Certification
Training in Mind/Body Medicine. This program is presented by the
National Academy of Clinical Hypnosis. Among the advertised benefits:
* install positive resources using eye movement therapy
* explore the clinical usefulness of energy medicine
* use intuitive/Divine guidance to assist the healing process
* access the spititual dimensions of mind/body medicine
The brochure also says that readers who cannot attend a seminar can
purchase the Mind/Body Medicine Video Training Program for $295 and
earn 24 CE credits.
The National Academy of Clinical Hypnosis is approved by APA to
grant CE credit.
Pathways to Healing
"Healing includes the activation of three distinct forms of memories,
DNA, immune system, and remembered wellness. This inspiring and
insightful program describes how healing actually occurs and provides
ways to promote everyday health and well being."
From a brochure advertising seven seminars in Washington and Oregon
for Fall 1997. The programs are sponsored by CorText, an organization
approved by the APA to provide CE credits.
New York Center for Psychoanalytic Training
Workshops begin in October 1998: "It wasn't a dream: recognizing and
analyzing the symptoms of childhood sexual abuse in adult patients."
"The most careful and well-conducted psychoanalyses and psycho-
therapies often fail to uncover traumatic abuse that is at the heart
of the patients' difficulties. Rarely do memories of abuse occur
clearly and directly. Instead they are reproduced as symptoms, mental
distortions or reenactments...."
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PAST LIFE THERAPY CORRECTION |
| |
| We were in error when we listed the American Psychological |
| Association as approving continuing education credits for some |
| Brian Weiss seminars on Past Life Therapy provided by New Age |
| Publications (FMSF Newsletter 6/98, p. 13). Our information came |
| from two telephone calls to the number listed on the brochure to |
| ask what organization approved the credits for psychologists. On |
| both occasions we were told the American Psychological |
| Association. That information was wrong: New Age Publications is |
| not a provider approved by the American Psychological Association. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
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L E G A L C O R N E R
FMSF Staff
_____________________________________________
New Trial Ordered for Cheryl Amirault LeFave;
Youths' "Tainted" Testimony is Barred in Day Care Retrial
Goldberg, C., The New York Times, 6/13/98
On June 12, Massachusetts Judge Isaac Borenstein affirmed a ruling
granting a new trial to Cheryl Amirault LeFave, one of three family
members convicted more than 10 years ago in the highly publicized
Fells Acres Daycare Center case. The decision, based on new studies
that show that young children can be pressured to make false
statements, is the first U.S. trial court to decide that the studies
constitute "new evidence" for the purpose of obtaining a new trial.
In a decision that could have implications in hundreds of child
abuse cases around the nation, Judge Borenstein ruled that none of the
children, now teen-agers, would be allowed to testify in the new trial
because their testimony would be "forever tainted" by the interview
techniques used by investigators. Judge Borenstein viewed videotapes
of the children's interrogations, and read aloud excerpts of
transcripts in his ruling to show how the questioners pushed children
to give certain answers. "There are so many examples in the evidence
of this case of the improper procedures that it would take days to go
through them," Borenstein said as he read his decision to the
court. "This case should leave no one confident except for one thing
-- justice was not done."
The Fells Acres case is 14 years old, and one of the last cases
pending among the wave of major day-care sexual-abuse trials in the
1980s. Ms. LeFave and her mother, Violet Amirault, were convicted in
1987 and sentenced to 8 to 20 years in prison. They were released in
1995 when another judge ordered a new trial, finding that the court's
seating arrangement had kept them from confronting their accusers.
Then the state's Supreme Judicial Court reinstated the convictions in
March 1997. But in May last year, Borenstein granted the women a new
trial saying they did not get effective counsel from their lawyers.
Judge Borenstein also dismissed all charges against Violet Amirault
posthumously. (She died of cancer last September at age 74 while free
awaiting a new trial.) It is believed that the ruling holds promise
for the third defendant in the Amirault case, Gerald Amirault, who is
in prison serving a sentence of 30 to 40 years after being convicted
in 1986 on the same evidence.
Prosecutors say they will appeal the ruling to the Massachusetts
Supreme Court.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Judge Isaac Borenstein read the following excerpt from an |
| interview to show how insistent investigators were with children |
| in the Fells Acres case. His excerpt began with a girl saying, |
| "They did not take my picture." |
| Q. Who took your picture? |
| A. No one. |
| Q. Didn't you tell your mommy that? |
| A. (She shakes her head no.) |
| Q. Who did you tell then, that Cheryl and Tooky (Cheryl |
| Amirault LeFave's brother) took your picture? You tell me. |
| A. (It is inaudible.) |
| Q. Did somebody else take your picture? |
| A. (She shakes her head no.) |
| Q. Did anyone ever take your picture? |
| A. No. |
| Q. No one ever, ever took your picture? |
| A. No. |
| Q. What about your mommy, did she take your picture? |
| A. No. |
| Q. Your daddy? |
| A. No. |
| "It goes on and on and on...refusing to take no for an answer," |
| Borenstein said. He called the interviewing techniques "highly |
| prejudicial and irreparable." |
\____________________________________________________________________/
___________________________________________________________
Expert Witness Not Immune from State Licensing Board Action
State Supreme Court
Deatherage v. Washington State Examining Board of Psychology,
948 P.2d 828 (Wash. 1997).
The Washington Supreme Court reversed the Washington Court of Appeals
and held that a psychologist testifying as an expert witness is not
absolutely immune from state licensing board action based on his civil
court testimony. The lower court had issued a decision barring the
state psychology board from sanctioning the psychologist's license
after finding he failed to follow ethical standards when he testified
in three child custody cases. The lower court based its decision on
the principle of trial witness immunity, but the state supreme court
disagreed, holding that witness immunity is not a defense to a
disciplinary proceeding.
The state's highest court said that witness immunity is a judicially
created privilege that has been extended to protect an expert witness
from civil liability. Witness immunity allows an expert to participate
in trials so the court can benefit from candid expert testimony. A
disciplinary proceeding, the court held, is not a civil action to
which such immunity applies. The state supreme court emphasized that
allowing experts to be disciplined for unprofessional conduct in
connection with their testimony furthers the judiciary's interest in
obtaining accurate testimony and the licensing board's interest in
protecting the public.
________________________________________________________________
Oregon State Board Plans to Revoke Licenses of Two Psychologists
The Register (Oregon), June 7, 1998
Oregon plans to revoke the licenses of two psychologists who convinced
a woman that she was a victim of satanic torture and that her sons
were abused by a cult which included all members of her family and her
husband's family. The Oregon State Board of Psychologists Examiners
determined that Sophia Carr and Chyril Walker breached the boundaries
of professional competence and misused their influence; causing harm
to Jennifer Fultz and her family. The board, in its written orders,
said the therapists' work with Fultz was unsupported by science and
professional standards. The case marks the first time the Oregon board
has addressed repressed memory therapy.
