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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)
November/December 2005 Vol.14 No. 6
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ISSN #1069-0484. Copyright (c) 2005 by the FMS Foundation
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The FMSF Newsletter is published 6 times a year by the
False Memory Syndrome Foundation. The newsletter is
mailed to anyone who contributes at least $30.00. Also
available at no cost on www.FMSFonline.org
1955 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-5766
Phone 215-940-1040, Fax 215-940-1042
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In this issue...
deRivera
McNally
Legal Corner
From Our Readers
Bulletin Board
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Dear Friends,
We thank you greatly for your timely response to our annual appeal and
for your kind words. Your help with this necessary task, in addition
to the help of a loyal volunteer, means that the FMSF can continue to
keep fund raising costs at approximately one percent of the budget.
Many people indicated with their responses that they would like to
receive the electronic (text) version of the newsletter. This month
the electronic version is being sent after the pdf version has been
posted on the web. Readers can go directly to the web site to read the
pdf version if they prefer. The pdf version looks exactly like the
printed version and is usually available about 2 weeks before the
mailed newsletter arrives.[1] We added this option at the suggestion
of one of our readers. Please let us know if this is helpful.[2]
As we approach the end of the year with its holidays that bring
families together, some of our readers will feel joy at the fact that
their families are whole again. Others, however, will struggle with
the emptiness that is exacerbated by the season. The Illinois-
Wisconsin group recently conducted a written survey of its members to
see where they were on the continuum from complete alienation to full
retraction. Of the 75 families responding, 33% still had absolutely no
contact with their alienated offspring; 19% had minimal contact; 48%
had either a retractor or returnee (11% had a retraction).[3]
As the years have passed, some families seem to have come to a place
of acceptance about their lost children, feelings captured in "Thank
You," a letter in the "From Our Readers" section. Another letter tells
of a father who reached a point of being almost sure that he would
never see his daughter again, but then he was pleased to be able to
send us an "Afterword." It's challenging to balance "hope" with the
need to go on with life. The letters from readers have offered a road
map for families over the years.
It's natural for families whose children are not in contact to want to
do something to change the situation. On page 8, there are comments
from reconciled families listing what they believe helped in the
process. But, of course, it is first necessary to have some contact,
and that is something that must change in the accuser. The 2001 FMSF
survey did show that there were two factors that increased the
likelihood of reconciliation: (1) the family being unanimous in its
desire for this to happen, and (2) help from a mediator to bridge the
gap. Mediators ranged from professionals to interested third-parties
to other family members. It seems difficult to believe that anyone
could cling to discredited recovered-memory ideas when there is so
much that has been written about the malleability of memory. In her
new book Abducted: How People Come to Believe They Were Kidnapped by
Aliens, Susan Clancy suggests that for abductees, their belief is a
"culturally available explanation for distress." She notes that
people's emotional needs have "little to do with science."(See p. 13)
This very readable book may help FMSF Newsletter readers understand
why so many accusers still cling to their sad beliefs.
Evidence of the many books about false memory syndrome is the Library
of Congress list. (See p. 11) Some of the books in the list argue for
the the reliability of recovered memories, but most argue for the
scientific views expressed by the FMSF. Research about false memories
has exploded during the past decade, with hundreds of papers now
available. This must be particularly challenging for believers in the
reliability of recovered memories because at the same time, scholarly
interest in the dissociative disorders decreased sharply.[4] In 2002
and 2003 there were only about a quarter as many papers published as
at the peak in the mid 1990's. Harrison Pope and colleagues uses these
data to argue that dissociative disorders do not presently "command
widespread scientific acceptance."
What continues to fuel the belief in the reliability of recovered
memories? Although there are still a few academics writing that
memories of sexual abuse do not behave like ordinary memory (see "Old
Argument in New Form" p. 7), most support comes from the popular
culture and personal stories. This past month, Robert Oxnam, a
62-year-old man described as a distinguished international China
scholar, published a memoir about discovering and living his life with
multiple personality. (See p. 4)
Oxnam appeared on the talk show rounds. Even 60 Minutes uncritically
promoted him on his publicity circuit. Although his psychiatrist and
he claim that there was no suggestion involved in his remembering
abuse and discovering he was a multiple, the book, A Fractured Mind:
My Life with Multiple Personality Disorder tells a completely
different story. It is a remarkable testament to therapist suggestion.
For example, psychiatrist Jeffrey Smith, M.D. writes: "After a few
minutes, Bob would seem to run out of things to say. I would ask if
there was anyone else who wanted to speak." (p.268) One of Oxnam's
models for MPD was Sybil. One can only wish that 60 Minutes would
devote a segment to the facts that debunk Sybil. (See p. 6)
Canadians are taking a direct approach to the ministers of health,
justice and social services in an effort to stop the therapy practices
that have harmed so many. Under the leadership of Adriaan Mak and
Mavis Lipman, a petition signed by well over 100 concerned mental
health professionals was sent asking that the major recommendations of
the Netherlands Health Council be adopted in Canada. The petition
correctly notes: "The relevant professional bodies must set firm
guidelines for safe practice and re-educate their members about the
implications of contemporary memory and other mental health research."
We hope that the ministers respond positively.
We send you all good wishes for the holidays and the New Year. Thank
you for your wonderful support.
PAMELA
[1] The pdf version of the newsletter is available at:
http://www.FMSFonline.org/currentnewsletter.pdf
[2] Send your email to: mail@FMSFonline.org. Be sure to put something
about FMSF in the subject header so it does not get trapped in a
spam catcher.
[3] For more information about the Illinois-Wisconsin group survey go
to: www.IllinoisFMS.org.
[4] Pope, H.G., Barry, S, Bodkin, A. & Hudson, J.I. (2005). Tracking
scientific interest in the dissociative disorders: A study of
scientific publication output 1984-2003. To appear: Psychotherapy
and Psychosomatics.
+------------------------------------------------------+
| SPECIAL THANKS |
| |
| We extend a very special `Thank you' to all of |
| the people who help prepare the FMSF Newsletter. |
| |
| EDITORIAL SUPPORT: Janet Fetkewicz, Howard |
| Fishman, Peter Freyd |
| COLUMNISTS: Members of the FMSF Scientific advisory |
| Board and Members who wish to remain anonymous |
| LETTERS and INFORMATION: Our Readers |
+------------------------------------------------------+
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| From Our Archives -- Lest We Forget |
| |
| "Generally speaking, it is recommended that survivors include the |
| following in their confrontation: |
| 1. Exactly what the person did to them that caused them damage. |
| 2. What effect the person's actions (or inaction) had on them, and |
| how their life has been affected. |
| 3. What they would have wanted from the person at the time. |
| 4. How they feel about the person now and what they want from them |
| now." |
| Page 40, Engel, B. (1991). Partners in Recovery |
| New York: Fawcett Columbine |
| |
| "The most common defense mechanism is a process known as |
| dissociation, in which victims 'blank out' or mentally divorce |
| themselves from their experiences. Some victims dissociate by |
| concentrating all their awareness on something else while the |
| abuse is occurring -- for example, a part of their own body that |
| is not being invaded, sounds outside the room, a spot on the |
| ceiling. This intense concentration can take them completely away |
| from the horrifying experience at hand. Although dissociation |
| helps victims to survive the abuse, it can also cause them to |
| either lose all memory of the experience or to have only a vague, |
| dreamlike recall of it. This may then cause victims to end up |
| believing that the event did not really happen." |
| Page 56, Engel, B. (1991). Partners in Recovery |
| New York: Fawcett Columbine |
| |
| "If family members are clearly not willing to be supportive of the |
| client, she will ultimately have to separate from them in order to |
| end her victimization. This is a painful process, in which she |
| must grieve the end of her fantasy that the family could ever |
| function in a healthy way and her idealized vision that family |
| members would be there for her if she needed them. It is likely |
| that family members will try to make her feel guilty about |
| separating, and the effects of this will have to be dealt with in |
| therapy... |
| Page 8, Dolan, Y (1991). Resolving Sexual Abuse: Solution- |
| Focused Therapy and Ericksonian Hypnosis for Adult Survivors |
| New York: W.W. Norton & Company |
| |
| "Alternately, a symbolic confrontation might include an angry |
| letter written to the abuser that is witnessed by the addicted |
| survivor's support group. The survivor might wish to select a few |
| group members to perform a psychodrama in which he or she |
| confronts various family members and then 'disposes' of them... |
| The goal of confrontations is to detach from any symbols of hope |
| that the abuser will ever come to love the survivor in the way he |
| or she has fantasized." |
| page 120, Trotter, C. (1995). Stages of recovery and relapse |
| prevention for the chemically dependent adult sexual |
| trauma survivor |
| In Mic Hunter (Ed.). Adult Survivors of Sexual Abuse |
| Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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In Memoriam
A Wonderful Memory
Joseph de Rivera
Imagine a person who keeps writing thought provoking papers and
continually making new friends. Imagine yearly dinners at which (after
a good deal of fine wine) he stands up and introduces twenty or thirty
old and new friends, each with a word about their life work. Imagine
him doing this at age 95 with terminal cancer. Imagine a member of the
FMS Foundation's scientific and professional advisory board, a member
who helped establish the credibility of the Foundation. Imagine a
person that we must now say goodbye to, but who is so vital that he
lives on after his death. You have imagined Ted Sarbin.
