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F M S F O U N D A T I O N N E W S L E T T E R (e-mail edition)
May/June 2000 Vol. 9 NO. 3
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ISSN #1069-0484. Copyright (c) 2000 by the FMS Foundation
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The FMSF Newsletter is published 6 times a year by the False
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Feld
Legal Corner
Conference Highlights The next issue
Harris Morfit will be combined
Begert July/August
From Our Readers
Bulletin Board
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Dear Friends,
The person who taped the sessions for the April 2000 Memory and
Reality conference made an interesting comment. He noted that it was
the most professionally run conference he had ever taped, and, he
added, it was also the most emotional.
Both of the conferences -- the professional one sponsored by the
New York Medical College with the support of Eleanor and Elliot
Goldstein and the cooperation of the FMSF, and the FMSF Family
Conference -- were excellent. The professional conference was
summarized in an article by Jane Brody in the April 25, 2000 New York
Times.[1] Details of the Memory and Reality Conference: Return to
Reason can be found in this newsletter on page 9.
The Family Conference began on a sunny spring day with blossoming
cherry trees and smiling daffodils around the attractive Westchester
environs. But on Sunday morning, a blustery snow storm brought a
strong reminder of winter's power. Unfortunately, many participants
had a difficult time getting home because of cancelled flights. Yet,
by Sunday afternoon, the sun and spring again held sway.
Opinion about whether we had, in fact, Returned to Reason, was
reminiscent of the weather: it varied. Some participants suggested
that we were well on that road to reason, but others claimed that we
had just found the signpost to the road. In the culture surrounding
the recovered memory controversy, there are many signs that reason is
returning, but there are also many signs that the problems it has
engendered are still raging and that a craze could again quickly
explode.
In the FMSF Newsletters, the seeming divergent signs are evident.
In this issue, for example, we have news that the license agencies in
Pennsylvania have permanently removed the licenses of the women who
headed the Genesis group -- this after it was discovered that they had
continued to practice during the time their licenses had been
suspended. We read that the American Psychiatric Association and the
Illinois Psychiatric Association have expelled Bennett Braun, M.D. as
a result of an ethics complaint filed by Patricia Burgus. We read that
in Wenatchee, more people have been released from prison and that the
people and organizations who harmed them are being held accountable
for their actions. There is news about a balanced television
documentary on MPD and new research about retractors.
But there is sobering news: a continuing education program
claiming that memories are stored in the body; a lawsuit brought
because a woman who had gone to therapy for marital problems said she
was told by the therapist that her problems were due to fondling by an
elementary school teacher; Sybil still being taught in some high
school health programs; The Courage to Heal still being used by some
therapists; a decision by the Supreme Court of Arizona allowing
"repressed memories" into evidence.
It is interesting that there seems to be increased public
attention given to recovered-memory reports involving professionals.
The Arizona case involves a pediatrician. Others involve dentists,
doctors, clergy, teachers and often therapists. If courts move to
admit "recovered repressed memories" as evidence, then any person who
has ever been alone with any child or adult during his or her
professional lifetime may be subject to having to defend him or
herself against decades-old charges. Given new scientific
understandings about the nature of memory, people do have the tools to
defend themselves. But at what cost? An article in USA Today on March
21, 2000 [2] noted that false accusations against teachers are soaring,
but the teachers' reputations are ruined even though accusations are
false.
It is encouraging to learn that Dr. Braun, who was one of the
founders of the International Society for the Study of Multiple
Personality and Dissociation (ISSMP&D) in 1984 (now called the
International Society for the Study of Dissociation or ISSD) and who
was responsible for organizing the conferences that were likely major
channels of transmitting beliefs about MPD and SRA to the therapeutic
community, has been discredited by the APA. Yet members of the ISSD,
who were privy to Braun's beliefs and practices, have not taken
similar public action. It is discouraging to learn that the DSM-IV
Text Revision Advisory Committee working on material related to
dissociative disorders retains the same people who dominated this area
in the past and who are former presidents or leaders of the ISSD.[3]
In a front page story, The New York Times recently described
America's mental health system as "tattered."[4] Much of the confusion
over where we are on the road to a return to reason is due to the fact
that there is no coherent "system," no overall direction, no general
standards to which practitioners must train or be held accountable, no
action in place to see that mental health practice is evidence based,
no one in charge. The public is faced with multi-layered fiefdoms in
which, tragically, interest appears greater in protecting turf than in
protecting the public.
Where we are on the return to reason depends on what place in the
overall "system" one looks.
PAMELA
[1] Brody, J. "Memories of Things That Never Were," New York Times,
4/25/00, p , p F8.
[2] Bowles, S., "False Accusations Against Teachers Soar," USA Today,
3/21/00.
[3] Included in the DSM-IV Revision Advisory Committee for
"Adjustment, Dissociative, Factitious, Impulse -- Control, and
Somatoform Disorders and Psychological Factors Affecting Medical
Conditions are: Elizabeth S. Bowman, M.D., Philip M. Coons, M.D.,
Richard Kluft, M.D., Frank Putnam, M.D., Colin Ross, M.D., Marlene
Steinberg, M.D.
[4] Goodman and Glaberson, "The well-marked roads to homicidal rage,"
New York Times, 4/10/00, page 1
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "[F]ollowing the hearing held on June 15, 1999, the decision of |
| the hearing panel regarding the charges against Dr. Bennett Braun |
| was reviewed by the Illinois Psychiatric Society Ethics Committee |
| and Executive Council and by the American Psychiatric Association |
| Ethics Committee and Board of Trustees. Dr. Braun has been |
| expelled from the Illinois Psychiatric Society and the American |
| Psychiatric Association." (4/7/00) |
\____________________________________________________________________/
+----------------------------------------------------+
| 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 |
| COLUMNISTS: August Piper, Jr. and members |
| of the FMSF Scientific Advisory Board |
| LETTERS and INFORMATION: Our Readers |
+----------------------------------------------------+
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RETRACTORS' EXPERIENCES:
A COMPARISON OF SOCIAL PRESSURE AND TIME COURSE IN THE RECOVERY
AND RETRACTION OF ABUSE MEMORIES
James Ost, Alan Costall & Ray Bull
See April, 2000 Newsletter of the British False Memory Society,
Available at www.bfms.org.uk
Claims have been made that retractors are individuals who are
being swayed first one way (to believe they were sexually abused as
children) and then the other (that they were not sexually abused as
children) and that the pressure to retract is equal to or greater than
the pressure to recover abuse memories. (e.g. Jerome Singer, 1997;
S.L. Reviere, 1997)
As part of an ongoing research project, the authors surveyed 20
retractors on this issue. Eighty-four percent of the retractors
reported experiencing pressure to recover memories. Eighty-four
percent also said that they experienced no pressure to retract.
Recovering abuse memories was reported to have been relatively
quick with a mean time of six weeks. Retraction appears to have been
a relatively slow process of realization with a mean time of four
years.
The authors write that "Retractors, according to our evidence,
should not be characterized as people 'most vulnerable to changing
[their] beliefs when the winds of social influence blow in a different
direction' (D. Hammond, 1995, p. 112). Unsubstantiated claims about
the unreliability of retractor's accounts remain, as the very least,
'not proven'."
Singer, J. (1997) "How recovered memory debates reduce the
richness of human identity. Psychological Inquiry, 8, 325-329.
Reviere, S.L. (1997) "Reflections on false memories,
psychotherapy, and the question of "truth," Psychological Inquiry, 8,
317-321.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "After years in which scores of innocent lives were destroyed by |
| such accusations, the child sex abuse charge may be losing some of |
| its sacrosanct status -- the sort that ensured that any charge |
| would be believed and acted on, and never mind any question. If |
| so, this society and its justice system may be at last on the |
| route to recovery from one of the most terrifying spasms of |
| irrationality to have afflicted us in a long while. Like so many |
| such dark eruptions, this one was advanced in the interests of |
| goodness and high principle -- that of saving children from |
| predators. Like so many high principles in the hands of the most |
| fanatical of our progressive social elements -- the kind that |
| assured juries that children never lie about abuse, for instance |
| -- this one ended up inflicting only tragedy." |
| "New Day for the Accused," Wall Street Journal |
| Editorial, March 24, 2000 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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NEWS FROM THE NETHERLANDS
Eric Bakker
The National Ombudsman for the Netherlands has urged the Ministry
of Health to investigate incest memory retrieval therapies. His
statement came in response to a complaint brought to him by the Work
Group Fictive Memories, formed in 1994 by parents who maintain they
were falsely accused by their adult offspring after exposure to such
therapies. Although the Netherlands Ministry of Justice took action in
1996 by commissioning the Netherlands Institute for the Study of
Criminality and Law Enforcement at Leiden University[1], neither the
Netherlands Psychiatric Association nor the Netherlands Psychological
Institute has produced guidelines requested by the Ministry in 1998
because of internal divisions within the organizations. The ministry
then asked a Netherlands healthcare research group (ZorgOnderzoek
Nederland) to finance an investigation on the matter.
The Ombudsman, who in the meantime had started his own
investigations because the ministry had left it too long to the
professional bodies, has concluded that the government has a primary
constitutional responsibility in the area of health care. The
Ombudsman found that because of the inability of the professions to
self-regulate, the government should have acted. The Ombudsman has
recommended a plan of action forcing psychiatrists to speak out on the
reliability of the therapies in question and to see, on the basis of
the results of the investigation if help is needed for persons who
during therapy have come to believe that they were abused when they
had not been.
[1] Report available from Recovered Crimes: Sexual Abuse Reported to
the Police after Therapy -- Advice to the Minister of Justice,
NISCALE Technical Report Series, ISSN 1387 5523. Order from
NSCR@niscale.leidenuniv.nl
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can |
| change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has. |
| Margaret Mead |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
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1998 NATIONAL CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT STATISTICS
Michael Kharfen
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 202-401-9215
April 10, 2000 (12.04) U.S. Newswire
In 1998 the national child abuse and neglect statistics reported by
states continue to decline. It is the fifth year of decline. The
incidence rate of children victimized by maltreatment declined to 12.9
per 1,000 children -- the lowest record in more than 10 years.
