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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 2006 Vol. 15 No. 6
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ISSN #1069-0484. Copyright (c) 2006 by the FMS Foundation
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The FMSF Newsletter has been published 6 times a year by the False
Memory Syndrome Foundation. Starting in 2007 it will be published 4
times a year and will be delivered electronically. It is also available
at on the FMSF website: www.FMSFonline.org. Those without access to
the Internet should contact the Foundation.
1955 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-5766
Phone 215-940-1040, Fax 215-940-1042
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Dear Friends,
"Ritual abuse may now seem an almost quaint aberration, a temporary
fad that seized the popular imagination, as outdated as hula-hoops
or disco fever."
Fister, B. (2003). The devil in the details: Media representation
of "ritual abuse" and evaluation of sources.
Studies in Media & Information Literacy Education, 3(2).
http://www.utpress.utoronto.ca/journal/ejournals/simile
(Accessed October 16, 2006.)
The observation above may seem overly optimistic when you read some of
the articles in this newsletter. Amazingly, belief in satanic ritual
abuse continues to thrive in far too many places. For example, British
Columbian Donna Krahn has filed a lawsuit against therapists that she
alleges encouraged her to believe she had been sexually abused in
bizarre satanic rituals and, as a consequence, she lost custody of her
children. (See p. 5) The suit names Elijah House in Canada and retired
law-enforcement chaplain Steve Oglevie, a self-styled Biblical
counselor in Idaho who claims to have removed "mind-control systems"
from over 375 persons in the last 12 years. (Several FMSF families
have written to us about Steve Oglevie.)
"How can this still be going on?" you might wonder. In September,
Australian investigative journalist Richard Guilliatt published an
article about a "healing" center in that country that may provide a
clue: Christian "healing" programs are under the radar of monitoring
agencies. (See p. 8) No one has jurisdiction over the practices in
such centers.
If you believe everything that you read, you would conclude that
Australia has a big ritual abuse problem. Last April, the Advocates
for Survivors of Child Abuse, with government funding, published
"Ritual Abuse & Torture in Australia. (See story below) Given the fact
that the report was funded by the government, endorsed by two
prominent psychologists, and contains an impressive number of
references, a naive reader might assume that the report is fair and
reasonable. Superficially it seems impressive, but to anyone familiar
with the topic the references are a hodge-podge. Included in the stew
are self-published papers posted on the web and articles by people
discredited in mainstream psychiatry such as Robert Rockwell and
Bennett Braun.
Still, most of mainstream culture will likely shrug off the satanic
ritual material as insignificant patter from an obsessed minority of
believers. More disturbing are the mainstream purveyors of
misinformation that foster beliefs that have so tragically harmed
people. (See story below) In a forthcoming issue of Consciousness and
Cognition, Kathy Pezdek and Shirley Lam write that the researchers who
have studied false memories are guilty of doing bad science. That is a
serious assertion. Fortunately, Kimberly Wade and colleagues provided
a scholarly and powerful response.
A new paper by Constance Dalenberg, Ph.D., appeared in October (See
story below) and was described by one naive reader as a "scholarly,
thoughtful, non-defensive and non-emotional" argument that recovered-
memory evidence should pass the "Daubert criteria." Because this paper
will be used in legal contexts, we think that it is important to
examine it carefully. In a box in the article's second page (275) we
learn from the paper's summary "Key Points" that a "Review of
the weight of the evidence of the phenomenon of recovered memory by
the fair-minded scientist" would allow it into courtrooms. Thus we
also learn Dalenberg's view of all the scientists who disagree
with her: they're not just wrong, they are not even fair-minded.
Dalenberg's views are made even clearer by her omission of the word
"alleged." On page 277 she writes: "attacks on recovered memory began
in the 1980s and 1990s, clearly in response to the need for a legal
strategy to defend accused molesters." (Which is worse -- accused
molesters or un-accused molesters?)