I knew his name over 50 years ago. When I was a graduate student at
Stanford, he had written the chapter on role theory for the Handbook
of Social Psychology. At the time I had not been impressed. People
played roles; so what? It seemed clear to me that people did not
always play roles; they had emotions. I was interested in emotions and
although method actors clearly made use of emotions, I was interested
in real emotions, not method acting. Emotions were important, not
roles.
Time passed, I had a wonderful family and wrote about real emotions
and how they transform our bodies and lives. Occasionally, I would
read something from Sarbin about roles and how the narratives we tell
create our lives.
Then, in 1989, I began getting disturbing letters from a grown-up
daughter. They were the letters -- the letters that suggested early
sexual abuse that now will be familiar to anyone in the FMS
foundation. But this was in the days when there was no one to talk
with. The Freyds were just beginning to explore the problem, and the
Foundation was not yet in existence (it incorporated in 1992). No one
understood exactly what was happening. Gradually, it became clear to
me that my daughter was coming to believe that something awful had
happened; she was really afraid and becoming transformed. But I knew
that nothing had really happened. How could I account for the fact,
not only that my lovely daughter had false memories, but that these
memories were at the core of her identity so that her identity was
changing and she was becoming a victim? That is when I remembered Ted
Sarbin's writings and his belief that we construct our identities by
the roles that we play and the narratives we tell. I decided that I
should ask his advice and asked if we could talk about a private
matter at the next meeting of the American Psychological Association.
It was August, 1990.
I remember going to Ted's Boston hotel room and that he asked his wife
to leave so we could talk privately. But what I had to tell bordered
on the incredible. It was one thing to have an identity temporarily
transformed under hypnosis, and another to have a relatively happy
childhood transformed into an abuse case. Would he believe me, and
could he help me understand?
After hearing my story, he did not hesitate. He immediately understood
the situation. One of his first thoughts was that someone who recovers
memories in therapy may have conferred Aesculapian authority on the
therapist. I'd never heard of Aesculapius (the Greco-Roman god of
medicine), but Ted pointed out that just as a person may place his or
her life in the hands of a surgeon, a patient may grant healing
authority to a therapist and trustingly comply with a prescription to
search and find "repressed" memories. Ted joined the scientific board
of the FMS Foundation.
As Ted worked to understand what was happening, he expanded our
understanding of what occurs in FMS by pointing out that we all tell a
story about who we are. We tell this story to others who may confirm
or object to our story, thereby helping us to construct our identity
out of this "narrative discourse." In other terms, we all must imagine
who we are and tell this story to establish our identity. To the
extent that we become involved in our story and our story is supported
by others, we will come to believe what we first had to imagine. In an
important sense we are all involved in "believed-in imaginings," and
these may or may not be supported by empirical evidence.
Believed-in imaginings became the subject for a conference at Clark
University and papers from the conference became the basis for a book
that we co-edited (de Rivera, J.H. & Sarbin, T.R., (Eds.) (1998).
Believed-in imaginings: The narrative construction of reality (330
pp.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Associations Press.) It
helped inform academics about how people can come to believe in what
is imagined.
Our meeting in a hotel in Boston illustrates how Ted made new friends
and how his creativity continually led to new insights into the human
condition. Just as Martin Orne laid the basis for our understanding of
hypnotic confabulations, and Elizabeth Loftus showed how false
memories are constructed, Ted Sarbin established the basis for our
understanding of how a false identity can be created.
When my own daughter returned (she finally realized that she had
believed an imagining) Ted was delighted. Our final meeting was in a
hotel in Washington last August. Despite his fatigue, Ted asked me
what I was working on, gave me some new ideas and, best of all, hugged
me goodbye.
Ted Sarbin died on August 31st. For those who would like to know a bit
more about his life the following is excerpted from notes written by
Karl Scheibe, one of Ted's students.
Theodore R. Sarbin, Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Criminology
at the University of California at Santa Cruz, has died at his home
in Carmel after a brief period of illness.... Professor Sarbin was
born on May 8, 1911 in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Ohio State
University as an undergraduate, and later obtained a Masters degree
from Case Western University. He received a Ph.D. in psychology from
the Ohio State University in 1941.
Professor Sarbin began his career as a research-oriented, clinical
psychologist, practicing first in Illinois and later in Los Angeles.
His academic career was established at the University of California
at Berkeley, where he served on the faculty from 1949-1969. During
his time at Berkeley, he supervised more doctoral students than
anyone else in his department, even while he continued to develop
his own original lines or research on problems in social psychology,
with special application to problems in the domain of psychopath-
ology. Because of his publications in the area, he came to be known
as "Mr. Role Theory," defending the unorthodox position that
problems conventionally thought of as "mental illness" could better
be construed as moral judgments rendered by those in a position of
social power about individuals whose conduct is unwanted or
perceived as dangerous.
While gentle and controlled in manner, Professor Sarbin continued to
challenge orthodox views in psychology throughout his professional
life. He offered interpretations of hypnosis that avoided the
necessity of positing a special mental state, viewing hypnotic
behavior in terms of a person's ability to take the role of the
hypnotic subject. Likewise, such concepts as 'hallucinations,'
'anxiety' and 'schizophrenia' were subject to Sarbin's relentless
efforts to 'demythologize' psychology.
Professor Sarbin left Berkeley to join the faculty of the University
of California at Santa Cruz in 1969. He continued there until his
retirement in 1976. As an Emeritus Professor, he continued to
present courses at Santa Cruz for many years....In addition, he
served for varying periods on the faculty at the Naval Postgraduate
School in Monterey. In 1987, he became a Research Psychologist for
the Defense Personnel Security Research and Education Center
(PERSEREC) a program of the U.S. Navy. He continued to work at
PERSEREC until two months ago.
In the course of his academic career, Professor Sarbin received
scores of honors -- including both Fulbright and Guggenheim
fellowships. He was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies at
Wesleyan University in 1968-69, and returned there for another
period in 1975. He received the Morton Prince Award from the Society
for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis and the Henry Murray Award
from the American Psychological Association.
Included among his more than 250 professional publications are six
books and another six edited volumes. Over the past 20 years, Sarbin
has concentrated on developing and promoting the practice of
narrative psychology, departing from the narrow research method-
ologies of traditional psychology in favor of a method based on the
primacy of story and dramatic unfolding as a way of understanding
human experience. Here again, Sarbin is recognized as a pioneer in
psychology, much as he was for his dissertation research done more
than 65 years ago.
Professor Sarbin has a devoted following of former students and
colleagues....He was much admired as a scholar of rare intellect.
But he was also loved as a person of wisdom and compassion.
Professor Sarbin is survived by three sons, James Allen, Ronald
Allen, and Theodore Sarbin, and four grandchildren, Matthew Allen,
Chelsea Allen, Park Allen, and Lincoln Allen -- and two great-
grandchildren.
Joseph de Rivera is a Professor of Psychology at Clark University.
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Multiple Personalities:
Again and Again and Again
A Fractured Mind: My Life with Multiple Personality Disorder
Robert B. Oxnam
Hyperion (2005)
60 Minutes,
"Inside A Fractured Mind"
September 30, 2005. Morley Safer
Another memoir about multiple personality [1] hit the bookstores in
September. The publicity tour featured all the regular talk shows and
even included a 60 Minutes segment on September 30 with Morley Safer.