2,806,000 referrals of possible mal-treatment. 66 percent were
investigated (1,851,960). 903,000 children determined to be victims
of maltreatment.
Of these:
54 percent suffered neglect
23 percent suffered physical abuse
12 percent were sexually abused.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| CONFERENCE TAPES AVAILABLE IN JUNE |
| |
| A set of 5 audio tapes of many conference sessions will soon be |
| available. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, the |
| Retractor Panel and Ralph Slovenko's talk were not taped. |
| |
| The cost of tapes including shipping and handling is: |
| Members: $15.00 |
| Non-members: $25.00 |
| |
| To order, send request and check to FMSF office. NB Credit cards |
| accepted only for orders of $25. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
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PERSPECTIVES ON INFORMED CONSENT
Allen Feld (Part 1)
No doubt many readers are aware of the disagreement about informed
consent between some therapists and others -- mostly non-therapists
(FMSF members and supporters) along with a number of concerned mental
health professionals. Some individuals in the latter group have
proposed that states pass laws requiring informed consent for people
seeking help from therapists.
Many proponents of the legislation are reacting to what they
understand happened in therapy to some clients. Clients who sought
therapy for contemporary issues of living, or for specific
psychological, behavioral or emotional symptoms did not have those
problems addressed but instead were were led to delve into their
pasts, leading to the creation of false memories.
Proponents for legislation argue that informed consent is
necessary because some therapists ignore the reasons a client seeks
help and instead emphasize what they (therapists) think is important.
They note that significant harm has been done to clients and their
families when clients were unsuspecting of this dramatic shift in
therapy. The group in favor of legislation maintains that clients were
provided neither the opportunity nor the information to agree to the
type of therapy to which they were exposed. Some also argue
convincingly that informed consent is a necessary and desirable
component of appropriate therapy. I agree with this group's thinking.
Some therapists have vigorously attacked this group and the
informed consent proposal. Their counter-arguments often seem wedded
to the therapists' power and authority in therapeutic relationships
and to what some of these therapists may refer to as the "art" of
therapy.
It is interesting to note that although informed consent is now
widely accepted in medicine, many of those who attack the proposed
legislation are MDs. I wonder if the people who believe that informed
consent legislation is misguided also advocate "parity" (legislation
that mandates insurance coverage for psychological services be similar
in scope to insurance payments for medical service)? I believe that to
be inconsistent. That is saying "We want to be like medicine in
getting payments but we don't want to be like medicine in providing
informed consent."
With informed consent, a client gives a therapist permission to
implement a specifically defined service to deal with the reason(s) a
client chose (or was required) to seek therapy. It also commits the
therapist to working on those areas for which the client has given
her/his permission. Implicit in informed consent is the assumption
that the client has received accurate and creditable information on
which to base a reasonably educated decision as to whether to proceed
with the service being recommended or offered by a particular
therapist.
I believe that informed consent is a process that requires
discussion, thought, and a decision by both client and therapist. The
process is the essential ingredient of meaningful informed consent. I
view the process as interactive. The process can be a genuine offer to
help, as well as an opportunity for the client to experience the
therapist's approach to helping. A written statement, one that is a
joint effort and not merely proffered by the therapist, culminates the
process.
Informed consent should not be viewed as a bureaucratic
requirement. If it descends to that level, it may lack some of the
positive aspects that lead me to value the process. The next
Newsletter will describe some of what may be desirable to consider in
such a process and statement.
Part 2 will appear in the Jul/Aug issue.
Allen Feld is Director of Continuing Education for the FMS
Foundation. He has retired from the faculty of the School of Social
Work at Marywood University in Pennsylvania.
+-----------------------------------------------+
| "Who needs parents when unconditional love is |
| available from a therapist and support group |
| as long as third-party insurance holds out?" |
| |
| From letter, Wall Street Journal, 4/7/00 |
+-----------------------------------------------+
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CONTINUING EDUCATION WATCH
Search for Traumatic Memories Still On!
The 2nd annual "Anger and Rage Conference" sponsored by Health
Communications, the organization that published John Bradshaw and that
is an American Psychological Association approved CEU provider, will
be held in Washington DC in May. Among the sessions is: "Trauma and
Addiction: Breaking the Cycle of Self-Medicating Emotional and
Psychological Pain," offered by Tian Dayton, Ph.D., TEP. The
description of this session:
"Trauma memories are stored in both the body and what is sometimes
referred to as the old brain. Because they may bypass the cortex on
their way to memory storage, they can be difficult to recall in
traditional forms of talk therapy. Psychodrama with its physical
involvement through role play, is an ideal method for accessing
traumatic memory and attaching movement and language to unformulated
experience. This workshop focuses on the Trauma Time Line and the
Trauma Resolution Model for Creative Arts Therapies."
* * *
The California Institute for Integral Studies, Mandatory Continuing
Education, Spring 2000 offers "Using Astrology to Understand
Relationship Patterns and Complexes," taught by by Glenn Perry, Ph.D.
and Jennifer Freed, M.A. Credit approval from the California
Psychological Association is pending. Description:
"Astrology offers a refreshing, more spacious understanding of the
diverse possibilities for healthy relationships. A natal chart
reveals the 'love map' that is unique to the individual. Drawing
from astrology's rich, mythic language, we will deconstruct some
paralyzing assumptions about 'normal' relationships while
illuminating authentic relationship paths and their glorious
permutations."
* * *
The "International Energy Psychology Conference," to be held during
May 2000 in Las Vegas, is described as being at the "Confluence of
psychology, physics and spirituality." The following techniques or
therapies are mentioned: * Emotional Freedom Technique * Healing from
the body level up * Thought field therapy * Matrix work * Holographic
repatterning * Integration of energy psychology with EMDR, * NLP and
hypnotherapy * Resonance tuning * Palm therapy * Tapas acupressure
technique * Therapeutic touch.
+---------------------------------------------------------+
| It is a virtue to keep an open mind when evaluating new |
| ideas, "just not so open that your brains fall out." |
| James Obert |
| Repeated by Carl Sagan 1995, Demon Haunted World |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
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MPD DOCUMENTARY
On April 18, 2000, The Learning Channel presented a documentary
entitled "The Multiple Personality Puzzle." Produced by Alexandra
Middendorf, the presentation of both sides of the debate gave it great
credibility. Leading proponents of the MPD diagnosis such as Colin
Ross, M.D., Leah Dickson, M.D., Richard Kluft, M.D., and Frank Putnam,
M.D. presented their thinking on the issue. Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D.,
Paul McHugh, M.D., Richard Ofshe, Ph.D. and Herbert Spiegel, M.D.
presented the skeptical arguments. Deborah David explained her
experience as a patient and now as a retractor. Several women who were
currently being treated for MPD also appeared. The presentation seemed
honest. Although some programs have tended to portray MPD in a
romantic manner, something only someone especially bright, creative,
and with a talent for surviving may have, this program showed the dark
side of the diagnosis. The most impressive display was a patient who
exhibited her MPD symptoms only when in the presence of Dr. Ross (who
is no longer treating her).
+----------------------------------------------------+
| On Wired Magazine's list of 100 things that should |
| be put in the dump file before the millennium: |
| |
| "recovered memory syndrome" |
+----------------------------------------------------+
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CASE STUDY
A VERIFIED CASE OF RECOVERED MEMORIES OF SEXUAL ABUSE
Dennis L.Bull Ph.D.
American Journal of Psychotherapy Vol 53, No 2, Spring 1999
The abstract claims this case study "shows verifiable evidence of
repression at work." (p. 221) Is that claim warranted?
A forty-year-old woman with no history of mental illness and ten
years of exemplary professional work received a phone call from her
youth minister who was writing a book about abuse. The youth pastor
asked permission to use a story the woman, Rachel, had told him when
she was an adolescent. She had "told him that she was fearful because
her father had been in prison for several years and was due to be
released soon."(p. 222) He claimed Rachel told him that her father had
sexually abused her. The minister did nothing.
Rachel said she had no recollection of the adolescent conversation
or of any abuse. Within days of the phone call, however, she said she
began a decline, was suicidal, could not function and started
remembering abuse and the conversation. Rachel was placed in a
psychiatric unit.
Later, as an outpatient in therapy with the author, she worked on
recovering memories. She reported that her sister, who remembered her
own abuse in therapy, had told her she witnessed some of Rachel's
abuse by her father. The author confirmed the sister's report. Rachel
remembered that another relative had also abused her.
COMMENTS: Dr. Bull asserts that: "No apparent causes of false
memories are present, so a different mechanism than forgetting must
have been at work."(p. 221) But is that the case for these two ideas?
He tells us that a church counselor telephoned her and asked
permission to write about her abuse. Some might consider that
suggestive. An older sister told Rachel that she had witnessed her
abuse. That could be considered suggestive. Although we are told that
Rachel was not in therapy at the time, we are not told anything else
that may have been going on in her life. Garven et al[1] have
demonstrated that social influence and reinforcement are powerful
determinants in the development of false beliefs. This article gives
no information about other social influences (or medical problems) in
Rachel's life. Were there any other external or medical events that
could have contributed to Rachel's deterioration?
The author states that the abuse was confirmed. The older sister
(who remember her own alleged abuse while in therapy) said she
witnessed some of Rachel's abuse and is a source of corroboration.
That sister also reported that "When Rachel heard the news (of the
older sister being abused), she did not believe it, and accused (the
older sister) of lying..." If that taints the corroborative statements
of the older sister for some, one should not overlook the experience
of the former youth minister. Although not a direct witness to the
alleged incidents, some would view him as a conceivable source of
corroboration. Yet we are not told what he claims he remembered Rachel
told him about abuse. Was his recall from notes or memory? Could his
perception of what he thinks was said have been tainted by the fact
that he is now writing a book about abuse? If he truly believed abuse
was occurring, why didn't he report it?