Dalenberg's pettiness can be startling. She identifies Elizabeth
Loftus -- not as a member of the National Academy of Science and
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, not as past-president of
the American Psychological Society and winner of its prestigious
William James Award, not as winner of the $200,000 Grawemeyer Award,
nor the American Psychological Association's 2003 Award for
Distinguished Scientific Applications of Psychology, not even as the
top ranked woman in the Review of General Psychology's list of 100
Most Eminent Psychologists of the 20th Century. Dalenberg's sole
description of Loftus is on page 277: she is identified as one of
three "professional witnesses."
Dalenberg is not a fan of the FMS Foundation, nor does she seem to
know much about it. On page 277 she writes that the FMS Foundation
"identifies media coverage as its most important objective." The
purposes of the Foundation as stated beginning in its articles of
incorporation and continuing in its brochures are:
To seek the reasons for the spread of False Memory Syndrome;
To work for the prevention of new cases of False Memory Syndrome;
and
To aid the victims of False Memory Syndrome, and to bring their
families into reconciliation.
Dalenberg goes beyond pettiness when she says on page 285 that the
work of other FMSF Advisors "calls to mind the fight by cigarette
manufactures to ignore the evidence of smoking and cancer...[they] had
a Scientific Advisory Board similar to the False Memory Syndrome
Scientific Advisory Board."
After defining dissociative amnesia as "amnesia for abuse that has not
been recovered" (p. 278) Dalenberg tells us: "First, the diagnosis of
dissociative amnesia can be made in the absence of memory recovery,
and the diagnosis is typically made before memory is recovered (if
amnesia is not permanent). Second, the diagnosis of dissociative
amnesia requires not only that the client be amnestic for one or more
important events, but that the amnesia (not the trauma) causes
significant distress." (p. 283) Thus we learn Dalenberg believes that
clinicians can tell in the absence of even a recovered memory that
someone has been abused and that the un-recovered memory causes
significant distress -- she has cast herself back to the days of
checklists of "signs and symptoms" of abuse that long ago were
thoroughly discredited as a means for diagnosing past sexual abuse.
Lest readers feel discouraged, the negative articles and stories we
have mentioned are a minority, but it remains important to be aware of
what our critics think. The good news is that memory researchers
continue to publish papers that help to clarify false/recovered memory
questions. For example, one argument that has been made is that
survivors of childhood sexual abuse who said that they had repressed
their memories were more talented in forgetting emotional stimuli than
survivors who always remembered the abuse. Elke Geraerts and her
colleagues at Maastricht University studied this claim and "found no
support for the hypothesis."[1] This study replicates work of McNally,
Clancy and colleagues in 2000 and 2004. The authors observe that "on
the basis of the empirical literature on emotional memory, it is hard
to understand how traumatic events could be dissociated or repressed."
(www.personeel.unimaas.nl/E.Geraerts/Geraerts%20et%20al_2006a_BRAT.pdf)
One more myth about recovered memories has been put to rest.
We began the newsletter with a quote from a web article called "The
devil in the details: Media representation of 'ritual abuse' and
evaluation of sources." The author, a director of college library
instruction, analyzes how information is presented in various media
using the ritual abuse phenomenon as an example. It explains how the
various media either check facts "or not check "for the works that
they publish. Newsletter readers may find both the short history of
ritual abuse and the other information helpful.[2] Finally, don't miss
the first part of the retractor story "Lost in Therapy." (below) When
we received the copy, the writer had added: "Whew, it is quite
something to tell that again! I hope that this type of 'therapy' is
truly coming to an end as any kind of legitimate treatment." And so do
we all.
PAMELA
[1] Geraerts, E. et al. (2006). Retrieval inhibition of trauma-related
words in women reporting repressed or recovered memories of
childhood sexual abuse. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(8),
1129-1136.