The myths and misconceptions of MPD continue to be spread, even by 60
Minutes, even in the face of the debunking of Sybil, perhaps the best
known of the multiple personality sagas. It is a testament to the
fascination with the idea of multiple personality and to the spread of
"infotainment."
Robert Oxnam, who is now 62, was a distinguished international China
scholar who helped political leaders understand how to work with the
Chinese. His father was a college president and his mother interested
in acting. Robert writes that he felt under great pressure to succeed.
Unfortunately, during the 1980s, he became depressed, suffered from
alcoholism, blackouts, and bulimia, flew into frequent irrational
rages, and his first marriage fell apart. During this period, he
sometimes woke up with burns and scratches on his body, but he had no
memory of how he got them. He also heard voices telling him that he
was no good.
He eventually sought therapy with psychiatrist Jeffrey Smith, M.D. and
after rehabilitation treatment for alcohol abuse, saw Dr. Smith twice
a week. But in 1990, he was again depressed. He had written a novel,
Cinnebar, that got reviews that were "lukewarm to outright hostile."
He writes that his book "was an embarrassing bomb,"
Therapy "seemed a predictable, boring routine. Smith tried to keep
my spirits up with comments like 'Look, recovery is no fun and yet
you are sticking with it. Right now recovery is the most important
thing in your life.' He refused to prescribe drugs in spite of my
insistence that I needed antidepressants and sleeping pills. He
argued that my history of addictions made many drugs too dangerous,
and besides, he contended, 'I think there's a lot more going on that
you are resisting telling me.'" (p. 45)
Oxnam decided that he would stop his therapy. During what he thought
was going to be his last session, however, he seemed to transform and
become someone else, according to Dr. Smith who had some experience
with a previous client with MPD.
"Smith began by relating what I remembered: that I had voiced my
frustrations with these therapy meetings, that I sounded ready to
break off treatment, and that my eyes started to flutter. 'Suddenly
you seemed to change altogether. You huddled in the corner of the
chair. Your face was tightened and your eyes were sharp and angry.
Your hands tensed up like claws ready to strike out.'" (p. 48)
Dr. Smith suggested that Oxnam might have multiple personality
disorder. According to an article in Time, Oxnam said: "It was just an
utter shock as if an earthquake had just hit. My second reaction was
that this was hogwash. It had to be a doctor pulling a scam."[2] He
quickly accepted the diagnosis, however.
"I could no longer find reasons to deny Smith's account. The
multiple personality business seemed bizarre, but in one respect it
made some sense. Maybe that's what happened in the blank periods?
Maybe the rages were actually mini-blank periods? Maybe the stealing
thing was some kind of anger?" (p. 52)
Oxnam soon:
"found a spare hour to buy several books dealing with dissociation
and multiple personality disorder, including the classic best-seller
Sybil, which I'd never read. ... I devoured Sybil in about six
hours. Page after page, I found details that dovetailed perfectly
with my own story. Of course I had only one "alter"... I was moving
rapidly from skeptic to outright believer." (p. 52)
At the next meeting, Dr. Smith told Oxnam that:
"In every case he knew about, MPD was caused by terrifying childhood
traumatic experiences which prompted the mind to fracture, some
parts absorbing the pain, other parts surviving by separating
themselves from it, eventually coming to live quite separate lives
with separate experiences and separate memories. He noted that
everyone wants to forget what's painful, and that MPD was 'the
ultimate survival mechanism of intelligent children faced with
unbearable memories.' In short, the therapy would probably take
'years of work' with initial meetings scheduled two or three times a
week. Before an MPD patient can 'come together,' he concluded, he
must revisit the original traumatic experiences and thus get to the
difficult source of his predicament." (p. 53)
Oxnam replied:
"But I don't have bad memories of growing up. In fact, I don't
remember much. I have mainly warm memories and, oh yes, there were a
few bad moments. Isn't that usual? Are you really telling me that
I'm just wrong?"
Smith noted:
"I'm not trying to tell you anything. What you find in therapy will
be your own memories. I'm saying you have a serious problem at the
far end of dissociation. The good news is that it's not like certain
other disorders, manic depression for instance, which are related to
genetic predisposition. MPD comes from the outside, from terrible
things done by other people. That's what causes someone to split
into multiple parts, sometimes into lots of alters. I've heard of
cases with over fifty alters." (p. 53)
During continued therapy, Smith teased out 11 hidden personalities.
The book is written by several of those personalities. There is an
Epilogue written by Jeffrey Smith, M.D. in which he writes:
"In my view, the controversies surrounding multiple personality have
the same source as the disorder itself: the very human wish to avoid
acknowledging overwhelming helplessness and pain. A movement has
grown up about 'false memories,' but how is it that we can read
about dreadful things happening to children almost daily, and then
be told that adult recall of the same kinds of experiences is
deluded? Skeptics have tried to argue that multiple personality
does not exist, based on the false logic that if one case is
questionable, all others must be, too."
According to the 60 Minutes segment:
"Robert Oxnam is well aware that his story is a surreal one and that
not everybody will believe it. The American Psychiatric Association
does consider multiple personalities a true mental disorder, one now
called Dissociative Identity.
"But on the issue of recovered childhood memories... the APA notes
'some individuals with this disorder are highly hypnotizable and
especially vulnerable to suggestive influences.'
"Recovered memory is still a controversial diagnosis and some think
that the memories of other personalities are implanted by psychi-
atrists...both multiple personality and recovered memory are
concepts that continue to divide the psychiatric community. But that
has not shaken the belief of Oxnam or his doctor, who swears he
never planted anything in Oxnam's mind.
"'I would never suggest details. And I think no sensible clinician
would do it,' Dr. Jeffrey Smith said."
This does raise questions about what one considers suggestion to be.
Is telling a patient that "I think there's a lot more going on that
you are resisting telling me," suggestion? Does saying "I think you
have a case of multiple personality," constitute suggestion? Is saying
"there is a significant overlap of MPD with those who have severe
addiction problems with alcohol..." suggestive? Was reading Sybil
suggestion? Further in the book, Dr. Smith asks the first alter where
he lives. When the alter responds he lives in a castle, Dr. Smith asks
if others live there also. Is that suggestive?
A review of Fractured Minds that appeared in Time magazine concluded:
"How could a writer of such obvious intelligence, erudition and, at
least initially, seemingly serious intent, be led so absurdly
astray?" [3]
[1] The term "multiple personality disorder" (MPD) was changed to
"dissociative identity disorder" (DID).
[2] Lemonick. M. (2005, October 10). Meet Robert. And Tommy. And Bobby
and Wanda...Time, p. 55.
[3] Nathan, R.S. (1990, March 11). The treasure in the lacquered box.
New York Times, Section 7, p. 25.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "Suggestion does not consist of making someone believe what's not |
| true. Suggestion consists of making something come true by making |
| someone believe in its possibility." |
| J.D. Hadfield |
| |
| This quotation is the motto of the conference |
| of the Academy for Guided Imagery |
| November 3-6, 2005 in Monterey, California |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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The following appeared in the FMSF Newsletter,
January/February 1999, 8(1)
IDENTITY OF SYBIL REVEALED
The best-selling book Sybil was published in 1973. That book and the
1976 movie starring Sally Field as Sybil and Joanne Woodward as Dr.
Cornelia Wilbur helped to popularize multiple personality disorder.
Sybil was a patient of Dr. Cornelia Wilbur and the book was written by
Flora Rheta Schreiber. Wilbur died in 1992 and Schreiber in 1987.
Before Sybil, MPD was not considered to be a result of child abuse.
Before Sybil, MPD was considered rare-it was not even listed in the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric
Association. According to the December, 1998 New Yorker: "[Sybil,
Wilbur and Schreiber] are responsible for shaping the modern notion of
multiple personality disorder, and Sybil-whose royalties they split
three ways-became the movement's bible. Before 1973, there were fewer
than fifty known cases of MPD; by 1995, more than forty thousand had
been diagnosed, prompting skepticism in the mental-health field."[1]
The Sybil story has come under scrutiny in recent years. In April
1997, the New York Review of Books published an interview with Dr.
