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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 2001 Vol 10 No. 2
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ISSN #1069-0484. Copyright (c) 2001 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:
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1955 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-5766
Phone 215-940-1040, Fax 215-940-1042
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Legal Corner The next issue will be combined
Scheiber May/June
From Our Readers
Bulletin Board
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Dear Friends,
The good news and the sad news as we begin 2001:
More holes have appeared in the notion of "dissociative amnesia"
as it has been understood in the recovered memory movement, i.e. the
belief that people can repress and then later accurately recover
memories of a traumatic experience. As reported on page 3, Mikkel
Borch-Jacobsen has painstakingly researched the origin of this concept
and found it based on speculation -- not on any data. He writes: "We
witness here the birth of a true psychiatric myth, fated to a grand
future: the patient is entirely ignorant of the trauma that caused his
symptoms." What began as mere speculation in a footnote by Charcot
became, "from doctor to patient and patient to doctor, an
irresistible, self-propagating machine and a powerful cultural
myth. That is to say, a new reality. That is to say, for many, a
destiny."
Another hole comes from a critique of a paper supposedly providing
the evidence of the existence of "dissociative amnesia." August Piper,
Jr. and colleagues convincingly point out the flaws in both the
arguments and the evidence presented. Readers will likely find it
deeply disturbing to see the misrepresentation of scientific studies
made by some proponents of "dissociative amnesia," as documented in
the table on page 7.
These two works, when added to the historical studies of Pope et
al. and the lack of support from laboratory studies, should make it
increasingly difficult for people to continue clinging to the
hypothesis that "dissociative amnesia" is scientifically proved rather
than a belief.
Informed consent was the subject of the lead article in the
January American Journal of Psychiatry. (See page 4.) In it, Beahrs
and Gutheil write convincingly of the need for informed consent and
call upon the therapeutic community to become involved in deciding
what such consent should look like. Much of what appears in this
article will seem familiar to readers of this newsletter, but it is
encouraging to see these ideas appear in a leading journal for
psychiatrists.
For those whose concerns involve younger children, there is good
news. (See page 4.) First, a survey from the Department of Justice has
found the number of substantiated sexual abuse cases has declined by
31 percent since 1992. Second, a study has been conducted by the state
of Washington (Berliner & Lieb) showing that the best way to document
interviews with children is by use of a tape recorder. Perhaps these
studies along with more exacting definitions may lead to a more
accurate picture of the sexual-abuse problem.
A bill passed the Colorado House in February that would outlaw the
therapy technique known as "rebirthing" as it has been used in
attachment therapy for children. The motivation for this was the death
of a child, but the notion of rebirthing has also been found in some
recovered-memory therapy practices. It appears that because the
professional organizations have not reigned in outlandish therapies,
legislatures will attempt to do that job.
Jack Quattrocchi received some good news in February: he will not
need to have another court trial. (See pages 6 and 12.) Quattrocchi, a
lawyer, was released from prison in 1996 by the Rhode Island Supreme
Court, that ordered that he have a pretrial Gatekeeping (Daubert)
hearing to determine the reliability and validity of recovered-memory
evidence. The judge at the pretrial hearing found that the state did
not meet its burden in proving the reliability of repressed
recollection and its admissibility as scientific evidence. After a
decade, Mr. Quattrocchi can get on with his life.
But Quattrocchi, as others who have been wrongly imprisoned in the
past decade, may find it difficult to hold anyone accountable. Kelly
Michaels, the nursery school teacher in the Wee Care case who was
imprisoned for five years, went as far as the U.S. Supreme Court in
her efforts to get past the immunity that prosecutors have. The Court
did not hear her civil rights case. (See page 5.) Michaels, however,
still has a $10 million civil case for damages in New Jersey, but
several articles have reported that she would settle for an apology.
Unfortunately, recovered-memory therapy continues, although
sometimes by a different name. Martin and Deidre Bobgan wrote to alert
us of the danger of "Theophastic Counseling," one of the fastest
spreading techniques in church counseling. (See page 12.) Although
church counseling was always a sizable proportion of the problem, it
appears to be an increasing percentage. This may be due in part
because licensed professionals have been given guidelines about the
danger of creating false memories and that may have tempered use of
memory excavation techniques. It is ironic that Theophastic
Counseling, which emphasizes the search for memories, is spreading at
the very time that a publication such as the Nov/Dec `00 Church Law
and Tax Report is strongly advising churches of their liability for
it. (See sidebar on page 11.)
Some FMS situations have happy endings. Unfortunately, too many do
not. In "Letter from Ohio" (page 10) you will read about a daughter
who returned only to find that her father had Alzheimer's and didn't
recognize her. In Dave Scheiber's moving article "A Full Life Ends
With Rift Unresolved" on page 8, you will learn about the life of
Irene Miller, the person who recently told her story to the St.
Petersburg Times that we wrote about in the last issue. Although the
article is a beautiful tribute to a fine woman, Irene's story does not
have a happy ending. The last letter in this issue from "A
disappointed father" gives insight into why some people have decided
to make no more overtures.
It is imperative that we continue do all that we can to change this
situation. We must try even harder to find ways to help families
reconcile -- while they still can. We might not accomplish all that we
want, but we must make that important effort. The Foundation will be
asking for your help in this. On March 15, we will be mailing a one-
page survey update, the first step in a reconciliation research
project that is described below. Please help us in this effort. It's
something only you can do. Thank you for your support.
PAMELA
+----------------------------------------------------+
| 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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FAMILY SURVEY UPDATE 2001
Those who were able to attend the Westchester conference last April
may recall that Drs. Lief and McHugh both spoke to the need for
research in family reconciliation. The purpose of the research would
be eventually to help facilitate the rehabilitation of families torn
apart by FMS. Thanks to a gift from Marion and Chris Koronakos, The
Foundation can start making the Lief/McHugh ideas concrete.
In January, FMSF Staff and Chris Koronakos, Ph.D. met with
Drs. Lief and McHugh. We agreed that the first step is to identify
families that are in various stages of the reconciliation process. For
this purpose, we have delineated three different categories: the
"refuser," the "returner" and the "retractor." Some accusing offspring
simply refuse to agree that their memories are false and they refuse
to have contact with anyone who challenges their opinion. These are
the REFUSERS. Some people return to the family but do not retract.
They may discuss the accusation, but often there is a "deafening
silence" as the central issue in the family seems to be out of bounds
for discussion. These are the RETURNERS. Finally, we know of many who
return to the family acknowledging that the accusations were false and
seek to reestablish meaningful family relationships. These we call
RETRACTORS. We recognize that over time people may move from one
category to another.
This survey is the first step. It will give us some important
general information about the status of families, but we also expect
that it will help us to identify some families that may be contacted
again for more in-depth interviews. As is standard practice in good
research studies, all data will be numerically coded and names will be
removed from the questionnaire.
The last family survey update that FMSF did was in early 1997. At
that time we learned that 25% of the families who returned the survey
thought that they had a "returner" in the family and 7% of the
families said they had a retractor. Have those percentages changed?
There is no other organization that is in touch with so many
families entrapped by the false memory syndrome. Because of the good
will of families, we are able to gather information broadly on matters
than can lead to our better understanding of the causes and resolution
of this family tragedy. There is no other group that can do this work.
We know how difficult it can be to complete a questionnaire about
matters you might rather not think about, but in this case every reply
is very important to the integrity of the study. Indeed, it is one way
in which every family who has contacted the Foundation can make a
contribution to helping others as well as themselves. We would not ask
you to do this if we did not actively need your personal help.
We expect to mail the surveys on March 15th. Please be on the
lookout.
