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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)
March/April 2000 Vol. 9 NO. 2
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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
Memory Syndrome Foundation. A hard-copy subscription is in-
cluded in membership fees (to join, see last page). Others may
subscribe by sending a check or money order, payable to
FMS Foundation, to the address below. 2000 subscription rates:
USA: $30, Student $15; Canada: $35, Student $20 (in U.S.
dollars); Foreign: $40, Student $20; Single issue price: $3.
3401 Market Street suite 130, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3315
This address and the phone numbers have changed as of July 15, 2000
Phone 215-387-1865, Fax 215-387-1917
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Feld
Harris Morfit
Legal Corner The next issue
Pankratz will be combined
Begert May/June
From Our Readers
Bulletin Board
Conference Information
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Dear Friends,
A twist in the recovered memory legal battles caught our attention
this past month. (See below) As readers of this newsletter may recall,
the first multimillion dollar jury decisions in false memory cases
brought by former patients against their therapists were in Minnesota
in 1995. First, Vynette Hamanne received $2.46 million in her suit
against psychiatrist Diane Humenansky. That was followed by Elizabeth
Carlson's award of $2.5 million in a suit against Humenansky, and then
several settlements in other cases against Humenansky. Dr.
Humenansky's legal defense was paid for by her American Psychiatric
Association insurance with Legion Insurance and Professional Risk
Retention Group. A year or so ago, Legion Insurance and Professional
Risk Retention Group turned around and sued Humenansky's defense
lawyers for legal malpractice.
In February, the case went to a jury that decided in favor of the
defense lawyers and against the American Psychiatric insurance
companies -- in spite of the massive amounts of money and resources
that the insurance companies brought to the case. The fact that two of
the five legal experts employed by the insurance companies are
reported to have each received more than $100,000 is a pretty good
indication of how much the APA and insurance companies are hurting
from huge awards to former patients.
What does it say to the public and mental health consumers when
the American Psychiatric Association and its insurance companies
allocate resources to recoup their losses from a case in which a
psychiatrist's malpractice was of such significance that she even had
her license suspended? What does it say to the public that resources
do not appear to be allocated toward insuring that American
Psychiatric Association members practice safe and effective therapy?
The public should be able to expect therapy that is safe and
effective. Even the recent Surgeon General's report [1] on mental
health recommends the implementation of specific treatment methods,
referred to as "evidence based practices," that have proven to be
effective in the treatment of mental illness.
Unfortunately, the evidence that the mental health professions are
unable or unwilling to monitor themselves continues to mount. Last
month we wrote about an investigative report from Ohio showing that
the members of the Board of Psychology in that state not only had
conflicts of interest but that they viewed their job as rehabilitating
wayward professionals rather than protecting the public. On page 3 of
this issue we review a report on trends in the doctoral training
programs in psychology that documents a downward spiral in quality of
professional education. In fact, the authors comment that "it will be
increasingly difficult to count on individuals with Ph.D.s meeting a
standard of scientific competence." And on the same page we note that
the University of Michigan School of Social Work is advertising a
continuing education program in ritual abuse for this April. That
information would be laughable if it were not for the fact that the
beliefs fueled by the satanic ritual abuse panic have destroyed
families and even put people in prison. How can the public take
seriously the profession of social work if this nonsense is still
going on at a prestigious university and training facility like the
University of Michigan? Are the people in Social Work at Michigan so
closed off from reality? Or do they just not care?
The tragic mistakes that brought about the formation of the FMS
Foundation are not likely to be stopped by the professionals who
committed them. There has been no evidence on the part of the
professional organizations that they are going to undertake any
significant changes in the education or monitoring of their members.
Indeed, the evidence is just the opposite. The immense malpractice
awards have professionals circling the wagons rather than looking to
ways to improve the quality of education and practice, as the suit
against the Humenansky defense lawyers shows. The quality of training
of psychologists has grown weaker. Social workers can still take
continuing education seminars in ritual abuse! The fact that people
have been greatly harmed and even wrongly imprisoned because of
beliefs in satanic ritual abuse has not stopped its instruction.
It is necessary, then, to turn in other directions. That is the
reason that we are asking all people who are concerned about the
quality of mental health treatment in this country to write and ask
that the problems of errors in mental health treatment be included in
the Quality of Health Care project of the Institute of Medicine.[2]
The past month has brought sadness to the FMSF office because of
the death of Scientific Advisory Board member Martin Orne, M.D., Ph.D.
(See below) Dr. Orne and his wife Emily played a crucial role in the
founding of the FMS Foundation and in the establishment of the
Scientific Advisory Board. Many FMSF members will remember the first
FMSF Memory and Reality conference in April 1993 and the wonderful
party that the Ornes arranged for participants. Dr. Orne cared deeply
about the false memory issue. We will miss his brilliant and
compassionate support.
The past month has brought happy moments too -- loving letters,
families reunited. We need to work together to ensure that more
families have such happy moments. We must continue to work toward the
availability of safe and effective therapy for everyone who is in
need.
PAMELA
[1] David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D. Surgeon General, "Mental Health: A
Report of the Surgeon General," U.S. Public Health Service,
1999.(available
www.mentalhealth.org/specials/surgeongeneralreport/home.html)
[2] To Err is Human: Building A Safer Health System, Institute of
Medicine, Koh, L.T., Corrigan, J.M. & Donaldson, M.S. (Editors),
Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, National Academy
Press, Washington, D.C. (Available www.nap.edu. See FMSF
Newsletter Oct/Nov 1999)
________________________SIDEBAR__________________________
/ \
| Send your letters asking the Institute of Medicine |
| to support the inclusion of medical errors in mental |
| health practices in Quality of Health Care project to: |
| |
| Kenneth J. Shine, M.D. |
| President, Institute of Medicine |
| 2101 Constitution Avenue NW |
| Washington, DC 20418 |
| |
| William C. Richardson, Ph.D. |
| President and CEO, W.K. Kellogg Foundation |
| One Michigan Avenue East |
| Battle Creek, MI 49017-1611 |
\_________________________________________________________/
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ABOUT THE APRIL CONFERENCES
"You just never know!" ended the note from a father telling us that
his daughter had sent him a loving letter just after Christmas. He
said that after 11 years he had pretty much come to terms with the
fact that his problem would probably never be resolved -- and out of
the blue came this letter. You just never know!
What draws some children back to their families? Why are others
still mired in the cruel beliefs of a discredited therapy fad? What
can parents do to reach an alienated child? What can they do when a
child returns but other family members will not accept her? We don't
promise answers, but we do promise lots of active discussion on these
and many more topics at the FMSF Family Conference "Memory and
Reality: Return to Reason" on April 8 and 9 in Westchester, New
York. The Roundtables on Saturday afternoon are the places where
discussions begin and new contacts with people who have similar
concerns are made.
Memory and Reality: Return to Reason conference information and
registration are available on pages 10 and 11. Please note the cut-off
dates and price changes for early registration for the hotel (March
6), the conference (March 15), and the celebration dinner (April 1).
It is worth making your plans early.
We are pleased that the New York Medical College is sponsoring a
separate professional conference. They are helped in this project with
a grant from Eleanor and Elliot Goldstein of SIRS Publishing (Upton
Books), the initiative of David Halperin, M.D., an FMSF Advisory Board
member, the encouragement of Paul Kymissis, M.D., Professor and
Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the NY Medical College,
and the support of the FMS Foundation. Please note that the NY Medical
College program is completely independent and is under the approval of
their continuing education division. There is separate registration
for this conference.
Please be assured that families are welcome at the professional
conference and professionals are welcome at the family conference.
FMSF members and newsletter subscribers should have already received
programs and registration materials for both the family and
professional conferences.
+----------------------------------------------------+
| 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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CHANGING TRENDS IN DOCTORAL TRAINING PROGRAMS IN PSYCHOLOGY:
A comparative analysis of research-oriented versus
professional-applied programs
Brendan A. Maher
Psychological Science
10 (6) November 1999 475-481
The purpose of this article is to summarize changes that have taken
place in research doctoral programs in psychology between 1982 and
1993. The author used data from the National Research Council's 1995
study of doctoral programs to provide a basis for the comparison of
research-oriented Ph.D. programs in psychology and Ph.D. programs of
professional-applied schools. He concluded that the professional-
applied schools present a profile of faculty resources, attributes,
and activities that differs sharply from that found in the research-
oriented programs, and in Ph.D. programs in the other behavioral and
social sciences.The difference in profiles suggests that the
professional programs conduct Ph.D. training that departs from the
training ordinarily regarded as necessary for the award of that
degree. (Note that this study does not include the degree of Psy. D.)
The author commented: "If the trends described in this article
continue, it will be increasingly difficult to count on individuals
with Ph.D.s meeting a standard of scientific competence. It is hard to
avoid the conclusion that this trend is a threat to the integrity of
the scientific base of professional and applied psychology, and a
reminder of the solid reasons for requiring that training for
professional practice be embedded in scientific training in an
environment in which research activity is a critical element."