[2] Fister, B. (2003). The devil in the details: Media representation
of "ritual abuse" and evaluation of sources. Studies in Media &
Information Literacy Education, 3(2).
http://www.utpress.utoronto.ca/journal/ejournals/simile
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Withering Review: |
| The Body Never Lies: The Lingering Effects of Hurtful Parenting |
| by Alice Miller. Norton. |
| |
| Alice Miller influenced many people toward belief in recovered |
| memories of parental abuse in the 1980s with her first book: The |
| Drama of the Gifted Child. Carol Tavris doesn't "spare the rod" in |
| an October Times Literary Supplement review of Alice Miller's new |
| book, The Body Never Lies. Tavris suggests that Miller "has been |
| writing the same book for years, and its theme is simple: it is |
| time to get rid of the Fourth Commandment to honour thy father and |
| mother....I'd say there is no excuse for what seems a wilful |
| blindness to the advances of science in her own profession, |
| especially one that has such a direct impact on her clients' and |
| devoted readers' lives. but obviously there is: she was an abused |
| child." |
| |
| Times Literary Supplement, October 25, 2006. Available: |
| tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25347-2421372,00.html |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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Aaron T. Beck, M.D., Receives Lasker Award
FMSF Advisor Aaron Beck, M.D. has been chosen as a 2006 recipient of
the Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research. The annual awards are
given for "stunning" achievement in basic and clinical research in
medicine and have often been likened to Nobel Prizes. A $100,000
honorarium is given with the award.
Dr. Beck has transformed the treatment of depression and many other
mental health conditions with the development of "Cognitive therapy."
The chairman of the Lasker jury, Dr. Joseph Goldstein said that
cognitive therapy "is one of the most important advances "if not the
most important advance "in the treatment of mental diseases in the
last 50 years."
When patients are treated with cognitive therapy they learn to "head
off or defuse self-defeating thoughts before acting on them." The
Lasker jury said that Dr. Beck had set a new standard for determining
the effectiveness of any type of psychotherapy. Cognitive therapy has
been studied in clinical settings more rigorously than any other form
of therapy. Many psychiatrists, however, have resisted or even
rejected the findings.
Dr. Beck, 85, has been at the University of Pennsylvania for more than
40 years. He began developing cognitive therapy when he found that
Freudian theories did not explain what was going on with depressed
patients. When he began his research with cognitive therapy in the
1950s, he set out to prove that anger turned against the self played a
central role in depression, When he tested his theories against real
patients, however, Beck found that depressed patients were not angry
at others but "tended to see themselves in very negative ways... as
losers."
Peter Levendusky, director of psychology at Harvard University's
McLean Hospital, commented that in mental health Beck is "only rivaled
by household names like Sigmund Freud."
Two studies published this summer demonstrate the effectiveness of
cognitive therapy in another new area: Somatization Disorder, a
condition in which patients suffer from unexplained physical
symptoms.[1, 2] The problem is extremely frustrating for both patients
and doctors. It is also expensive: one study found that such patients
"incur medical expenses that are six to 14 times higher than the
national average."[3]
According to Arthur Barsky, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard
Medical School and an expert on this problem, most experts believe
that the patients have histories of childhood physical or sexual abuse
or other trauma. But Barsky questions: "Childhood experiences are
presumably important, but there are no good data" about their
effect. (Some patients whose doctors believe the problem stems from
child abuse have been subjected to memory exhuming.) A major obstacle
in treating these patients has been their lack of insight into their
own problems. Cognitive therapy apparently helps patients develop this
insight and gain some control over the symptoms so that they show
improvement in their functioning.
Goldstein, J. (2006, September 17)
Penn psychiatrist to be honored today
Philadelphia Inquirer
[1] Allen, L.A., et al. (2006, July 24). Cognitive-Behavioral therapy
for Somatization Disorder. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166 (14).
[2] Smith, R.C. et al. (2006, July). Primary care clinicians treat
patients with medically unexplained symptoms: A randomized
controlled trial. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 21 (7),
671.
[3] Boodman. S.G. (2006, August 29). Why does it still hurt, Doc?.