Thank you,
Ad Hoc Committee on Family Reconciliation Research
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "Simple suspicion is enough to have a woman branded a witch. |
| Sometimes her only crime is that her face appears to someone in a |
| dream, someone dies, or sickness or bad luck befalls the |
| community. Sometimes the real reason is envy or spite." |
| Ann M. Simmons |
| "Groups Seek to Aid Women Sent to Ghana's Witch Camps" |
| Los Angeles Times, Dec. 24, 2000 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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AARON BECK AWARDED $250,000
Aaron Beck, M.D. has been awarded the $250,000 Heinz award for his
work in treating psychiatric disorders. The award honors individuals
who have developed and implemented innovative programs in the health
care field. Dr. Beck, a member of the FMSF Scientific Advisory Board,
is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania.
Beck is noted as the developer of cognitive therapy, one of the
most widely respected techniques in psychotherapy. Cognitive therapy
is probably "the most empirically validated in the world," noted a
colleague.
Explaining how he conceived of cognitive therapy, Dr. Beck noted:
"I discovered that depressed patients systematically biased their
interpretations of their experiences so they saw their past and future
very negatively and would feel bad and lose any motivation to do
anything that might make them feel better." Cognitive therapy
"consisted of getting them to examine their interpretations and to
look for alternative interpretations."
Shankar Vedantam, "Area psychiatrist wins $250,000 Heinz Award,"
Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb 5, 2001.
+------------------------------------+
| IT'S ON THE WAY |
| The Family Survey Update 2001 |
| Please take time to complete it. |
| This is important. |
+------------------------------------+
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BIRTH OF A PSYCHIATRIC MYTH
How to Predict the Past:
From Trauma to Repression
Mikkel Borch-Jacobsen
History of Psychiatry, xi (2000), 015-035.
Mikkel Borch-Jacobsen examines how the meaning of the word "trauma,"
as a description of physical wounds, changed to mean psychic wounds.
Of importance to the current memory debates, he carefully documents
the genesis and development of the controversial notion of "post-
traumatic amnesia."
Borch-Jacobsen notes that Charcot did the ground work for "all the
elements of the new `traumatico-dissociative' theory of neuroses that
was to be taken up and developed by Janet, Breuer, and Freud." But he
asks if the theory is valid. He writes "Charcot's success in
artificially reproducing paralyses that originally appeared
`spontaneously' after a trauma proves only that his patients bent
themselves to his suggestions, not that the spontaneous paralyses were
due to a `dissociation of the ego' identical to that provoked under
hypnosis. Supposing (a hardly fantastic hypothesis) that Charcot had a
theory that attributed post-traumatic hysterical paralyses to the
hidden influence of magnets, he could most certainly have artificially
reproduced those paralyses by applying magnets to his patients. Would
this have proved that the spontaneous post-traumatic paralyses were
caused by magnets?"
Borch-Jacobsen is highly critical of Charcot's case examples. When
Charcot wrote "this [amnesia] is almost always the rule in grand
nervous shocks," he notes that Charcot really did not have any
examples on which to base that. The cases of traumatic hysteria or
neurasthenia that Charcot had presented up until then reveal that even
if some of them lost consciousness at the moment of the shock, not one
presented a true amnesia of the accident. "Charcot unduly generalized
his theory to the detriment of his clinical material."
Borch-Jacobsen notes the remarkable speed with which that ad hoc
hypothesis crystallized into a dogma, creating a new expectation
shared by the doctors and their patients. He writes:
"We witness here the birth of a true psychiatric myth, fated to a
grand future: the patient is entirely ignorant of the trauma that
caused his symptoms. We must therefore distrust his memory, force it
in order to recover the subconscious `fixed idea' (Janet), the
unconscious `reminiscence' (Breuer and Freud)."
Borch-Jacobson observes that:
"There are manifestly two ways to interpret this sudden deluge of
traumatic memories. One might -- and this is the first, most common
way of looking at this -- see it as a striking confirmation of
Charcot's theory of `traumatic hysteria... but one might also think,
conversely, that these astonishing reminiscences were the effect of
that theory advanced by Charcot: the more his followers searched for
forgotten traumatic memories, the more they found."
"Charcot's first patients, in conformity with the popular theory of
the time, attributed their symptoms to an accident of which they
retained a very vivid memory. The patients of Janet and Freud
quickly learned that what was expected of them was forgotten trauma
... The therapists' expectations, their leading questions, their
hypnotic rituals were quite sufficient to persuade their patients to
search always further in their memory for the cause of their
illness."
"Charcot's theory had introduced new expectations, which in turn
created new symptomatic behaviors, new therapeutic rituals, new ways
of interpreting reality."
"What began as mere speculation by Charcot in a footnote became,
from doctor to patient and patient to doctor, an irresistible,
self-propagating machine and a powerful cultural myth. That is to
say, a new reality. That is to say, for many, a destiny."
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "Workshop to Mine Past for Healing" |
| Headline in the Arizona Republic |
| |
| For $289 participants can listen to Brian Weiss and find the |
| reason for their problems in their past lives or they can listen |
| to James Van Praagh who will relay messages from deceased loves |
| ones to the living to help them. |
| Michelle Craig, "Workshop to mine past for healing," |
| Arizona Republic, (E), Jan 22, 2001 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE CASES DECLINE
Lisa Jones and David Finkelhor
"The Decline in Child Sexual Abuse Cases"
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Bulletin,
Jan. 2001.
According to a new report from the U.S. Department of Justice, there
has been a 31 percent decline in substantiated child sex abuse cases
from 1992 (149,800 cases) to 1998 (103,600 cases). There has also been
a 26-percent drop in the number of reported cases from 429,000 cases
in 1991 to 315,400 cases in 1998.
It is not known why there has been a decrease. The authors suggest
that it may be in part related to recent declines in other kinds of
crime and a result of two decades of prevention education, more
aggressive case finding and prosecution, and the incarceration and
treatment of many offenders. It may also be due to changes in
attitudes, policies or standards such that the public and
professionals have become more conservative in the identification of
possible signs of sexual abuse.
"The Decline in Child Sexual Abuse Cases" is available on-line at
http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/pubs/new.html
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| FMS is in the language |
| |
| FALSE MEMORY SYNDROME abbr FMS. The belief that one remembers |
| events, especially traumatic events, that have not actually |
| occurred. Not in scientific use. |
| THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY, 4th Edition, 2000. |
| |
| FALSE MEMORY SYNDROME: a psychological condition in which a person |
| believes that he or she remembers events that have not actually |
| occurred. |
| RANDOM HOUSE COMPACT UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY |
| Special Second Edition, 1996, Addenda. |
| |
| FALSE MEMORY SYNDROME: a situation in which examination, therapy |
| or hypnosis has elicited apparent memories, especially of |
| childhood abuse, that are disputed by family members and are often |
| traumatic to the patient. |
| In the new ENCARTA DICTIONARY |
| (published by St.Martins, |
| but Encarta is a name owned by Microsoft) |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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TRUE BUT NOT FALSE MEMORIES PRODUCE A SENSORY SIGNATURE
IN HUMAN LATERALIZED BRAIN POTENTIALS
Fabiani, M., Stadler, M. & Wessels, P.
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 941, Nov. 2000.
This paper reports that brain activity differs when true and false
memories are retrieved. The researchers created false memories in
volunteers and studied their brain waves as they did so. They created
false memories by using techniques developed by Roediger and McDermott
(1995). Fabiani et al. had subjects study lists of words related to a
key concept such as sleep. The lists might include bed, rest, and
tired but not the concept word sleep. The researchers found that
subjects remembered things wrong as often as they did correctly.
Subjects not only "remembered" the key word (that was not presented)
they also "remembered" the situation in which they believed they had
heard it. Fabiani et al. found that there was sensory-related brain
activity associated with true memories when participants recalled
words, but false memories showed different patterns of electrical
activity.
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WHEN KNOWING BECOMES REMEMBERING:
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SUSCEPTIBILITY TO SUGGESTION
Paddock, J. R. et al.
Journal of Genetic Psychology 453-368 Dec. 2000.