Bull's clinical conclusions about the father's anger making him
capable of committing sexual abuse and Rachel's "marked defensiveness"
to the (older sister's) report of sexual abuse "strongly implies an
unconscious mechanism at work to keep a painful memory from intruding
into consciousness" are without scientific foundation.
The Foundation position has long been that some memories are true,
some a mixture of fact and fantasy, and some false. Rachel's memories
may indeed be true. Science, however, requires more than reporting a
single case study before a claim that there is "verifiable evidence of
repression at work" may be made.
[1] Garvin et al. (1998) "More than suggestion: Effect of interviewing
techniques from the McMartin Preschool case. J App. Psych, 83(3)
347-359
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Emotions and Memory |
| |
| "[F]or the existence of repression you would need to know that a |
| certain event happened; you'd need unequivocal demonstration of |
| that; you'd need a demonstration that for some period of time, the |
| information was actively unavailable in the person's mind; and |
| then the third thing you need is that at some later point that |
| information is accurately recalled. You need all of those for what |
| I'd call the strongest evidence for the existence of repression. |
| |
| That doesn't exist in any case I know of. There's maybe one or two |
| kinds of arguable cases out there. But when you think about all |
| the talk about repression, you'd think there'd be hundreds of |
| cases like that where it's "Oh yes, those three elements are all |
| documented, no argument." Well, they're not there. So that's your |
| first problem. |
| |
| [T]here is strong evidence that in general strong emotions tend to |
| be associated with strong memories, as a general rule...[T]here's |
| really good evidence for some alternative explanations -- it has |
| been shown in children and adults that you can create under the |
| right conditions including conditions that often mimic what a lot |
| of therapists do in their office -- you can create incredibly |
| clear, vivid memories of things that never happened. That's been |
| shown; that we know happens. There's no argument about that. That |
| happens... |
| |
| So add that all up in your mind and how much money are you going |
| to put on the validity of any one individual recovering any one |
| 'repressed memory', and I think the answer is not much. 6/1/98 |
| |
| Dr. Larry Cahill, Psychobiology, UC Irvine |
| Australian Broadcasting Corp |
| Radio National Health Report with Norman Swan |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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L E G A L C O R N E R
FMSF Staff
_______________________________________
$1.17 Million Against Church Overturned
H.R.B. and B.B. v Archbishop Justin Rigali
No ED 76365, Court of Appeals of Missouri
Eastern Dist. Div. 5, 2000 Mo. App LEXIS 443
A three-judge panel of the Missouri Appeals Court overturned a $1.17
verdict against Archbishop Justin Rigali in a case in which Henry
Bachmann asserted a priest had sexually abused him in the early 1960s
when he was a 13-year-old student. Although the priest settled out of
court with Bachmann for $25,000, Rigali was also sued because he was
in charge of the Archdiocese when the lawsuit was filed. In 1999, a
jury agreed that Rigali had failed to properly supervise the priest.
The church appealed the verdict on the grounds that Bachmann's
claim was barred by a five-year statute of limitations. The appellants
said that the testimony indicated that Bachmann had been capable of
ascertaining that he had been sexually molested in 1964. Bachmann
claimed he was so traumatized by the mistreatment that he wiped it
from his mind until 1992, when a reprimand from his boss in Savannah,
GA, triggered memories of the long-ago abuse.
In its ruling, the Court of Appeals agreed that the evidence did
not support a finding that Bachmann's repression of his memory was
enough to overcome the statute of limitations because Bachmann had
testified that he went to a park and cried after the attacks. Senior
Judge Robert E. Crist wrote that "He stated that while at the park he
placed himself in a trance and suppressed his memory of the pain and
abuse. However, his testimony showed that at the time the acts were
perpetrated, he had full knowledge of the events and knew they were
wrongful."
In Missouri, Bachmann had five years after turning 21 to bring a
suit. Crist noted "We are mindful that, at times, the application of
the statute of limitations may appear to produce a potentially unjust
result. Yet, the statutes of limitations set by our legislature serve
a legitimate purpose. Allowing a plaintiff unlimited time to bring an
action increases the potential for spurious claims and decreases the
court's or jury's ability to determine the truth."
B.B. settled his case during the appeal period. Attorneys for the
appellants were Gerald T. Noce, Edward M Goldenhersh, Bernard Huger,
Mary McInnis and Mark Swearingen. Attorneys for Bachmann were Rebecca
Randles and Stanley Spero.
Associated Press, 3/28/00, "$1.17 million verdict against church
in sexual abuse case is overturned" Connie Farrow.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 3/29/00, "Court overturns jury award to
man who claimed a St. Louis priest abused him; Statute of limitations
had expired, judges rule," William C. Lhotka.
____________________________________________________________
Arizona Supreme Court Allows Claims for "Repressed" Memories
Logerquist v Danforth, CV 98-0587-PR Az Sup. Ct. Apr. 2000
In a 3-2 split-decision that allowed expert testimony on repressed
memory, the Arizona Supreme Court on April 19, 2000 took the position
that rules regarding scientific evidence simply do not apply to
something as unscientific as repressed memory.
The majority quoted with approval: "[R]epressed memory...remains
woefully short of being empirically verified and, indeed, heralds from
a non-rigorous school of psychology in which empirical validation is
not a core tenet" and "Repression, in short, is a testable hypothesis,
but it has not yet been appropriately tested. Pending satisfactory
studies, therefore, the most reasonable scientific position is to
maintain skepticism." Given this, they concluded, "[W]e believe the
jury must decide what to do about the lack of empirical support."
In 1992 a woman brought suit against her former pediatrician John
T. Danforth claiming she had been sexually molested on several
occasions from 1971 to 73 when she was between eight and ten years
old. The woman claimed her memories were restored in 1991 after
watching a television commercial with a pediatrician. The woman sought
to have experts who would testify how memories can be repressed
because of severe childhood trauma and how the memories can be
recalled later with accuracy. The trial judge refused to let her
experts testify, ruling that repressed memories "are not generally
accepted in the relevant scientific community." The woman appealed.
Justice Stanley Feldman, who wrote the majority ruling said that
the minority justices fear that this would open the door to anyone
declaring himself or herself an expert in any theory of human
behavior, "however far-fetched," was overblown. He wrote "It is
apparent we are not dealing with an alchemist attempting to change
lead into gold or an astrologer predicting events from the movements
of the stars." He also wrote that it is illogical to assume that
judges "will be more able than jurors to tell good science from junk,
true scientists from charlatans, truthful experts from liars and venal
from objective experts."
In a dissent, Justice Frederick J. Martone wrote, "The hearing [by
the trial judge] was comprehensive and the majority does not take
issue with his conclusion that repressed memory is simply not
generally accepted in the scientific community... If, as the majority
asserts, repressed memory has no scientific basis, then like
astrology, expert testimony should be excluded... There may be no area
of contemporary psychiatry and psychology more controversial than the
theory of repressed memory... Repressed memory does not lie within the
range of common knowledge. Experts in psychology and psychiatry cannot
reach agreement about its validity. And, if experts cannot agree about
the validity of repressed memory, how do we pass this question to the
jury with out first reviewing its reliability under some heightened
form of evidentiary scrutiny?"
In a second dissent, Justice Ruth V. McGregor agreed with Justice
Martone and added, "I am concerned about the tendency of the decision
to isolate Arizona's courts from the mainstream of judicial analysis
... Arizona now falls within a tiny minority of jurisdictions that
have chosen to adopt a unique interpretation... I see two significant
negative results. First, evidentiary rulings that could significantly
affect the outcome of litigation will differ depending upon whether an
action proceeds in state or in federal court... Second, because our
approach diverges from that taken in most jurisdictions, Arizona's
courts will lose the advantage of being able to learn from and follow
the reasoning of other courts...we lose the flexibility needed to
admit evidence based upon reliable, but newly-developed, scientific
principles."
See FMSF Newsletter September 1999 Vol 8 No 6, Legal Corner,
"Commentary: Revival of Memory: A Fact Question for the Jury (Bertram
v Poole, 1999 Minn. App. LEXIS 851)
See FMSF Newsletter June 1998 Vol 7 No 5 "Arizona Supreme Court
Holds That Discovery Rule Applies to Repressed Memory Claim" for
comments on the thinking of the court in another repressed memory
case.
Arizona Star, 4/20/00, "Arizona high court allows for claims of
'repressed' memories of abuse," Howard Fischer.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Solving Marriage Problems |
| |
| A Maine woman has filed a civil-rights lawsuit against a former |
| elementary teacher (70 years old) for touching her inappropriately |
| 19 years ago. The claim is not classified as a repressed memory |
| case or sexual abuse but of indifference about the results of the |
| alleged touching and of the woman's rights. Repressed memory cases |
| are not recognized under Maine law. The woman had sought therapy |
| for help with her marriage problems. She stated that the therapist |
| "helped her recognize where the problems came from." |
| Associated Press, April 3, 2000 |
| Former student accuses Shirley selectman of abuse" |
\____________________________________________________________________/
________________________________________
UPDATES OF CASES WE HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING:
GENESIS
Patricia Mansmann and Patricia Neuhausel of the controversial
Genesis Associates have signed consent agreements to abandon their
state licenses and not to pursue licenses in related fields. On April
11, 2000, the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and
Family Therapists and Professional Counselors signed with Neuhausel,
and two weeks earlier, the Pennsylvania State Board of Psychology
signed with Mansmann. They are voluntarily giving up their licenses to
practice -- forever. Mansmann had been given a five-year license
suspension in February 1996 because state regulators found dozens of
violations regarding therapeutic practices, but Mansmann continued to
practice while on suspension.
The state alleged that the two women were grossly negligent and
unprofessional in their practice. They alleged that they "detached"
some clients from their families without the clients' fully informed
consent and even asked some clients to help pay the firm's legal
expenses. Some former clients have said that Genesis operated as a
cult and 15 former clients have sued.