Washington Post. Retrieved from www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2006/08/28/AR2006082800784.html on
August 29, 2006.
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| "The past is malleable and flexible, changing as our recollection |
| interprets and re-explains what has happened." |
| Peter Berger |
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New Complaint About False Memory Research
Soon to appear are a series of articles discussing the methods by
which researchers have been studying false memories. Kathy Pezdek and
Shirley Lam [1] claim that researchers have misused the term "false
memory," have used the wrong methodologies to study false memories and
that they have misapplied their conclusions to real world situations.
They argue that the term "false memory," as introduced by Loftus in
1992, referred to the specific situation of planting a memory for an
entirely new event. They surveyed the literature and found that most
research examined flawed memories, not the implanting of a new event.
The authors argue that flawed memories and false memories are not the
same phenomenon, "nor are identical cognitive processes likely to
underlie the two." Listed under false memory research have been
studies in source monitoring, intrusion errors, post-event suggestion
and social beliefs. Pezdek and Lam claim that these are studies of
flawed memories and the results should not be generalized to implanted
"memories" in child sexual abuse cases.
Kimberly Wade and colleagues responded to the Pezdek and Lam paper.
Wade et al. found that it is "common practice in the field of
cognitive psychology to use the term 'false memory' to describe to a
wide range of episodic memory distortions" and it has been used in
that way at least since the mid-1970s. Thus, it is not reasonable to
claim that researchers have not been studying the term as it was
originally intended. Pezdek and Lam's definition appears to be unique.
Wade et al. discuss the problems of distinguishing between "memory
flaws" and "false memories." They note problems in the research cited
by Pezdek and Lam and suggest that although making such a distinction
is a worthy goal, they provide neither criteria that could be
operationalized nor sound theoretical reasoning. Wade et al. argue
that it seems unhelpful "to distinguish between false memories and
memory flaws on the basis of how much new information they contain."
Wade et al. also address the complaint about generalizing research
such as in misinformation experiments to real world settings. The
authors remark that this can be a concern with any laboratory
research. They note that scientists agree: "[I]f the study has strict
experimental control, that is high internal validity, and addresses
basic theoretical questions, then it makes little difference whether
it is conducted in the laboratory or in the field...demonstrating
phenomena across a variety of settings strengthens the evidence for
those phenomena."
Pezdek has the last word. [3] She reiterates that there are two
definitions of false memories. The phrase can be used for memories of
an entirely new event that never occurred or it can be used for
changes in details of an observed event. Pezdek says that it is bad
science to use the same term for both.
We doubt anyone would argue that the term "false memories" has been
used as Pezdek describes, but does that make the use "bad science"?
The world is full of superordinate and subordinate categories. For
example, fruit is a word that encompasses pears, apples, bananas,
etc., the subordinate categories. 'False memories' is a superordinate
category. Superordinate and subordinate categories are useful
depending on the purpose. It is not uncommon to refer to things by
their superordinate category, but no one has ever said that doing so
is "bad science."
[1] Pezdek, K., Lam. S. (In press). What research paradigms have
cognitive psychologists used to study "False memory," and what are
the implications of these choices? Consciousness and Cognition.
(2005), doi:10.1016/j.concog.2005.06.006)
[2] Wade, K.A., Sharman, S.J., Garry, M., Memon, A., Mazzoni, G.,
Merckelbach, H., Loftus, E.F. (In press). False claims about false
memory research. Consciousness and Cognition. (2006),
doi:10.1016/j.concog.2006.07.001.
[2] Pezdek, K. (In press). It's just not good science. Consciousness
and Cognition. (2006), doi:10.1016/j.concog.2006.05.006
In the spirit of full disclosure: This writer's personal experience
with Kathy Pezdek suggests that she has a strong bias on the subject
of recovered repressed memories. Readers can evaluate her comments
from a 1993 radio interview whose transcript is available at
www.vuw.ac.nz/psyc/staff/maryanne-garry/files/WLW93PezdekFreyd.html
In the references of the Pezdek response, the following were listed
as the authors of "False claims about false memory research: Wade,
K.A., Sharman, S.J., Garry, M., Memon, A., Mazzoni, G., Merckelbach,
H., et al. It is strange that all the authors except Elizabeth
Loftus are mentioned. Loftus is the only et al..