In two experiments, the authors explored factors that might influence
a person's tendency to make source-monitoring errors about
autobiographical memories. Results of the first experiment, a
replication of Hyman et al. (1998), showed the effect "guided
visualizations" can have on memory. The second experiment showed that
extroversion, external locus of control, a memory that conveyed fear,
and overall affective content predicted individual differences in this
effect of guided imagery.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| From Dr. Koop's Website: |
| |
| "Much of the credit for exposing the repressed memory movement |
| belongs to the False Memory Syndrome Foundation, which many |
| psychotherapists have tried to marginalize as a "perpetrator" |
| interest group. This organization separated the issue of abuse and |
| issues of memory science, assembled erudite American and Canadian |
| memory researchers, and because a significant educational force. |
| Its founder and Executive Director, Pamela Freyd, Ph.D., deserves |
| to have the last word: "We have a whole culture that has accepted |
| the notion that the proof that something happened is that the |
| person forgot it." |
| Rael Jean Isaac |
| "Down Pseudo-Memory Lane: `Repressed Memories' of Sexual Abuse" |
| http://www.drkoop.com/news/focus/october/repressed_memories.html |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE INVESTIGATIONS:
TESTING DOCUMENTATION METHODS
Berliner, L. with Lieb, R.
Washington State Institute for Public Policy, Jan. 2001.
This study shows that audio taping interviews with child sexual abuse
victims is the best way to get their stories straight. Audio taping is
easier and provides a more accurate account than near-verbatim note
taking. The institute studied 92 interviews from Jan 1 through Oct 31,
2000 and compared near-verbatim note taking, audio recording, and
videotaping. Audio recording is the most cost-effective, efficient and
reliable method of documentation. Videotaping was more expensive,
cameras are less portable and they bothered some children.
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INFORMED CONSENT IN PSYCHOTHERAPY
Beahrs, J.O. & Gutheil, T.G.
American Journal of Psychiatry,
Jan. 2001.
This important paper by two of psychiatry's respected practitioners
appears in a major psychiatric journal. As such, it should lay to rest
further discussion on whether there should be "informed consent" in
psychotherapy. Rather the questions are now what should constitute
informed consent and how should it be presented so that it will
enhance the therapy process. We quote the authors' conclusions:
In summary, informed consent is now recommended for psychotherapy,
just as it is for any other medical and surgical procedures and for
the same reasons. Its content depends primarily on what is material to
clients' decisions. Consent always includes basic parameters of the
treatment contract. Clients should be informed about the relative
efficacy, efficiency, and safety of the recommended treatment and its
primary alternatives as well as the likely consequences of no
treatment. Patients should understand these parameters and be
competent to give informed consent.
Much of the question of just what constitutes sufficient and
appropriate informed consent remains unresolved. This fact gives the
psychotherapy profession considerable latitude in helping to shape a
still unfolding process. Wherever the informed consent process is
potentially problematic, as in the risks of a legalistic climate, this
malleability confers both the opportunity and the obligation on us
psychotherapists to do all that we can so that the emergent doctrines
will be maximally therapeutic for our clients, foster a salutary
climate for our practice, and serve a constructive role in helping to
shape society.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that |
| they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, |
| and one by one." |
| Charles Mackay |
| Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. |
| 1852 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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L E G A L C O R N E R
FMSF Staff
___________________________
Kelly Michaels Loses Appeal
Michaels v McGrath et al 00-361 Sup. Ct. of U.S. 2001
U.S. Lexis 646, Jan 16, 2001, Decided
Kelly Michaels lost her appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court requesting
the right to sue those who investigated and prosecuted her. The court
rejected her argument that officials violated her constitutional
rights by using unreliable evidence that resulted from improper
interviews of the alleged victims.
Justice Clarence Thomas voted to hear the Michaels' appeal, noting
that the lower court ruling "leaves victims of egregious prosecutorial
misconduct without a remedy."
Kelly Michaels served 5 years in prison, 18 months of which was in
solitary confinement. She was convicted of child abuse in the day-care
frenzy of the late 1980s [1] and was freed when a NJ appellate court
reversed her conviction in 1993 on grounds that the investigative
techniques were improper.[2] Michaels, in a civil rights case, sued
the prosecutor, state investigators and a psychologist hired by the
prosecutor in 1996. A U.S. district Judge decided that the officials
she was suing were entitled to immunity.[3] A 3rd U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals upheld that ruling last June.[4]
Michaels still has a case in New Jersey seeking damages under
common law. That case was remanded by a federal judge back to Superior
Court where it could go to trial later this year. Michaels is seeking
$10 million in damages but she has said that she would settle for an
apology.
Michaels is now a homemaker and has three children. She is writing
a book about her case.
"Sex Offender's Case Denied in Court,"
Find Law Legal News, Jan. 17, 2001
John Chadwick, "Day-care nightmare haunts her still,"
The Record, Feb. 18, 2001
[1] State v Michaels, 264 N.J. Super. 579, 591, 625 A.2d 489, 495
(1993).
[2] id. At 620-635, 265 A. 2d, at 510-519.
[3] Michaels v New Jersey. F. Sup. 2d 353 (NJ 1999) affirmed by third
circuit 222 F.3d 118 (2000).
[4] 222 F.3d 118 (2000).
__________________________________
Brother Sues Sister for Defamation
Donnelly v Bruchak No. C0048CV2000008394
Northampton County Civil Court, Easton, PA Nov 1, 2000
Michael Donnelly of New York City filed a lawsuit against his sister,
Eileen Donnelly Bruchak of Bethlehem, PA for slander, libel and
defamation of character.
Bruchak, a guidance counselor at a Parkland elementary school in
Allentown, PA, accused Donnelly of sexually abusing her in the 1970s.
Bruchak informed several friends and family members about her
"recovered memories," causing other family members to terminate
contact with Donnelly.
Bruchak informed her brother of the allegations in a certified
letter in September 2000. When Donnelly replied by suggesting that
they try to resolve the issue with the help of a therapist or priest,
Bruchak went to the Pennsylvania State Police and filed a complaint
against Donnelly for "harassment."
The harassment case was docketed on December 5, 2000. Magistrate
Elmo L. Frey, Jr., District Court Judge in Nazareth, PA, suggested to
both parties that the charges be dropped after 90 days if there is no
correspondence or contact during that period. Both parties agreed to
that proposal.
Donnelly stated that he hopes to learn the precise nature and the
genesis of the allegations through court depositions. He said that he
hopes to reconcile with his sister and that he fully expects to pursue
legal action against his sister's therapist.
____________________________________________________
MPD Therapist Examined by Tennessee Psychology Board
The Tennessee Board of Examiners in Psychology on February 15 began a
hearing on more than two dozen conduct charges against Terry B. Davis,
a therapist who specializes in treating dissociative identity
disorders (formerly called multiple personality disorder).
Davis told the board that she has treated between 200 and 250
patients with dissociative disorders out of the 1,000 to 1,500
patients she has seen in her career.
One former patient identified as "P1" said that she believed that
Davis had planted false memories of sexual abuse by her father during
hypnosis sessions. P1 said that there was no way to convince Davis
that this was not true. P1 stated when she protested, "I was told I
was running away and that [the false memories] were true." P1 claimed
that Davis "told me that my father had been involved in satanic
rituals and that demons were in control, and that apparently one of
these demons came to the surface." The patient said that Davis tried
to perform an exorcism of her demons.
Debbie Mathis, another former patient, had entered therapy for
depression. Mathis said that she could never find the memories Davis
insisted she had repressed. "People would be crawling in corners,
humped over all of a sudden, talking in baby talk. I didn't have any
hidden memories. I could always remember everything."
Ms. Davis is represented by Ken Weber of Nashville who maintains
that the state will not be able to provide proof of its charges.
Mickie Anderson, "Patient tells of exorcism attempt: State examines
doctor conduct charges, (Feb 12, 2001) and "Psychologist faces hearing
on charges of misconduct" (Dec 31, 2000) The Commercial Appeal.