The professional-applied programs
* Are rated significantly lower in faculty quality, and therefore fall
predominantly in the fourth faculty-quality quarter
* Have a significantly lower average publication record (average of
1.5 publications per faculty member in the period 1988-1992)
* Depend significantly more on the service of part-time faculty
members
* Have significantly more students per faculty member
* Admit candidates with median Graduate Record Examination scores
significantly lower than those of students in the research programs.
* Have significantly increased their output of Ph.D.s since 1982
* Have significantly higher output of Ph.D.s than the psychological
research-science programs in all faculty-quality quarters.
Editor's comment: The FMS disaster occurred, in measure, because
many professionals were ignorant of some of the fundamental facts
about the working of human memory. The highly disturbing trends shown
in this article have been noted previously in House of Cards:
Psychology and Psychotherapy Built on Myth by Robyn M. Dawes in
1993. It is further evidence that the professional organizations are
not responding to the lowered standards of psychology. The
consequences of that inaction directly affect consumers in terms of
the quality of care to patients. The consequences of that inaction
affect society when professionals testify in court as experts on
issues of whether abuse occurred or the psychological harm that may
have entailed.
The article reinforces the need for public action. The inability
of the mental health profession to monitor itself and maintain
standards means that the public must demand changes in the education
of mental health professionals if treatment is to be safe and
effective. The public must demand strong legislative action to ensure
that mental health treatment is safe and effective.
The next article about a continuing education program for social
workers indicates that that field also has severe problems in
professional education.
+-------------------------------------------------------+
| "A successful man is one who can build a firm |
| foundation with the bricks that others throw at him." |
| David Brinkley |
+-------------------------------------------------------+
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It's Not Too Late to Join the Satanic Panic!
The Seminar Schedule for Continuing Professional Education at the
University of Michigan School of Social Work advertises:
Ritual Abuse: An overview from research, law enforcement, and
2clinical perspectives -- April 28, 2000
Participants will learn about tools to assess and treat ritual
abuse. According to the notice, one of the three teachers of the
seminar is a clinician who has treated adult survivors of ritual abuse
for the last nine years.
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| For inquisitors have always understood that an idea can be |
| extinguished most effectively by suppressing all memory of |
| a defining word (or an inspirational person). |
| Stephen Jay Gould, |
| What does the dreaded "E" word mean anyway?" |
| Natural History, 109 (1) 2/00, 28-44 |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
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Charter Behavioral Health System Expected to File for Bankruptcy
More than half of the 90 hospitals and treatment centers operated by
Charter Behavioral Health System, the nation's largest chain of
psychiatric hospitals, are expected to be closed. Charter has had a
long troubled past, and patient care has deteriorated at many
hospitals. Dissociative units at Charter hospitals have been mentioned
in lawsuits brought by former patients and a 60 Minutes II documentary
in April 1999 attested to patient problems.
Barry Meier, "A Price Too High? A deal to save Charter Behavioral
may have hurt it" New York Times, Feb 16, 2000.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| New Look to FMSF Web Page |
| |
| The FMSF Foundation expresses its gratitude to Greg Louis, Ph.D., |
| for his valuable help in developing the "new look" of the FMSF web |
| page |
| www.MemoryandReality.org |
| or |
| www.FMSFonline.org |
| |
| Dr. Louis has been our volunteer webmaster since the site went on |
| line in September 1998. Although still a work-in-progress, we |
| think you will find the reorganized site full of interesting and |
| informative material. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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MARTIN ORNE REMEMBERED
It is with deep sadness that we inform you of the death of Martin
Orne, M.D., Ph.D. on February 11, 2000. Dr. Orne, an FMSF Advisory
Board member, was instrumental both in the creation of the False
Memory Syndrome Foundation and in the kind of organization it became.
In 1991, he brought together several families who had turned to him
for help. Dr. Orne nurtured the families' developing insights into
the then unnamed tragedy. It was Martin Orne and his wife Emily Orne,
also an Advisory Board member, who conceived of a professional
advisory board with members so solid in their professions that they
would not be toppled in the coming maelstrom.
Dr. Orne was born in Vienna, received his medical degree from
Tufts University in 1955 and a doctorate in psychology from Harvard in
1958. He pioneered new therapeutic approaches and perspectives on
patients' rights while a professor of psychiatry at the University of
Pennsylvania. Orne believed that hypnosis could be a valuable
therapeutic tool, but that it typically increases false memories more
than it induces accurate ones. In a 1987 interview with the Los
Angeles Times, Orne noted that "A hypnotized person can read
tomorrow's stock page to you. The only problem is you'd go broke if
you believed it."
Martin Orne's research on memory and undue suggestions has been
cited in more than 30 supreme court cases as well as by the U.S.
Supreme Court. His expertise in hypnosis played a key role in the 1981
trial of Kenneth Bianchi, the former security guard who confessed to
killing five women in the Hillside Strangler case. Attorneys for
Bianchi argued he suffered from multiple personalities, but Orne
demonstrated that Bianchi was feigning his multiple personalities. We
honor Dr. Martin Orne.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "An overwhelming body of research indicates that hypnosis does not |
| increase accurate memory, but does increase the person's |
| willingness to report previously uncertain memories with strong |
| convictions. Furthermore, the hypnotized individual has a |
| pronounced tendency to confabulate in those areas where there is |
| little or no recollection; to distort memory to become more |
| congruent with beliefs, hopes, and fantasies; and to incorporate |
| cues from leading questions as factual memories. Finally, there is |
| a high likelihood that the beliefs of the hypnotist will somehow |
| be communicated to the patient in hypnosis and incorporated into |
| what the patient believes to be memories, often with strong |
| conviction." |
| Orne, Martin & Dinges, David, (1989) |
| Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry IV, Vol 2, 5th Ed. |
| Kaplan and Sadock (Eds.), Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, Page 1516 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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CAN MYTHS BE CREATED IN THERAPY?
Allen Feld
I've often asked myself if myths might be created during therapy. It's
a question I've also posed to students. Obviously, therapy and
myth-making describe (or should describe) two distinct and separate
activities. Yet I've come to believe that all too often myth-creating
may be at play in many therapeutic processes. But even if the idea
that therapy may lead to the creation of myths is valid, it would be
wrong to conclude that clients may not reap important benefits from
psychological therapy.
The interrelated concepts of historical truth and narrative truth,
written about by Donald Spence, Ph.D.[1], may be useful in explaining
the claim that therapy can lead to the creation of myths. The phrase
"historical truth" suggests that the product of a therapeutic
interaction is historically accurate. "Narrative truth," on the other
hand, describes a product of therapy that may or may not be
historically accurate. I often refer to this as a "clinical
narrative." A clinical narrative can be -- and often is -- treated as
describing something real to the client and therapist. It is within
the concept of narrative truth that I raise the possibility of
myth-creation during therapy. Since both "truths" are by-products of
the interactions between therapists and clients, it would be wrong to
overlook the potential influences of therapists in what evolves to be
considered the "truth."
When therapists and their clients fail to distinguish fact from
fiction, the damage that can result is obvious. Yet there are
therapists who arrogantly claim: "It makes no difference if it's true
or not." Many who make that claim continue the therapeutic activity as
if it were historically true: the supposedly metaphorical implications
(another significant arena for developing myths) are abandoned; the
legal quagmire that may be created is ignored; the alleged crime
(fortunately for those falsely accused) often goes unreported; the
client's inaccurate revision of her personal history is encouraged;
the family disruption is left to others to wrestle with. Former
clients who have experienced false memory syndrome and families who
have been devastated by clinically created narratives for which there
is no external corroboration have attested to these horrors.
From its very beginning, the Foundation has held to the
scientifically valid position about adults who claim new memories of
childhood sexual abuse: the memories may be true (historical truth);
the memories may be false (myth); the memories may be partially true
and partially false (part historical truth and part myth). External
corroboration is the sole mechanism that currently exists to determine
if these so-called memories are valid. FMSF is in very good company
with our call for verification. Internationally, the major
professional organizations, whose constituents include therapists,
agree that corroboration is the sole means of validating so-called
recovered memories.
The fault then lies with individual therapists when clients are
helped to come to believe in the reality of events that are not known
to have happened. As trained professionals, it is their responsibility
to recognize that narrative truth DOES NOT EQUAL historical
truth. Working with a client as if her narrative truth is reality can
cause considerable harm to the client, her family and yes, (witness
the many lawsuits) increasingly so to the therapists and the helping
professions.
[1] Spence, D.P. (1982). Narrative truth and historical truth: Meaning
and interpretation in psychoanalysis. New York: Norton.
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.
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| 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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EMPATHY IN THERAPY
Spencer Harris Morfit
The word "empathy" came into the American lexicon through the social
sciences in the 1970s. "Empathy" means, literally, to feel what
another is feeling. It has largely replaced the perfectly good word
"sympathy" which means to feel with another.
I personally dislike the term "empathy" for two reasons: 1) To
feel what another is feeling is usually an impossibility; 2) Like many
terms from the social sciences, it implies a special meaning, and, in
therapy, special techniques. What ones feels with or for another is an
attitude and an emotion. It cannot be turned into a "technique." A
good argument could be made that the minute you turn it into technique
you are operating outside its meaning and in a manipulative way.