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| "Memory is deceptive because it is colored by today's events." |
| Albert Einstein |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
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Troubling New Paper:
Purveying Beliefs that Have Harmed Others
Dalenberg, C. (2006). Recovered memory and the Daubert criteria:
Recovered memory as professionally tested, peer reviewed, and accepted
in the relevant scientific community. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 7(4),
274-310.
Constance Dalenberg's new paper argues that people who have recovered
memories of past abuse should be allowed to testify in court. There
are two major conceptual flaws in the article, however, that lead the
reader astray. The first is the failure to explicitly define terms.
For legal purposes, the question is whether there is scientific
evidence for the hypothesis that one could experience a major
traumatic event (such as childhood sexual abuse), then be unable to
remember that entire event for a period of time, and then be able to
"recover" the memory later. In the article, Dalenberg appears to refer
to this phenomenon as "traumatic amnesia" followed by "recovered
memory." However, upon reading the article in more detail, it is clear
that she is mixing together several other phenomena, including
especially 1) incomplete encoding and 2) ordinary forgetfulness.
Incomplete encoding refers to the fact that under situations of stress
and trauma, one may remember important parts of an event at the
expense of other, less important parts. The classic example is that
you can remember a man pointing a gun at you, but cannot remember what
the man's face looked like "because your attention was focused
entirely on the gun. Incomplete encoding is normal, but this is not
the same thing as forgetting an entire traumatic event; you will never
forget that you had a gun pointed at you. In other words, there is
excellent scientific consensus that incomplete encoding occurs, but no
consensus that amnesia for an entire traumatic event can occur.
Dalenberg confuses these two phenomena. For example, in her second
bullet point in the article, she states "a large body of research with
animal and human participants has documented impairment of memory
after periods of great stress and fear." That statement of course is
true "as illustrated by the example of remembering the gun but not
remembering the assailant's face. But it does not follow that any of
this research has documented that someone can be unable to remember an
entire traumatic event, as opposed to simply failing to encode a piece
of it. Dalenberg is misleading the reader by implying that scientific
consensus on the first issue is equivalent to scientific consensus on
the second issue.
Now consider the issue of ordinary forgetfulness. Although not a
technically defined scientific term, this refers to the fact that
memories gradually fade over time, especially for events that are not
perceived as profoundly important. Then, at some later point,
something reminds us of the event and it comes back to mind. For
example, most people have ordinary forgetfulness for their experiences
in second grade "but if they stop to think about it for a while, they
can probably recall a number of details from second grade, such as the
name of their teacher, various incidents that occurred, etc. They may
even recall a traumatic event, where perhaps they were humiliated in
front of the class because their desk was dirty, or because they
couldn't answer a question. But obviously, this is not "traumatic
amnesia" in which an individual is literally unable to remember an
entire traumatic event; it is just ordinary forgetfulness. Once again,
scientists would certainly agree that ordinary forgetfulness, with
later recovery of the memory, can happen all the time; however there
is no consensus that individuals can be rendered unable to remember a
traumatic event and then later "recover" the memory. Once again,
Dalenberg is misleading the reader by implying that scientific
consensus on the first issue is equivalent to scientific consensus on
the second.
By way of illustration, let us look again at one of Dalenberg's bullet
points, where she states that "dozens of major psychological
organizations across the country and across the globe have
acknowledged the phenomenon of recovered memory." Certainly it is true
that groups such as the American Psychological Association have stated
that it is possible to forget childhood events, including even
traumatic events, and later remember them. But of course that is not
synonymous with having amnesia, where one is literally unable to
remember the event for a block of time, and then later "recover" the
memory.