From 1990 to 1996, there were approximately 50 to 80 people in the
Genesis Network. By March 1997, there were fewer than 25, according to
legal papers.
Some former and current clients have defended the group claiming
their lives have been improved and that Genesis has been the victim of
a witch hunt. Genesis in-house lawyer, Cornelia Farrell Maggio, stated
that "It was perfectly clear to us that it didn't matter what the
evidence showed, they were going to do whatever they felt they should
do." The practices of the Genesis group were featured on the 1995
Frontline documentary "Divided Memories," produced by Ofra Bikel.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/28/00, "Exton psychologist to give up
Pa. license as regulators allege violations," Bill Ordine.
West Chester Daily Local News, 4/12/00, "2nd Genesis partner gives
up state license," Martin Indars.
West Chester Daily Local News, 4/19/00, Letters.
AMIRAULT
On April 18, 2000, lawyers for Gerald Amirault asked Massachusetts
Gov. Paul Cellucci to reduce his 30-40-year sentence to the 14 years
he has already served. Previous efforts to undo his conviction in the
controversial Fells Acres Day Care case in 1986 have failed. Middlesex
District Attorney Martha Coakley has vowed to fight efforts to free
him. His mother Violet Amirault and his sister Cheryl LeFave were
convicted in a separate trial. Violet Amirault and LeFave were freed
in 1995 on appeal after claiming they were denied the right to
confront their accusers. Violet died from stomach cancer in 1997.
Gerald Amirault was convicted of molesting and raping eight
children at the family-operated day care center. Children testified
about being abused by a bad clown in a "magic room." One child in the
case said he had been bitten by a robot, tied naked to a tree in front
of teachers and forced to watch LeFave pull the legs off a squirrel.
No corroborating physical evidence or testimony from teachers was
presented at the trial.
Attorneys for Amirault are James Sultan, Harvey Silverglate and
Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree. Ogletree commented, "To
me, an egregious injustice has been done to a family, not because of a
crime, but because of the system."
Although defendants in day-care abuse cases all around the country
have been released from prison, prosecutors and the Massachusetts
Supreme Judicial Court seem to be indifferent to the findings on
children's suggestibility and the coercive interview techniques
involved in the Amirault case. According to the Wall Street Journal,
however, several months ago Governor Cellucci commented on a talk show
that he felt justice had not been done in the Amirault case.
Patti Amirault, Gerald's wife, is asking that anyone who shares
the feelings of outrage about this case to write to Governor Paul
Cellucci, Room 360, The State House, Boston, MA 02133 and explain why
he or she feels the sentence should be commuted.
Additional facts about the Amirault case may be found in FMSF
Newsletters at www.FMSFonline.org.
Associated Press Newswires, 4/19/00, "Gerald Amirault asks
Cellucci for commutation", Jay Lindsay.
Boston Herald, 4/19/00, "Lawyers move to free 'Tooky' Amirault",
Jack Sullivan.
Wall Street Journal, 4/20/00,"Governor Cellucci's Chance" Review &
Outlook.
Boston Globe, 4/21/00, Editorial.
WENATCHEE
The person most recently released from prison is Manuel Hildago.
He was one of the 43 people arrested in the now discredited
investigations headed by Detective Bob Perez in 1994-95. There are now
only five people left in prison and four have appeals pending. The
five remaining in prison are: Leo Catchaway, Ralph Gausvik, Sid Holt,
Michael Rose, and Meredith Town.
In March, Connie Cunningham became the fifth person whose
conviction had been overturned to file a claim against the city of
Wenatchee and the state of Washington. Cunningham is asking for more
than $5 million plus punitive damages and attorney fees. She alleges
her civil rights were violated when she was arrested and prosecuted in
1994.
Concerned about a flood of lawsuits from people who were accused
and convicted during the sex-abuse trials in 1994, Wenatchee's mayor
Gary Schoessler stated, "I don't think we could save enough money fast
enough to do any good if something went against the city."
The city of Wenatchee will pay $410,719 in liability insurance
premiums this year, compared with $198,444 in 1994. Officials have
said the increase is largely due to the sex cases. Schoessler said,
"It's hard to get insurance for something you know is going to
happen." He noted that some property owners are fighting annexation
into the city because they don't want to help pay for the city's
alleged misconduct.
Wenatchee World, 3/7/00, "Mayor wants sex-abuse suits settled,"
Stephen Maher.
Wenatchee World 3/20/00, "Fifth claim filed over sex cases,"
Stephen Maher.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| To Repay the Innocent Who Have Languished in Jail |
| Excerpts from Seattle Intelligencer Editorial About Wenatchee |
| March 27, 2000 |
| |
| What is the value of the time innocent people spent being coerced |
| and threatened; the time they languished, without cause, in jail |
| or in prison? |
| |
| Does all the world's money make whole people who lost their |
| children even though the kids had not been touched inappropriately |
| and were in no danger? |
| |
| Honor the victims. |
| |
| Apologize to them for the ignorance and irresponsibility that |
| allowed so many to suffer so much. |
| |
| Demonstrate the commitment of this state and all its cities to a |
| future where due process is guaranteed. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
MEMORY AND REALITY:
RETURN TO REASON
Conference Highlights
FMSF Staff
The person who taped the sessions for the April 2000 Memory and
Reality conference made an interesting comment. He noted that it was
the most professionally run conference he had ever taped, and, he
added, it was also the most emotional.
The atmosphere of the conference was especially warm, and many
friendships were renewed. Families who could not be at the conference
because of health, or like Ray and Shirley Souza remain under house
arrest, were quietly honored.
The presenters elaborated on the theme of the conference: Return
to Reason. While some felt that we were well on the road to the end
of the FMS craze, others felt that such a belief was premature.
Opinions seemed to differ depending on what phase of the problem was
under examination.
* Paul McHugh, M.D., Chief of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Medical
Institution, opened the conference by noting that he believed that the
effort to educate the public and professionals about the nature of
memory has been largely accomplished, but that within the clinical
field there is still much to do. He listed the following points as
indicative of what we have learned from the FMS problem:
1. Knowledge and long-tested therapy guidelines were ignored.
2. A fire-storm "craze" grew on cultural tinder.
3. Courage was required to confront it.
4. Partial resolution required strong and determined efforts such as
the formation of a victim organization, publication of books, use of
courts, and exposure in the media.
5. Rehabilitation is a lengthy and difficult process for families
and patients.
6. Moral: psychiatric practice must be evidence-based.
Dr. McHugh said that the clinical struggle will end when
psychiatry establishes a coherent structure for practice and
research. "The clinical war extends beyond the FMS issue. It rests on
the concepts of repression and dissociation that are fundamental to
thinking and teaching in many schools of psychiatry today.
Psychiatrists are wary of entering discussions on the validity of
these two concepts even though they are the foundation of the
'spectral evidence' on which the FMS misdirection rested."
Dr. McHugh noted that we are now in the rehabilitative phase of
the FMS phenomenon and said that there should be a focus on helping
families to reunite. He wondered if we would soon reach a time when
people would be embarrassed by having these memories.
* Terence Campbell, Ph.D moderated the retractor panel at which
Elizabeth Carlson, Gail Mcdonald, Laura Pasley and Mary Shanley
briefly described their experiences and answered questions. They
mentioned some of the factors involved in the process of retracting
such as having periods of doubting or confusion, no longer
experiencing the effects of medications and hypnosis, coming to terms
with reality, accepting the fact that the presenting problem still
exists, dealing with family issues, being still "messed up" when
leaving treatment, and missing the good memories that had been taken
away.
A question was then asked about what professionals could do, and
the retractors immediately said: provide good therapy. Good therapy,
they explained, was oriented to reality, not imagination or fantasy.
They said therapy should be direct, sympathetic, reality-driven and
patient-directed. They noted that family therapy was sometimes
necessary and that sometimes real family problems needed to be
acknowledged. They felt that a retractor must take responsibility for
her actions but at the same time understand the responsibility of
professionals.
Someone from the audience asked what triggered their turn-around.
Gail: Friends' comments; reality testing; vacation from therapy.
Laura: Deterioration in therapy, watching deterioration of group
members caused me to leave; SRA increased doubts about memories;
reading an article.
Mary: Hospital unit closed and I was moved to a regular
psychiatric unit where there was no reinforcement; my "bizarre
memories" became too unbelievable.
Elizabeth: Changed medications; started new group with Humenansky
patients and compared notes finding similarities in stories; one
patient admitted to making up alters; finally changed therapists.
The audience could probably have asked questions for a week, but a
break needed to be taken for lunch.
* The next speaker, Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D., a professor of psychology
at the University of Washington and a leading expert on memory,
expressed concern that we are not as close to a return to reason as we
might hope. She noted that every time we seem to have laid to rest one
of the myths on which the false memory argument is based, it seems to
be resurrected in a new form.
Dr. Loftus went on to describe her current work on dream
interpretation and the very powerful effects that she and her
colleague Giuliana Mazzoni are finding. This work expands their
ongoing research program described in the paper,"Dreaming, Believing,
and Remembering" in Believed-In Imaginings: Narrative Construction of
Reality edited by deRivera and Sarbin. An important feature of their
work is the research protocol they developed that provided a clinical-
like atmosphere for subjects. A well-known Italian radio psychologist
spent 30 minutes with each subject during which he interpreted a
dream. Regardless of the content of the dreams, a similar
interpretation was given of being abandoned. The influence of a single
30-minute meeting with an authority figure was dramatic. In informal
conversations, a number of people speculated on what might happen to
patients who were given similar erroneous interpretation several times
during their therapy.
* Harold Lief, M.D. moderated the next session, the professional
panel. Dr. Lief indicated that there are "cracks in the monolith" of
the psychiatry profession. He said that he felt it was significant
that the American Psychiatric Press published a recent paper about the
FMS problem that he had written with Janet Fetkewicz.[1]
Lief and Fetkewicz have studied accused families in which there
had been a retraction and found that the accusation was generally a
defining experience and time in the life of the fathers, often
followed by serious health consequences such as heart attacks. Lief
noted that it is now time to study the dynamics of families in which
there are returners or retractors. He raised many issues that need to
be studied and asked if returner families would contact him for this
purpose.