The complaint was filed with the state in December 1996 shortly
after both psychologists settled a malpractice suit filed by the Fultz
family.[1] The plaintiffs, joined by their lawyers and three prominent
Portland psychologists who had become acquainted with the case,
including FMSF Advisory Board member Dr. Loren Pankratz, filed the
complaints with the Board. Carr and Walker have the right to contest
the board's revocation decisions before a hearings officer. Both
therapists have been on leave from their practices for more than a
year.
"It's good news," said Jennifer Fultz. "They shouldn't be
practicing, and we need to send a message out to other psychologists
who are practicing this way that it's dangerous and it does destroy
lives."
Ms. Fultz's attorney, J. Michael Dwyer of Portland, Oregon,
described the Fultz case as "a warning shot" to those Oregon
psychologists who are transmitting their own beliefs about a
widespread satanic conspiracy to their patients and using MPD as a
rationale for the patients' inability to recall the abuse prior to
contact with the therapists. Mr. Dwyer, who is currently representing
several other patients who have suffered form false memories caused by
therapy malpractice, noted, "Unfortunately, the therapy in the Fultz
case is hardly unique in Oregon." "Hopefully," he said, "this first
lawsuit and the Board's recommendation will chill the further spread
of such destructive therapy."
[1] The malpractice suit against psychologists Carr and Walker was
settled with Walker for $1.5 million in 1996 and with Carr for an
undisclosed amount soon after. Neither therapist admitted
wrongdoing. See FMSF Brief Bank # 72. See also, FMSF Newsletters,
June 1996 and September 1996.
________________________________________________
Psychiatric Malpractice Trial to Begin June 26th
Marietti, et al., v. Kluft, Dissociative Disorders Program
and Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital
Ct. of Common Pleas, Phila. Co., Penn., No. 9509-02260.[2]
A psychiatric malpractice suit arising from the treatment of Nancy
Marietti by Richard Kluft, M.D., is scheduled to go to trial June 26th
in Philadelphia. The suit was filed in March 1996 by Nancy, her
husband, and parents. Plaintiffs claim that Dr. Kluft used suggestive
and coercive techniques which caused Nancy to falsely believe that she
was the victim of childhood sexual abuse by her father. Plaintiffs
also allege that the Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital where Nancy
was hospitalized failed to establish procedures to insure that
patients would be cared for in a skilled, competent fashion and to
insure proper supervision.
The Complaint states that Nancy, having been improperly diagnosed as
suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality
Disorder), was counseled by Dr. Kluft that her condition was caused by
repeated childhood sexual abuse by her father. Dr. Kluft told Nancy
that in order to be cured of her mental illness, she would have to
"recover" her repressed memories of childhood abuse and break off
relations with her parents. According to the Complaint, during the
course of her therapy, Dr. Kluft engaged in an improper regimen of
treatment to force Nancy to produce "memories" of childhood sexual
abuse. This regimen included repeated hypnosis, the administration of
drugs, and mental and physical restrictions.
Much of the financial cost of Dr. Kluft's treatment, which involved
turning Nancy against her parents on the basis of these falsely
implanted memories, was borne by the parents themselves. When the
parents' financial resources available to pay for the treatment were
eventually depleted, Dr. Kluft counseled Nancy that their
discontinuance of payment was further confirmation of the truth of his
accusations of parental abuse. Nevertheless, Nancy was discharged
from Dr. Kluft's care after she was no longer able to pay for
continued treatment.
Defendant Kluft moved to dismiss the claims by Nancy's parents on
the grounds that they were never his patients and that the duty owed
by a physician arises only from the physician-patient relationship. In
September 1997, this motion was denied.
[2] See FMSF Brief Bank #192.
[Added for email edition: the case was settled after the first two
half-days of testimony by Nancy Marietta, during which she described
the harrowing experiences in the first two weeks at Kluft's (now-
defunct) dissociative ward. The details of the settlement were not
revealed.]
______________________________
Wenatchee Couple Are Freed [3]
Early June was a wild roller-coaster period for a Wenatchee couple
when a Washington appellate court first ordered their release from
prison, then reversed itself, and finally without explanation,
reversed itself again and freed the couple. Carol Doggett was freed on
June 10 and her husband Mark on June 12. They await a decision from
the Washington Supreme Court next month on whether it will order a new
trial for them.
The Doggetts were arrested along with dozens of others in Wenatchee
in 1994 and 1995. They faced 1,000 counts each of child rape. Each was
convicted of one count of child rape and molestation and was sentenced
to nearly 10 years in prison.
Last December, their convictions were overturned by the appellate
court pending a new trial. The court ruled that the original trial
judge improperly allowed use of hearsay evidence, allegedly from two
therapists who treated the Doggett children. Three of the Doggetts'
four children said Perez pressured and cajoled them into accusing
their parents. The eldest, Sarah, has insisted that there was no
abuse. The court also ordered that if a new trial were to be held,
interrogation techniques used by Perez and Child Protective Service
workers to gather evidence against the couple first had to be
examined.
[3] State of Washington v. Carol M.D. and Mark A.D., Court of Appeals,
Washington, Nos. 15014-3-III, 15040-2-III, unpublished, June 10,
1998. See also, CBS investigative journal, 48 Hours, (5/28/98)
which recently interviewed the Doggetts and their oldest daughter
Sarah, now 19, who has sought to free her parents since their
arrest. The Doggetts' successful appeal to higher courts was
possible only because this daughter, almost killed in a car wreck
during the years she was in hiding from Washington social workers,
gave up her $100,000 insurance settlement to find justice for her
parents.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "It will be months, even years, before all the lessons of the |
| Wenatchee child sex ring investigations are learned. But there is |
| something we know right now: Official interviews with children in |
| sex abuse cases should be videotaped. A record of those always |
| delicate, but often crucial interrogations must be kept. |
| Interpretation of various voice inflections, gestures and |
| rhetorical nuances cannot responsibly be left solely to the |
| judgment and memory of the interviewer. We cannot help but find |
| law enforcement's objections to video-taping disingenuous. The |
| existence of such an objective record is more a threat to |
| mischievous law enforcement officials than it is to innocent |
| children." |
| Editorial, Seattle Post Intelligencer |
\____________________________________________________________________/
____________________________________________
Wenatchee Civil Rights Case Sent to the Jury
Rodriguez, et al v. Perez, et al
Superior Ct., Chelan Co., Washington, No. 96-2-00704-2.
The jury in the Wenatchee trial -- after 10 weeks of testimony --
heard from the last of more than 50 witnesses on June 9. The jury will
return June 18 for closing arguments. Representatives from both sides
have met to discuss an out-of-court settlement, but those talks were
unsuccessful, according to plaintiffs lawyer Robert Van Siclen.
The primary plaintiffs in the $60 million civil lawsuit allege their
rights were violated when they were accused of child rape and
molestation in a 1994-95 sex-ring investigation. The defendants in the
case are the city of Wenatchee and two city police officials,
including Robert Perez, the lead detective in the case; the state of
Washington and Child Protective Services; and Douglas County and three
representatives of its Sheriffs Department. The Wenatchee World and
the Seattle Post Intelligencer continue to report highlights of trial
testimony.