_________________________________
Update of cases we have followed:
STATE OF R.I. v QUATTROCCHI,
Sup Ct,, P1/92-3759, Filed: Jan 19, 2001
In 1994 John Quattrocchi was found guilty of sexual abuse and
sentenced to prison. In 1996 the RI Supreme Court overturned his
conviction and granted him a new trial saying that he should have a
"Gatekeeping (Daubert) hearing [1] In 1999, Judge Clifton rendered a
31-page decision in which he found that the State had not carried its
burden of proof that recovered memory therapy was scientific. He also
ruled that the therapy the complainant received was unreliable. The
prosecutors asked the Court to reconsider this decision. In 2001,
Judge Clifton wrote in his clarification:
"Ultimately, this court determined that the State had failed to
meet its burden in proving the reliability of repressed recollection
and its admissibility as scientific evidence."
This case is finally over.
[1] State v. Quattrocchi, 681 A.2d 879 (R.I.1996).
See FMSF Newsletters Sept. 96; June 99.
___________________________________________
Discipline Hearing by College of Physicians
Prosecutors for the disciplinary committee of the College of
Physicians and Surgeons in Ontario alleged that Dr. Raymond Danny
Leibl misdiagnosed a former patient as having multiple personality
disorder and was planting memories of sexual abuse that were not
there. According to the charges, Dr. Leibl tried to "re-parent" this
patient by feeding her from a baby bottle and having her call him
daddy. Dr. Leibl allegedly carried out a mock funeral for the
patient's parents and then installed himself as the ideal parent and
even took her on a trip to Florida where they slept in the same bed.
Chris Eby, "Psychiatrist fed me with baby bottle: Ex-patient
claims sexual misconduct: Women say doctor drugged them with
vodka sedatives," National Post, Feb. 6, 2001.
_______________________________________________
Colorado Bill Would Outlaw `Rebirthing Therapy'
A Colorado bill that would outlaw the controversial therapy known as
"rebirthing" passed the legislature in February. In HB 1238,
rebirthing is defined as "the re-enactment of the birthing process
through psychodrama techniques, including, but not limited to,
physical restraint creating a situation in which a patient may
suffocate." The bill would make rebirthing a misdemeanor punishable
by up to six months in jail or a fine of $50 to $750.
The motivation for the Colorado bill was the tragic death of
10-year-old Candace Newmaker last year. (See FMSF Newsletter 9 (4)
Jul/Aug 2000.) Candace's adoptive mother believed that the girl
suffered from attachment disorder, an inability to bond with her
caretaker. She took Candace to Colorado therapists who believed that
recreating the birth process would heal her trauma and help her to
become more loving to her mother. Testifying in support of the bill
was Jaye Bartha, a retractor who has written several articles for this
newsletter.(See FMSF Newsletter 9 (5) Sept/Oct, 2000.)
Rebirthing therapy was shown on the 1995 Frontline documentary
about recovered memory therapy, "Divided Memories."
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "This case demonstrates clearly that the health care system needs |
| to do a much better job of protecting the public from incompetent |
| and dangerous psychotherapy quacks." |
| Christopher Barden, J.D., Ph.D. |
| Comments about the 4th largest jury verdict in a psychotherapy |
| malpractice case, Drummond v. Dudley, Washington. |
| |
| (The three largest awards were all recovered memory cases. |
| Drummond was not.) |
| |
| LARGEST JURY AWARDS FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY NEGLIGENCE. |
| $5.80 million (TX) Carl v. Keraga |
| $2.67 million (MN) Hamanne v. Humenansky |
| $2.54 million (MN) Carlson v. Humenansky |
| $2.1 million (WA) Drummond v.. Dudley |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
CUSTER'S LAST STAND:
BROWN, SCHEFLIN, AND WHITFIELD'S LATEST ATTEMPT
TO SALVAGE "DISSOCIATIVE AMNESIA"
Piper, A., Pope, H., and Borowiecki, III, B.S.
Journal of Psychiatry & Law, 28
Summer 2000,149-213.
The belief that people can repress and then later accurately recover
memories of a traumatic experience has been central to the recovered-
memory controversy. The authors of this paper examine the arguments
given by Brown, Scheflin and Whitfield [1] in defense of the theory of
"dissociative amnesia." Supporters of this theory have presented lists
of studies that they claim provide evidence for the theory. However,
both their arguments and their interpretations of scientific studies
are deeply flawed. This important paper provides specific evidence of
many of the flaws in the arguments and in the interpretation of
studies used to support the arguments. On the next page we reprint one
chart from the paper that is an example of one type of flaw. The
authors conclude, "on the basis of currently available evidence,
neither science not the courts can responsibly accept repression as a
valid entity."
[1] Brown, Scheflin and Whitfield, "Recovered memories: The current
weight of the evidence in science and in the courts," Journal of
Psychiatry & Law, 27 (1999): 5-156.
STUDIES ALLEGED BY BROWN, SCHEFLIN AND WHITFIELD
TO PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF DISSOCIATIVE AMNESIA:
CLAIMS OF BROWN ET AL. VS. ACTUAL INFORMATION FROM ORIGINAL PAPERS
from Piper et a.,, "Custer's Last Stand..." J. Psychiatry & Law, 28
9 papers,
the BSW statement (each from p 28 of their article),
+------------------+
| and the truth. |
+------------------+
Cardena & Spiegel 1993
"Although Cardena and Spiegel say that `neither partial
or full amnesia for the traumatic event was frequently
reported,' they did find it in about 3%-5% of subjects
in the `severely affected group.'"
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| No such statement exists, either on page 476 or elsewhere in the |
| paper. The only remotely similar statement in the paper is that |
| "some _anecdotal_ accounts that were given to the first author by |
| a _different_ group of more severely affected individuals suggest |
| that _partial_ forms of amnesia may have occurred...(p. 476, |
| emphasis added). |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Dollinger 1986
"Two of 38 lightning victims suffered amnesia for the event."
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| BSW fail to mention that the two amnestic boys were "side-flash |
| victims" who "suffered medical complications." Thus, these boys in |
| effect received an electroconvulsive treatment from lightning -- |
| and ECT has been known for more than a half-century to cause |
| simple biological amnesia, as discussed by Pope et al. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Escobar et al. 1992
"Flash flood survivors suffered a variety of symptoms,
including amnesia, paralysis, and fainting spells."
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Although amnesia is mentioned generically as one of several |
| "pseudoneurological" symptoms assessed, the authors do not state, |
| now present any evidence, that any subject actually forgot the |
| flash flood. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Green et al. 1991
"Reported that 7% of the children showing PTSD symptoms
following a flood disaster were unable to recall parts of
what happened to them."
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| BSW fail to mention that some children were as little as 2 years |
| old at the time of the flood -- and hence almost certain to |
| experience childhood amnesia, as discussed by Pope et al. in the |
| original review. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Realmuto et al. 1991
"Amnesia was reported significantly more often in the
victims relative to a control group."
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| No such statement appears anywhere in the actual article. The only |
| similar statement in the article is that "a subgroup of avoidance |
| symptoms -- amnesia, disinterest and detachment -- was very |
| powerful in differentiating the site victims from control |
| subjects" (p. 473). The authors do not state, nor present any |
| evidence, that any subject actually forgot the pipeline disaster. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Najarian et al. 1996
"A total of 32% of the older children who directly
experienced the Armenian earthquake suffered amnesia."
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Although "psychogenic amnesia" is listed in Table 2 of the paper, |
| BSW fail to mention that this interview item was also endorsed by |
| 68% of 25 comparison children who were not exposed to the trauma! |
| BSW also fail to state that 49 of the 50 children had symptoms of |
| "re-experiencing" the earthquake, including "intrusive |
| recollections" in 46 of the 49. There is no statement nor any |
| evidence that any child forgot the earthquake. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Krell 1993
"Some child survivors of the nazi holocaust `continued
to struggle with memories, whether there is too much of
it, or too little.'"