Herbert Spiegel who was at one point involved with Sybil's therapy
when she was a patient of Wilbur.[2] Spiegel said that in his opinion
Sybil was not a multiple personality but instead a suggestible
hysteric. (See FMSF Newsletter, May 1997) In August, 1998 Robert R.
Reiber, Ph.D-after listening to long-forgotten audiotapes of
conversations between Wilbur and Schreiber- argued that the story of
Sybil was a fraud. (See FMSF Newsletter, December 1997) "It is clear
from Wilbur's own words that she was not exploring the truth but
rather planting the truth as she wanted it to be," he said. (quoted in
New Yorker) However, Reiber thinks that this was as "much
self-deception as deception of others."[3]
The most recent information about Sybil comes from Peter Swales, a
literary critic who has exposed the true names of a number of Freud's
patients, and Mikkel Borch-Jacobsen, a professor of literature at
University of Washington. Swales and Borch-Jacobsen have identified
Sybil as Shirley Ardell Mason, born in Minnesota. While the book
indicated that Sybil separated from her therapist after her
eleven-year analysis, that appears to be false. When Dr. Cornelia
Wilbur moved to Lexington, Kentucky to become a professor of
psychiatry at the University of Kentucky, Shirley Mason followed her
there from New York. Dr. Wilbur left Mason $25,000 in her will. Mason
died last February at age seventy-five. According to Mason's former
neighbor in Lexington, Mason and Dr. Wilbur were very close friends.
"When Dr. Wilbur wasn't there, Ms. Mason was at Dr. Wilbur's house."
Swales and Borch-Jacobsen are not the only people to have discovered
the identity of Sybil. A Lexington art collector named Mark
Boultinghouse bought a number of Mason's paintings after her death.
Twenty-seven of these paintings were on sale at a recent New York
Antiques Show.
Borch-Jacobsen is coauthoring a book about Sybil and Swales and
Borch-Jacobsen are working on a documentary called "Sybil: Who's
Who?"
[1] Boynton, R S. (1998, Dec. 28) "Who was the real Sybil? The New
York Antiques Show holds the key," New Yorker, p.39-40.
[2] Associated Press (1998, December 22). Historian: Famous
psychiatric patient might be former Minnesotan.
[3] Borch-Jacobsen, M. (1997, April 24). Sybil -The Making of a
Disease: An interview with Dr. Herbert Spiegel, New York Review of
Books, p.60-64.
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Are Flashbacks New to Humans?
"Psychologists call these intrusions 'flashbacks.' So do filmmakers.
This is no accident of terminology. Just as traumatic memory is
discrepant and nonlinear, so is film editing. No other art form can
jump about in time and space as film can. As if to prove the point,
there are no records of traumatized patients reporting flashbacks that
pre-date cinema."
Cousins, M. (2005, July 28)
Widescreen. Prospect.
We asked Harvard professor Richard J. McNally for his comments on the
above claim. He replied:
First, PTSD clinicians today refer to flashbacks as the sudden
reinstatement of the sensory impressions present during a traumatic
event. Of course, this cannot literally be true; the mind does not
record impressions like a videotape machine. But the illusion of
sensory reinstatement can occur. However, at least one historian of
military psychiatry (Ben Shephard) has argued that flashbacks in the
movies usually refer to a cutback to an entire section of the
protogonist's life, one having narrative coherence and extended
duration, not a brief sensory "flash."
Second, the meaning of flashback even in the PTSD field has changed,
although no one seems to have noticed. In the 1980s, it referred not
to the mere passive, reinstatement of sensory impressions, but
behavioral acting out, such as sequences of violent behavior
exhibited by war veterans who were acting "as if" they were in
Vietnam.
Third, historian Edgar Jones and psychiatrist Simon Wessely studied
British military medical archives from the Boer War and World War I,
and they found scant references to anything like sensory flashbacks
in these shell shock soldiers. Yet Abram Kardiner's book contains
anecdotes of clear-cut sensory flashbacks in chronic American World
War I shell shock cases. Of course, the cinematic age was already
underway when Kardiner interviewed these World War I patients. The
interesting question is whether there was much evidence of cinematic
sensory flashbacks versus cinematic narrative flashbacks when he did
his work.
Fourth, one potential problem with the archival work on flashbacks
is that one can never be sure whether the veteran did not experience
flashbacks or did not express them to the doctor. For example, our
research group found that survivors of Pol Pot's regime living in
the Boston area who have chronic PTSD are plagued with terrifying
episodes of isolated sleep paralysis accompanied by hypnopompic
hallucinations of dead family members "haunting" them, various
monsters, and Khmer Rouge cadres. BUT they never mentioned this
symptom-their most disturbing symptom of all!-until we asked them
explicitly about it. The attitude seems to have been, "If the
doctor doesn't ask me, then I should not mention it."
Personal e-mail note from Richard J. McNally, Ph.D. on September 1,
2005.
**********************************************************************
Old Argument in New Form
"What research paradigms have cognitive psychologists used to study
"False memory," and what are the implications of these choices?"
Pezdek, K. & Lam, S. (2005)
To appear: Consciousness and Cognition.
The authors asked if the methodologies used to study false memory will
constrain or facilitate scientific progress. Of the 198 articles they
examined, they claim that only about 13% actually looked at the
planting of a memory for an entirely new event that had never been
experienced in an individual's lifetime. They argue, therefore, that
the rest of the studies should not be generalized to the topic of the
authenticity of memories for child sexual abuse. The lead author has
long been a zealous believer in the accuracy of recovered memories,
("There's all kinds of evidence that people do repress certain kinds
of memories.") and has accused people of child sexual abuse whom she
has never met or studied. [1]
This article appears to be a desperate effort to dismiss the relevancy
of a huge body of rigorous research that challenges the accuracy of
recovered memories of child abuse. Indeed, the authors fail to include
the many studies that were done on the creation of false memories
through exposure to misinformation at least a decade before there was
so much publicity about false memories.
It is particularly interesting that the authors seem to apply the rule
of generalizability only to the research of people skeptical about the
reliability of recovered memories. For example, the lead author
reported on her own laboratory research to conclude that her study
supported the hypothesis that stronger memories are more likely to
resist suggestibility than weaker memories. "These results are
important because they articulate conditions under which children are
likely to be reliable or unreliable eyewitnesses...Although there are
obvious differences between the procedure and materials in this study
and those involved in real world cases of child abuse, nonetheless,
this study speaks to the general memory processes that underlie
suggestibility and memory."[2]
Back in the early to mid 90s, believers in the accuracy of recovered
memories dismissed false memory research on the grounds that memories
of child sexual abuse were special, thus, laboratory research did not
apply to them. That argument has faded away in scientific circles
because there is no evidence that memories of sexual abuse operate in
ways that are different from normal memory. In short, this article
seems to be merely an extension of an old argument that has been
abandoned.
[1] Kathy Pezdek in interview with Michael McConnell on WLW,
Cincinnati, December 6, 1993,
[2] Pezdek, K. & Roe, C. (1996). Memory for childhood events: How
suggestible is it? In K. Pezdek & W. Banks (Eds.) The recovered
memory/false memory debate. 197-210. (Quote from p. 203).