On June 1, Judge Michael Donahue denied all motions from the city of
Wenatchee to dismiss claims against it, ruling that the city was given
enough notice of problems with its child-sex-ring investigations that
its failure to address them may be evidence that it violated the civil
rights of those accused. The judge also let stand civil-rights claims
against three members of the Douglas County Sheriff's Department but
threw out a defamation claim against Douglas County. In an 11-page
ruling made just prior to defendants' presentation of their case,
Judge Donahue ruled there was evidence that Perez both coerced
witnesses to make accusations and retaliated against critics.
The judge said the evidence could show the city's responsibility
went to "the highest policy-making levels" when it allowed Perez, its
lead sex-abuse investigator, to function in "a conflict of interest"
by "acting at the same time as foster father of the primary
complaining witness." "When faced with a conflict of interest,
Wenatchee defendants had the power to do something about it. The
Wenatchee defendants made a conscious decision to permit that
circumstance to continue," Donahue wrote.
The rulings on the civil-rights claims are considered significant
because those claims allow jurors to award big-money punitive damages
if they find authorities trampled the rights of plaintiffs.
Late in May, the judge dismissed four state Department of Social and
Health Services employees and private counselor Cindy Andrews from the
trial. Because of the way the case is structured, all five will be
tried in a separate trial on similar claims. Plaintiffs argue that
Andrews used recovered memory therapy in treating several of the
children, including a girl who was one of the chief accusers in the
investigation.
The defense surprised the courtroom when it rested its case on June
4, after calling fourteen witnesses over a span of five days. In
opening arguments at the trial Pat McMahon had told jurors he would
prove with medical evidence that the children were raped and molested
in the Wenatchee area by plaintiffs. The defense did not, however,
call any of the physicians who had performed colposcopic exams of
seven girls. McMahon said he only needed to prove "probable cause."
The assistant state attorney general said most of the parties with
knowledge of the events had already testified.
The plaintiffs, meanwhile, had emphasized themes of negligence and
constitutional rights violations by authorities, particularly evidence
so tainted that the accused could not fairly confront their accusers.
Detective Perez's name came up often in testimony.
A former social worker who said he was fired for criticizing the
investigation testified that Perez was abrasive and threatening when
he questioned people. Once in 1994, Perez placed his gun on a table as
he repeatedly told a third-grader that she wouldn't be allowed to go
back to school until she told him about abuse. "She was very scared
and she started to cry," the witness said.
The jury heard from the oldest brother of two of Perez's foster
daughters. The boy said his sisters probably made up their accusations
under pressure from Perez and other authorities "because I felt
pressure when I was in an interview, and so I believe they could have
been pressured." One of the boy's younger sisters, now 15, implicated
dozens of people in the sex abuse probe and was the foster daughter of
Perez. In 1996 she recanted the allegations, saying she had been
pressured by Perez into making them. She was then taken into state
custody and placed in a series of group homes and psychiatric
hospitals. In June 1998, the defense argued that she was too ill to
testify at the civil trial. A deposition was taken on Feb. 19, 1998 in
which the girl claimed she recanted because Pastor Roberson threatened
to kill her -- but said she couldn't remember the words Roberson used
to threaten her or how he did it. The jury viewed the 1996 video tape
recantation and heard the 1998 deposition read in court.
The biological parents of two foster children in Perez's home
confessed to sexual abuse during the scandal, but their mother -- who
is illiterate, with an IQ of 68 -- told the civil jury she confessed
only because "I was scared and I didn't know what to do." She said
Perez told her "if I would tell him something, he would let me go --
he wouldn't put me in jail." A veteran Wenatchee police sergeant who
was assigned to assist detective Perez testified about implausible
details he documented in his reports of interviews the two had
conducted. Perez had habitually destroyed not only his notes of
interviews, but the notes of other officials. The sergeant's notes
survived and contradicted some points of Perez' reports.
Elizabeth Loftus, a psychologist at the University of Washington
testified that authorities in Wenatchee should have been more
skeptical. "The sheer number of rapes and sodomy going on for so many
years while nobody noticed, you'd think would have raised a red flag
in someone's mind."
[Added for email edition: the jury decided against the plaintiffs --
Perez won.]
____________________________________________
More Civil Rights Suits Pending in Wenatchee
Awards May Be Borne by Taxpayers
The Wenatchee World (6/2/98) reports that 8 more civil rights suits
have been filed by members of the Wenatchee community who were
imprisoned as part of the 1994-95 sex-ring investigation. Additional
suits are being contemplated. Officials for the insurance companies
and government agencies being sued admit that the plethora of
litigation is one of the reasons they have been hesitant to settle the
case out of court. They fear a settlement will increase pressure to
settle other suits. The amount of money paid out could total millions
of dollars -- even to the point of putting taxpayers at risk.
_______________________________________________
National Lawyers Group Takes up Wenatchee Fight
Schneider, A. Seattle Post Intelligencer, June 3, 1998
Trial lawyers, law professors from the University of Washington and their
students will provide legal aid for many of the 16 men and women who were
imprisoned because of the Wenatchee child-sex prosecutions. The National
Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers said it will assist and probably
help pay for the legal work under an effort called "Innocence Project
Northwest." "The investigations, prosecutions and trials in the Wenatchee
cases is just the type of gross miscarriage of justice that the Innocence
Project was created to address," said Cheryl Amitay, special counsel for
legislative affairs with the criminal defense lawyers association.
The Seattle Innocence Project was started last fall by Professor
Jacqueline McMurtrie and local lawyer Fred Leatherman. Under the
program, an experienced lawyer will supervise and manage a team of two
or three law students, who will do the legal research and legwork.
Together, each group assigned to a specific prisoner will develop the
legal motions needed to get the convictions re-examined by the
appellate court.
_________________________________________________________
National Groups and Wenatchee Lawyers Seek Federal Review
The ACLU, The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, The
National Justice Committee and other organizations (including the FMS
Foundation) have repeatedly called for federal investigations by
Congress, the Justice Department and the Department of Health and
Human Services. During June, two public defenders, Jack Hill and
Kathryn Lyon, spent 10 days in Washington D.C., meeting with
legislators and federal agencies.
According to the Seattle Post Intelligencer (6/4/98), investigators
and lawyers for two divisions in the Justice Department and three
separate parts of Health and Human Services now say privately that
they are already reviewing court, police and Department of Health and
Human Services material and may open investigations. If the Department
of Health and Human Services gets involved, its lawyers say they want
to examine how federal money was spent by the Department of Social and
Health Services in Washington state. They question whether there was
justification for the hospitalization, heavy medication and therapy of
many of the children until they disclosed abuse. They may also
consider whether these expensive services were being used as witness
management, or to keep the children from admitting they had been
forced to lie.
According to the same P-I article, investigators for one section of
the Justice Department say that if they get the go-ahead, they'll
consider examining the same mental health treatments to see if the
civil rights of the children were violated. In another Department in
Justice, a lawyer says he would like to look closely at areas
including whether the accused, many of whom were severely retarded,
were offered an adequate defense, as the law demands. And the
techniques used in obtaining confessions from the accused may be
examined.