In short, much of Dalenberg's paper is rendered almost uninterpretable
because of the fact that widely accepted phenomena, such as incomplete
encoding and ordinary forgetfulness, are intermingled with non-
accepted phenomena, such as the theory of "traumatic amnesia" in which
one would be literally unable to remember an entire traumatic event.
The second major conceptual flaw in the Dalenberg paper "and one that
also misleads the reader in a subtle way "is the implication that
scientific consensus on specific aspects of memory research translates
into scientific consensus on "traumatic amnesia." For example,
looking at yet another bullet point, Dalenberg states that "consensual
acceptance of mechanisms for recovered memory are found in the
experimental literature, including research on directed forgetting,
forgetting after emotional constriction, and state dependent learning
research." Dalenberg is of course correct that there is general
acceptance of many findings in these areas "but it does not follow
that a consensus on various memory mechanisms translates into a
consensus that people could become unable to remember an entire
traumatic event. For example, there is extensive research using
imaging of the brain to see what areas "light up" when people recall
traumatic events as opposed to recalling neutral events. One might
speculate, on the basis of these imaging findings, how,
hypothetically, some mechanism could occur whereby the brain might
perhaps be able to develop amnesia for a traumatic event. These
speculations may be interesting, but they do not in any sense
translate as a scientific consensus that people actually can develop
amnesia for traumatic events. In short, even though there is a
consensus on the imaging findings per se, there is no consensus that
people could actually develop amnesia for an entire traumatic
event. Once again, Dalenberg is misleading the reader by implying that
scientific consensus on the first issue is equivalent to scientific
consensus on the second.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| All the same, when a wave of celebrities suddenly confesses to |
| abuses they've conveniently recalled just before air time, we need |
| a megadose of skepticism. Like politicians, celebrities are forced |
| to inhabit a world in which truth has only an instrumental |
| meaning. If it helps you get elected or if it helps your ratings |
| for people to think you're vulnerable, confess to something" |
| Shearer, H. (1992, March 1) |
| Getting along famously |
| Los Angeles Times Magazine |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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Woman Sues Christian-Based Pastoral Counseling Service
for False Memories of Satanic Abuse
Donna Marie Krahn, 46, is suing the Elijah House in Canada, and Steve
Oglevie Biblical Counseling in Idaho, alleging that counselors Brian
and Della Headley and Stephen Oglevie treated her with techniques such
as dream interpretation and mind-control deprogramming (i.e. hypnosis).
As a result, she came to believe that she had been physically,
sexually and satanically ritually abused by her husband and members of
her family and others.
The complaint says that the Headleys and Oglevie encouraged Krahn to
isolate herself from her family and children. Krahn claims that the
treatment compromised her capacity to parent her seven children, and,
as a result, she lost custody in the ensuing divorce.
Details of Donna Krahn's treatment are described in the Krahns'
Divorce Judgment in 2001,[1] written by Justice R.A. McKinnon. The
Justice wrote:
"Although I am concerned about damaging the reputation of well-
meaning people, it is clear on the evidence that I accept, that
Mr. and Mrs. Headley and Mr. Oglevie hold unorthodox views. It is
also clear that, however well meaning, they engage in "therapy" that
is potentially harmful to those affected."
"It is evident from the brochures and records that neither of the
therapists had any appreciable qualifications to provide counseling
and certainly neither were in a position to assess or diagnose
serious psychiatric illnesses such as "dissociation" or Dissociative
Identity Disorder. It is evident from the outset that they in fact
delved into early childhood experiences, emotional development,
sexual development, and relationship issues.... Although the
director of the Elijah House asserts they did not engage in
"recovered memory therapy," it is certainly evident from the sparse
notes I have reviewed that indeed themes of abuse were discussed and
further Donna did develop recovered memories of rather extraordinary
abuse as a child. It is further evident that her sisters noted a
decided change in her personality and functioning and expressed
concerns to her and to the therapists as to their perceptions and
concerns. These were rejected by the therapists."