"Empathy" was adopted by many psychodynamic therapies as a
necessary condition for therapy. The idea is that in order for the
therapy to succeed the therapist must maintain "empathic attunement"
at all times and that when "empathic attunement" is broken it must be
restored for the therapy to proceed.
Let me be clear: I do not think that any person should or should
have to work with a therapist who is unsympathetic. I sincerely
believe that clients "come by their symptoms honestly" as one
therapist expressed it. They suffer from these "symptoms" (which I
think of as learned behaviors) and often others around them do too. As
in any habit formation, it takes effort to bring these behaviors into
focus and to practice and replace them with more constructive ones.
A client should legitimately expect understanding and respect for
the effort he or she is making and the difficulty of the task. It
would be difficult for any of us to accept help from a hostile source.
And when therapist and client are not in sympathy, that is a message
that some clarification needs to take place. This is a mutual effort
and somewhat different from the way empathy plays out. When "empathy"
becomes a professional technique it implies the therapist has to take
primary responsibility for restoring the "empathic attunement." This
could subvert or delay the effectiveness of the therapy. In a worst
case scenario, a client could be led to expect such effort from
anyone.
I recall comments from Edwin Freidman, rabbi, author and systems
therapist who has worked not only with families but also in larger
systems such as corporations and the military. Freidman reported that
in his work the demand for "empathy" was defeating efforts towards
more productive work and that in system after system the weaker
parties were receiving all the attention -- attention that became a
form of reinforcement. He reported, furthermore, that this frustrated
the stronger parties and weakened the effectiveness of the entire
system. It is not surprising to me that Friedman would be in a
position to see the impact of this idea. The problem with the concept
of "empathy" becomes most obvious as soon as you introduce other
parties to a system. As soon as this happens, one would be presented
with the challenge to decide "And to which party should the `empathy'
be directed?" To answer this, one would have to ask questions about
the original task, sometimes to ask moral questions -- a factor to
which we might expect a rabbi to be sensitive. In the recovered memory
movement, the idea of "empathy" plays out, among other things, in a
reluctance to challenge the client's beliefs, including such odd and
extreme beliefs that he or she was abused in a Satanic cult or a past
life.
Even in individual therapy, "empathy" can be a challenge. We often
find therapists addressing this challenge by identifying a "split"
between the client's "Inner Child" and his or her "adult"
personality. If psychodynamic therapy focuses on "empathy" for the
"Inner Child," this is quite a different focus from identifying and
developing behaviors that would be more appropriate to an adult, which
is, after all, the eventual goal of most therapy. More behavioral
therapies would see the "split" as a node for choice and proceed from
there. As another therapist once said to me, "You can act your way
into a new way of thinking faster than you can think yourself into a
new way of acting." I am saying that some kind of sympathy, patience
and tolerance are important in therapy. It's when it becomes some
abstruse concept in the service of mindless technique that it is
problematic. And my difficulty with many of these abstruse concepts is
that they seem to foster mindless technique.
I can illustrate this with a case that was once reported to me. A
man and his wife went into marital therapy together with a therapist
who was very committed to the idea of "empathy." It soon became
obvious that a primary problem in the marriage was the way the husband
made and broke commitments. Both in the marriage and in the therapy
there would be elaborate negotiations around a common goal. The design
of these agreements was always the same: The other party would engage
in some effort, or temporarily make some sacrifice in order to help
the husband to a stronger position. When he had achieved this stronger
position, the husband would agree, he would make a sacrifice or effort
to enable the other party. In this way, the system was to progress,
each party chaining up the other. However, the husband routinely
backed out of his commitments when it was his turn to
reciprocate. This, of course, made the entire effort fail and left
everyone else angry. The husband typically left the therapy session at
this time.
The therapist's consistent advice to the wife was to "Try to
understand his universe." To her credit, she also instructed the
husband to "Try to understand her universe." There came a time when
the husband negotiated a payment schedule for his bill. The couple
subsequently left the therapy because it wasn't going anywhere. The
bill was still unpaid. The therapist called the husband to renegotiate
a payment schedule. The husband failed to meet the agreed
payments. The therapist called to negotiate again. When this third
agreement also failed, the exasperated therapist wrote the husband a
letter threatening a lawsuit if he did not make payment by a certain
date. When the wife innocently came across this letter while
housekeeping, she photocopied it. With a large red marker she wrote
across it, "Try to understand his universe," and shipped it off to the
therapist.
Spencer Harris Morfit is an author and business woman. She is a
member of the FMSF Scientific Advisory Board.
+------------------------------------+
| Have you read these? |
| |
| Confabulations |
| True Stories of False Memories |
| Beware the Talking Cure |
| Psychology Astray |
| Smiling Through Tears |
| Selling Serenity |
| |
| Upton Books |
| 800-232-7477 |
| www.sirs.com/uptonbooks/index.htm |
+------------------------------------+
**********************************************************************
L E G A L C O R N E R
FMSF Staff
______________________________________________________________
Clay v. Kuhl , 2000 Ill Supreme Ct. LEXIS 6, January 21, 2000.
Nos. 86938, 85941 cons.
The Illinois Supreme Court upheld a strict statute of limitations in
abuse cases in a decision on January 21, 2000. The court held that
abuse victims must file lawsuits within two years of turning 18 and
rejected the argument that the two-year clock should begin running
only when a victim discovers the earlier abuse is the cause of adult
psychological problems.
The case involves a claim by Teresa Clay that Brother Richard
Kuhl, a member of the Roman Catholic Society of the Missionaries of
the Sacred Heart, abused her approximately 900 times from the time she
was 8 or 9 until she was 15 or 16. She claimed to have always
remembered the abuse but did not know it was the cause of her
psychological problems.
The court held that since Clay remembered the abuse, she had
enough information to decide whether to sue. The plaintiff argued that
"the injuries she incurred as a consequence of Kuhl's alleged
misconduct were, like those caused by exposure to asbestos, slow to
develop and unknowable at the time of the occurrence." The court
rejected the analogy, writing "We believe that there are substantial
distinctions between cases involving exposure to asbestos or other
dangerous substances, in which the risk of harm is not immediately
apparent, and cases involving events that give rise to an immediate
awareness of injury."
The plaintiff brought her suit in 1996 at age 32. The defendants
moved to dismiss on the claim that it was barred by the statute of
limitations, arguing that the instances of alleged misconduct were
sudden traumatic events. The trial court granted the defendants'
motions that the action was untimely, relying on the Appellate Court's
opinion in M.E.H. v. L.H., 283 Ill. App. 3d 241 that "had
characterized occurrences of child sexual abuse, for purposes of the
statute of limitations, as sudden, traumatic events that triggered the
running of the limitations period once the victim of the abuse
attained majority." The plaintiff appealed and the appellate court
reversed and remanded, concluding that "the action was not barred by
the statute of limitations." (The Clay case was originally brought in
conjunction with a suit by Josefa Ferrer. The Ferrer case, however,
was settled while the appeal was pending.)
The Supreme Court reversed the appeal court, concluding that it
did not need to determine whether the instances of childhood sexual
abuse alleged should be considered sudden, traumatic events for the
purposes of the statute of limitations. The court said that it did not
believe the discovery rule was of assistance to the plaintiff.
The court did not make a determination on whether the discovery
rule would toll the running of the statute of limitations in repressed
memory cases. Justice Ben Miller wrote for the majority, Justice
S. Louie Rathje took no part in the consideration or the decision and
Justices Charles Freeman and Moses Harrison II dissented.
The FMS Foundation filed an amicus brief in this case. It is
available as # 817 for $30.00.
See FMSF Newsletters 7 (7) September 1998 and 8(1)
January/February 1999. Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, February 1, 2000,
"Sexual abuse-limitations periods" Associated Press State & Local Wire
January 21, 2000 "Court upholds strict statute of limitations in abuse
cases"
________________________________________
Franklin v Terr, et al. U.S. App.9th Cir
LEXIS 1280, February 2, 2000.
George Franklin may not sue psychiatrists Kirk Barrett and Lenore Terr
for allegedly conspiring to present false testimony at his murder
trial in 1990. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that witness
testimony is legally protected from damage suits.
In 1990, George Franklin was convicted of murdering Susan Nason
after his daughter Eileen suddenly remembered the killing in 1989.
Franklin was freed in 1996 after his conviction was overturned by
U.S. District Judge D. Lowell Jensen, who said jurors had been
wrongly told that Franklin's silence in jail was an admission of
guilt. Prosecutors decided against a retrial after learning that
Eileen has also accused him of a second murder that he could not have
committed and because Eileen's memories has been retrieved with the
help of hypnosis.
After his release, Franklin brought a lawsuit against prosecutors,
police and two psychiatrists. Kirk Barrett was Eileen
Franklin-Lipsker's therapist. Eileen Franklin first disclosed her
recovered memory of the murder to Barrett during her third therapy
session. Franklin's complaint alleged that Barrett conspired with
several other witnesses to testify falsely that he did not hypnotize
Eileen Franklin during her therapy. Lenore Terr is a psychiatrist who
practices in general and child psychiatry.