___________________________________________
Massachusetts Man Found Innocent of Assault
Lowell Sun, 6/6/98 State of Massachusetts v. Dascoli
Middlesex Superior Ct., Mass.
In June 1998, a criminal charge of child molestation was dismissed
after a judge ruled the victim's repressed memory of an alleged attack
six years ago was not enough to convict the man. The judge's decision
came less than an hour after the prosecutor rested her case with the
woman's testimony. The woman, now 19, said that in 1992, defendant
assaulted her, but that the memory was buried until it was recalled
with a psychiatrist's help. The memory of the attack coincidentally
came back to the woman at a time when the defendant's wife, the
woman's friend, was going through a nasty divorce and custody battle
with defendant.
_________________________________________________
Canadian Recovered Memory Case Ends in Conviction
Roik, R., "Intern's Tale of Assault," Ottawa Sun, 6/9/98
In June 1998, an Ottawa doctor was found guilty of sexually assaulting
an intern he supervised 12 years ago. The former intern said that it
was not until 1996, when she heard on the radio that Dr. Saul Markman
had been accused of sexually assaulting three nurses, that her own
memories were stirred "quite vigorously." Two expert witnesses for the
defense testified that the woman's memory of the attack likely
resulted from her therapist's use of recovered memory treatment. They
pointed to the 10-year delay in the woman's charges and the increasing
detail that developed during the 10 months after she went to police as
suggestive that she had "recovered" false memories.
The trial judge said he found the Complainant to be a credible
witness and said that her memories might be suspect if they were from
her childhood rather than her adult years.
___________________________________________
Status of Repressed Memory Claims in Canada
The president of the Criminal Lawyers' Association, Alan Gold,
recently asked Canadian Justice Minister Anne McLellan for a federal
review of all convictions based on "repressed memory" claims.
According to a Vancouver Sun reporter, Justice McLellan invited
prisoners who feel they were wrongly convicted to employ a little-used
section of the Criminal Code of Canada that allows the federal justice
minister to review their convictions. McLellan also said she would
raise the issue with her provincial counterparts in meetings during
the year, and in the meantime said her ministry would consider
applications she received.
As part of its legal survey, the FMSF has tracked a substantial
number of Canadian delayed-file cases since 1992. These cases were
filed years after the alleged abuse took place. The reason for the
delay in filing is in some cases given as a loss of memory of the
event (e.g., repressed memory.) According to data available May 1998,
delayed-file cases have been filed in nearly every Canadian province.
(Alberta, 10; British Columbia, 54; Manitoba, 15; New Brunswick, 2;
Newfoundland, 2; Northwest Provinces, 2; Nova Scotia, 8; Ontario, 113;
Quebec, 4; Saskatchewan, 2.) These numbers represent only those
lawsuits of which the Foundation has been informed and clearly
underestimate the total number of filings.
In Canada, over three-quarters of delayed-filed cases are criminal
actions. (In the United States, most are civil suits seeking monetary
damages.)
Most of the Canadian criminal suits were tried after 1992. According
to FMSF Legal Survey records, 38 delayed-filed claims ended in a
conviction and 31 in an acquittal. Although the FMSF has made efforts
to track each delayed-file case to its conclusion, over 40 criminal
cases are currently listed as unresolved. Some of these cases are
known to be pending; several defendants are awaiting retrial after an
earlier conviction was overturned. Some of the suits may have been
resolved, but their outcome has not been reported to the FMSF.
Of the cases in which documents verify that a "memory loss" claim
was made, 22 ended in a conviction and 24 in an acquittal. 12 of these
criminal cases have an appeals history: on appeal, 9 convictions were
reversed and a new trial ordered. At least 2 defendants were acquitted
on retrial.
+----------------------------------------------+
| "If memory is the currency of the courts; |
| 'recovered memory' is counterfeit currency." |
| Alan Gold |
| Toronto, May 30, 1998 |
+----------------------------------------------+
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| MISTAKEN CLAIMS |
| |
| CLAIM: "The ordinary response to atrocities is to banish them from |
| consciousness." |
| Judith Herman, Trauma and Recovery (1992) |
| |
| FACT: "Scientific knowledge is not yet precise enough to predict |
| how a certain experience or factor will influence a memory in a |
| given person." |
| Statement on Memories of Sexual Abuse. |
| American Psychiatric Association, Dec 12, 1993 |
| |
| "[T]here is a consensus among memory researchers and clinicians |
| that most people who were sexually abused as children remember all |
| or part of what happened to them although they may not fully |
| understand or disclose it." |
| Questions and Answers about Memories of Childhood Abuse |
| August 1995, American Psychological Association |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
**********************************************************************
S o m e t h i n g T e r r i b l e H a s H a p p e n e d
Adapted from a talk presented by
CHARLOTTE VALE ALLEN
at the Annual Meeting of Families, Friends and Professionals
May 30, 1998, Toronto
Fifty years ago my father warned me that if I told anyone about our
"secret," I would be whipped and beaten and sent to prison. And he
would be, too. I couldn't imagine that the police would beat a
seven-year-old, but I did think they'd probably beat a grown man. And
since he was, after all, my father, it was best not to take that
chance. I didn't want him to be hurt.
In the years that followed, I began to think more and more often
about telling someone, anyone about the secret that was starting to
weigh upon me so heavily that I often though it might drive me right
into the ground. But what held me back was the certain knowledge that
no one would believe me. I was known to be a highly imaginative
child. This story I had to tell about my father would simply be
another example of my overactive imagination running wild.
What strikes me as utterly ironic is that today anyone can denounce
a parent as a sexual abuser and very few people will doubt it.
Somewhere between my experience as a child and my present-tense
knowledge as an adult, something truly terrible has happened. We have
become a population that always sees fire where there's a bit of
smoke; we believe categorically in the presence of the creature if
someone cries wolf; and to a frightening extent we've allowed the
accusation itself to be proof of the act.
Cheerleaders of the "Smoke without Fire" brigade are dedicated
bucket carriers prepared, with nothing more viable than their dogged
convictions, to defend the scores of newly manufactured victims
churned out by the quack factories.
What I find a little alarming about these so-called victims is their
fondness for their new status, and their absolute determination not
only to seek redress for their imagined injuries but also their love
of their newly-acquired syndromes. This love is so all-embracing that
when, for example, the status of their adored MPD has been threatened,
they've hastily changed its name to DID. And since recovered memories
are getting bad press, they hasten to apply the new name of Traumatic
Amnesia to what everyone here knows is no more than an absence of
memory -- until dragged into existence by an expert in these
reclamation projects.
There is a fire and children are damaged in it every day. There are
wolves but, they don't join forces as complete family units to speak
of their innocence. The real wolves are cunning loners, whose victims
only wish they could forget their experiences. But a much-repeated
experience that involves threats and pain and fear and isolation is
simply not forgettable. To suggest that it can be forgotten goes
against everything I've learned in almost forty years of discussing
common experiences and shared reactions with hundreds of other victims
of long-term abuse. Each and every one of us can recite chapter and
verse. It is an experience that shapes the person we become, the
parents and partners we become, the very essence of who we are. To
suggest that such an assault on the sensibilities of a child is
capable of being forgotten is to deny basic human instincts. We do not
forget.