**********************************************************************
Measures that families believe helped in reuniting
(Comments from the FMSF Reconciliation Survey- 2001)
Help from outside the family
Change in accusers situation
Contact by family and friends
United stand by family
Family keeping door open and showing love
Influence of books, information, media
HELP FROM OUTSIDE FAMILY
"Family meeting with therapist"
"Mediation, joint therapy"
"Family therapy"
"Support of therapist for parents, contact, open to mediation,
stopped paying for daughter's therapy"
"Contact with daughter's minister"
CHANGE IN ACCUSER'S SITUATION OR PERSPECTIVE
"Separation from therapist"
"Accuser never really believed"
"Away from therapy"
"New husband neutral"
"Desperation of accuser"
'Went to good therapist"
"Accuser requested meeting, gradual progress"
"Accuser left therapy, husband encouraged contact"
"Daughter divorced"
"Doubt by accuser"
"Influence of new boyfriend, daughter's employment"
"New doctor"
"Father's illness and death; accuser's marriage and birth of child"
"Proper medical treatment"
CONTACT BY FAMILY, FRIENDS
"Older sister visited accuser"
"Contact with brother"
"Constant contact without pushing"
"Cards, gifts to accuser and children"
"Friends talking to accuser, prayer"
"Kept visiting, saying accusations are false"
"Contact, objectivity, love"
"Postcards, call to answering machine"
"Contact"
"Stopped talking about problem, focused on interactions"
"Kept communication"
"Took accuser back before retraction"
"News of family, strong denial of abuse"
"Contact through sibling and mom"
"Reach out, keeps doors open, stress right to disagree"
"Constant communication"
"Kept contact"
"Contact, family support"
"Meeting for coffee, meals, phone calls"
"Wife maintaining contact"
"Gifts to grandchildren"
"Tracing location"
"Contact, low-key approach"
"Never gave up contact, no conditions on return"
"Keep informed and in contact"
"Keep in touch"
"Email, phone contact"
"Contact"
"Contact"
"Contact, love"
"Kept in contact, no confrontation"
UNITED STAND BY FAMILY
"Sticking together as a family
"Family unity"
"Family united"
"United stand"
EMOTIONAL PERSPECTIVE OF FAMILY
"Forgiveness"
"Didn't force"
"Showing love"
"Common sense"
"Kept door open"
"Reinforced love"
"No expectations, unconditional love, patience"
"Unconditional acceptance before retraction"
"Love, no anger"
"Never gave up"
"Left door open"
"Love, kindness"
"Restrain anger, emphasize love"
"Love"
"Patience, hope, prayer"
"Forgiving"
"Love, faith in truth"
"Honesty, trust"
"Forgiveness, understanding, courage, love, never stopped trying"
"Patience, non-confrontation"
"Prayer"
"Prayer"
"Prayer, patience, love"
"Prayer, time"
CONFRONTATION OR CHALLENGE BY FAMILY
"Constant pressure from accused"
"Dear John letter to daughter"
"Agreeing not to talk about accusation but doing so anyway"
"Letters pointing out absurdity"
"Factual confrontation"
"Explained by phone and mail that it never happened"
INFLUENCE OF BOOKS, INFORMATION, MEDIA, ETC.
"FMSF materials"
"Clergy sermon"
"Getting book Second Thoughts to daughter"
"Accuser read Loftus book"
"Video of other retractors"
"Media"
**********************************************************************
L E G A L C O R N E R
The Foundation is frequently asked: "How many people are in prison
because of claims of recovered repressed memories?" It is often only
when some event puts a case in the news that we may learn of it. The
Tim Smith case is an example.
______________________________
Appeal Filed in Tim Smith Case
Timothy Smith v. Commonwealth of Kentucky
Commonwealth of Kentucky, Kenton Circuit Court, Case No. 00-CR-00669
According to an appeal filed this autumn by Chicago attorney Patrick
J. Lamb, not one single piece of forensic or corroborating evidence
was presented in the 2001 trial of Timothy Smith who was convicted of
sexually abusing his daughter Katie when she was between 7 and 12
years old. Smith was sentenced to 20 years in prison based only on the
recovered memory of his troubled daughter.
It was the unfortunate tragedy of his 22-year-old daughter's murder
early in 2005 that recently brought Tim Smith's case to attention. The
story is gruesome. A nine-months-pregnant Sarah Brady murdered Katie
Smith. It appears that Smith had telephoned Brady claiming that she
had mistakenly received Brady's shipment of baby supplies. Brady went
to Katie Smith's apartment to get them, but when she was leaving,
Smith pulled out a knife. Brady said that she thought that Smith
intended to kill her and take the baby. In the struggle that followed,
Katie Smith was fatally wounded.
Katie Smith seems to have been obsessed with being pregnant. She had
convinced many people, including her landlord that she was nine months
pregnant at the time of her death. There is no evidence that she had
ever been pregnant.
In the case that sent Tim Smith to prison, Katie claimed that the
memories of abuse came to her when she was having sexual relations
with her boyfriend. Neither the police not the prosecution ever talked
to the "boyfriend," however. If they had, they would have learned that
he denied having sexual relations with her. He also said that Katie
was not his girlfriend. Katie Smith had a long history of telling
lies, and neither that nor her emotional problems were brought out
during the trial.
Much of the prosecution's case was based on the testimony of "Doctor"
Kimberly Wolfe who supported Katie Smith's story. Wolfe, however, is
not a doctor of any kind, but is, rather, a registered nurse. Indeed,
under Kentucky law, she was not entitled to use that title, and it is
likely that its use during the trial by the prosecution and Wolfe
enhanced her credibility.
Although Wolfe saw Katie only five times, she testified that she
believed Katie Smith's story of abuse and found her "credible and
believable" and suffering from repressed memory syndrome. Wolfe said
that Katie was consistent with her stories. However, if she had looked
at Smith's previous interviews, she would have seen that the stories
were full of inconsistencies. Wolfe claimed to have considerable
training in repressed memories, but there is no evidence for that
claim.
There was no Daubert hearing requested to determine the scientific
status of claims of repressed memory. The Kentucky Supreme Court has
acknowledged that the outcome of the trial probably would have been
different if the evidence of repressed memory had been excluded.
Not long before she died, Katie had told a cousin that she claimed the
abuse by her father so that she did not have to be returned to her
home by a family-court judge. Tim Smith has acknowledged that he had a
problem with alcohol, but he has always claimed innocence of the
sexual abuse charges. He was offered a plea bargain but did not accept
because he said he did not commit the crime. If Smith had accepted the
plea he would have been out of prison in three years.
The appeal was filed with Kenton County Circuit Judge Patricia Summe
(Kentucky). Patrick J. Lamb, pro bono counsel, is a partner in the
Chicago firm of Butler Rubin.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Comments About the Johnson v. Rogers Memorial Hospital |
| reported in the Sept/Oct '05 Newsletter. |
| |
| "This opens the door to a new cause of action," said William |
| Smoler, a Madison lawyer who represented the accused parents. He |
| likened the ruling to a landmark 1976 decision, Tarasoff v. |
| Regents of the University of California, in which the California |
| Supreme Court held that a psychotherapist had a duty to warn a |
| woman that his patient intended to kill her. (551 P.2d 334 |
| (Cal.1976).) |
| |
| "Tarasoff said you can't hide behind privilege," said Smoler. |
| "This decision is just as important a contribution to |
| jurisprudence." |
| |
| * * * |
| |
| "What's most important here is that the court recognized that it |
| was creating a new, common law exception to privilege," said |
| Smoler, who noted that the decision is narrowly drawn to extend |
| only to a particular type of case. "The key legal issue is: When |
| does the public policy right of an accused sex abuser trump |
| privilege? This ruling recognizes how horrible those kinds of |
| accusations are. And it says [to therapists]: You can't inflict |
| that kind of harm and get away with it." |
| Sileo, C. (2005, October 1) |
| In 'repressed memory' case, Wisconsin court sets privilege aside |
| Trial, 41 (10).78 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
Wenatchee Update:
Wenatchee Plaintiffs Return $718,000.
Three families brought a $60 million lawsuit against the city of
Wenatchee in 1998 claiming that their civil rights had been violated
during the now-infamous sex-abuse investigations. Before the trial,
plaintiffs Roberson, Sims, and Rodrigues requested the employment
records of police Detective Bob Perez who was the head of the
investigations that wrongly charged 43 people. The city refused to
turn over all of the records and prevailed in the trial. The records
came to light in a separate case in 2002 and showed that Perez was
suffering from a serious mental disability during the period of the
investigations. In 2003, a judge ruled that the documents could have
changed the outcome of the lawsuit and granted the plaintiffs a new
trial. That decision was upheld in 2004 by the Washington Court of
Appeals. The state Supreme Court refused to reconsider the lower
court's ruling.
A $718,000 check was sent to the plaintiffs, the penalty imposed on
the city of Wenatchee. The plaintiffs returned the check because they
are entitled to interest which would bring the amount to about $1
million. According to Paul Chasco, insurance services manager for the
Association of Washington Cities Risk Management Service Agency, the
plaintiffs are not entitled to interest. An attorney for the
plaintiffs said that he will ask a judge to require interest to be
paid.
Paul Chasco stated that he did not know if the penalty, in addition to
payments to other wrongly-convicted people, will increase the city's
insurance rates. The city has a $20,000 deductible. A new trial date
has not yet been set.