Franklin's suit against prosecutors and police is not affected by
the decision.
See FMSF Newsletters: Vol 6 (8) September, 1997, Vol 7 (5) June,
1998, Vol 7 (9) November 1998
________________________
Insurance Companies Lose
in Suit Against Humenansky Case Defense Attorneys
A lawsuit alleging legal malpractice brought by Legion Insurance and
the Professional Risk Retention Group against the attorneys and law
firm who defended Diane Humenansky, M.D. in the medical malpractice
case Hamanne v Humenansky ended in a jury verdict in favor of the
defense attorneys and against Legion Insurance and Professional Risk
Retention Group. The insurance companies, who insure the American
Psychiatric Association, argued that Humenansky was not adequately
defended in the 1995 case in which a jury awarded former patient
Vynette Hamanne $2.46 million.
According to attorneys, the plaintiff insurance firms employed
five legal experts for the trial, two of whom were paid in excess of
$100,000 for their services. They also employed psychiatric experts
David Spiegel, M.D., Colin Ross, M.D. and Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.The
lawyers for the defense were William V. Johnson, William A. Geiser,
and Mary Kenny of the firm Johnson and Bell in Chicago.
Hamanne was not the only patient to sue Diane Humenansky. In 1996
Elizabeth Carlson, who like Vynette Hamanne was represented by
Christopher Barden, received a $2.5 million jury award and that was
followed by settlements in several other cases. Treatment in both the
Hamanne and Carlson cases involved the diagnosis of MPD. Dr.
Humenansky used hypnosis, guided imagery and sodium amytal to help her
patients recover memories, some of which involved belief in a satanic
ritual abuse cult. The Minnesota Board of Medical Practice ordered the
suspension of Humenansky's license in February 1997 for an indefinite
period of time.
______________________________________________________________
Former Patient Retains the Right to Speak About her Experience
The three women who ran the former Genesis Counseling in suburban
Philadelphia sued a former patient, claiming she violated the terms of
a confidential settlement agreement, when she gave a television
interview and held a discussion at a symposium in which she described
the Genesis group as a "cult" that "tears families apart."
The case had its roots in a suit Carol Diament filed in 1996 in
U.S. District Court in Philadelphia for medical malpractice against
Genesis. She said that in her years in Genesis she was forced to give
up contact with her children and cut off relations with her
husband. In her talks, Diament never mentioned the name of the group,
therapists, or the amount of the settlement.
More than 15 former patients have prevailed in or settled suits
against the counseling center. The therapists have also come under
fire from state agencies for their controversial "detachment"
treatment methods.
Philadelphia Judge Matthew D. Carrafiello found that there was no
restriction in Diament's settlement that would -- even at a stretch --
have kept Diament from talking about her experiences. He ruled that
the settlement "does not prevent Diament from discussing her
experiences receiving therapy or from offering her thoughts on the
matter."
The three therapists have also sued the parents of a former
patient for defamation and the lawyer who represented several of the
former patients who brought suit against them. They were unsuccessful
in these efforts.
Daily Local News, February 15, 2000
"Genesis ruling defends First Amendment rights" by Michael P. Rellahan
See FMSF Newsletters Vol 4 (8) September 1995; Vol 5 (1) January 1996;
Vol 5(3) March 1996; Vol 5(7) July 1996; Vol 5(9) October 1996 Vol 6
(3) March 1997 Vol 6 (5) May 1997; Vol 6 (10) November 1997; Vol 6(11)
December 1997; Vol 8 (4) June 1999.
_____________________________
Florida Psychiatrist is Fined
On February 5, 2000, the Florida Board of Medicine fined psychiatrist
Alan Tesson $10,000 and ordered him to take a course in medical record
keeping. The Health Department had charged Tesson with failing to get
informed consent to do hypnotherapy, hiring a female patient to work
in his office, having lunch with her and going to her home and failing
to document 25 therapy sessions with her, and for losing his
scientific objectivity by having a personal fascination with satanic
ritual abuse.
Tesson neither admitted not denied the allegations that stemmed
from his treatment of a former patient from 1991 to 1993. That patient
settled a lawsuit with Dr. Tesson.
Palm Beach Post, February 6, 2000
See FMSF Newsletter Vol 6 (2) February 1997.
________________
WENATCHEE UPDATE
Ralph Gausvik is seeking a new trial, claiming that authorities
manufactured accusations, a doctor misled jurors and his public
defender never investigated the case.
Gausvik was brought into the investigations in 1995 when the
alleged victim toured Wenatchee with her foster father, Police
Detective Bob Perez , and identified his home as one of 25 where she
and other children had been sexually abused.
During Gausvik's trial the prosecutor told jurors that Gausvik's
children couldn't remember the details of the alleged abuse because
they'd likely blocked out bad memories. In the appeal, Gausvik claims
his children were subjected to multiple interviews, called liars when
they denied abuse and were given rewards in exchange for allegations.
Robert Rosenthal of New York and Alyse Collins of Seattle,
attorneys with Innocence Project Northwest, the legal group that has
been filing appeals for people convicted during 1994-95 sex-abuse
investigations, wrote:
"This case represents a total breakdown of the criminal justice
and judicial processes from investigation, through accusation and
conviction. Evidence of the perversion of the criminal justice system
in pursuit of ambition and convictions at any cost is vivid in the
details of this case."
Wenatchee World, January 18, 2000
"Man convicted of child rape seeks new trial" by Stephen Maher
A hearing has been ordered for Gene Town who, with his wife
Cherie, were the first two people arrested by Bob Perez in the 1994-95
sex-abuse investigations. Gene Town is appealing his conviction and
the Court of Appeals has ordered a judge to determine whether he
confessed voluntarily to Perez. Town's attorneys claim the detective
browbeat him and told him if he didn't sign the confession that Perez
had typed "he might just end up in an orchard somewhere."
Serious questions have been raised about the reliability of
accusations made by Town's two sons. Medical evidence that was not
presented at the trial indicates that one of his sons was delusional
and distorted reality and that the other had an IQ of 49. Town's
lawyers claim that the prosecution withheld this important
information.
Wenatchee World, February 12, 2000
"Hearing ordered for man appealing conviction" by Stephen Maher
___________________________________________________________
The ongoing cost of the Wenatchee sex abuse investigations:
* Annual premium for liability rose from $198,944 in 1994 to $410,719
in 2000. The hike is tied to the sex-abuse litigation as well as
inflation.
* In 1999 the Association of Washington cities, Wenatchee's insurance
carrier, began charging an extra $26,468 a year to help recover
costs associated with defending Wenatchee in litigation.
* Wenatchee paid $100,000 in 1999 to help settle four lawsuits. The
city has a $25,000 deductible for settlements and jury awards up to
$1 million on claims originating before January 1, 1995, and up to
$2 million after that. If a settlement or award is higher than
those limits, the city must pay.
* Six people are currently suing the city over the handling of the
1994-95 cases. The number is expected to grow as more people are
released from prison and as the children caught in the investigation
turn 18. Wenatchee World, January 22, 2000
"Paying the Price" by Stephen Maher
____________________________________________________________
Court of Appeals of Washington, Division One, No. 43812-3-1,
February 22, 2000, LEXIS 308
In a unanimous decision, the Court of Appeals found that a Superior
Court judge erred before a 1998 civil trial when he dismissed a
negligent-investigation claim brought by pastor Robert "Robby"
Roberson and others against the city of Wenatchee.
Lawyers in the case say that the decision breaks new ground
because it allows parents and children to sue law-enforcement agencies
for conducting faulty child-abuse investigations. The city of
Wenatchee plans to appeal to the Washington Supreme Court.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "[T]ruth about recovered memory may lie at either end of the |
| continuum: nothing requires us to assume that it must constitute a |
| compromise between two sharply divergent views. Analogously, one |
| person may believe that the earth is round, whereas another may |
| believe it is flat, but a 'balanced' view of the matter does not |
| compel us to conclude that the earth is therefore oblong." |
| R.J. McNally |
| Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis |
| Vol 47, Oct 1999, p. 374 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
B O O K R E V I E W
Editor's Note: As the recovered memory movement retreats, it leaves
debris such as shattered families, books, letters, bibliographies, and
advertisements. How will people in the future obtain meaning from the
debris? The book review that follows is such an attempt. What did the
creators of the bibliography intend?
______________________
Doubt the Bibliography
Loren Pankratz, Ph.D.
This is the second and final part of an analysis of a bibliography
produced by Believe the Children[1] in 1989. In the first part, I
reviewed 9 occult titles. I finish here with five more and some
commentary. 10. Murray, M. God of the Witches. [1921/1996] Margaret
Murray is often cited as an example of how scholars can get
overwhelmed by their own work [See, Wernick in Smithsonian 1994; 24
(12), pp 108-124]. Murray discovered in her study of witchcraft
documents that witches confessed to details about their activities
that were remarkable similar to the old pagan religions that had
existed for thousands of years. These women, Murray concluded, must
have been trying to keep alive an underground movement. She charged
right into full conspiracy theory mode by suggesting in her next book
that pagans had controlled European governments for several centuries.