When I set out to write this piece there were two points I wanted to
make. The first was how the attitude of the general public has changed
toward the subject of child abuse, in terms of an acceptance of its
existence.
The second has to do with something I know and something every
falsely accused parent also knows. And it is this: We each know what
did or did not happen, but in both cases, in the prevailing climate,
neither of us is likely to be believed. I feel a large responsibility
for this climate because I worked so hard to get the door open and
bring an awareness of child abuse to the public -- for the sake of the
children. I could never have dreamed that my honorably intended
efforts would provide what so many unscrupulous people would come to
view as a doorway into a goldmine. Now I'm working to keep that door
open for the children but also to bring some common sense back to the
issue.
Radical feminist propaganda would have us believe that all men
possess within them the inclination, if not the proclivity, toward
child abuse. And all women who claim to have been abused must, from
the unified front of sisterhood, be believed. Well, not necessarily.
Let's get some facts first, then see where we are. But let's not just
accept every statement uttered as gospel.
Finally, on a personal note, I would like to say what I have felt
since I first walked into an FMSF meeting in Connecticut more than two
years ago. I have, as I said earlier, talked over the years to
hundreds of abused men, women and children. And it's been hard
sometimes to hear their stories. Each story was different; no one I
encountered had been involved with Satanic cults; and every last one
of us was working to preserve whatever family connections we had. But
nothing could have prepared me for the impact of meeting a roomful of
people who'd found the courage to come together in shock, desperation
and sorrow to try to comprehend the terrible betrayal they'd
experienced at the hands of their children. Only people bereft of
compassion or lacking hearts altogether could meet a group possessed
of such hope and bewilderment, and condemn them out of hand.
Knowing as I do what an abusive family really is, I have to say that
I'd be happy to be related to any of the families represented here
today. And I will continue to speak out until the madness of recovered
memories and its attendant carnage has ended.
Charlotte Vale Allen is the author of more than 30 novels. Daddy's
Girl (1980), was among the very first books about overcoming an
abusive childhood.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Not surprisingly, abduction reports began multiplying just when, |
| in the 1980s, false memories of "repressed" or "dissociated" |
| incest trauma became a national epidemic. Abduction memories and |
| memories of "forgotten" childhood sexual abuse are conjured in |
| exactly the same way, by applying an unsubstantiated psychodynamic |
| theory to the images unearthed by hypnotherapy, dream analysis, |
| and assorted techniques for stimulating and guiding fantasy. |
| Although the sex abuse specialists see recollections of alien |
| contact as screen memories for incest while the abductionists take |
| the opposite view, they are all playing the same noxious game. |
| |
| But this parallelism could also give us pause for optimism about |
| the likely fate of the abduction fad. Thanks to the harm it has |
| caused and the attention it has drawn to pseudoscientific notions |
| about the mind that were shared by judges and juries only a few |
| years ago, the recovered memory movement is now in retreat, and |
| the therapists, who swelled its ranks are nervously waiting to be |
| sued by some of the awakened "retractors" whom they deceived. |
| There is every reason to expect a similar end to the scare over |
| extraterrestrials. |
| Fred Crews |
| New York Review of Books, June 25, 1998 |
| writing about "The Mindsnatchers" - Budd Hopkins, |
| David Jacobs, John Mack, Whitley Strieber. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
M y t h s a n d H a r d L i n e s
AUGUST PIPER, Jr., M.D.
Hey, Doc,
I don't understand. If this so-called therapy to "recover long
forgotten horror" never or almost never results in healthy, happy,
and immensely relieved former patients, why is the "therapy" so
doggedly continued? Are these therapists unaware of their efforts'
results? Or is the FMSF Newsletter misleading us? That is, is there
a wealth of truly recovered, solidly happy and healthy former
patients of these therapists that the newsletter is simply keeping
from us?
Or are we dealing here with a special class of therapist who will
not let go, regardless of results; who are so obsessed with immense
sexual evils of every kind -- natural, supernatural, and alien --
that they must devote their lives to rooting out said evils and
exposing them in the lives of anyone available to them?
California Dan
* * * *
Our country has taken a legal approach to the problem of
recovered-memory/trauma-search therapy. In my opinion, such use of the
law has occurred in part because professional organizations have
demonstrated, sadly, that so far their backbones have lacked starch. I
mean that these organizations have shown a shameful reluctance to
inform the public about the shaky logical and scientific foundation
supporting these therapies. This legal approach has one significant
disadvantage. Therapists who fear being sued for recovered-memory
malpractice tend to be wary of speaking for attribution: they don't
want to say something that could come back to haunt them in the
courtroom war. Lawsuits stifle communication; it's therefore difficult
to talk to memory-recovery practitioners and ask them why they
continue doing what they do. In the absence of such a survey, the
following speculations are offered:
Both memory-retrieval therapy and treatment for multiple personality
disorder, it is claimed, require years of psychotherapy. Cynics can
thus always entertain dark suspicions that unsavory pecuniary motives
are influencing recovered-memory clinicians' treatment practices. But
based on my admittedly unscientific contacts, I think "filthy lucre"
is a secondary consideration for most -- but not all -- of these
therapists. Rather, in my opinion, most of these practitioners truly
believe in what they are doing.
Other trauma-search therapists are clearly motivated by the scent of
fame. I know one who seemed quite enamored of the idea that he would
be on the "cutting edge" -- his words -- of MPD treatment. Still other
clinicians continue such therapy because it's the only kind they know
how to do. And still others, it seems, appear to enjoy the challenge
and fascination of working to recover memories (even though at least
some of the challenge results from the therapists' inappropriate
treatment practices: misusing hypnosis, overemphasizing childhood
sexual experience as a cause of adult difficulties, employing grossly
suggestive treatment techniques, failing to set reasonable limits on
patients' behavior, and so on). California Dan wondered if memory-
recovery therapy ever resulted in happy and healthy patients. I have
three comments. First: who knows? Has any reader seen published
outcome studies from a series of such patients? I haven't.
Second, the phenomena of concern to psychotherapists are, of course,
highly subjective. It's thus fiendishly difficult to know for certain
whether patients have or have not improved. This problem, in turn,
leads to another: it's very hard to disprove a claim that this or that
psychotherapy is efficacious. The result of these difficulties is
uncomfortably obvious-weed-like proliferation of quack
psychotherapies.
And finally, in one sense, results don't matter anyway. The reason
has to do with psychotherapy theories as myths. A myth can be defined
as a belief not subject to disproof. An example would be "An MPD
patient must have been abused, and if that patient works through the
abuse, she will improve." But what happens when a therapist encounters
an MPD patient who, for month after dreary month, works through her
abuse -- yet doesn't improve, and in fact, becomes worse? Does the
therapist modify the theory? No -- in collisions between fact and
myth, fact often comes in second. The original myth must be
defended. Thus other theories -- such as, "MPD patients have to get
worse before they get better," or "If six hours of therapy each week
isn't helping, she needs nine" -- are rushed to the ramparts to defend
the myth.