David Halperin, M.D, Susan Robbins, D.S.W., and Robert Karlin,
Ph.D. complemented this introduction with their perspectives on
family reunification and mediation.
[1] Lief, H and Fetkewicz, J."Casualties of Recovered Memory Therapy:
The Impact of False Allegations of Incest on Accused Fathers" In
Masculinity and Sexuality: Selected Topics in Psychology of Men
(Friedman and Downey, Editors), Review of Psychiatry Vol 18 #5,
American Psychiatric Press.
* The last Saturday session involved Roundtables, small discussion groups
on a variety of topics. These roundtable groups proved to be a popular
component of our past three conferences, and the same seemed true for this
conference. Here are the Roundtable topics and leaders, followed by a brief
summary of each session:
1. MOVING ON: Bob and Janet McKelvey -- Discussion took place about
wills and estate planning, consideration of children of the accusers
in wills, need for apologies or requests for forgiveness by the
accusing offspring as a precondition for reuniting with the family,
and need for open discussion of their therapy and the origin of false
memories as a requirement for reuniting. There was general concurrence
on the need for the accused to move on and make every effort to enjoy
life to its fullest.
2. FAMILY MEDIATION: Susan Robbins, D.S.W. -- Participants found
the handout helpful, as well as the leader's definition of mediation
and what it might accomplish.
3. CHRISTIAN COUNSELING: Carol P. -- The focus of this roundtable
was ways to educate the churches and those involved with religious
counseling about the dangers of recovered memory therapy. Plans were
made to form a group to work toward this goal.
4. USING THE INTERNET FOR INFORMATION: Eric Krock -- With laptop in
hand, the leader described how to use the internet to create, format
and register FMS websites or link onto other informative sites. What
participants found especially helpful were the e-mail addresses that
were given.
5. WHEN ONE PARENT HAS CONTACT: Dr. Janet Boakes, MRC Psych -- This
is the situation in many families as evidenced by the large turnout
for this roundtable. Although no information was gained that would
improve the situations in these families, the one thing that the
participants came away with was not to burn bridges, to proceed with
caution, patience and love.
6. SIBLINGS IN THE MIDDLE: Nancy Haggerty and Sue Foard -- There was
a mixture of parents and siblings at this roundtable, and what was
evident was the different reactions of siblings, ranging from total
support for the accused parent to support but wanting to distance
themselves from the situation. Some parents refer to their supporting
offspring as their lifeline to sanity, and often use them to get
information about the accuser.
7. RETRACTORS TALKING TOGETHER: Janet Fetkewicz -- Here the
retractors were able to talk to each other about their concerns, and
as one retractor put it, "To be treated as a part of something rather
than be under a microscope and/or be treated like ex-mental patients
aids in encouraging adult behavior." She felt that "the topic was
great -- the mediator was great and the conference was very fulfilling
for me."
8. SONS AS ACCUSERS: Irene Miller -- There were more questions than
answers at this roundtable, but the participants were grateful for the
opportunity to discuss common threads. Most notably, why are there so
few accusing sons as compared with daughters, and what makes them
particularly vulnerable? These questions plague professionals as well
as involved families.
9. GRANDCHILD ISSUES: ACCESS/ ACCUSATIONS: Carol Marks, M.S.W. --
There was an interesting exchange among the grandparents attending,
but in view of the vast legal restrictions there were not any concrete
suggestions as to how to handle specific situations.
10. FAMILIES NEW TO FMS: Carole Koscielny -- New families need to
tell the details of their situation, and this roundtable afforded them
the opportunity to do so. It is disappointing to hear new families
report that The Courage to Heal is still being recommended by
therapists.
11. A RETURNER IN YOUR MIDST: Carol Netzer -- This was a very large
roundtable, and some individuals related their circumstances involving
a returner. Since the reasons an offspring returns without retracting
and the ways families handle the situations are so varied, this is an
area that is ripe for study, as Dr. Lief mentioned in his remarks.
12. RECOURSES FOR FAMILIES: LEGAL, COMPLAINTS, LETTERS: Martha
Churchill, J.D. and Joann Dayton -- It was felt that there was a lot
of good information shared in a short period of time. This included
letter writing, putting FMS literature in book stores that have The
Courage to Heal, getting legislative information using "open records,"
and the discussion of 3rd party lawsuits.
The interest expressed in each Roundtable may be an indication of
where our families are in the course of their involvement with False
Memory Syndrome. The Roundtable with the most participants was #11, "A
Returner in your Midst." This is consistent with we are hearing in the
Foundation office, that many of the offspring who have made
accusations have "returned" to the family without retracting their
allegations and most often without discussing the issue. As readers of
the Newsletter are aware, many families have accepted their accusers
back without a retraction, while others say they require a retraction
first. Those families in the former group often feel that their
daughters/sons no longer believe that they were abused, but are not
ready to discuss it, and are hopeful/wishful that a retraction will
follow.
The group with the next highest number of participants was "Moving
On." Sadly, many of our families believe that their children will not
come back, and these people feel that it's best for them to get on
with their lives.
Interestingly, the smallest group was #10, Families new to FMS.
Although we still are receiving phone calls from families who are
recently accused, the number has dwindled. We like to think that is
an indication of some of the inroads that the Foundation has made in
publicizing False Memory Syndrome and the harmful therapy practices
that cause it and in spawning scientific research on memory.
This comment about the Roundtables was typical of many we heard:
"They all sound so interesting. I wish I could go to more than one."
Perhaps this summary allows that in a small way.
* A Celebration Dinner on Saturday evening was enriched with the
display of five pictures drawn by Texas prisoner Bruce Perkins.
Bruce's wife Carol brought the pictures and told the audience that
Bruce wanted to help the Foundation because of the support he feels he
has gotten from other families and professionals who are a part of the
Foundation. Well over $2,000 was raised in a silent auction of the
pictures. The announcement that Dr. Braun had been expelled from the
American Psychiatric Association was made at the dinner.
* The first session on Sunday morning was the legal panel. Ralph
Slovenko, J.D., Ph.D., spoke about the history of expert evidence,
Martha Churchill, J.D., spoke about recovered memories in the context
of other examples of "junk science," and Christopher Barden, J.D.,
Ph.D. reminded the audience of predictions he had made at the 1994
Memory and Reality conference about the changes in both therapy
practice and law that would be influenced by the work of the FMS
Foundation. As he said at the meeting in 1997, the FMSF is a model for
how a group of citizens can effect needed change.
* Holly Wakefield was the moderator for perhaps the most moving
session about family devastation at the meeting: the Sibling
panel. Siblings are often in the "middle" of the dispute between
parents and the accuser and they frequently have a very difficult time
when an accuser returns. "Our family is all back together but several
sons are not as forgiving as Mom and Dad." is similar to many comments
received by the Foundation.
The stories of Nancy Haggerty, Eric Krock, Martha Churchill and
Sue Foard were engrossing and strong evidence to support the talks of
both McHugh and Lief of the importance of focusing a research agenda
on family dynamics and family reconciliation in the false memory
situations. The speakers' descriptions of their struggle to love both
their parents and their accusing siblings brought tears to the eyes of
many in the audience. One of the speakers noted, apologizing seems to
be very difficult for all. Two of the speakers initially believed the
accusing person. One of the speakers made the insightful observation
that this could have been a reflection of the fact that as a member of
the same generation and culture of the accuser, siblings often had a
faith in therapy that an older generation does not have. What brought
these men and women around to support their parents and the efforts
they had made to try to reach their lost sibling made for a dramatic
and an emotional presentation.
* The conference concluded with a panel of authors chaired by Eleanor
Goldstein whose seminal publication "Confabulations" put the FMS
problem out for the world to see. This was followed by books from Mark
Pendergrast, Paul Simpson and Reinder VanTil (and many others) who
struggled not only to write their important books but also to get them
published and distributed. Families give a big "thank you" to the
authors.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| A Godsend for Filmmakers |
| |
| "In our research for Psychiatry and the Cinema...[we] found that |
| psychiatrists have long been a godsend for filmmakers. If nothing |
| else, they facilitate quick exposition as characters pour out |
| their hearts to mostly silent therapists...A psychiatrist can also |
| serve as a secular deus ex machina who dramatically salvages |
| seemingly hopeless situations just before the film hustles its |
| characters off to a happy ending." |
| Krin Gabbard |
| Chronicle of Higher Education 2/11/00 |
| Therapy's 'Talking Cure' Still Works -- in Hollywood" |
| |
| Krin and Glen Gabbard are authors of Psychiatry and the Cinema, |
| American Psychiatric Press, 1999. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
The Four Horsemen of the FMS Apocalypse
Spencer Harris Morfit
I have been following and writing about the so-call "false" or
"recovered" memory phenomenon for about a decade now. Because I am not
a therapist, nor an attorney who has prosecuted or defended these
claims, not an accused, nor an accuser, people often ask me why I have
an interest in this topic.
My interest is -- and always has been -- what this phenomenon says
about psychodynamic therapy or therapy that develops out of Freudian
or analytic roots. These ideas have held enormous sway over our
culture for about a century. They play out in our educational system,
in our families (including child rearing), in religion, in our justice
system, in talk shows. They are, in short, all over. And I think
they are wrong. As my good friend and mentor Tom Comella constantly
reminds me, "Ideas have consequences, and when ideas have consequences
the truth MATTERS."
It is a tool of logic that "If you want to test an idea, take it
out to its extremes. If it holds up in its extremes, it probably has
some validity. If it doesn't, it probably needs to be re-examined,
perhaps even discarded." I see the false memory phenomenon as
something that has taken ideas from psychodynamic therapy out to their
extremes. For me, it has shown that these psychodynamic ideas need to
be discarded. Certainly concepts that allow people to develop
convictions that they have been abused in Satanic cults, in past
lives, or by aliens from outer space merit skepticism.