But if these conspirators are as powerful as Murray proposed, Wernick
wonders, why are they no more formidable than the covens in our modern
suburbs that meet to commune with the moon and grow herbs? Let's hope
those naked dancers pictured in Holtzer's Encyclopedia are not ruling
the world. Murray was a crackpot. But her research shows that in the
16th century, tortured people provided just the information that their
tormentor's expected. What happened, of course, was that the
tormentors subtly gave clues about what they expected to hear, and the
accused reported their general beliefs about witchcraft. This lesson
was forgotten by those recent therapists who treated Satanic Ritual
Abuse. Why are all these patients giving similar stories about Satanic
Ritual Abuse if there is not some underlying truth? Because therapists
give patients the clues about what they expect to hear, and patients
provide information they generally know about occult activity.
Martin Orne[2] demonstrated this subtle interactive process in a
series of clever experiments using hypnosis. He concluded that the
"behavior of the [Subject] in trance is then determined by the S's
preconceptions about how a hypnotic S acts, and the cues, both
explicit and implicit, as to the desired behavior which the hypnotist
communicates in the process of trance induction." Orne's important
studies demonstrated that the hypnotist and subject have a powerful
effect on one another. The implications of his studies help explain
the historic statements of accused women being tortured for witchcraft
and the current problems in unexpected drug effects. Skip Margaret
Murray and read Martin Orne.
11. SEABROOK, W. Witchcraft: Its power in the world today,
Harcourt, Brace & Co, New York, 1940. William Seabrook was a newspaper
reporter who tried to make an extra buck by publishing books. He
traveled extensively, especially in Africa and Haiti, where he hung
out with the lowlife crowd that practiced witchcraft and were
entangled by superstition. He also got into considerable trouble with
alcohol during this time. Because he writes such detailed dialogue,
the reader may not be aware that Seabrook is writing on his
experiences of fifteen to twenty years earlier. His own experiences
are all reported with this-is-God's-truth soberness; however, he slips
to his skeptical journalist role when reporting the stories of
others. For example, he uses the criticisms of magician John
Mulholland to debunk the parapsychology research of Dr. Rhine. I was
surprised to discover that this same Seabrook also wrote the primary
biography of Dr. Robert Wood, the distinguished American physicist who
debunked spiritualists and scientific nonsense, like the N-Rays of
French scientist Blondlot. I had both of these books in my library
without connecting them until now. When Seabrook wrote on Dr. Wood, he
knew that he had an audience of knowledgeable scientists who could
hold his feet to the fire. When he told stories about Africa, he could
stoke the fires of credulity with impunity.
12. SUMMERS, M. History of Witchcraft. Does the bibliographer
refer to History of witchcraft and demonology, Kegan Paul, 1926, or to
A popular history of witchcraft, Kegan, Paul, 1931, both of which have
been reprinted?
Montague Summers had a vast store of arcane knowledge even as a
youngster. He was ordained as a priest but spent his life teaching,
collecting occult books, and writing. Although admired for his
scholarly work, many laughed about his castigation of black magic in
his writing while personally admiring Oscar Wilde and Aleister
Crowley.
The first editions of his books (some numbered because of limited
printings) are highly sought by collectors, including the books he
edited and annotated. Yet his introductions to Sinistrari's
Demoniality, Remy's Demonolatry, Kramer and Sprenger's Malleus
Maleficarum, and Scot's Discovery of witchcraft all show remarkably
gullibility. For example in the introduction to Remy, he says:
However, until it has been theologically disproved, I, for one, am
willing to accept, with certain minor reservations, the thesis that
the octogenarian Sinistrari, rich in wisdom and experience, laid down
in his Daemoniality more than two hundred years ago.
Remy's work, in reality, is full of frightening nonsense. He says,
for example, that Witches and Wizards copulate with Demons after a
solemn profession of obedience and he knows this is true because many
have confessed while being tortured. He also endorses the idea that
witches are responsible for hailstorms and that the "other sheep"
mentioned by Jesus are the non-human incubi that attach themselves to
the bodies of witches.
Scholars on witchcraft all use works of Summers, but I think they
dismiss many of his comments as insincere gestures arising from his
religious affiliation.
13. THOMPSON, C.J.S. Mysteries and secrets of magic. Lippincott,
1928. C. J. S. Thompson was the curator of the Museum of the Royal
College of Surgeons of England. His best books are those on poisons,
quacks, apothecaries, and human monsters (anomalies). This much-
reprinted book on magic describes the symbols and superstitions of
history. The book has 31 topics (chapters) squeezed into about 300
pages -- just enough so that you can drop a tidbit of knowledge about
some arcane subject that comes up next time you want to impress
someone.
14. WAITE, A.E. Book of ceremonial magic. University Books. New
York, 1961. [Originally published in 1911] This book is not in my
library, but I have several of his many books including, The secret
doctrine in Israel, The secret tradition in Freemasonry, his
autobiography, and his translation of Levi's Mysteries of Magic. It
has been said that Arthur Edward Waite's scholarship is shrouded by
portentous and obscure style. I must confess that I have never read
past the first few pages of any of these books. They are impossible.
Let me know if you ever meet someone who understands this stuff.
Perhaps his fans believe this style reflects his reluctance to reveal
directly the secrets of occult mysteries. But how would we know if we
were hearing heavy secrets or nonsense? I went to the bookstore to
view some of the other books on this list that I ordinarily pass
by. As I suspected, many of the titles were complete nonsense. One of
my favorites was Modern Witches Spellbook by Sara Morrison. She
provides specific spells and incantations for current concerns such as
protecting your apartment, ensuring safe air travel, making a judge
friendly, and causing rain. With complete seriousness, each situation
has a modern equivalent of "eye of newt" formula and an associated
ritual.
There are always individuals in colorful costumes sitting on the
floor reading these books at my bookstore. I think they are looking
for answers that have eluded them. The word occult means secret, and
these individuals are searching for any secret that might give an
advantage or remove the pain in their lives. Sometimes I fantasize
that I sit down beside one and tell him that the secret to life is
found in what his mother told him. Sometimes the secrets are really
simple, and sometimes they are hard because few short cuts exist.
What will people learn by consulting this bibliography? People
will interpret this information in vastly different ways, depending on
their initial belief systems and knowledge. But it is difficult for me
to see how it could help anyone.
Doubt the bibliography.
[1] Believe the Children, an organization that shut its doors in 1997,
was based in Chicago. The newsletters and conferences organized by
this group helped to spread the belief in a satanic ritual abuse
conspiracy.
[2] Orne, M. (1951) J. Abnorm Social Psych, 46, pp 213-225.
Loren Pankratz, Ph.D. is a Consultation Psychologist and Clinical
Professor, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland OR. He is
the author of Patients Who Deceive, Charles C. Thomas, 1998.
Dr. Pankratz is a member of the FMSF Scientific Advisory Board.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| NEW BOOK OF INTEREST |
| The Death of Psychotherapy |
| From Freud to Alien Abductions |
| By Donald A. Eisner |
| Foreword by Tana Dineen |
| |
| Psychologist-attorney Eisner puts psychotherapy on trial by |
| critically examining its effectiveness through the lens of the |
| scientific method. From psychoanalysis to cognitive-behavioral |
| therapy as well as the 500 or so other psychotherapies, there is |
| not a single experimental study that supports the effectiveness of |
| psychotherapy over a placebo or religious healing. Using both case |
| examples and clinical research, this book challenges the |
| conclusion that there is empirical support for the notion that |
| psychotherapy is effective |
| |
| CONTENTS: Science and Fiction in Psychotherapy; Psychoanalytic |
| Psycho-therapy; Cathartic Therapies: From Primal Therapy to Est; |
| Recovered Memory Therapy; Humanistic Psychotherapy; Behavioral and |
| Cognitive Therapy, Strategic Family Systems Therapy to |
| Neurolinguistic Programming; Spiritual Therapy; From Buddha |
| Psychotherapy to Space Aliens. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
GOOD INTENTIONS GONE AWRY
Kathy Begert
This article appeared in Wooster Daily Record 101 (226)
January 20, 2000
Reprinted with permission of the author.
To err is human. Human endeavors, though motivated by the best of
intentions, often fall short of desired ends. In this imperfect world,
attempts made to alleviate suffering sometimes actually cause injury
and harm. When physicians inadvertently and unintentionally cause
rather than cure disease, the result is an iatrogenic (from the Greek,
doctor-generated) disorder. Often the result of unwanted side-effects
of medication, iatrogenesis is always a concern for the ethical,
prudent practitioner. (It is interesting to note that the Greeks' only
word for "drug" -- pharmakon -- did not distinguish between the power
to cure and the power to kill.)
Mistakes made by individual physicians, again even those made with
the intention of alleviating suffering, can culminate in a larger
problem for the whole of society, a kind of social iatrogenesis.