* * * *
I want to respond to the parents who wrote: "She Must Apologize
First," appearing in the April 1998 FMSF Newsletter. This was the
letter in which the parents said the following:
We note in the many letters to the FMSF 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 to avoid responsibility.
Although we also lay blame upon her therapist as well as upon the
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.
Nevertheless we believe very strongly that such difficulties do not
normally relieve people of accountability for their actions. The
false memory problem is one of the fallouts of the victimhood
concept 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.
I agree with the hard-line position expressed in this dignified,
even magisterial letter. Of course, it's quite easy to have an opinion
about something one hasn't personally encountered. I therefore
discussed this position with another accused father who provided an
eloquent rebuttal to the position taken in the letter above. The
father's rebuttal contained high-minded as well as utilitarian
considerations. In essence he said the important thing was to have his
daughter back in the family: because he loves her, and because he
believes she has a far better chance to come to the truth if she has
contact with the family. He also mentioned the healing virtue of
forgiveness. And finally, he said, "I know I'm innocent. I don't need
anyone to confirm that I am."
I suspect the hard-liners are a distinct minority in the
Foundation. What do readers think?
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.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Recovered Crimes: |
| Sexual Abuse Reported to the Police after Therapy. |
| Advice to the Minister of Justice |
| NISCALE Technical Reports Series - TR 98-01 P.J. van Koppen |
| |
| The official English version of this very important document is |
| now available. Contact the Netherlands Institute for the Study |
| of Criminality and Law Enforcement, P.O. Box 792, 2300 AT |
| Leiden, The Netherlands E-mail: NSCR@niscale.leidenuniv.nl |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "Some of the contributors to this volume [Traumatic Stress; |
| Effects of Overwhelming Experience on Mind, Body and Society ] |
| believe that dissociation plays a crucial role in the etiology of |
| PTSD and other disorders involving traumatic stress. By a stretch |
| in logic, it is assumed that dissociation leads to PTSD rather |
| than the other way around. Clinically, classical dissociative |
| phenomena are not a prominent or consistent finding in PTSD and |
| dissociative amnesia for the entire traumatic experience is |
| uncommon. Biologically oriented clinicians who conceptualize |
| dissociative symptoms as a manifestation of intense and prolonged |
| anxiety may wonder how a severe character pathology, such as |
| multiple personality disorder and borderline personality disorder |
| (an Axis II diagnosis), are related to PTSD. Some patients with |
| PTSD, dissociative disorders or borderline personality disorder |
| may share a history of childhood sexual trauma: however, |
| dissociative disorders and borderline personality disorder are |
| distinctly different from PTSD in terms of diagnostic criteria, |
| clinical course, and treatment. The undue attention given to |
| dissociation and dissociative disorders (dissociative amnesia, |
| dissociative fugue, dissociative identity disorders (multiple |
| personality disorders) in the context of PTSD does little to |
| enlighten the field of trauma.... |
| |
| "It seems that some contributors to this book want to rekindle the |
| old controversy by resurrecting insights and observations from |
| past masters (Janet, Charcot, Breuer, Freud, and Kardiner) |
| regarding neurosis and traumatic neurosis and relabeling these |
| theoretical concepts as 'trauma' or 'traumatic stress.'" |
| C.B. Scrignar, Book Review |
| Traumatic Stress; |
| Effects of Overwhelming Experience on Mind, Body and Society |
| Van der Kolk, McFarlane and Weisaeth (Editors) |
| Guilford Press, 1996 |
| in J Behavior Theory & Experimental Psychoanalysis Vol 28 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
M A K E A D I F F E R E N C E
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall |
| one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle. |
| Edmund Burke |
| Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontent Vol. i. p. 526. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
This is a column that will let you know what people are doing
to counteract the harm done by FMS. Remember that seven years ago,
FMSF didn't exist. A group of 50 or so people found each other
and today more than 20,000 have reported similar experiences.
Together we have made a difference.
ILLINOIS: A member of the Illinois FMS Society, living in Decatur,
noticed an advertisement in the local newspaper promoting a "Stop
Smoking & Weight Reduction" program through hypnosis, conducted by an
unlicensed individual. The program was being sponsored by St. Mary's
Hospital.
The member recalled a recent article in the Illinois newsletter
about the amendment to the Illinois Clinical Psychologist Licensing
Act making such practices a violation of the Licensing Act. The member
also had a letter from State Senator Penny Severns stating that the
amendment had been passed by the Senate and House and had been signed
by Governor Edgar.
With both of these documents in hand, the member went to St. Mary's
Hospital and talked to the Marketing Department where the hypnosis
program had been initiated. The Marketing Department consulted with
the medical professionals of the hospital, and they decided to cancel
the program. Phone calls made to the hospital confirmed that the
program had indeed been canceled and will not be offered again.
(Adapted from Illinois FMS Society Newsletter, April 1998)
INDIANA: Families have used e-mail to help advertise their meetings.
Notices of the meetings are sent by email to FMS friends and to others
interested in this problem. The email message encouraged recipients to
contact anyone they knew from their area who could benefit from
attending the meeting. We hope those to whom we sent e-mail will know
of individuals who are not on our mailing list.
NEW MEXICO: "Was it worth it?" one of the organizers of a recent New
Mexico FMS Conference asked at an after-conference-let-your-hair-down
gathering. "It was a lot of work and money," he added. The members of
the group gave their opinions about the good things that had happened
because of the meeting, such as publicity in the paper, the chance to
help new families, and the opportunity to get to know knowledgeable
professionals in the community.
If the organizer still had any doubts about whether the effort was
worth doing, they vanished when he read the following note on an
evaluation form:
"The conference gave me the confidence to call my former
parents-in-law and apologize for believing their daughter's false
memories. We talked for one hour and are planning to get together
soon. Thank you."
Send your ideas to Katie Spanuello c/o FMSF
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "[W]hen one designates oneself a "child-abuse specialist" rather |
| than, for example, a pediatric neurosurgeon or an expert in the |
| biomechanics of head trauma, that very designation suggests a |
| predisposition to find abuse even where none exists. It is rather |
| like the experts in witchcraft of bygone eras, who reliably found |
| signs and symptoms of demonic goings-on in even the most natural |
| of phenomena." |
| Harvey Silverglate |
| Wall Street Journal, 11/11/97 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
F R O M O U R R E A D E R S
____________
Forgive Them
On September 14, 1993, in the office of her psychiatrist, my only
daughter falsely accused me of sexual abuse. On May 23, 1998, she died
at age 20 in a car crash, ending my faint hopes that some day she
might retract.
This same day I believe a boy in Oregon murdered his
parents. Peoples of different nations seem to maintain hate for each
other over hundreds of years.
How is it that my wife and daughter hated me for harm I never caused
and I don't hate them for the associated difficulties they caused me?