At this point, I don't have much new to say. I can only re-
organize or express the same ideas in different ways in the hopes that
each attempt may reach a few more people or enable a few others to
talk about the issue comfortably.
There are four bedrock concepts of psychodynamic therapy I think
are seriously questionable (at the very least). Here I call them "the
four horsemen of the FMS apocalypse." These ideas are: repression and
(related) the unconscious, the supremacy of early childhood
experience, regression, and empathy (though this last concept is not
exclusive to psychodynamic therapy). Let me take these ideas one by
one and discuss what recent events and research have demonstrated
about them.
Repression and the Unconscious
In the first place, professionals don't agree on the concept of
"repression." There seems to be growing consensus on the definition of
"repression" as "motivated forgetting." But the shallowest scratch
below the surface of this verbiage reveals there is a great deal of
controversy about whether such a thing as "repression" exists, whether
it plays a role in the causation of mental illness, and what the
implications for therapy are. Years of research have failed to prove
there is any empirical foundation for "repression." Behavioral
therapists who do not believe in repression are treating patients with
results that are as good if not better than those of psychodynamic
therapists.
Another principle of logic -- and science -- is that if you cannot
prove something exists or happened, formulate an alternative
hypothesis and see if you can validate that, or at least if it is more
plausible. What research and lawsuits HAVE demonstrated over and over
again in the past decade is that where therapists see "repression," a
good case can be made that suggestion -- consistently reinforced by
the therapist -- is often a more plausible explanation. It has long
been a professional joke that "Freudian patients have Freudian dreams
and Jungian patients have Jungian dreams." Well, that joke has lost a
lot of its humor lately.
Psychodynamic theory talks about "repressed" ideas as
"unconscious." They often talk about "THE unconscious" as though this
were located near the pineal gland or something. But there is little
evidence that memories about, for instance, abuse are "unconscious."
Research shows that memories of abuse are rarely "repressed" and
"unconscious," that repeated abuse brings about more severe "symptoms"
and that a client may forget one particular incident but rarely
forgets that he or she was abused.
What is more likely can be explained by a concept like "selective
attention." For instance, a client who grew up in an abusive home has
little choice, as a child, but to develop coping strategies for the
abuse. If the abuse goes on over time, these strategies become
habituated and automatic. The client may forget that behaviors he or
she exhibits now had their origins in this past experience. That is to
say that the client may not have made, or may have lost, the
connection between present behaviors and past experience. But that is
different from being "unconscious." The human brain, marvelous as it
is, can only hold and process so many ideas at a time, and one can be
very conscious of the thing that is one's focus without being in a
coma about everything else.
In the name of "repression" and "the unconscious," therapists have
applied techniques that would be recognized as brainwashing in any
other venue. What's more, the belief that what is "unconscious" and
"repressed" produces symptoms can (and often does) lead to the absurd
assumption that nothing that is obvious, stated or on the surface
could possibly be important. This can -- and has -- created enormous
pressure on patients to retrieve -- or create -- material that would
explain the symptoms. The emphasis, in other words, is not on truth,
but on finding a narrative that accounts for the symptoms. Talk about
a confirmatory bias!!!
The Supremacy of Childhood Experience
Psychodynamic therapy operates from the assumption that most
"pathologies" develop in childhood, usually as a response to faulty
parenting. Many believe these "pathologies" develop from traumatic
experiences. You will get no argument from that me childhood
experiences are influential, even formative. But they are NOT the only
influences. And single events are less likely to have lasting
influence than characteristic patterns of interaction that occur over
and over again (another fact that points to conditioning -- rather
than psychodynamic -- theory.)
Another gutsy laywoman named "Harris" (no relation, I regret to
say) has received recognition from the American Psychiatric
Association for her groundbreaking review of twin studies. She has a
made a very good case that those character traits attributable to
genetic inheritance come, not surprisingly, from biological
parents. But those traits that seem to develop from social learning
are more influenced by peers. If this is true, it strongly suggests
that our attentions are best focused on genetic influences and social
issues, not subjective navel-gazing. Another authoritative
longitudinal study done jointly by Harvard and Case-Western shows that
children from dysfunctional families are more likely to thrive and
prosper in adult life regardless of their home environments if they
somehow learn "mature coping strategies." This suggests that more
attention should be paid to this kind of instruction rather than to
avoiding the development of pathologies (except of course, in the case
of obvious abuse or neglect) -- a focus that has a lot of parents
walking on eggshells.
Regression
Psychodynamic therapists generally believe that in order for the
therapy to succeed the client must "regress" to a point where he or
she can "re-experience" the allegedly traumatic and causative event or
events in a new way. This means the client has to "regress" to a point
of maximum vulnerability (usually thought to be childhood) to
"re-experience" the events. Using this argument, therapists have
ignored and justified serious deterioration in their clients. Worse
yet, they may take such deterioration as "evidence" that the therapy
is effective. Oh Toto, I don't think we are in Kansas, anymore.
Empathy
To facilitate the "regression" to a point of maximum
vulnerability, therapists believe they have to create a therapeutic
environment of exquisite safety for the client. They may also persuade
significant others to behave in such a way as to provide such a safe
environment. As I have discussed elsewhere, there are some
consequences to this. First, in the interest of creating such a
"safe" environment for EMOTIONAL "breakthroughs," therapists often
shove aside anything remotely intellectual or moral in the therapeutic
discourse. That is to say they may systematically disable the client's
most mature defenses. Second, the client may think the therapist's
behavior is "normative." In any case, it is likely to be
reinforcing. I've heard of marriages that broke up because a more
productive spouse could not function with the demands to accommodate
his or her partner's need for such safety. Even therapists have told
me that it is common for one spouse to "wear out" before the
therapeutic work for the other is accomplished.
Related to this, I often hear that the best predictor of
therapeutic success is the quality of the relationship between the
client and the therapist. This argument usually totally ignores the
possibility that the degree to which the therapist may be experienced
as "in sync" with the patient MAY rely upon the degree to which the
therapist's orientation addresses the client's presenting problems.
I have been accused of hating therapy and therapists -- usually by
people who don't even know me. This is absurd. I have repeatedly and
consistently said that I think concepts from therapy -- concepts I
think are mistaken -- have had enormous influence over our common life
in the last century. Not always to the good. Other therapists have
promoted the publication of my work through presentations in medical
schools and professional conferences.
I think it's more likely that some therapists despise me -- or at
least the ideas I promote. Anyone who understands what I am saying
will understand this thinking poses a real threat to psychodynamic
therapy. It is not enough to bracket off accusations of satanic ritual
abuse or alien abductions. We must understand how these accusations
arise out of the therapeutic milieu, what that says about therapeutic
ideas, and how therapy should emerge from this only after radical
revisions in thinking. I DO admit to despising the resistance to
re-examination of psychodynamic ideas. Though well-intentioned and
caring therapists may hold them, these are not neutral
ideas. Sometimes they are NOT benign. A therapist who will not
seriously entertain the questions raised by the false memory
phenomenon loses, in my mind, all right to claim he or she is working
in the best interests of the clients, bases his or her practice on
anything empirical, or is deserving of the respect or trust of the
public.
Spencer Harris Morfit is an author and business woman. She is a
member of the FMSF Scientific Advisory Board.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "After a violent crime, both the damaged victim and society seek |
| the equilibrium of prosecution as relentlessly as ice will melt |
| and boiled water will cool. To disturb this balance by suggesting |
| the wrong person has been punished borders on heresy. In nearly |
| half the [66] exonerations, local prosecutors refused to release |
| crime evidence for DNA tests until litigation was threatened or |
| filed. These officials argue that as much as a convict might hope |
| to prove his innocence, he has no absolute right to do so after a |
| trial. He is not an innocent person but a convicted criminal, one |
| who has been given his day in court. Society, they say, has a |
| greater interest in the finality of judgment." |
| Jim Dwyer, Peter Neufeld, and Barry Scheck |
| |
| Preface to Actual Innocence: Five Days to Execution and Other |
| dispatches from the Wrongly Convicted, Doubleday, 2000. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
DREAM INTERPRETATION
JUNK SCIENCE
By Kathy Begert
This article from the Wooster Daily Record is reprinted with
permission of the author.
The scientific approach to understanding, according to Taber's
Medical Dictionary involves observation, measurement of entities that
can be quantified, the accumulation of data and analysis of the
findings.
The science of psychology, painstakingly built up over many years
by literally thousands of studies, has contributed greatly to our
knowledge of human behavior. Advances have been made, especially, in
the study of perception, thinking, judgment, behavioral control and
social beliefs, attitudes, and interactions. (See Behavioral and
Social Sciences: Fifty Years of Discovery, Smelser and Gerstein.)
Purveyors of pseudoscience, on the other hand, like snake oil
salesmen of years gone by, attempt to cloak unproved theories and
conjecture, untested products and procedures, in a veil of scientific
jargon.
As Wendy Kaminer delineates in her book, Sleeping with
ExtraTerrestrials, The Rise of Irrationalism and Perils of Piety, the
use of pseudoscientific concepts to validate unscientific claims dates
back to 18th-century Europe, when science was beginning to emerge as a
source of authority and respect for scientific expertise was growing.
Often appropriating the language of contemporary technologies
(e.g. Mesmer's "animal magnetism" and 19th-century faith healers'
self-description as "conductors" of God's energy), junk scientists
have attempted to benefit from the prestigious appeal of the
scientific without undergoing the rigors of the scientific method.
Today, many practice the pseudoscience of dream interpretation,
just one lingering aspect of Freudian theory which is completely
devoid of empirical evidence. Frederick Crews, in The Memory Wars,
Freud's Legacy in Dispute, convincingly reveals Freud's
interpretations as resting on "nothing more substantial than vulgar
thematic affinities (one oral function equals another) residing in
Freud's own prurient mind."