Over-prescription of antibiotics by individual practitioners leads to
the development of resistant strains of bacteria and the necessity of
developing stronger medicines with harsher, more deleterious
side-effects. Society, as a whole, is affected.
Experts in mental health also create iatrogenic disorders. As Paul
Simpson amply illustrates in his book, "Second Thoughts --
Understanding the False Memory Crisis and How It Could Affect You,"
entire belief systems can be instilled into vulnerable clients by
well-intentioned therapists who fail to recognize their own biases
and, thus, are unaware of their own iatrogenic influence. When belief
systems, whether of the existence of previous incarnations, of
abductions by space aliens, or of "repressed memories" of childhood
sexual abuse, are instilled into clients, they are then able to
fantasize traumatic events. Through the suggestions and encouragement
of the therapist and other "believers," they come to believe that
their imaginings are memories of actual events. They have become
recipients of therapy-induced delusions.
When this scenario is repeated over and over again, as,
unfortunately, has happened, social iatrogenesis is the result. The
1970s and 1980s witnessed the growth of the psychology industry and
the proliferation of sex abuse hysteria, documented by Richard Gardner
in "Sex Abuse Hysteria, Salem Witch Trials Revisited." Belief in the
prevalence of child abuse led to the desire to seek out contemporary
"perpetrators" and to "save the children." Children's advocates,
unaware of their own iatrogenic influence and the vulnerability of
children to suggestion, well-documented by Stephen Ceci in Jeopardy in
the Courtroom: A Scientific Analysis of Children's Testimony, planted
the seeds of fantasized child abuse in the fertile imaginations of
children. The result: horrific iatrogenic delusions.
This social iatrogenesis was exacerbated by the good intentions of
U.S. Congress members, understandably concerned about what was
reported by experts to be a pandemic of child abuse in this country.
In 1974, the Mondale Act brought into being "mandated reporting" of
any suspicion of child abuse, which, of course, flooded and
overwhelmed the system with what often would become unsubstantiated
accusations.
But another provision in the Mondale Act has repercussions for
each of us who, presumably, has the right to due process. Due process
in an adversarial judicial system like that found in the U.S. requires
a delicate balance between the prosecution and the defense, with each
weighted equally. The Act gives immunity from prosecution to anyone
bringing about a false accusation of child sexual abuse. This tilts
the scales unfairly toward prosecution even of an innocent person.
There is no deterrent for bringing an unfounded accusation. The
result: innocent people have been accused and convicted of horrific
crimes by child witnesses with iatrogenic delusions.
Self-described child advocates insist that even if an accusation
is false, they are "erring on the side of children." To err is
human. But to insist that one's errors, the errors that create
delusions in children, are "for their good" is inhumane. Good
intentions are admirable, but perhaps we should be mindful of
St. Thomas Aquinas and his definition of the morally perfect act: an
act which fully satisfies the demands of reason and, not content with
merely willing the good, actually achieves it.
Kathy Begert is a registered nurse who lives and works in Wooster,
Ohio. She has been a guest columnist for the Akron Beacon Journal
and the Wooster Daily Record.
+-----------------------------------------------------+
| "You can either complain that rosebushes have |
| thorns -- or rejoice that thorn bushes have roses." |
| Anonymous |
+-----------------------------------------------------+
**********************************************************************
F R O M O U R R E A D E R S
_________________________________________
Lessons from our Memory Journey from Hell
Thank you for being there when we needed you. Our counselor, the now
famous radio personality Laura Schlessinger, handed us your phone
number in 1992. We had never even heard of False Memory.
This November our daughter contacted a family member and stated
she wanted to work on having a relationship with us. We were not to
expect an apology or talk about it, just go forward from here. She
stated that she wanted a grandfather for her daughter. We agreed and
have been communicating by telephone...and expect to visit in January.
Will it ever be the same? Hmmm, tough question. It's amazing that
hearing her voice and her laughter makes it seem possible; time will
be the master.
Lessons:
There are no guarantees in parenting, ever.
Parents lose kids to worse. Worse? Yes worse. Drugs, accidents,
suicides, the list goes on.
Be loud and clear in your innocence, then be quiet. We included a
lie detector test immediately.
Let go.
Be who you are and live YOUR life..they may or may not come back.
My mantra for almost nine years...rise above it.
My goal: Accept it, Survive, and be willing to Forgive.
Support FMSF.
What saved us? The family stood by us. We stood by each other.
And, you, the other families sharing their stories in the
newsletter. We thank you and wish you all a safe journey through this
hell.
A Mom and Dad
Editor's Comment: Will it ever be the same? Maybe it can be
better. People who share adversity often find bonds of greater
strength than previously existed. Time and love are masterful
healers.
__________
No Apology
I can't help noticing that the apology theme predominates month after
month in the letters from the readership of the FMSF Newsletter. I am
a victim of therapists who implanted false memories in me that my
parents were part of a satanic cult. As a result I cut off all contact
with my parents and siblings for a period of seven years. Happily, we
were reunited in 1997 and all is well, in fact all is wonderful.
Unhappily, I also lost my own children and husband who were turned
against me by the same therapists when I left the fold. That period of
estrangement is now entering its seventh year.
I have been on both ends of the spectrum, the accuser and the
accused. When I returned to my family they welcomed me with open arms.
They allowed me to set the timetable and said over and over that they
knew I had to have been under tremendous coercion to do and say what I
did because it was so out of character for me.
While it is excruciatingly painful to have no contact with my
children and husband, I have lived their kind of delusions and
understand them well. It is my belief that if a person has falsely
accused another through implanted memories they are not responsible in
any way for their actions. They are brainwashed and not at all in a
position to make choices. Of course I told my parents and siblings I
was sorry for what they had been through. To say I was sorry for what
I did to them while I was brainwashed would be taking responsibility
for being a victim of atrocious, unethical therapy. That I cannot
do. It was not my fault. I can only acknowledge that many people have
suffered greatly as a result of what happened to me.
If and when my children and husband can break through their
brainwashing I will welcome them with open arms. At some point I will
probably need to tell them how hard it was for me, but I will never
demand an apology. A phrase from the bible comes to mind, "Father,
forgive them for they know not what they do."
A Mom, A Daughter, and A Sister
___________________________
It Helps to Leave A Message
My daughter has been lost to me for about ten years. She obtained a
permanent restraining order against me in May of 1998. I have been
trying to write to her and did manage to send three letters. She has
now obtained her Ph.D. in physics and has probably left the area of
her university.
She is never far from my thoughts. Her accusations included
satanic ritual abuse as well as ordinary sexual abuse. She said she
has forgiven me in advance and has never admitted that she might be
wrong. I just want to hug her and love her. I have been using my
computer to try to connect with her and any other recovered memory
survivors. Using a nom de plume, I have joined the chat line
www.spectralevidence.com/chat. This is something newsletter readers
might want to check out. It is a way to leave messages. I have been
having a dialogue with one survivor and I think that others who are
questioning their memories might read our dialogue to try to sort
things out in their minds.
Newsletter readers should know that this is a web site that is
available for them to leave messages to their loved ones. They don't
have to say much and they can use just their first names. Who knows
who may read their messages of love?
A Mom
_____________________
Where is the Justice?
I want to share with you the greatest gift for the year 2000 I could
have received. After more than nine years, last September we received
a phone call from our daughter. She spoke and communicated far better
than I had expected. Her over-zealous doctors had kept her in the dark
with drugs, hypnosis and control and led her to believe she should
have no contact with her family. When my daughter called, we spoke
quite some time. After a few minutes, she said, "Dad. It didn't
happen!"
To have suffered all these years with a witch hunt, where is the
justice? These people are still operating. Yes, she is back, but nine
years without each other, not knowing where she lived or worked. It is
tragic.
I never gave up hope for my daughter's return. It's a waiting
game. I hate no one and believe that one should "love your enemies."
But at the same time, I'll never understand how people who have done
these things to our children can survive and manage to go unpunished.
A Dad
________________________
They Probably Don't Care
When my daughter came under the influence of The Courage to Heal and
made her accusations, her father and I thought we were alone. Then I
read about the FMS Foundation and I will be eternally grateful for the
literature you sent and your understanding.
My daughter has come back into my life. Although she is three
thousand miles away, I was so happy to hear her voice and hear her
say, "I love you, Mother." But there is also much sadness in our
happiness because my daughter has a serious type of cancer. My heart
is breaking because of her illness, but at the same time I am thankful
that she is reconciling with us and her brothers. I believe it will be
easier for her to fight this dreadful disease as she rids her mind of
the built-up hatred and knows she has the love and support of her
family.
How I wish the money-hungry publicity-seeking people who wrote the
trashy recovery books could see the heartbreak they caused. But then
again, they probably don't even care.
A Mom
_____________________________
Sweethearts of the Millennium
Editor's Comment: The following was written for a local
newspaper's Valentine Day contest by a returner who has not yet
spoken about past accusations. What could she say that would ever
reveal her feelings more deeply?