I think the popular view is that hate is an emotional reaction to
something bad that happened. I conjecture that hate is a reaction, not
to what has happened to you as a person, but rather to an internal
state of mind unrelated to the events that were considered to cause
the hate. Quite a different state of mind was expressed by Christ:
"Forgive them for they know not what they do."
A Dad
_________________
End the Nightmare
When sons or daughters wish to return to the family after first
accusing their parents of heinous crimes and estranging themselves
from the family, parents face a dilemma that is worthy of discussion.
Some parents elect to accept the person back without reservation.
Others demand a retraction and an apology. There seems to be no proven
right or wrong answer. Perhaps each is an individual case that must be
treated carefully. The following are some thoughts to be considered:
1. If the accusing child wishes to return to the family, it follows
that the "influence" that created the illusions is loosing its grip.
Otherwise why would the person wish to return to an "abusive" family?
Recovered memory therapy is based on separation from family and any
influence contrary to the therapies creation is simply not allowed.
Doubts about whether the parents are monsters must exist or they would
never risk contact with an alleged perpetrator.
2. The gradual restoration of contact and guarded non-threatening
communication is an opportunity to counter the negative influence, and
build on the positives -- the good memories -- the good times of
family life, while allowing the "recovered illusions" to fade away.
Parents are reminded that these created "memories/illusions" may still
be as vivid and real to the victim as their true memories. Hopefully,
these illusions will eventually fade and be forgotten. Many parents
report that their child has little memory of their accusations, and
only a "feeling" of being abused.
3. There has been a great deal of anger and hostility built up by
the negative influence of the adult child that may need to be vented.
The parents also have anger, grief, pain, and question how a child of
theirs could come to believe these terrible things. The step towards
the family is a step towards ending the nightmare. There is no more
need by the accuser for manufacturing memories, building defenses, or
confrontations. Calmer and wiser heads can prevail. This does not mean
that the actions of the accuser are accepted or condoned, but instead
are set aside in the interest of restoring and repairing the family
relationships.
4. Finally, parents should consider that their children have
inherited their genes. Inherited stubborn pride may very well prohibit
them from admitting that they could have been "duped." It is surely as
hard for them to admit that they were wrong as it is for the parents
to admit their own errors. A forced admission of wrong doing is like a
surrender that includes yielding to the future domination of the
parents. Perhaps allowing a silent apology will speed growth and
return them to the persons they were before therapy. Recovery from
psychological damage is generally a slow process. Patients then are
allowed to recover at their own pace. Remember that they have never
needed their parents' guidance and understanding more than they do in
recovery. Parenting is difficult.
Demanding an apology on bended knee may make the parents feel
better, but a mutually satisfactory solution may achieve the desired
results with a minimum of damage to all.
Robert M. Koscielny
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "Freudian theory is the water in which the sharks of recovered |
| memory swim." |
| Fred Crews |
| The Observer Review, 1 June 1997 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
______________
Responsibility
To "A Father and Mother" whose letter appeared in the April newsletter
regarding the individual responsibility of retractors.
I agree that a returnee has no right to return to the family without
discussing the "pink elephant in the living room" and apologizing and
asking for forgiveness. However, it is important to understand the
great span of retractor experiences in therapy before setting stiff
rules to follow and saying a retractor is "avoiding responsibility."
I do not intend to "make excuses" for the retractor's accusation,
but to explain the cognitive deficits many of us suffered which made
it possible for the false memory to be implanted so convincingly.
* Many retractors were placed on a multitude of prescription drugs
at the time of therapy. Some of these drugs have memory impairment as
a side effect.
* Techniques such as hypnosis and visualizations put some patients
into trances that last long after the therapy session.
* Patients who have been age-regressed lose their judgment. They are
incapable of realizing that the therapy is hurting them or of making a
"good consumer" decision to change therapists.
I want parents to understand a bit more of the process their
children may be undergoing. If a child had Alzheimer's disease, would
you hold her responsible for everything? I think not. It is the
therapist who holds responsibility to "Do no harm." The unfortunate
victims are merely poorly educated consumers who got sucked into a
scam. The scam was possible because critical thinking faculties were
clouded by drugs and trances and regression therapy by a professional
who was trusted.
Melody Gavigan
Past editor of Retractor Newsletter
______________________________________
Response to "She Must Apologize First"
FMSF Newsletter, April 1998
Dear FMS Father,
As a falsely-accused mother, (the alleged "enabler" to my alleged
"perpetrator" husband) I found myself very much in sympathy with your
conditions regarding your FMS daughter should she ask to return to the
family. In fact, they are synonymous with the conditions my husband
and I had once talked about and planned to insist upon for our FMS
daughter.
Your conditions are declared by a rational and justifiably angry
parent who has been grievously harmed by false accusations and the
pain of loss. They are cogent and reflect a belief in justice, fair
play, and morality. But, at the same time, they may be so rigid they
may preclude your daughter from ever returning thus keeping your loved
one estranged, your family fragmented.
Perhaps the most difficult thing for us as parents to realize is
that our children have been exposed to (yes, even victimized by) a
therapy which is deeply rooted in a cesspool of irrationality. It is a
cult therapy which preys upon clients the same as a cult preys upon
and controls its members. It resembles a dictatorial exclusionary club
which demands allegiance and allows no input or interference from the
outside world, from non-believers.
Repressed Memory Therapy is a "cloning" process evidenced by the
fact that all FMS victims use the same terminology and, in fact,
present families with only slightly modified versions of their
stories, their "highest truth." Therefore, to ask our children to be
rational or even "sane" at this point is analogous to insisting that a
religious zealot instantly become an atheist! It simply will not
happen.
Having been separated from our children for long periods of time we
have been denied the opportunity to observe how emotionally (and
sometimes mentally) ill they have become. Like persons who have been
involved with cults, they are no longer in touch with the real world
with its myriad complexities. They have been living a life based on
fantasy and delusion, paranoia and hysteria. They have been led to
believe this is reality. We are baffled and confused by their ability
to appear rational and "normal." However, due to their experiences in
"therapy," they may be neither.
This was made clear to us when, after years and years of "therapy,"
our FMS daughter was finally required to extricate herself from her
therapist. "Losing" him she quickly decompensated, was hospitalized
for three months and, for six long weeks, was so ill we anguished that
she might not live. Thankfully, she survived. Our thinking has been
transformed and now we are expending our energies hoping to help in
her rehabilitation.
It has been almost two years and our daughter is slowly working her
way back into reality and is endeavoring to return to the family. We
honestly believe she does not yet know what happened to her as a
result of her "therapy." We also do not know if she will ever fully
recover. We are doing our best to help her by offering her our
unconditional love and support but, as yet, cannot discuss "IT" with
her as she is still fragile. Being innocent, we can live with this for
now...
In your letter you use two very important words: "love" and
"compassion" -- actions which often require us to give everything and
to receive little or nothing in return. I would suggest that you hold
onto and practice these two values in your interactions with your
daughter (without, of course, putting yourself or others in harm's
way) and avoid any time of confrontation or power struggle. Hopefully,
your love and compassion will triumph over the suffering and the
terrible injustice which you, your daughter, and your family have been
forced to endure.