Terence Campbell, author of Beware the Talking Cure, explains how
symbolic interpretations "reflect the personal idiosyncrasies of the
therapists who indulge in them."
He reminds us that consensus between some regarding the
interpretation of universal symbols (e.g. that dreams of water
indicate the desire to return to the womb) "does not confer validity
upon those interpretations." The consensus is merely a result of
accumulating lore and belief among the interpreters."
When dream interpretation remains an indulgent pastime, perhaps it
is harmless. But when labeled as a scientific endeavor and
incorporated into psychotherapy as a means of diagnosis and technique
of unburying "memories" of childhood trauma, dream interpretation can
become a dangerous tool of memory manipulation.
Loftus and Mazzoni ("Consciousness and Cognition") have
demonstrated that a trusted authority (therapist) can capitalize on
the client's a priori beliefs in the significance of dreams and use
them to alter autobiography.
When this newly developed narrative composed of false beliefs and
false memories becomes accusatory, others are harmed. Some are even
criminalized.
Dream interpretation, as junk science, has contributed to the
child sex abuse hysteria prevalent in our culture. Perhaps we should
be mindful of the wisdom of the Old Testament:
Empty and false are the hopes of the senseless and fools are born
aloft by dreams.
Like a man who catches at shadows or chases the wind is the one who
believes in dreams.
Kathy Begert is a registered nurse who lives and works in Wooster.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Special Journal Issue |
| |
| Psychology, Public Policy, and Law |
| December 1998, Vol 4 No 4 |
| American Psychology Association |
| Working Group on Investigation of Memories of Childhood Abuse. |
| |
| This journal contains the complete report released in 1994 and |
| nine comments about it. Abstracts of the articles are available on |
| the APA website. It may be purchased for $20 from APA publications.|
| Although the date on the journal is December 1998, it has only |
| recently appeared. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
**********************************************************************
F R O M O U R R E A D E R S
________________________
Photo That Never Existed
I once woke up from a therapy session with the recovered "memory" that
a "breeder alter" had told my therapist that the cult had aborted my
six-month-old baby but that I knew the child was still alive because
the cult had sent me a photo of her when she was six-years old.
Supposedly I had gotten the photo through the mail years before I
started therapy and I hadn't known what it meant. Supposedly I just
filed it with my extra photos. Supposedly I had a daughter somewhere
being raised by this horrible cult and I actually had a shred of proof
somewhere.
I learned all this when I woke up from a therapy session and my
therapist handed me her notes of the session as she usually did. She
told me what "the kids" supposedly wanted me to know. It became urgent
that I find that picture. I turned my house upside down looking for
that picture. I looked through every photo, every album, every place I
could possibly think to look. No photo. No memory of throwing it away.
I knew the picture had to be in the house somewhere. I thought I
had remembered the picture so well and knew exactly where it was, but
it wasn't there. It wasn't anywhere. But still I searched for it, for
days, for weeks, for months, for years. I never found the photo. I
know now there is no photo. There was no photo.
Now that I have come out of that awful therapy, I realize it was
all part of the therapy hoax. I get angry when I think that it
probably seemed funny to my therapist that I was such a good patient-
robot that I kept searching for the photo. I even imagine that she
went home and laughed when I told her about looking for that photo.
I wonder if she got a thrill or a feeling of power from implanting
that memory and then sitting back and watching me work. When the
picture could not be found, the explanation was that another alter was
hiding it. This could go on and on and on.
Now I know the memory was never real. Now I know there was no
photo. But I still have days when I see something that brings up the
panic -- the urgency -- to search for that photo that never existed.
That part, the panic, was real. And sometimes I just don't know what
to do about it and I cry. Pretty stupid!
And all I can do is sit here and cry about it. At least that's all
I know to do it about it right now. Pretty stupid, huh?
But now at least I won't be wasting any more of my time looking
for that stupid photo. If ever there is a time for repression to be
real, I'd wish for it now, to repress the memory of my therapist and
all her garbage therapy forever.
The most awful joke ever played on me was getting me to search for
a picture that never existed. That is not therapy. That is cruelty.
A Retractor
__________
No Apology
We've reconciled but she's offered no apology or anything else about
her therapy induced repressed memories and the accusing letters in
1992. We continue to send gifts and have received some from her. She
acts as if nothing had happened and is as loving as she was before her
withdrawal. Perhaps we'll initiate a discussion, but the 1800 miles
between us and the short visits make it hard. We continue to leave it
in the hands of the Lord.
A Mom
____________________________
Trying to be the Perfect Mom
Many years ago, I set out with the hopes and dreams of being the
perfect parent. During my first pregnancy, I read all the right books,
took the natural child-birth course and thought I was certainly on the
right path. I chose to breast feed my children, use cloth diapers,
make my own baby-food, read to my infants and play with my
toddlers. During the next ten years, my family grew rapidly to include
three wonderful children. I was nothing short of an overzealous
mother, making sure that my children experienced life fully in order
that their little lives would be full of wonderful, rich memories.
They had spectacular birthday parties with magicians, sleepovers and
pizza. Our family vacations were spent around the campfires, sleeping
in tents, hiking up mountains and swimming in lakes. In addition, I
began a local PTA and even was overwhelmingly elected to our local
school board. I was committed to having my children's education be the
best that it could.
My childhood had many unhappy memories, those of an alcoholic
father with not much money to go around. I worried constantly about
making my family the perfect family to make up for the family that I
didn't have as a child. Things began to unravel when my oldest son
began to have temper tantrums. He couldn't quite keep up the image of
the perfectly kept house and I couldn't tolerate anything less than
perfection. It reminded me too much of my own less than perfect
childhood. At the same time, I was becoming aware of the importance of
discussing the issues of my childhood of being an "Adult Child" and
for those two reasons I was encouraged to seek therapy. I was referred
to someone who specialized in "Adult Child" issues and who could help
me with my parenting issues. What happened to me is history and
defines me as a "Retractor." I've shared my details in this newsletter
before. (See November, 1993) I'll just review for you the highlights.
I ended up in the nightmare of my life. I went into therapy for help
in learning to be a better parent and I ended up being hospitalized so
often that I missed my children's birthdays and major holidays. I went
from being the "perfect mother" to having my therapist tell me that my
only responsibility toward my children at that time was to keep them
safe. I hired endless baby-sitters who watched my children while I
tried to "find" my memories. I ended up accusing my mother and not
speaking to her for the last few years of her life and still feel
responsible for her death which happened before I realized that all of
this therapy was a lie. I miss my mother terribly and can never get
back any of those years.
As for my children, gone are the wonderful memories of many years
past. Present for them are the memories of the hospitals where they
visited their mom, the many years of depression and the endless hours
of mother sleeping and not being able to cook or care for them any
longer.
Perhaps some of the readers wonder what happens to the retractors
after the lawsuits. I for one continue in therapy and have since been
hospitalized many times. Before therapy with the "bad therapist," I
had never seen the inside walls of a psychiatric unit. Since then, I
have seen months, perhaps a year or more. The memories of what I did
to my mother never cease. Yes, FMSF, the literature, the meetings and
therapy have told me it was not my fault, but it is still so hard for
me to believe that I could not have resisted this cunning, seductive
type of interaction. I thought I was much too bright for this. After
all, I was a high-achiever, a member of a school board, the president
of the PTA. I ask over and over again, how, how did this happen to me?
I am told that my marriage was not healthy and that I was in a
vulnerable position and ripe for this kind of abuse, but still I blame
myself.
It is the most difficult of things to live with, knowing that I
have hurt so many others by my actions. I loved my mom, used to write
her poetry when I was young. I loved my children, wanted their lives
to be so full and spectacular and above all happy. I am grateful for
the chance to help build new memories with my children but it is a
very difficult process. The depression and the pain lingers.
These lawsuits are not frivolous by any means. Anyone who has
undergone this type of therapy has had her whole mind twisted and
played with. We will never be the same. Once having crossed that line
into insanity, there is always the fear that it can be crossed once
more. I live in fear of slipping into a regression again at any
time. I do not trust my instincts. I trusted once. I was betrayed.
I will be forever grateful to my dad and to my brothers for their
warmth and total forgiveness upon my retraction. Without them and
their total support, I know I could not go on. My dad passed away last
year, but my brothers' only sadness is that I continue to berate
myself. They do not understand the self-hatred and torment I feel.
If there is a retractor in your life, please try to understand
that doing what they did was probably the last thing in the world they
wanted to do. They did not set out to do you or anyone any harm. At
this point in time, you may have forgiven them, but there is probably
a very good chance that they have not forgiven themselves. This is a
very hard job indeed. If you can look beyond your own hardened heart,
please try to offer them some support. They did not mean to hurt you
and they are probably hurting right now. I know I am.
A Retractor
__________________________
We Need the FMS Foundation
Many changes have occurred since we first heard about the False Memory
Syndrome Foundation in May 1993. Our daughter accused her father in
February 1993 of childhood sexual abuse, based on two-decade-old
recovered "memories. "We were very lucky to hear about the
organization so soon after her accusations were made.
Seven long years later, our daughter has returned -- not
retracted, not apologized, not even acknowledged that there was ever a
problem. We are happy to have her and our grandchildren back under any
circumstances, but we continue to look to the Foundation for help and
hope.
It has been said that the problems caused by recovered memory
therapy and similar practices are being exposed, that the public is
more aware, that professionals in the psychology field no longer use
the techniques which have been largely discredited. However, we will
continue to support the Foundation because new cases are still being
reported, because reunification of families is difficult and requires
informed support, and because research and education are crucial to
understanding how memory works.
Probably never in the history of mankind has such a destructive
social movement developed so quickly, spread so far and wide, shaken
so fundamentally our knowledge about thought processes, and provided
so many excuses for the accuser's failures in life. Yes, we may need
the False Memory Syndrome Foundation to help us "Return to Reason" for
some time to come.
A Mom
_________________
The End of an Era
We may never know how many psychotherapists drove their clients to
suicide with their diagnosis of multiple personality disorder, or
satanic ritual abuse. Clients came to therapy with problems in living
and then were overwhelmed and burdened with additional problems they
did not know they had until informed by their "intuitive" therapists.