My parents amaze most people who know them. They have been married for
42 years, and they still hold hands whenever they are out around
town. After 42 years! Valentine Day has always been a special day for
my parents because it's my mom's birthday. When I was a small child,
and we didn't have the money for extras, my dad always tried to make
it a special day for my mom. I remember one Valentine Day, with the
"help" of three small children Dad baked mom a heart shaped cake. I
don't think Dad had ever baked anything before in his life, so the
result wasn't beautiful by any stretch of the imagination. But the
look on my mom's face was.
When all of us kids were out of the house and money was a little
easier to come by, Dad decided to buy Mom the present she had always
dreamed of but never truly believed she would receive: a diamond
ring. He and I shopped and shopped until he found just the right
ring. Then he went to elaborate measures to make sure that mom, who
almost always knows everything that goes on in our house, didn't find
out about this surprise. He used the money he made teaching a night
class to pay for the ring and had me make the layaway payments. It was
fun watching him in the weeks before Christmas. I don't think any
child ever anticipated that magical day more than my dad did that
year. The looks on both of their faces, the tears in their eyes, will
always have a special place in my heart. For me, that ring says,
"Thank you for all the years of love" in a way not words could
express.
Then, after 40 years of marriage, my mom got sick. And she stayed
sick. For a long time the doctors couldn't seem to find out what was
wrong. When she couldn't get out of bed for much more than her meals,
Dad had to take on all the domestic chores he had avoided for more
than 60 years. He cooked and cleaned and, yes, even did the grocery
shopping. Friends never heard him complain. The most he would say is,
"I just want my wife to get well." When I watch them now, holding
hands as they walk, I realize that it's not just a loving grip. Dad is
supporting Mom, giving her strength and balance.
But then, maybe that is the most loving grip of all, after 42
years of handholding.
And when I think of that, I'm speechless.
______________
Chapter Closed
I am writing to let you know that your publications, with regular
details of success in solving false memory tragedies, have worked for
this family. So well, in fact, that I can now close a miserable
chapter in our lives: ten years without a loving daughter.
My daughter was the victim of a greedy "therapist" who convinced
her of false memories of unspeakable acts on my part. I am convinced
that this evil person had her eyes on the on-going patient/therapist
sessions, spread over several years, all funded from the generous
health-care insurance provided by my daughter's wealthy corporate
employer.
I was far luckier than some poor fathers who were publicly trashed
and spent time in jail and who may never recover. There were no claims
of Satanic rites to contradict -- just the absence of her love and
tenderness that once graced our lives and, it appears, may do so once
again. As for her therapist, she has earned a special, terrible level
of hell to the end of time.
Over a period of time, with the use of both the success stories
printed in the newsletters and the friendly persuasion from her
siblings, she is coming around to where she now visits and dines with
us. She is gradually returning to the daughter we used to dream about.
A million thanks to you all.
A Dad
_________________________________
My Experience with False Memories
I have wanted to write about my experience with false memories for a
long time, but every time I started to put something down on paper, I
quickly found something else to do. This is a very painful topic for
me to discuss, but I hope in writing it in this newsletter, I will
help others.
In March of 1989, I started working with a therapist (psychiatric
social worker) to deal with issues surrounding a breakup of a romantic
relationship. By May 1989, it was very clear to me that I had bigger
problems than just a failed romance. I was extremely depressed and
felt very needy and had a strong urge to act out (threatening suicide
and self-mutilation.) One topic that my therapist and I discussed was
my relationship with my mother. My therapist asked me to detail a list
of the things that bothered me about my relationship with my mother.
One of the items was that I was angry that when I was six years old, I
asked my mom to tell my dad to stop coming into the bathroom when I
was taking a bath and she did not tell him. At the time of writing
that item I truly thought no more of it than what it was -- a
six-year-old wanting some independence -- and I again believe that to
be true. When I read my list aloud to my therapist, she raised her
eyebrows at that entry. That was it -- that is when my false memories
started. I can honestly say that my therapist did not "dig" into my
brain and cause the false memories. They just happened. She did listen
to whatever fabrication my brain came up with each week, and she was
supportive of me talking about whatever the subject was, but she did
not encourage me to delve any deeper.
As the weeks went on, I became progressively sicker and very
preoccupied in remembering things that did not happen to me. The book
The Courage to Heal became my lifeline. I believed that that book and
my therapist were the only things in the world I could rely on. I also
became obsessed with the novel Sybil. On Labor Day weekend of 1989, I
was hospitalized for the first time because of suicidal ideation. By
November, I was sure that not only my father, but also a neighbor and
a deceased, paternal aunt had sexually abused me. I began working with
a psychiatrist who also listened and encouraged me to express my
feelings, but he also did not strive to delve deeper into my past. He
encouraged me to talk with my parents about what I was experiencing.
Therefore, in November of 1989 I confronted my parents and told them
that my dad and aunt sexually abused me and that my mom did nothing to
stop it. This, by far, is the biggest regret of my life. I separated
myself from my parents for only one month, but the false memories
haunted me for many years.
I literally felt tortured by my thoughts. One moment I was sure
that those horrible things occurred, the next I knew that I was lying
and that something terrible was wrong with my mind. I have saved
journals from this time that clearly indicate that I was in a vast
amount of pain over those thoughts and false memories. I became
extremely self-injurious -- requiring numerous trips to emergency
rooms to suture serious cuts in my arms, legs, and breasts. In
addition, I made two suicide gestures -- both were overdoses. Though
my parents were not aware of these incidents, they knew that something
was terribly wrong, because in April of 1990 I was hospitalized until
March of 1991.
My story also includes a "survivors'" group that I know was
detrimental to my mental health. It was an art therapy group that in
the beginning was supportive and caring but was very damaging. The
members of the group, with the assent of the therapist, pressed each
other to remember and to express the tortures that were experienced as
children. This group became important to me for a long time until I
finally realized that many of the members had very similar memories. I
felt ostracized because I refused to believe that my parents were part
of a cult and I had been ritualistically abused. When I expressed my
opinion that the group was unhealthy, it was made clear by the other
members that I was in denial and I was injuring them by not believing
their stories. With the support of my psychiatrist, I quit the group.
Over the years, my therapist and I have discussed that I will
never know what is fact and what is false memory. By 1996, I was sure
that most, if not all, of my memories were false. I have apologized to
my father repeatedly. He refuses to discuss the issue. He will only
say that he always knew that he did not do anything harmful to me and
that he always loved me. I find it amazing that after all those
terrible accusations he never stopped loving me. I will never know if
or to what degree he was angry with me, because he will not talk about
it. But he has every right to be very, very hurt and outraged by my
actions. My mom was obviously angry and I am very glad she was able to
express it. My parents joined a support group for families of the
mentally ill. I know that it was a great source of help and comfort to
them.
I am still working with the same therapist/psychiatrist. He was
the first to tell me about FMSF. In retrospect, I believe that I am
the one that is responsible for my actions. I was in intense pain
because of my personality type. I needed a way to explain the pain and
my father was my scapegoat. I have a personality disorder. I work
daily -- actually moment to moment -- to remember that my thoughts and
misconceptions of life are not necessarily real. I also have to remind
myself daily that I do have normal thoughts, and not every negative
feeling I have is abnormal. I have a tendency to have very punitive
feelings toward myself because of the false memories. I still have
them -- false memories -- though they are very rare. I still have
strong urges to self-mutilate, but I do not and have not for a long
time.
It took me a number of years to fully believe that my memories
were false. Then, I didn't want to apologize because it would have
opened things up for discussion -- which I was afraid of. What was
most helpful to me was that I knew my parents loved me despite my
allegations and that they never distanced themselves from me. In
addition, I feel very fortunate that I have a therapist who educated
me about false memories and pointed me in the direction of FMSF.