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| BSW fail to mention that the author's quote refers primarily to |
| young children who lost parents to the Holocaust when very young, |
| and hence had only a few early childhood memories of parents. No |
| statement is made nor evidence provided that any subject forgot |
| his involvement in the Holocaust, as discussed by Pope et al. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Stom et al. 1962
"`Loss of memory' or `failing memory' was found in 78% of
Norwegian camp survivors."
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The paper never states that "loss of memory" was found in 78% of |
| cases. Although "failing memory" was reported in 78%, BSW fail to |
| mention that 96% of subjects tested had an "organic pattern" on |
| neuropsychological testing, 92% had neurological symptoms, and 90% |
| had abnormalities in cerebrospinal fluid, electroencephalogram |
| and/or pneumoencephalogram. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Weine et al. 1995
"20% of Bosnian refugees suffered amnesia."
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| This 20% represents only 4 subjects, 3 of whom were scored as |
| having amnesia "once a week or less, a little bit, once in a |
| while," and only 1 as having amnesia "2-4 times per week, |
| somewhat," or greater. No subject is described as having |
| continuous amnesia for the experience of ethnic cleansing. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
**********************************************************************
A FULL LIFE ENDS WITH RIFT UNRESOLVED
Reprinted with permission.
Dave Scheiber
January 14, 2001, Sunday, South Pinellas Edition, Floridian p. 1
Copyright St. Petersburg Times, 2001.
A St. Petersburg activist and actor, who denied her older son's
accusations of abuse, died on Jan. 6. Her son hadn't changed his story
but did apologize for causing her pain.
She lived the past four years beneath a cloud of sadness, knowing
there was nothing she could do to push away the pain.
The older of her two adult sons accused her in 1997 of sexually
abusing him as a young child, even though he acknowledged he could not
remember what happened. He expressed his rage at her -- and she
vehemently maintained her innocence -- in a series of e-mails they
exchanged in the ensuing years.
The Times wrote about this situation on November 26 in a story
headlined "Sins of the Mother?" Using excerpts of the e-mails she
provided, the piece also examined the heated issue of recovered memory
therapy.
On January 6, the mother featured in the story died of
complications from cancer.
She had asked to remain anonymous. But in the wake of her death,
her family has given permission for her identity to be revealed. She
was a 71-year-old St. Petersburg resident named Irene Miller. She
filled her life with many career pursuits, creative endeavors and good
friends -- nearly 100 of whom gathered for a sunset memorial Friday at
Fort DeSoto Park.
Ms. Miller served as president of the Pinellas County American
Civil Liberties Union, was a member and past president of the
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and worked for the Pinellas County
school system as a counselor at Lakewood High.
She kept equally busy with personal projects. She was a founder of
the Liberty Fife and Drum Corps. She was also active in local theater,
writing and acting in one-woman shows about Margaret Sanger and Susan
B. Anthony, and starring in Lysistrata.
"My mother embodied gracefulness," said her younger son, Hugh
Miller, 42, of Seattle, who has maintained his belief in her
innocence. "She had to handle so much, and she did it with natural
elegance."
The Times' story focused on the relationship between Ms. Miller
and her son Chris, of Portland, Oregon. Four years ago he sent her a
letter saying, "When I was a kid, too much happened that I got p---
off about and am still p--- off about." He later explained that he had
fleeting memories of his mother sexually abusing him.
Ms. Miller was shocked and heartbroken. Her former husband and
younger son supported her in saying no abuse ever occurred.
The story explored a widely discredited form of psychotherapy that
used suggestion to implant "memories" of childhood abuse at the hands
of parents. Chris Miller said he became aware of the alleged abuse
through therapy but said the therapy had nothing to do with the
recovered memory approach.
Ms. Miller had requested anonymity for several reasons. For one,
she feared, as an ACLU leader, that being named could bring negative
press to the organization.
"My mom was very worried about that -- she did not want to do
anything to cause problems for the ACLU," Miller said. "But she was
always a courageous and honest woman; I know she would want people to
know about this now."
Ms. Miller had confided her concerns to state ACLU leaders and
received their full sympathy and support. "I will miss her terribly,"
said state ACLU president Howard Simon, one of the last people to
speak to her. "She was a very, very warm person, with an impish
twinkle in her eye for issues involving social justice, civil
liberties and life."
Ms. Miller was held in similarly high esteem by the False Memory
Syndrome Foundation, a Philadelphia support group for accused parents.
"It was such a magnificent and brave gesture that she told her
story when she was so ill," said foundation director Pamela Freyd.
"Her thoughts were to help as many families as she possibly could." As
a result, Freyd says, her group was contacted by some 15 parents
struggling through similar situations.
Few people knew Ms. Miller better than Alan Nelson, 76, a retired
Air Force pilot and her longtime friend. He helped her found the
Liberty Fife and Drum Corps, after they took a trip to Williamsburg,
Va. "I'll always remember the joy she got from carrying the Betsy Ross
flag in parades," he says.
Ms. Miller learned of her cancer in October, when a rare type of
tumor was discovered in her lower abdomen. But she remained upbeat
through surgery and chemotherapy. She collected whimsical phrases to
"tell" the cancer ("Your services are no longer needed"; "This tummy
ain't big enough for the two of us"; "Out, damned lumps"). At first,
the prognosis was hopeful, and she wrote:
"I'm having a wonderful feeling of my life coming back
together. The staples were removed and it's been such a beautiful
day."
In November, her condition took a turn for the worse. She wrote in
an e-mail: "It seems I have an aggressive, fast-growing tumor... I
choose to remain optimistic, to try to figure out how I'd like to
spend my time -- no matter how much time I have."
She also continued to cope with the lingering hurt from the loss
of her relationship with her oldest son, his wife and their young son
-- her only grandchild.
"I saw the effect that had on her - not even being able to see her
only grandchild, not being able to send him a gift," Nelson
said. "That just tore her up."
Still, according to Hugh Miller, one of his mother's greatest
concerns while she fought the cancer in recent months was that Chris
not feel he was responsible for her illness.
Miller said he e-mailed his older brother days before their mother
died, telling him of her grave condition. He has not heard back, nor
did his brother comment when contacted by the Times.
Last month, however, Ms. Miller received a letter from him. She
mailed it to her younger son to open, feeling too weak to handle an
attack. Hugh Miller called her to read a passage from it.
"(He) said he opened it and thought I would like to hear the first
paragraph," she wrote to a reporter. "'Dear Mom, I know that some of
my actions in the last few years have been hurtful, so I wanted to say
that I am sorry for causing pain, especially to people I love, like
you. I know what pain is like and I don't like to be a carrier. My
sincerest apologies.'"
The letter then veered into a less upbeat tone. She knew it was
doubtful she would live to see a resolution. But the glimmer of hope
gave her comfort.
"This does mean a lot to me. He addressed me `Dear Mom' and also
signed it `Love, Chris.' And he included the phrase about people he
loves. I'm so grateful for that.
"Maybe someday! Maybe someday . . ."
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| On the Death of Peggy McMartin Buckey |
| |
| "When you once believed something that now strikes you as absurd, |
| even unhinged, it can be almost impossible to summon that feeling |
| of credulity again. Maybe that is why it is easier for most of us |
| to forget, rather than to try and explain, the Satanic-abuse scare |
| that gripped this country in the early 90s -- the myth that Devil- |
| worshipers had set up shop in our day-care centers, where their |
| clever adepts were raping and sodomizing children, practicing |
| ritual sacrifice, shedding their clothes, drinking blood and |
| eating feces, all unnoticed by parents, neighbors and the |
| authorities." |
| |
| "Of course, if you were one of the dozens of people prosecuted in |
| these cases, one of those who spent years in jails and prisons on |
| wildly implausible charges, one of those separated from your own |
| children, forgetting would not be an option. You would spend the |
| rest of your life wondering what hit you, what cleaved your life |
| into the before and the after, the daylight and the nightmare. And |
| this would be your constant preoccupation even if you were |
| eventually exonerated -- perhaps especially then. For if most |
| people no longer believed in your diabolical guilt, why had they |
| once believed it in, and so fervently?" |
| Margaret Talbot |
| "The devil in the nursery: |
| Her surreal trial for Satanic abuse revealed America's anxieties |
| about leaving its children with strangers," |
| The New York Times Magazine, Jan. 7, 2001. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
F R O M O U R R E A D E R S
___________________
Greetings From Ohio
In Ohio we changed our name from Parents Falsely Accused to: Ohio
Association of Responsible Mental Health Practices. We followed the
pattern of several other states because it more accurately reflected
what we are all about. We now include professionals, siblings,
retractors, and more, as well as parents.