A Mom
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "If there is one thing worse than 'remembering' your father raping |
| you, it must be living with the knowledge that you falsely accused |
| him of doing so. To admit that, even to yourself, is |
| devastatingly hard. And if you do manage it, others can make it |
| hard for you instead. |
| |
| "Roger Scotford, director of the British False Memory Society, |
| told me only last month of a case where a man had gone to prison |
| after his daughter gave evidence of her 'memories.' When she |
| eventually got away from her shrink's grip she wanted to withdraw |
| her untruthful evidence and free her dad...but the police and the |
| CPS warned her she'd be charged with perjury at his trial if she |
| did. She flunked it; Dad's still inside." |
| April 5, 1998, Carol Sarler, The People (UK) |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
* N O T I C E S *
**********************************************************************
* EASTERN MISSOURI and SOUTHERN ILLINOIS *
* Saturday, September 19, 1998 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. *
* St. Louis, Missouri *
* SPEAKERS: The Rutherford Family *
* Public and FMS family sessions *
* For information call Karen at 314-432-8789 *
**********************************************************************
* *
* HOLD THESE DATES *
* OHIO/MICHIGAN Conference *
* October 3 & 4 Toledo, Ohio *
* LLINOIS State Meeting *
* October 18, 1998 Chicago, Illinois *
* *
**********************************************************************
* THE RUTHERFORD FAMILY SPEAKS to FMSF FAMILIES *
* "This video helped me realize what my daughter went through" A Dad *
* Don't miss it. Order form on last page. *
**********************************************************************
* *
* The POWER of SUGGESTION, *
* A documentary video produced by Sue Inder *
* Aired on March 31, 1998. *
* *
* The price is $36.24 U.S. or $29.70 Canadian *
* Shaw Cable 11 Penticton, 1372 Fairview Rd, Penticton, BC, *
* V2A 5Z8, Canada *
* *
* Appearances by: Barry, Beyerstein, Pamela Freyd, Roma Hart, *
* Michael Kenny, Elizabeth Loftus, Paul McHugh, Chuck Noah, Richard *
* Ofshe, Jim Pennington, and Stan Stevens. *
* *
**********************************************************************
* The address of the web site maintained for FMSF *
* by Patrick Fitzgerald is: http://advicom.net/~fitz/fmsf/ *
**********************************************************************
* *
* Does Your Library Have These Recent Books? *
* *
* HOAX AND REALITY: THE BIZARRE WORLD *
* OF MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER *
* August Piper, Jr., M.D. (Jason Aronson, Inc., 1997) *
* *
* LOST DAUGHTERS: RECOVERED MEMORY THERAPY AND THE PEOPLE IT HURTS *
* Reinder Van Til (Wm B. Erdmans, 1997) *
* *
* MANUFACTURING VICTIMS: *
* WHAT THE PSYCHOLOGY INDUSTRY IS DOING TO PEOPLE 2nd edition *
* Tana Dineen, (Robert Davies Publishing, 1998) *
* *
* PSYCHOLOGY ASTRAY: *
* FALLACIES IN STUDIES OF "REPRESSED MEMORY" AND CHILDHOOD TRAUMA *
* Harrison G. Pope, Jr., M.D. (Upton Books, 1997) *
* *
* SMILING THROUGH TEARS *
* Pamela Freyd and Eleanor Goldstein (Upton Books, 1997) *
* *
* SPECTRAL EVIDENCE: THE RAMONA CASE: *
* INCEST, MEMORY, AND TRUTH ON TRIAL IN NAPA VALLEY *
* Moira Johnston (Houghton Mifflin, 1997) *
* *
* TRY TO REMEMBER *
* A novel by Zane Kotker (Random House, 1997) *
* *
* WHORES OF THE COURT: THE *
* FRAUD OF PSYCHIATRIC TESTIMONY & THE RAPE OF AMERICAN JUSTICE *
* Margaret Hagen (Regan Books, 1997) *
* *
* If not, you can make a difference by asking the library to order *
* them or, better yet, you could donate copies to your library. *
* If you don't care, who will? *
* *
**********************************************************************
* Exploring the Internet *
* *
* A new web site of interest to FMSF Newsletter readers: *
* http://www.StopBadTherapy.com/ today! *
* *
* Useful information on this site includes: *
* *
* + Phone numbers of professional regulatory boards in all 50 *
* states. *
* + Links for e-mailing the American Psychiatric Assocation, the *
* American Psychological Assocation, the American Medical *
* Association, and the National Association of Social Workers. *
* + Lists of online and printed resources: links, articles, books, *
* videos. *
* + Ideas for taking action. *
* + Retractor stories from Victims of Memory. *
* + A way to submit your own story for publication on the net. *
**********************************************************************
* *
* 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.) *
* *
**********************************************************************
_____________________________________
F M S B U L L E T I N B O A R D
Key: (MO)-monthly; (bi-MO)-bi-monthly; (*)-see Notices above
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
COLORADO
Colorado Springs
Doris (719) 488-9738
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 - Please call for mtg. time
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)
Pat (913) 738-4840
Jan (816) 931-1340
KENTUCKY
Louisville- Last Sun. (MO) @ 2pm
Bob (502) 367-1838
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 (734) 439-8119
MINNESOTA
Terry & Collette (507) 642-3630
Dan & Joan (612) 631-2247
MISSOURI *
Kansas City - 2nd Sun. (MO)
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
Tom (417) 883-8617
Roxie (417) 781-2058
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
NORTH CAROLINA
Susan (704) 481-0456
OHIO
Cleveland
Bob & Carole (440) 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
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 September Newsletter is August 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, July 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 Wiscon-
sin, 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; FRED H. FRANKEL, MBChB, DPM, Harvard University Medi-
cal School, Boston MA; GEORGE K. GANAWAY, M.D., Emory University of
Medicine, Atlanta, GA; MARTIN GARDNER, Author, Hendersonville, NC
ROCHEL GELMAN, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, CA; HENRY
GLEITMAN, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; LILA
GLEITMAN, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; RICHARD
GREEN, M.D., J.D., 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, Phila-
delphia, PA; ELIZABETH LOFTUS, Ph.D., University of Washington, Sea-
tle, 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, Westford, MA; ULRIC NEISSER, Ph.D., Cornell
University, Ithaca, N.Y.; RICHARD OFSHE, Ph.D., University of Califor-
nia, Berkeley, CA; EMILY CAROTA ORNE, B.A., University of Pennsylvan-
ia, Philadelphia, PA; MARTIN ORNE, M.D., Ph.D., University of Pennsyl-
vania, 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.,
Washington University, St. Louis, MO; CAROLYN SAARI, Ph.D., Loyola
University, Chicago, IL; THEODORE SARBIN, Ph.D., University of Cali-
fornia, 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 Uni-
versity, Waco, TX.
**********************************************************************
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
**********************************************************************