A Retractor
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| DON'T MISS THIS |
| Featured article about Rutherford Family |
| in Guideposts January, 2000 |
| |
| To request a copy of the January 2000 issue of Guideposts - - - |
| Send a check for $1.20 to |
| Customer Service, Guideposts, |
| 39 Seminary Hill Road, |
| Carmel NY 10512. |
| |
| The customer service department would prefer to handle requests |
| via mail rather than over the phone. |
| |
| Tom Rutherford: "I am very pleased with the article. I believe |
| the Lord had helped during every mile of the journey. Guideposts |
| mentioned that they have never had an article like this one in |
| their publication." |
| |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
* N O T I C E S *
**********************************************************************
* *
* Important Notice for Family Conference participants *
* *
* CHURCH COUNSELING: WHAT CAN WE DO? *
* *
* Time: Sunday April 9 at 1:00 P.M. *
* (after the Memory and Reality conference) *
* Location: Announced at meeting. *
* *
* Paul Simpson, Ed.D., author of Second Thoughts: Understanding the *
* False Memory Crisis and How It Could Affect You, will meet with *
* all people who are concerned about recovered memory practices by *
* church counselors. *
* *
**********************************************************************
* www.MEMORY AND REALITY.org *
* or *
* http://www.FMSFonline.org *
* *
* Check out the new sections on hypnosis available late January 2000 *
**********************************************************************
* *
* 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.) *
* *
**********************************************************************
* AVAILABLE NOW *
* *
* Recovered Memories of Child Sexual Abuse: *
* Psychological, Social and Legal Perspectives *
* on a Contemporary Mental Health Controversy *
* *
* Publisher: Charles C. Thomas *
* Hardback $44.95 *
* Paperback $31.95 *
* ISBN 0398070059 *
* *
* 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
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
South Bay Area
Jack & Pat 831-425-1430
Central Coast
Carole 805-967-8058
Central Orange County - 1st Fri. (MO) @ 7pm
Chris & Alan 714-733-2925
Orange County
Jerry and Eileen 909-659-9636
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. (MO) @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 May/June Newsletter is April 15
Meeting notices MUST be in writing
and should be sent no later than TWO MONTHS PRIOR TO MEETING.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Do you have access to e-mail? Send a message to |
| pjf@cis.upenn.edu |
| if you wish to receive electronic versions of this newsletter and |
| notices of radio and television broadcasts about FMS. All the |
| message need say is "add to the FMS-News". It would be useful, but |
| not necessary, if you add your full name (all addresses and names |
| will remain strictly confidential). |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
**********************************************************************
The False Memory Syndrome Foundation is a qualified 501(c)3 corpora-
tion with its principal offices in Philadelphia and governed by its
Board of Directors. While it encourages participation by its members
in its activities, it must be understood that the Foundation has no
affiliates and that no other organization or person is authorized to
speak for the Foundation without the prior written approval of the Ex-
ecutive Director. All membership dues and contributions to the Founda-
tion must be forwarded to the Foundation for its disposition.
**********************************************************************
Pamela Freyd, Ph.D., Executive Director
FMSF Scientific and Professional Advisory Board, March 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.
**********************************************************************
Y E A R L Y FMSF M E M B E R S H I P I N F O R M A T I O N
Professional - Includes Newsletter $125_______
Family - Includes Newsletter $100_______
Additional Contribution:_____________
PLEASE FILL OUT ALL INFORMATION
___VISA: Card: #________-________-________-________ exp. date ___/___
___MASTER CARD: #________-________-________-________ exp. date ___/___
___Check or Money Order: Payable to FMS FOUNDATION IN U.S. DOLLARS.
______________________________________________________________________
Signature
______________________________________________________________________
Name (PLEASE PRINT)
______________________________________________________________________
Street Address or P.O.Box
______________________________________________________________________
City State Zip+4
(_____)_____________________________(_____)___________________________
Telephone FAX
* MAIL the completed form with payment to:
FMS Foundation, 3401 Market ST, Suite 130, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3315
This address and the phone numbers have changed as of July 15, 2000
* FAX your order to (215) 287-1917. Fax orders cannot be processed
without credit card information.
**********************************************************************
F A M I L Y C O N F E R E N C E
Memory and Reality: Return to Reason
Sponsor: FMS Foundation
Location: Crowne Plaza Hotel White Plains New York
Registration form at end below
PROGRAM
Saturday, April 8, 2000
MORNING SESSION
8:15 Registration and Coffee
9:00 Welcome and Opening Remarks
Pamela Freyd, Ph.D.
9:15 Community Effort and the Memory Wars
Paul McHugh, M.D.
10:30 Coffee Break
10:45 From False Memories to Reality: Retractor Panel
Terence Campbell, Ph.D., Moderator
12:00 Lunch (on your own)
AFTERNOON SESSION
1:30 Paving the Road to Reason with Science
Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D.
2:45 Many Paths for FMSF Families: Professional Panel
Harold Lief, M.D., Moderator
4:00 Break
4:15 Roundtables (Sign up at registration.
Topics include: Mediation; Dealing with a Returner; Sons as
accusers; Moving on; Religious counseling.)
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 7:00 Celebration Dinner |
| An evening of appreciation and celebration is scheduled |
| for Saturday Night at the family conference, with Pamela Freyd as |
| the featured speaker. RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED. The cost of the |
| dinner is $60.00 per person. If the cost of the dinner is |
| prohibitive, please pay what you would expect to spend for a |
| special Saturday evening dinner. CUT-OFF FOR DINNER RESERVATIONS |
| IS APRIL 1. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Sunday, April 9, 2000
MORNING SESSION
8:30 Brunch
9:00 Spectral Evidence vs. Science: Legal Issues
Ralph Slovenko, J.D., Ph.D., R. Christopher
Barden, J.D., Ph.D., Martha Churchill, J.D.
10:00 Caught in the Middle: Sibling Panel
Hollida Wakefield, M.A., Moderator
11:00 Coffee
11:15 Telling the FMS Story: Author Panel
Eleanor Goldstein, Moderator
12:15 Closing Remarks
Pamela Freyd, Ph.D.
A special conference room-rate for the FMSF Family Conference of $110
plus tax (Single or Double) per night at the Crowne Plaza is
obtainable only until 4 weeks before the conference-March 6, 2000. To
make your reservation call 800-PLAINS2 or 914-682-0050.
The Crowne Plaza is about 30 miles north of Manhattan. The
Westchester County airport is approximately 10 minutes away from White
Plains and La Guardia airport is approximately 40 minutes away. White
Plains can be reached by train and is easily accessible by automobile.
It is close to the Tappan Zee Bridge. The hotel provides complimentary
shuttle service from Westchester County airport and White Plains Metro
North. Shuttle service to the New York Medical College meeting on
Friday will also be provided.
**********************************************************************
P R O F E S S I O N A L C O N F E R E N C E
False Memory Syndrome: New Perspectives
Sponsor:
New York Medical College Dept Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Location: Westchester Country Club, Rye, NY
PROGRAM
Friday, April 7, 2000 (8:00 A.M to 4:00 P.M.)
8:00 Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00 Welcome
Joseph T. English, M.D., Paul Kymissis, M.D.
9:30 Lessons Learned and Experiences Had in Dealing
with the False Memory Syndrome
Paul McHugh, M.D.
10:30 Coffee Break
11:00 Creating False Memories
Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D.
12:15 Luncheon Presentation: False Memory Syndrome
and the Therapeutic Culture
Wendy Kaminer, Ph.D.
1:45 The Duty of the Therapist Toward Family Members
Ralph Slovenko, Ph.D., LL.B.
2:30 The Role of the Clinician
David Halperin, M.D.
3:15 Panel Discussion
Registration for False Memory Syndrome: New Perspectives (New York
Medical College Professional Conference)
$85.00 before March 31, 2000; $100.00 after March 31, 2000, $50.00
New York Medical College students and residents
Visa and Mastercard accepted, Checks should be made payable to:
Office of Continuing Medical Education, New York Medical College,
Valhalla, New York 10595, Telephone 914-594-4487, Fax: 914-594-4699
Include: Name, Title, Phone, Address, City, State, Zip, and
Organization.
NY Medical College designates this activity for a maximum of (7)
hours in Category 1 credit towards the AMA Physician's recognition
award.
**********************************************************************
FMSF FAMILY CONFERENCE
MEMORY AND REALITY: RETURN TO REASON
Saturday April 8 and Sunday April 9, 2000
Crowne Plaza Hotel White Plains, New York
NAME__________________________________________________________________
Please print
ADDRESS_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
PHONE # _________________ FAX #_________________ EMAIL_________________
REGISTRATION
EARLY REGISTRATION DISCOUNT UNTIL MARCH 15, 2000.
Member
Early Regular
1st Family Registrant $ 90 $ 115
2nd Family registrant $ 50 $ 75
Each additional Fam. Regist #__times $ 30 #__times $ 55
Retractor $ 30 $ 55
Student (Copy of ID required) $ 30 $ 55
* Dinner #__times $ 60 #__times $ 60
NON-Member
Early Regular
1st Family Registrant $150 $ 175
2nd Family registrant $ 75 $ 100
Each additional Fam. Regist #__times $ 40 #__times $ 65
Retractor $ 30 $ 55
Student (Copy of ID required) $ 30 $ 55
* Dinner #__times $ 65 #__times $ 65
TOTAL ENCLOSED (US $ Please) $ ____________________
REGULAR PRICE IN EFFECT AFTER MARCH 13, 2000
Please Print the Name of Each Registrant
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
CREDIT CARD (PLEASE CIRCLE): VISA MasterCard DISCOVER
NAME ON CARD (print) _________________________
CARD # _________________________
Expiration Date _________ Signature ________________________
AMOUNT _______
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *A dinner celebration is planned for Saturday night, with Pamela |
| Freyd speaking. RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED. The cost of dinner at |
| the hotel is $60.00 per person ($65 per person for non-members). |
| If the cost of the dinner for a member is prohibitive, we ask that |
| you pay what you would expect to spend for a very special Saturday |
| evening dinner. |
| |
| CUT-OFF date for dinner reservations is APRIL 1, 2000. |
| You may pay for the dinner separately |
| anytime before the cut-off date. |
| Circle A or B |
| A. I will be attending the dinner._____ reservations |
| B. I will not be attending the dinner. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
MAIL Registration and Dinner Reservation to FMS Foundation,
3401 Market St. Suite 130, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
This address and the phone numbers have changed as of July 15, 2000