The good news is that we are growing smaller in number. This may
seem strange as good news, but we hope to eventually put ourselves out
of business. At one time there were more than 700 on our mailing list
and the two of us would be on the phone every night for hours. We now
have 60 regular on our mailing list and only had three new people in
2000. Two of them were people who just discovered us, but had received
their accusations years ago.
The bad news is that this type of therapy, which has destroyed so
many lives, is still going on and Ohio has not seen fit to pass any
laws to stop it for good. At Christmas we received a call, which is
one of the most vicious I have heard. The therapist wanted to show up
at Christmas dinner and confront the father in front of all the
relatives. Even though the mother "gotten wind" of it, many of the
relatives had heard and stayed home. It was a horrible holiday for
them.
The good news is that we have a few retractors and many returners
in our midst and more coming all the time. The bad news is that many
parents are dying without reconciling with their children. One such
recent death of one of our loyal supporters shows an all too frequent
pattern. At one time she had lost all 5 of her children; when she died
in December, four of them were with her, but one had still not
returned. In another family, one child returned to find her father had
Alzheimer's and did not know her.
So the sad tales continue and we continue to fight for
"responsible mental health practices." Our dream and mission is for
every one of the people caught up in this terrible therapy to return
to their families and end this nightmare once and for all.
Bob and Carole
________________
Residual of Hurt
We are truly grateful to be among the beneficiaries of the FMS
Foundation. The daughter who accused me, her mother, of having abused
her sexually as a baby and who alienated herself from us for seven
years, has been reconciled with us now for several years. She now has
no problem going with us on vacation and sharing hotel accommodations.
She never ceases telling us she loves us and she always seems proud to
introduce us to her friends, although she has never recanted. I am
praying that the residual of my deep hurt will gradually dissipate and
not keep manifesting itself in privately criticizing her imperfections
to my husband. Our only child still has emotional problems at age 44
enough to sporadically seek counseling. We keep praying for a complete
healing in all of us, but praise God for what has already transpired.
Thanks to all of you
A grateful mother of 75 years
_____________________________________
An Open Letter to Leo H. Berman, M.D.
As an FMS parent, as well as someone who has successfully sought help
through psychiatry, I would like to address your assertion that the
FMS Foundation -- now that the FMS crisis seems to be on he wane --
has lost its focus and turned to psychiatry-bashing. I find that
assertion untenable.
The purpose of the Foundation has always been to support the
scientific investigation of so-called repressed or recovered memories;
to offer a forum for parents who have been accused of abuse based
solely on therapy-induced memories; and to educate professionals and
public alike about the irresponsible and destructive nature of
recovered-memory therapies. Never has the Foundation wavered from that
commitment. It has taken many years and countless hours of hard work
and dedication on the part of the FMS Foundation staff and its
supporters to inform people about what was happening (and continues to
happen) to thousands of unsuspecting parents. And in the meantime,
this national disgrace was allowed to continue without censure by any
professional organization.
When repressed-memory therapy (RMT) rapidly became an epidemic in
the early nineties, the Foundation was alone in its fight against
blatant, pseudo-scientific therapies being passed off as scientific
fact. Where were the psychiatrists and psychologists who may have
privately condemned RMT but who publicly said nothing? (One therapist
I know dismisses the whole notion of repressed-memory therapy but does
not object when her colleagues continue its practice.) Why would this
lack of courage or caring within the mental-health professional
community not provoke criticism? Without question, this lack of
courage (or non-caring) has damaged the credibility of therapies in
general, including psychiatry. How can public confidence in legitimate
therapies be restored if not through its members' coming forward and
speaking out? What truly baffles FMS parents is how long a
psychiatrist such as Dr. Braun, for example, was allowed to continue
his practice before being called to account -- not by his fellow
professionals -- but only after being sued by one of his patients.
During a very stressful period of my life I was fortunate to be
able to work with a psychiatrist who helped me become strong enough to
solve my own problems, rather than looking for someone to blame or to
tell me what to do. With that positive experience in mind, we were
very supportive of our daughter's need for professional help in
dealing with a life-threatening illness. Of course, you can guess the
outcome: our daughter was systematically led to believe that her
illness was caused by parental abuse. She has been lost to us now for
twelve years. Our case, amplified by thousands, is indicative of the
state in which the mental-health field finds itself. It is obviously
in serious disrepair. If consumers are to have any confidence at all
in available therapies, must there not be some level of professional
oversight? Recovered-memory therapy is a venal, destructive,
inexcusable practice; or it is not. There is no compromise. I can only
fervently hope that more of your colleagues will come to realize that
one cannot sit on the fence concerning this issue.
As to your reference to Dr. Paul McHugh,[1] I cannot comment on
his knowledge or lack of knowledge of Marxism, etc. What I do know is
that Dr. McHugh was, from the very beginning, one of the few
professionals who unequivocally denounced RMT for what it is.
An FMS Mother
[1] Ref: FMSF Newsletter, Jan/Feb 2001, page 11.
_______________________________
Theophostic Counseling A Danger
In the January newsletter you ask, "Will 2001 be the year when the FMS
problem fades sufficiently so that there is no longer a need for the
Foundation?" From what we see in many churches, the answer is a
dreadful NO.
Theophostic Counseling is gaining great popularity in Christian
churches across the nation. People are flocking to training seminars
and preachers are promoting it from the pulpit.
Theophostic Counseling is Dr. Ed Smith's eclectic system, which
involves regressive therapy, "inner healing," EMDR, visualization and
demon deliverance. He claims that God gave this means of healing
directly to him, whereby people are helped to go back to the "original
lie" embedded in so-called early sexual abuse. In the process
counselees must "relive" the "memory." The more intense the abreaction
the better. Then they are to listen for whatever "truth" God, Jesus,
or some other religious figure tells them.
We have several articles on our web site, which may be helpful to
people who would like to know more.
http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org
We are grateful for the work you are doing.
Martin and Deidre Bobgan
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Churches Face Legal Risks with Counseling |
| Sawyer v. Midelfort, 595 N.W.2d 423 (Wisc. 1999) |
| |
| In 1999, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that a counselor could |
| be legally responsible for creating false memories of child |
| abuse.[1] The court concluded that parents could sue a counselor |
| for damages and wrote: |
| |
| "It is indisputable that being labeled a child abuser is one of |
| the most loathsome labels in society and most often results in |
| grave physical, emotional, professional, and personal |
| ramifications. We are quite confident that negligent treatment |
| which encourages false accusations of sexual abuse is highly |
| culpable for the resulting injury." |
| |
| The Sawyer case, that will be going to trial in Eau Claire, |
| Wisconsin at the end of February,[2] prompted a warning about its |
| implications for church counseling in the November/ December |
| publication of Church Law & Tax Report. |
| |
| The Report concludes that churches face a number of legal risks |
| when they offer counseling services by ministers or laypersons. |
| These include negligent selection, retention, or supervision of a |
| counselor who engages in sexual misconduct or negligent |
| counseling. A church also may be vicariously liable for a |
| counselor's failure to report child abuse, breach of |
| confidentiality, and breach of a fiduciary relationship. The |
| Report notes: |
| |
| "This case illustrates the risks assumed by counselors who create |
| false "memories" of childhood sexual abuse in counselees. When the |
| alleged offender is the counselee's parent, this can have |
| especially devastating consequences, including family alienation |
| and disintegration. In this case, Nancy did not see her parents |
| for the last 10 years of her life, and her parents were not aware |
| of her death for 6 months. Pastors and lay counselors who create |
| such memories in the minds of others must recognize that they are |
| exposing themselves and their churches to astronomical legal |
| damages in the event of a lawsuit, and may be permanently |
| destroying the relationship between the counselee and his or her |
| parents. Church and lay church counselors should strictly avoid |
| this highly volatile and questionable `therapy', whether licensed |
| or not." |
| Church Law & Tax Report, Nov/Dec, 2000. |
| |
| [1] See FMSF Newsletters May, 98; July/Aug, 99. |
| [2] Sawyer v Midelfort, 96CV000381, WI Cir Ct. |
| |
| If you are concerned about church counseling and would like to |
| help educate clergy, contact Sherry 763-417-0659 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
__________________
Dear FMSF Members,
Eight years and two months after I was arrested and taken from my law
office in handcuffs, the State quietly filed a motion dismissing the
charges against me. I am a free man. I no longer have to apply for
permission from the court to leave my home state, no longer subject to
all of the other conditions of my bail. The sword of Damocles no
longer hangs over my head. As I rejoice in this wonderful victory, I
want to give thanks.