Altaras, S. (2005, October 14)
Sex-abuse plaintiffs holding out for interest. Wenatchee World
**********************************************************************
F R O M O U R R E A D E R S
__________________________________________________________
Thoughts After the Recent Daubert (Hungerford) Hearing [1]
Rhianna Light's grandfather and I want it known that all charges
against her father have been dropped after the long and costly Daubert
hearing in New Hampshire revealed that there is no evidence of sexual
abuse. Her aunts, uncles, cousins, and we are greatly relieved. While
we have all known that there was no truth to these charges, we also
know that in sex abuse cases a person is judged as guilty until he can
prove innocence.
We remain deeply troubled by the therapists who fostered Rhianna's
"recovered memories" and by the assistant county attorney who sent her
off to "retrieve more detailed memories." We are very concerned that
not one therapist addressed the "hearing of voices" which Rhianna
reported at age 13-hearing voices is definitely a sign of serious
mental health issues. Instead, this therapist stated "if you are
hearing voices it could mean that you have been sexually abused." A
second therapist responded to this same "hearing voices" concern with
this statement: "I think the voice you are hearing is your father's,"
and gave our now 15 year old granddaughter a book on childhood sexual
abuse. We are greatly disturbed to learn that when Rhianna's mother
revealed her own history of sexual abuse by a family member, not one
mental health professional asked if this alleged perpetrator had
access to our granddaughter.
Early on, we naively thought that there would surely be interviews of
teachers, pediatricians, family members, even court appointed
Guardians Ad Litem. (After a heated divorce, our son had sole custody
of his daughter from the age of 3 to 6, and then continued her care in
joint custody. Therefore two different Guardians had been on this
case.) Of course that did not happen, and now we know better.
Our granddaughter has lost her Dad and her extended family. Her father
has lost his job, his home, his reputation and his daughter. The
county attorney spent thousands of dollars on "expert witnesses." Our
family continues to live with this painful and devastating experience.
If there is any winner here, it can only be the "recovered memory
expert" who made $300 an hour from the time he left his driveway each
morning until the time he returned in the evening. We give thanks that
the Hungerford Ruling is alive and well in NH. If it weren't, there
could be many innocent people in our prisons. Fortunately, this ruling
does provide protection for teachers, soccer coaches, scout leaders,
divorced parents, indeed anyone who could have their lives destroyed
by a person who has developed false memories.
We are so grateful for the assistance, information and support of the
FMSF. Because of the Foundation's work, we have some understanding of
this situation and we can continue with our lives.
Jean and Jim Jackson
[1] See FMSF Newsletter 14(3), May June.
_________________
Teaching Knitting
I am writing to update you on our continuing soap opera. We see our
three sons. We see our five grandchildren and our four great grand-
children. We do not see the two accusing daughters whom we understand
do not speak to each other anymore either. The family therapist who
started this journey is now teaching knitting. Ah life!
A mom
_________
Thank You
My youngest daughter told me about the FMS Foundation a year or so
after my oldest daughter made accusations that I had sexually abused
her when she was a child. I thought I was the only one in such a
situation, and my grief and fear were driving me to my emotional
limits. Your newsletter awakened me to reality.
Now more than a dozen years later, my oldest daughter is still lost to
me, and I am not allowed to have any communication with her. But my
family is intact, my personal and professional friendships were not
affected, and-now living in retirement-my life is good. For the most
part, I can accept the rupture by my daughter.
All this would not have been possible had it not been for the FMSF
newsletter. It provided me with the intellectual support that made
life livable during these many years.
A dad
______________________
It's Not Over Until...
A few years ago, I wrote an "Afterword" to the journal of letters and
thoughts I had maintained during the long years of our daughter's
alienation. It began:
This story does not have a happy ending. While hope never dies, the
light of hope in my case is a very faint glimmer. It is very likely
that I will spend the remaining years of my life without ever seeing
my daughter or her children again. That thought fills me with despair.
I ceased keeping a record of our letters or other communications with
our daughter, thinking that any meaningful relationship was at an end.
Indeed, several more years went by without any resolution of our
differences, and a meeting that my wife and I had with our daughter
failed to bring about reconciliation. Somehow, however, without ever
rationalizing what we were doing, my daughter, on her part, and my
wife and I, on ours, began to repair the damage to our relationship.
They were small faltering steps, but the intangible glue that keeps
families together seemed to strengthen by the month.
During this period, our daughter did not acknowledge that her
accusations were unfounded, and we did not press her to do so. We read
letters in the FMSF Newsletter from parents who found themselves in
our position, noting that some adamantly refused to reestablish the
relationship unless and until the daughter admitted error, while
others were content to resume family ties without such an admission.
While we had chosen the former course at the time I wrote the
"Afterword," we ultimately decided on the latter. Our daughter also
reestablished contact with her brother and sister and their children,
and with each visit the doubts and reservations on both sides seemed
to recede. She brought her children to see us, and we visited them in
their home. We were grandparents again, and our daughter was the same
wonderful person we had always loved. The anger and mistrust reflected
in our letters over the past six years faded gradually as does the
memory of past physical pain.
Did we not wish that the ultimate issue-the truth of the
accusations-be resolved? Of course. But we were so happy and relieved
to have our daughter back that it became a non-issue. In fact, as time
went on we found it difficult to remember, or believe, that we had
been estranged for six long years.
That is not the end of the story, however. In January of 2004, our
daughter became seriously ill. Shortly before she was scheduled for an
operation, she spoke with her mom and me on the phone. It was obvious
that we were all experiencing the deep emotions that arise in a
life-threatening crisis. At the end of the conversation, she said that
she had something to say. She hesitated for a moment, and then, in
tears, she said in a faltering voice. "Dad, I was wrong." I was so
overcome I could hardly speak, but I finally said: "It is over now,
and we won't speak of it again." The next day I wrote to her:
Words can't express how sorry I am that you felt that you had to tell
me last night that you were wrong and sorry for something that
happened in the distant past. While you had not said those things
expressly, some time ago I felt that you had come to the conclusion
that your memories were unfounded. Ever since we have been back
together I have felt your love and respect, so the fact that the words
had not been spoken did not in any way affect my feelings toward you.
I have always believed that we were all victims of an aberration in
society that occurred at a time when you were particularly
vulnerable.... So, dearest daughter, let's banish this subject from
our minds forever. We are a loving, united family as never before, and
I know that will continue for the rest of our lives. With a heart full
of love, respect and admiration for everything you are.
Several days after a very difficult operation with many anxious
moments, our daughter was able to receive visitors. She could not
speak but indicated that she wanted to write something. We gave her a
pen and a pad on which she wrote in a weak scrawl: "Dad"
Our daughter recovered almost completely. And the piece of paper on
which she wrote "Dad" has been framed and now rests on my dresser. It
is one of my most precious possessions.
A happy dad
**********************************************************************
Fifty-seven items
that the U.S. Library of Congress listed under
"Subject = False memory syndrome"
in June 2005.
AACOCELLA, J.R. Creating hysteria: women and multiple personality
disorder. San Francisco : Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1999.
APPELBAUM, P.S., UYEHARA, L.A., ELIN, M.R. Trauma and memory: clinical
and legal controversies. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
BAKER, ROBERT A. (Ed.) Child sexual abuse and false memory syndrome.
Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1998.
BJORKLUND, D.F. (Ed.) False-memory creation in children and adults:
Theory, research, and implications. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum, 2000.
BRAINERD, C. J. & REYNA, V.F. The science of false memory. New York:
Oxford University Press, 2005.
BRENNEIS, C. B. Recovered memories of trauma: transferring the present
to the past. Madison, CT: International Universities Press, 1996.
BROWN, D., SCHEFLIN, A., HAMMOND, C. Memory, trauma treatment, and the
law. New York: W.W. Norton, 1998.
CAMPBELL, S. Relational remembering: rethinking the memory wars.
Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2003.
CAMPBELL, T. W. Smoke and mirrors: the devastating effect of false
sexual abuse claims. New York: Insight Books, 1998.
CARUTH, C. (Editor. Trauma: explorations in memory. Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins University Press, 1995.
CONTRATTO, S.M. & GUTFREUND, J. (Eds.). A feminist clinician's guide
to the memory debate. New York: Haworth Press, 1996.