These problems could be having dozens of personalities or coming to
believe that fathers they thought loved them, had instead raped them
when they were infants.
Can you imagine what it would feel like to have your present
problems ignored and instead focus on the pathogenic "insights" of
your therapist "hunting" for personalities or evidence that your
parents were part of a satanic group who roasted infants on a barbecue
fire.
Where was the ombudsman for these clients? Where were the
licensing boards hiding? The infamy of the licensing boards is that
they were protecting their union members.
Newton Joseph, Ph.D.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| BEFORE |
| Mom |
| I am so thrilled with how our relationship has turned out. It |
| took me a while to realize that you truly are the very best friend |
| I'll ever have, but I sure am glad I found this out! I love my |
| life at home (after I adjust to it when I've been away), and I |
| know I can always come back, and I will always come back -- that's |
| a promise. |
| I admire you so much, mom. I've had the best role model in the |
| world in how to be a good person. You've made me so happy, mom. I |
| feel like the most loved child who ever lived. I only hope I can |
| do as well with my kids. |
| |
| AFTER |
| There are no "after" letters because my daughter moved and gave no |
| forwarding address, provided no listed phone number and |
| discontinued all communication. |
| |
| EDITOR'S POSTSCRIPT |
| After many years, contact was resumed. The daughter was extremely |
| ill and without funds. Her family has now spent several years |
| nursing her back to health. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Article in Demand Added to FMSF Bibliography |
| |
| "More Than Suggestion: The Effect of Interviewing Techniques From |
| the McMartin Preschool Case" by Garven, Sena et al. Journal of |
| Applied Psychology, 1998 |
| |
| (Explains how social influence and reinforcement appear to be more |
| powerful determinants than simple suggestive questions in |
| eliciting false statements from children or adults.) |
| |
| To order: #208 $4.00 by check. |
| (No credit card orders accepted for less than $25.) |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
* N O T I C E S *
**********************************************************************
* www.MEMORY AND REALITY.org *
* or *
* http://www.FMSFonline.org *
* *
* Have you seen the new look of our webpages? *
* Back Issues of the FMSF Newsletter to 1993 are available. *
* Check out the new unit on hypnosis? *
**********************************************************************
* *
* WEB SITES OF INTEREST *
* *
* www.StopBadTherapy.com *
* Contains phone numbers of professional regulatory boards *
* in all 50 states *
* *
* www.IllinoisFMS.org *
* Illinois-Wisconsin FMS Society *
* *
* www.afma.asn.au *
* Australian False Memory Association. *
* *
* www.bfms.org.uk *
* British False Memory Society *
* *
* www.geocities.com/retractors *
* This site is run by Laura Pasley (retractor) *
* *
* www.geocities.com/~therapyletters/index.htm *
* This site is run by Deb David (retractor) *
* *
* www.chordate.com/therapys_delusions/index.html *
* Website about book Therapy's Delusions. *
* *
* www.sirs.com/uptonbooks/index.htm *
* Upton Books *
* *
* www.chordate.com/therapys_delusions/index.html *
* Website about book Therapy's Delusions. *
* *
**********************************************************************
* If you are having trouble locating books about the recovered *
* memory phenomenon because bookstores tell you they are out of *
* print, try the *
* Recovered Memory Bookstore *
* www.angelfire.com/tx/recoveredmemories/ *
**********************************************************************
* *
* ESTATE PLANNING *
* 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.) *
* *
**********************************************************************
* Recovered Memories of Child Sexual Abuse: *
* Psychological, Social and Legal Perspectives *
* on a Contemporary Mental Health Controversy *
* *
* Editor: Sheila Taub, J.D. *
* Publisher: Charles C. Thomas *
* Hardback $44.95 *
* Paperback $31.95 *
* ISBN 0398070059 *
* *
* What do we know about the families who have contacted the FMS *
* Foundation? What were they accused of and by whom? Who has been *
* sued? And what was the outcome? *
* *
* This book contains articles on memory, clinical treatment and *
* social context, based on talks presented at a conference in the *
* fall of 1997. Authors are: Sheila Taub, J.D., Arthur Taub, M.D., *
* Ph.D., Mark Pendergrast, M.L.S., David K. Sakheim, Ph.D., Jerome *
* L. Singer, Ph.D., Jonathan Schooler, Ph.D., D. Stephen Lindsay, *
* Ph.D., Pamela Freyd, Ph.D., Anita Lipton, B.S. *
* *
* Of particular interest to FMSF members may be chapters on the *
* "History of the FMS Foundation" and on the FMS legal history, *
* "Rise and Fall of a Social Problem." *
**********************************************************************
* *
* FREE *
* "Recovered Memories: Are They Reliable?" *
* Call or write the FMS Foundation for pamphlets. Be sure to *
* include your address and the number of pamphlets you need. *
* *
**********************************************************************
* DID YOU MOVE? *
* Do you have a new area code? Remember to inform the *
* FMSF Business Office *
**********************************************************************
_____________________________________
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
ALABAMA
Montgomery
Madge 334-244-7891
ALASKA
Kathleen 907-337-7821
ARIZONA
Barbara 602-924-0975; 602-854-0404 (fax)
ARKANSAS
Little Rock
Al & Lela 870-363-4368
CALIFORNIA
Sacramento
Joanne & Gerald 916-933-3655
San Francisco & North Bay - (bi-MO)
Gideon 415-389-0254 or
Charles 415-984-6626 (am); 415-435-9618 (pm)
East Bay Area - (bi-MO)
Judy 925-376-8221
Central Coast
Carole 805-967-8058
Central Orange County - 1st Fri. (MO) @ 7pm
Chris & Alan 714-733-2925
Covina Area - 1st Mon. (MO) @7:30pm
Floyd & Libby 626-330-2321
San Diego Area
Dee 619-941-4816
COLORADO
Colorado Springs
Doris 719-488-9738
CONNECTICUT
S. New England
Earl 203-329-8365 or
Paul 203-458-9173
FLORIDA
Dade/Broward
Madeline 954-966-4FMS
Boca/Delray - 2nd & 4th Thurs (MO) @1pm
Helen 561-498-8684
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 or
Liz & Roger 847-827-1056
Peoria
Bryant & Lynn 309-674-2767
INDIANA
Indiana Assn. for Responsible Mental Health Practices
Nickie 317-471-0922; fax 317-334-9839
Pat 219-489-9987
IOWA
Des Moines - 2nd Sat. (MO) @11:30 am Lunch
Betty & Gayle 515-270-6976
KANSAS
Wichita - Meeting as called
Pat 785-738-4840
KENTUCKY
Louisville- Last Sun. (MO) @ 2pm
Bob 502-367-1838
MAINE
Bangor
Irvine & Arlene 207-942-8473
Rumbold
Carolyn 207-942-8473
Protland - 4th Sun.(MO)
Wally & Boby 207-878-9812
MASSACHUSETTS/NEW ENGLAND
Andover - 2nd Sun. (MO) @ 1pm
Frank 978-263-9795
MICHIGAN
Grand Rapids Area-Jenison - 1st Mon. (MO)
Bill & Marge 616-383-0382
Greater Detroit Area
Nancy 248-642-8077
Ann Arbor
Martha 734-439-8119
MINNESOTA
Terry & Collette 507-642-3630
Dan & Joan 651-631-2247
MISSOURI
Kansas City - Meeting as called
Pat 785-738-4840
St. Louis Area - call for meeting time
Karen 314-432-8789
Springfield - 4th Sat. Apr,Jul,Oct @12:30pm
Tom 417-753-4878
Roxie 417-781-2058
MONTANA
Lee & Avone 406-443-3189
NEW JERSEY
Southern
Sally 609-927-5343
Northern
Nancy 973-729-1433
NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque -2nd Sat. (bi-MO) @1 pm
Southwest Room - Presbyterian Hospital
Maggie 505-662-7521 (after 6:30 pm)
Sy 505-758-0726
NEW YORK
Westchester, Rockland, etc.
Barbara 914-761-3627
Upstate/Albany Area
Elaine 518-399-5749
NORTH CAROLINA
Susan 704-538-7202
OHIO
Cincinnati
Bob 513-541-0816 or 513-541-5272
Cleveland
Bob & Carole 440-356-4544
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma City
Dee 405-942-0531
HJ 405-755-3816
Tulsa
Jim 918-297-7719
OREGON
Portland
John 503-297-7719
PENNSYLVANIA
Harrisburg
Paul & Betty 717-691-7660
Pittsburgh
Rick & Renee 412-563-5509
Montrose
John 717-278-2040
Wayne (includes S. NJ) - 2nd Sat. (MO)
Jim & Jo 610-783-0396
TENNESSEE
Nashville - 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
See Oregon
WISCONSIN
Katie & Leo 414-476-0285 or
Susanne & John 608-427-3686
_____________
INTERNATIONAL
BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
Vancouver & Mainland
Ruth 604-925-1539
Victoria & Vancouver Island - 3rd Tues. (MO) @7:30pm
John 250-721-3219
MANITOBA
Winnipeg
Roma 240-275-5723
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
Penetanguishene
Paula 705-549-1423
QUEBEC, CANADA
Montreal
Alain 514-335-0863
St. Andre Est.
Mavis 450-537-8187
AUSTRALIA
Mike 0754-842-348
fax 0754-841-051
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
Madeline (44) 1225 868-682
__________________________________________________
Deadline for the July/August Newsletter is June 15
Meeting notices MUST be in writing
and should be sent no later than TWO MONTHS PRIOR TO MEETING.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
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**********************************************************************
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, May 1, 2000
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., (deceased) University
of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; LOREN PANKRATZ, Ph.D.,Oregon Health
Sciences University, Portlandf, 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
California, Santa Cruz, CA; THOMAS A. SEBEOK, Ph.D., Indiana Univers-
ity, 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.
**********************************************************************
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