First, I want to thank all of you for having the courage to come
forward, to be recognized, and to vigorously deny the false
accusations made against you. Hopefully some day all of you will also
be acknowledged as people unjustly accused of horrible acts.
Second, I also want to thank Pam, the FMSF staff, Drs. Barden,
Grove, Loftus, McHugh, Ofshe, Piper, and Pope, and too many others to
list here for crucial help in my battle. In my view this struggle is a
war, and we, working together, are the liberating army.
Promise yourselves and me that you will persevere in the fight and
that, when your ordeal is over, you will continue to support this
great organization.
Jack Quattrocchi
Feb 16, 2001
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| State v Quattrocchi Summary |
| by Jack Quattrocchi |
| |
| In 1980 I dated a woman for a year or so. She had a troubled |
| daughter, Jodi, whom I befriended and kept in touch with even |
| after her mother and I broke up. In 1981, I began dating Terry, |
| the woman I later married. With Terry's knowledge and approval, |
| we continued to attempt to help Jodi. |
| |
| In 1988, while in a psychotic state, Jodi attacked her mother with |
| a pair of scissors and was taken by rescue to a hospital. Jodi was |
| subsequently diagnosed as bi-polar, and placed on lithium and |
| antipsychotics. Through her mother's HMO, Jodi was given |
| psychotherapy with an RN who had no training in the field of |
| psychology. Jodi continued to deteriorate. |
| |
| In the spring of 1992, Jodi stopped taking her medications and was |
| admitted to a psychiatric hospital. She was placed in a locked |
| ward and given "women's issues" group therapy. There she was |
| encouraged to experience her first "flashback." Upon her release |
| she resumed her psychotherapy with the RN who pushed her to do |
| "memory" work. After months of leading therapy, Jodi vaguely |
| "remembered" early childhood abuse by me. |
| |
| There were no specifics so, at the behest of the local police, she |
| put on a "wire" and confronted me at my office. When I denied her |
| general allegations and did not fill in the blanks for her, she |
| became enraged and left. The police told her that at this point |
| there was not a case against me. The Attorney General then |
| incredibly wrote a letter outlining in detail the "memories" she |
| would have to recover in order to have a chargeable offense. In a |
| matter of months, with the help of the RN, Jodi recovered |
| "memories" of horrible, criminal abuse over a decade earlier. |
| |
| In December of 1992, I was charged with two felony assaults and |
| arrested. Since the charges were fantastic (not to mention false), |
| I resisted several offers of a plea deal and went to trial. The |
| case was heard in 1994. My first trial, with what I thought was a |
| favorable jury, ended in a mistrial. The second trial resulted in |
| my conviction. At my sentencing I maintained my innocence, refused |
| any offer of a light sentence in exchange for giving up my appeal, |
| and was sentenced to 60 years, 40 to serve. I was 51 at the time. |
| |
| In 1996 I won my appeal and was granted a new trial. Most |
| important, the Rhode Island Supreme Court said that I was entitled |
| to a "Gatekeeping" or "Daubert" hearing on the reliability of |
| recovered memory therapy and the reliability of the "flashback" |
| memories. In 1998, with research from the FMSF and help from |
| several wonderful lawyers led by Chris Barden, we destroyed the |
| State's experts. When our turn came, we presented Drs. Grove, |
| Loftus, McHugh, and Ofshe. Judge Clifton, the trial judge was |
| visibly impressed. |
| |
| In early 1999, Judge Clifton rendered a 31-page decision in which |
| he found that the State had not carried its burden of proving that |
| recovered memory therapy was scientific. He also ruled that the |
| therapy Jodi received was unreliable. |
| |
| The state's case was gutted, but rather than concede, the State |
| filed some more motions and asked the judge to reconsider. In |
| January 2001, Judge Clifton again found that the scientific |
| standards were not met and therefore recovered memory therapy was |
| scientifically unreliable. He went on to rule that the products of |
| that therapy, Jodi's "memories," were also unreliable. |
| |
| Jodi had no bad memories of me except the ideas she got through |
| therapy so there was now no case to prosecute. On February 16th, |
| 2001, eight years and two months after I was arrested, the State |
| dismissed all charges against me. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
__________________
No More Overtures.
There has been considerable difference of opinion in previous letters
in this section, as to how a parent should react to a daughter's
continuing estrangement. I have vacillated over the years and have
recently taken a stand that may or may not be appropriate in others'
minds, but is working in mine.
It was in July 1988 that two daughters decided, based upon their
study of The Courage to Heal -- that they had been sexually abused by
me, their father, over a period of years. My wife and I knew this was
total nonsense and were so hurt and perplexed that we didn't know what
to do. I first went to a therapist for help, only to find that she
believed The Courage to Heal was the answer to women's prayers. So
much for counseling. We were finally referred to FMSF, where we found
many answers, a great deal of sound advice, most of which we have
followed, and years of friendly support, for which we are eternally
grateful.
Both these daughters are intelligent, educated women, now 49 and
52 years of age. The older one lives locally and we eventually
prevailed upon her to have dinner with us one evening, but she was
cold and distant and there has been no contact since. Over the years I
have faithfully sent them both loving birthday and other holiday
greetings, along with appropriate gifts, none of which were ever
acknowledged.
Meanwhile I have several stepchildren, some of whom I raised from
infancy, who are loving and attentive and with whom I have continuing
fine relationships. While I still miss my own daughters and often
remember their childhood, their growing up years and my hopes for
adult relationships with them, after thirteen years I have pretty well
learned to live without them. So beginning with this Christmas, for
the first time I did not send greetings or gifts.
I am now 76 years old. I will be receptive to any overtures they
may make, but I will make no more myself. Now it is up to them. What a
sad conclusion to a lifetime of hope.
A Disappointed But Resolved Father.