CONWAY, M.A. (Ed.). Recovered memories and false memories. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1997.
COURTOIS, C. A. Recollections of sexual abuse: treatment principles
and guidelines. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1999.
CULLEN, M. Anna Weiss (Traverse Theatre Company presents). London :
Nick Hern Books, 1997.
DAVIES, G.M. & DALGLEISH, T. (Eds.) Recovered memories: seeking the
middle ground. New York: John Wiley, 2001.
FMS FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER. Philadelphia, PA: The FMS Foundation,1992-.
FRIESEN, J.G. The truth about false memory syndrome. Lafayette, LA:
Huntington House Publishers, 1996.
FREYD, P. & GOLDSTEIN, E.C. Smiling through tears. Boca Raton, FL:
Upton Books, 1998.
GARDNER, R.A. Psychotherapy with sex-abuse victims: true, false, and
hysterical. Cresskill, NJ: Creative Therapeutics, 1996.
GARTNER, R.B. (Ed.) Memories of sexual betrayal: truth, fantasy,
repression, and dissociation. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1997.
GIRGIS, M. The prosecution of false memory. St. Louis, MO: Warren
H. Green, 2000.
GOLDSTEIN, E. C. & FARMER, K. True stories of false memories. Boca
Raton, FL: SIRS, 1993.
GOODYEAR-SMITH, F. First do no harm: the sexual abuse industry.
Auckland, NZ: Benton-Guy Pub., 1993.
GUILLIATT, R, Talk of the devil : repressed memory & the ritual abuse
witch-hunt. Melbourne, Australia: Text Pub. Co., 1996.
HEDGES, L.E. Remembering, repeating, and working through childhood
trauma: the psychodynamics of recovered memories, multiple
personality, ritual abuse, incest, molest, and abduction. Northvale,
NJ: J. Aronson, 1994.
KELLEY, C.R. Now I remember: recovered memories of sexual abuse.
Vancouver, WA: K/R Publications, 1994.
KOTKER, Z. Try to remember: a novel. New York: Random House, 1997.
LAURENCE, D.M..& TITUS, R. Skeletons without bones: dragging recovered
memories of sexual abuse out of the closet. Mukilteo, WA: WinePress
Pub., 1998.
LOFTUS, E.F., & KETCHAM, K. The myth of repressed memory: false
memories and allegations of sexual abuse. New York: St. Martin's
Griffin, 1996.
LYNN, S.J. & McCONKEY, K. (Eds.) Truth in memory. New York: Guilford
Press, 1998.
MAYER, A. Repressed memories of sexual abuse. Holmes Beach, FL:
Learning Publications, 1995.
McDONALD, A.N. Repressed memories: can you trust them? Grand Rapids,
MI: Fleming H. Revell, 1995.
MOLLON, P. Remembering trauma: a psychotherapist's guide to memory and
illusion. Chichester; New York: John Wiley, 1998.
OFSHE, R. & WATTERS, E. Making monsters: false memories,
psychotherapy, and sexual hysteria. Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1996.
PENNDERGRAST, M. Victims of memory: incest accusations and shattered
lives Hinesburg, VT: Upper Access, 1995.
PEZDEK, K. & BANKS, W.P. The recovered memory/false memory debate. San
Diego: Academic Press, 1996.
POPE, K.S. & BROWN, L.S. Recovered memories of abuse: assessment,
therapy, forensics. Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association., 1996.
PRAGER, J. Presenting the past: psychoanalysis and the sociology of
misremembering. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998.
PROZAN, C. Construction and reconstruction of memory: dilemmas of
childhood sexual abuse. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1997.
ROGERS, W. "Recovered memory" and other assaults upon the mysteries of
consciousness: hypnosis, psychotherapy, fraud, and the mass media.
Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1995.
SCHACTER, D.L. (Ed.). The cognitive neuropsychology of false memories.
Hove, East Sussex, UK: Psychology Press Ltd., 1999.
SIMPSON, P. Second thoughts. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers,
1996.
SINASON, V. (Ed.). Memory in dispute. London: Karnac Books, 1998.
SMITH, S. Survivor psychology: the dark side of a mental health
mission. Boca Raton, FL: Upton Books, 1995.
SPANOS, N.P. Multiple identities & false memories: a sociocognitive
perspective. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association,
1996
STEPHENS, R.L. Hypnosis and false memories: how false memories are
created. Freeport, Penn: Ziotech International, 1996.
STONE, T.A. Cure by crying. Des Moines, IA: Cure By Crying Inc., 1995.
TAUB, S. (Ed.). Recovered memories of child sexual abuse:
psychological, social, and legal perspectives on a contemporary
mental controversy. Springfield, IL: C.C. Thomas, Publishers, 1999.
VAN TIL, R. Lost daughters: recovered memory therapy and the people it
hurts. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1997.
WAITES, E.A. Memory quest: trauma and the search for personal history.
New York: W. W. Norton, 1997.
WAKEFIELD, H. & UNDERWAGER, R. Return of the furies: an investigation
into recovered memory therapy. Chicago: Open Court, 1994.
WASSIL-GRIMM, C. Diagnosis for disaster: the devastating truth about
false memory syndrome and its impact on accusers and
families. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press, 1995.
WHITFIELD, C.L., SILBERG, J., FINK, P.J.(Eds.). Misinformation
concerning child sexual abuse and adult survivors. New York:
Haworth Maltreatment & Trauma Press, 2001.
WHITFIELD, C.L. Memory and abuse: remembering and healing the effects
of trauma. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, 1995.
WILLIAMS, L.M., & BANYARD, V.L. (Eds.) Trauma & memory. Thousand
Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications, 1999.
WRIGHT, L. Remembering Satan. New York: Knopf, 1994.
YAPKO, M.D. Suggestions of abuse: true and false memories of childhood
sexual trauma. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.
**********************************************************************
* N O T I C E S *
**********************************************************************
* *
* WEB SITES OF INTEREST *
* *
* comp.uark.edu/~lampinen/read.html *
* The Lampinen Lab False Memory Reading Group *
* University of Arkansas *
* *
* www.exploratorium.edu/memory *
* The Exploratorium Memory Exhibit *
* *
* www.ctnow.com/memory *
* Hartford Courant memory series *
* *
* www.tmdArchives.org *
* The Memory Debate Archives *
* *
* www.francefms.com *
* French language website *
* *
* www.StopBadTherapy.com *
* Contains phone numbers of professional *
* regulatory boards in all 50 states *
* *
* www.IllinoisFMS.org *
* Illinois-Wisconsin FMS Society *
* *
* www.ltech.net/OHIOarmhp *
* Ohio Group *
* *
* 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.sirs.com/uptonbooks/index.htm *
* Upton Books *
* *
* www.angelfire.com/tx/recoveredmemories/ *
* Locate books about FMS *
* Recovered Memory Bookstore *
* *
* www.religioustolerance.org/sra.htm *
* Information about Satanic Ritual Abuse *
* *
* www.angryparents.net *
* Parents Against Cruel Therapy *
* *
* www.geocities.com/newcosanz *
* New Zealand FMS Group *
* *
* www.werkgroepwfh.nl *
* Netherlands FMS Group *
* *
* www.falseallegation.org *
* National Child Abuse Defense & Resource Center *
* *
* www.nasw.org/users/markp *
* Excerpts from Victims of Memory. *
* *
* www.rickross.com/groups/fsm.html *
* Ross Institute *
* *
* www.hopkinsmedicine.org/jhhpsychiatry/perspec1.htm *
* Perspectives for Psychiatry by Paul McHugh *
* *
* www.enigma.se/info/FFI.htm *
* FMS in Scandinavia - Janet Hagbom *
* *
* www.ncrj.org *
* National Center for Reason & Justice *
* *
* www.lyingspirits.com *
* Skeptical Information on Theophostic Counseling *
* *
* www.ChildrenInTherapy.org/. *
* Information about Attachment Therapy *
* *
* www.traumaversterking.nl *
* English language web site of Dutch retractor. *
* *
* www.quackwatch.org *
* This site is run by Stephen Barrett, M.D. *
* *
* www.stopbadtherapy.org *
* Contains information about filing complaints *
* *
* www.FMSFonline.org *
* False Memory Syndrome Foundation *
* *
* LEGAL WEBSITES OF INTEREST *
* www.caseassist.com *
* www.findlaw.com *
* www.legalengine.com *
* www.accused.com *
* www.abuse-excuse.com *
* *
**********************************************************************
* ELIZABETH LOFTUS *
* we www.seweb.uci.edu/faculty/loftus/ *
**********************************************************************
* *
* The Rutherford Family Speaks to FMS Families *
* *
* The video made by the Rutherford family is the most popular video *
* of FMSF families. It covers the complete story from accusation, to *
* retraction and reconciliation. Family members describe the things *
* they did to cope and to help reunite. Of particular interest are *
* Beth Rutherford's comments about what her family did that helped *
* her to retract and return. *
* Available in DVD format only: *
* To order send request to *
* FMSF Video, 1955 Locust St. *
* Philadelphia, PA 19103 *
* $10.00 per DVD; Canada add $4.00; other countries add $10.00 *
* Make checks payable to FMS Foundation *
* *
**********************************************************************
* RECOMMENDED BOOKS *
* *
* REMEMBERING TRAUMA *
* by Richard McNally *
* Harvard University Press *
* *
* SCIENCE and PSEUDOSCIENCE in CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY *
* *
* S. O. Lilienfeld, S.J. Lynn and J.M. Lohr (eds.) *
* New York: Guilford Press (2003) *
* *
* PSYCHOLOGY ASTRAY: *
* Fallacies in Studies of "Repressed Memory" and Childhood Trauma *
* by Harrison G. Pope, Jr., M.D. *
* Upton Books *
* *
* ABDUCTED *
* How People Come to Believe They Were Kidnapped by Aliens *
* Susan A. Clancy *
* Harvard University Press, 2005 *
* *
* A very readable book recommended to all FMSF Newsletter readers. *
* Chapter 3, "Why do I have memories if it didn't happen?" will be *
* of particular interest. *
* *
* In an article in the British press about her research, Clancy *
* wrote: *
* *
* "We've all been seeing aliens for more than 50 years....Preparing *
* this article, I showed 25 people a picture of an alien and Tony *
* Blair: all recognized an alien, fewer than half recognized Tony *
* Blair." *
* *
* "The trick to creating false memories is to get confused between *
* things you imagined, or read, or saw, and things that actually *
* happened." *
* *
* "For almost all abductees, the seed of their belief is a *
* question.... Why did I wake up in the middle of the night *
* terrified and unable to move?' 'Why are these odd moles on my *
* back?' 'Why do I feel so alone?' 'Why am I different from everyone *
* else?' 'Why are my relationships so bad?' Questions generally lead *
* to a search for answers...and our search is limited to the set of *
* explanations we have actually heard of." *
* *
* "For better or worse, being abducted by aliens has become a *
* culturally available explanation for distress-whether that *
* distress comes from work, relationships or insecurity." *
* *
* "Many of us have strong emotional needs that have little to do *
* with science-the need to feel less alone in the world, the desire *
* to be special, the longing to know that there is something out *
* there, something bigger and more important than you watching over *
* you." *
* October 22, 2005, The Express, p. 45 *
**********************************************************************
_____________________________________
F M S B U L L E T I N B O A R D
Contacts & Meetings:
_____________
UNITED STATES
ALABAMA
See Georgia
ALASKA
Kathleen 907-333-5248
ARIZONA
Phoenix
Pat 480-396-9420
ARKANSAS
Little Rock
Al & Lela 870-363-4368
CALIFORNIA
Sacramento
Jocelyn 530-570-1862
San Francisco & North Bay
Charles 415-984-6626 (am); 415-435-9618 (pm)
San Francisco & South Bay
Eric 408-738-0469
East Bay Area
Judy 925-952-4853
Central Coast
Carole 805-967-8058
Palm Desert
Eileen and Jerry 909-659-9636
Central Orange County - 1st Fri. (MO) @ 7pm
Chris & Alan 949-733-2925
Covina Area
Floyd & Libby 626-357-2750
San Diego Area
Dee 760-439-4630
COLORADO
Colorado Springs
Doris 719-488-9738
CONNECTICUT
S. New England
Earl 203-329-8365 or
Paul 203-458-9173
FLORIDA
Date/Boward
Madeline 954-966-4FMS
Central Florida - Please call for mtg. time
John & Nancy 352-750-5446
Sarasota
Francis & Sally 941-342-8310
Tampa Bay Area
Bob & Janet 727-856-7091
GEORGIA
Atlanta
Wallie & Jill 770-971-8917
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
Pat 260-489-9987
Helen 574-753-2779
KANSAS
Wichita - Meeting as called
Pat 785-738-4840
KENTUCKY
Louisville- Last Sun. (MO) @ 2pm
Bob 502-367-1838
LOUISIANA
Sarah 337-235-7656
MAINE
Rumford
Carolyn 207-364-8891
Portland
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 734-439-4055
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 - Quarterly, 4th Sat. of
Jan., Apr., Jul., Oct. @12:30pm
Tom 417-753-4878
Roxie 417-781-2058
MONTANA
Lee & Avone 406-443-3189
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Jean 603-772-2269
Mark 802-872-0847
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
Cleveland
Bob & Carole 440-356-4544
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma City
Dee 405-942-0531
Tulsa
Jim 918-582-7363
OREGON
Portland area
Kathy 503-655-1587
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 915-595-3945
UTAH
Keith 801-467-0669
VERMONT
Mark 802-872-0847
VIRGINIA
Sue 703-273-2343
WASHINGTON
Kathy 503-557-7118
WISCONSIN
Katie & Leo 414-476-0285 or
Susanne & John 608-427-3686
WYOMING
Alan & Lorinda 307-322-4170
_____________
INTERNATIONAL
BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
Vancouver & Mainland
Lloyd 250-741-8941
Victoria & Vancouver Island
John 250-721-3219
MANITOBA
Roma 204-275-5723
ONTARIO, CANADA
London
Adriaan 519-471-6338
Ottawa
Eileen 613-836-3294
Burlington
Ken & Marina 905-637-6030
Waubaushene
Paula 705-543-0318
QUEBEC, CANADA
Chertsey
Mavis 450-882-1480
AUSTRALIA
Evelyn
everei@adam.com.au
BELGIUM
werkgr.fict.herinneringen@altavista.net
ISRAEL
FMS ASSOCIATION fax 972-2-625-9282
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 January/February Newsletter is December 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, November 1, 2005
AARON T. BECK, M.D., D.M.S., U of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA;
TERENCE W. CAMPBELL, Ph.D., Clinical and Forensic Psychology,
Sterling Heights, MI;
ROSALIND CARTWRIGHT, Ph.D., Rush Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical
Center, Chicago, IL;
JEAN CHAPMAN, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI;
LOREN CHAPMAN, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI;
FREDERICK C. CREWS, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, CA;
ROBYN M. DAWES, Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA;
DAVID F. DINGES, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA;
HENRY C. ELLIS, Ph.D., University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM;
FRED H. FRANKEL, MBChB, DPM, Harvard University Medical School;
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., (deceased) Mount Sinai School of Medicine,
New York, NY;
ERNEST HILGARD, Ph.D., (deceased) 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., (deceased) Harvard University, Cambridge, MA;
ROBERT A. KARLIN, Ph.D. , Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ;
HAROLD LIEF, M.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA;
ELIZABETH LOFTUS, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, CA;
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, NY;
RICHARD OFSHE, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, CA;
EMILY CAROTA ORNE, B.A., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA;
MARTIN ORNE, M.D., Ph.D., (deceased) U of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
LOREN PANKRATZ, Ph.D., Oregon Health Sciences Univ., Portland, OR;
CAMPBELL PERRY, Ph.D., (deceased) 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., (deceased) University of California, Santa
Cruz, CA;
THOMAS A. SEBEOK, Ph.D., (deceased) U of Indiana, 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., {deceased) 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 Ctr, Piscataway, NJ;
JEFFREY VICTOR, Ph.D., Jamestown Community College, Jamestown, NY;
HOLLIDA WAKEFIELD, M.A., Institute of Psychological Therapies,
Northfield, MN;
CHARLES A. WEAVER, III, Ph.D. Baylor University, Waco, TX
**********************************************************************
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**********************************************************************