**********************************************************************
* N O T I C E S *
**********************************************************************
* *
* OHIO *
* Educational Forum *
* Free of Charge *
* Open to the Public *
* *
* FALSE MEMORIES: THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE SYNDROME *
* presented by *
* MARK PENDERGRAST *
* author, investigative journalist *
* *
* APRIL 9, 2001 7:00 PM *
* Medina Sr. H.S. Lecture Hall *
* 777 E. Union St, Medina, OH *
* *
* APRIL 10, 2001 7:00 PM *
* Wooster H.S. Performing Arts Ctr. *
* 515 Oldman Rd., Wooster, OH *
* *
* Sponsored by *
* Community Awareness Project *
* Contact: Kathy Begert *
* 330-263-7798 *
* *
**********************************************************************
* NEW JERSEY *
* NEW GROUP FORMING *
* *
* A new family group has recently formed in Northern New Jersey. *
* If you are interested in attending, please contact *
* *
* Michael at 212-481-6655 *
**********************************************************************
* *
* BE ON THE LOOKOUT *
* *
* Family Survey *
* Update 2001 *
* *
* PLEASE HELP AND RETURN IT QUICKLY *
* *
**********************************************************************
* PSYCHOLOGY ASTRAY: *
* FALLACIES IN STUDIES OF "REPRESSED MEMORY" AND CHILDHOOD TRAUMA *
* by Harrison G. Pope, Jr., M.D. *
* Upton Books *
* *
* This is an indispensable guide for any person who wants or needs *
* to understand the research claims about recovered memories. A *
* review by Stuart Sutherland in the prestigious Nature magazine *
* (July 17, 1997) says that the book is a "model of clear thinking *
* and clear exposition." The book is an outgrowth of the "Focus on *
* Science" columns that have appeared in this newsletter. *
**********************************************************************
* *
* 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. *
* *
**********************************************************************
* Back issues of the FMSF Newsletter to March 1992, the start of *
* FMSF, are now available at www. FMSFonline.org *
**********************************************************************
* *
* BRUCE PERKINS *
* *
* In the July/August newsletter we wrote about the auction of *
* his paintings at April FMSF conference in White Plains. *
* *
* Bruce resides in a Texas prison because of RMT therapy. *
* He wanted to make a contribution to the Foundation *
* in the only way that he could. *
* *
* For those of you who were not able to be present at the *
* conference, you can now see Bruce's work on a new website. *
* http://www.people.txucom.net/bperkins/ *
* *
* You can learn more about Bruce's case *
* by reading his story written by *
* Eleanor Goldstein and Mark Pendergrast at *
* http://www.ultranet.com/~kyp/perkins.html *
* *
**********************************************************************
* SMILING THROUGH TEARS *
* Pamela Freyd and Eleanor Goldstein *
* Upton Books ISBN No 9-89777.125.7 *
* $14.95 *
* *
* Over 125 cartoons by more than 65 cartoonists lead the way through *
* a description of the complex web of psychological and social *
* elements that have nurtured the recovered memory movement. Ask *
* your bookstore to order the book or call 1-800-232-7477. *
* *
* Comments: *
* *
* "AT ONCE BOTH THOROUGHLY INFORMATIVE AND DEVASTATINGLY WITTY." *
* Alan Gold, Criminal Defense Attorney, Toronto *
* *
* "I THINK THE BOOK IS TERRIFIC. I LIKED IT BECAUSE IT SUPPORTED A *
* LOT OF THE OPINIONS I'VE HAD ON PSYCHIATRY, CULTS, BRAIN-WASHING *
* AND OTHER IDEAS MENTIONED IN THE BOOK." *
* Mort Walker, Creator of Beetle Bailey *
* *
* "IT'S A MUST READ" *
* Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D. *
* Author of Myth of Repressed Memory *
* *
* Smiling through Tears will be available in bookstores in November. *
* Ask your bookstore to order the book. For brochures about the book *
* call 1-800-232-7477 and ask for Stacey. *
**********************************************************************
* *
* 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.) *
* *
**********************************************************************
* 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/retractor *
* This site is run by Laura Pasley (retractor) *
* *
* www.geocities.com/therapyletters *
* This site is run by Deb David (retractor) *
* *
* www.sirs.com/uptonbooks/index.htm *
* Upton Books *
* *
* www.angelfire.com/tx/recoveredmemories *
* Having trouble locating books *
* about the recovered memory phenomenon? *
* Recovered Memory Bookstore *
**********************************************************************
* *
* LEGAL WEBSITES OF INTEREST *
* www.findlaw.com *
* www.legalengine.com *
* www.accused.com *
* *
**********************************************************************
* 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
Contacts & Meetings:
_____________
UNITED STATES
ALABAMA
Montgomery
Marge 334-244-7891
ALASKA
Kathleen 907-337-7821
ARIZONA
Pat 923-825-5120
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)
San Francisco & South Bay
Eric 408-245-4493
East Bay Area - (bi-MO)
Judy 925-376-8221
Central Coast
Carole 805-967-8058
Central Orange County - 1st Fri. (MO) @ 7pm
Chris & Alan 714-733-2925
Covina Area - 1st Mon. (MO) @7:30pm
Floyd & Libby 626-330-2321
San Diego Area
Dee 619-941-4816
COLORADO
Colorado Springs
Doris 719-488-9738
CONNECTICUT
S. New England
Earl 203-329-8365 or
Paul 203-458-9173
FLORIDA
Dade/Broward
Madeline 954-966-4FMS
Boca/Delray - 2nd & 4th Thurs (MO) @1pm
Helen 561-498-8684
Central Florida - Please call for mtg. time
John & Nancy 352-750-5446
Sarasota
Francis & Sally 941-342-8310
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 - 1st 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
Rumbold
Carolyn 207-942-8473
Protland - 4th Sun.(MO)
Wally & Boby 207-878-9812
MASSACHUSETTS/NEW ENGLAND
Andover - 2nd Sun. (MO) @ 1pm
Frank 978-263-9795
MICHIGAN
Grand Rapids Area-Jenison - 1st Mon. (MO)
Bill & Marge 616-383-0382
Greater Detroit Area
Nancy 248-642-8077
Ann Arbor
Martha 734-439-8119
MINNESOTA
Terry & Collette 507-642-3630
Dan & Joan 651-631-2247
MISSOURI
Kansas City - Meeting as called
Pat 785-738-4840
St. Louis Area - call for meeting time
Karen 314-432-8789
Springfield - 4th Sat. Apr,Jul,Oct @12:30pm
Tom 417-753-4878
Roxie 417-781-2058
MONTANA
Lee & Avone 406-443-3189
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Mark 802-872-8439
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
Manhattan
Michael 212-481-6655
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
Tulsa
Jim 918-297-7719
OREGON
Portland area
Kathy 503-557-7118
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
Mark 802-872-8439
VIRGINIA
Sue 703-273-2343
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
Roma 240-275-5723
ONTARIO, CANADA
London -2nd Sun (bi-MO)
Adriaan 519-471-6338
Ottawa
Eileen 613-836-3294
Warkworth
Ethel 705-924-2546
Burlington
Ken & Marina 905-637-6030
Waubaushene
Paula 705-543-0318
QUEBEC, CANADA
St. Andre Est.
Mavis 450-537-8187
AUSTRALIA
Roger: Phone & Fax 352-897-9282
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, 2001
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., Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ; 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, Portland , OR; CAMPBELL PERRY, Ph.D., Concordia
University, Montreal, Canada; MICHAEL A. PERSINGER, Ph.D., Laurentian
University, Ontario, Canada; AUGUST T. PIPER, Jr., M.D., Seattle, WA;
HARRISON POPE, Jr., M.D., Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; JAMES
RANDI, Author and Magician, Plantation, FL; HENRY L. ROEDIGER, III,
Ph.D., Washington University, St. Louis, MO; CAROLYN SAARI, Ph.D.,
Loyola University, Chicago, IL; THEODORE SARBIN, Ph.D., University of
California, Santa Cruz, CA; THOMAS A. SEBEOK, Ph.D., Indiana Univers-
ity, Bloomington, IN; MICHAEL A. SIMPSON, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., M.R.C,
D.O.M., Center for Psychosocial & Traumatic Stress, Pretoria, South
Africa; MARGARET SINGER, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley,
CA; RALPH SLOVENKO, J.D., Ph.D., Wayne State University Law School,
Detroit, MI; DONALD SPENCE, Ph.D., Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center,
Piscataway, NJ; JEFFREY VICTOR, Ph.D., Jamestown Community College,
Jamestown, NY; HOLLIDA WAKEFIELD, M.A., Institute of Psychological
Therapies, Northfield, MN; CHARLES A. WEAVER, III, Ph.D. Baylor Uni-
versity, Waco, TX.
**********************************************************************
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