Some of the bizarre things in which Mrs. Krahn came to believe were
that she had 500 alternate personalities and that both her family and
her husband's families were members of transgenerational satanic and
witch craft cults. She also believed that she had memories of prenatal
wounding in her own mother's womb where she had met her biological
twin who had died at birth. Justice McKinnon noted:
"Instead of exercising prudence and caution, the counselors seem to
have encouraged the elaboration of these memories and in fact
encouraged her to further attend Mr. Oglevie in Idaho..."
[1] Krahn v Krahn, 2001BCSC1186 (CanLII), (2001-08-16) Docket: E1212.
Fraser, K. (2006, October 12). B.C. woman suing over alleged false
memories. Times Colonist (Victoria, BC), A6.
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| "In memory's telephoto lens, far objects are magnified." |
| John Updike |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
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Who Are the Counselors in the Krahn Suit?
According to sources found on the Web, Brian and Della Headley are now
the leaders of "The Listening Prayer Community" in Mission, BC.
Previously they worked at Elijah House Canada. Elijah House is the
ministry of John and Paula Sandford. In an article in the May/June
2006 FMSF Newsletter, Eunice Campbell explained that the Sandfords had
been influenced by the "Inner Healing" of Agnes White Sanford, the
major influence within the Christian counseling community for belief
in the need to exhume memories. The Listening Prayer Community website
lists a seminar that includes: "Discovering the family style and
family baggage, discovering your authentic self, generational healing,
prenatal wounding, healing for abandonment, and healing for
invalidation."
Stephen Oglevie is a retired law-enforcement chaplain who has been
obsessed with mind control programming and satanism for many years. He
portrays himself as an expert in the area of satanic ritual abuse and
repressed-memory syndrome. He frequently conducts week-long
deprogramming sessions in Idaho for patients referred to him by other
therapists. In 1992 when he had recently moved to Idaho, he was quoted
extensively in a Los Angeles Times Magazine article about satanic
beliefs.[1] Oglevie expressed belief that satanists had gained power
in many government institutions. He appears to have become a believer
in the existence of satanic cults during the period of McMartin and
the other day care cases. (Oglevie is not the only person in law
enforcement to whom that happened, but most, such as Ken Lanning
changed their minds because of the lack of evidence.)
Oglevie still gives seminars for therapists. In an announcement for a
3-day Mind Control Programming Seminar ($480) given in July 2006 in
Salt Lake City posted on the web,[2] he states:
"I am not a ritual abuse survivor, but I am privileged to work with
those who are survivors. Most of these have grown up in multi-
generational cult families so their abuse and programming began very
early in childhood.... These mind-control systems are implanted in
the mind while undergoing very systematic physical, medical,
spiritual, and psychological abuse.
"I have discovered that there are four basic elements to ritual
abuse that need to be addressed in order for recovery to take place:
1) Memories of Trauma, 2) Dissociation/ Multiplicity, 3) Teaching
and Training and 4) Conditioning. These can all be resolved at the
cognitive level, but all four can be controlled by a fifth element,
that of mind-control programming of which the client may or may not
be aware. This seminar will address this fifth element.
"I have spent the last twelve years removing mind-control systems in
over 375 persons..."
For additional details about the Krahn case the the therapists
involved see: http://www.lyingspirits.com/news2006.html#lawsuit
[1] Siegel, B. (1992, May 17). Idaho Gothic. Los Angeles Times
Magazine. (available at
www.maryellenmark.com/text/magazines/la_times/216O.html ).
[2] http://truthbeknown2000.tripod.com/Truth beknown2000/id23.html
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "The experts say that some of the more extravagant responses to |
| satanism arise from the universal human fears it evokes "fears of |
| blood rituals, murder, cannibalism, vampirism and death. But at |
| least a few of the responses appear to arise from more calculated |
| human impulses. 'Some are using this for other agendas,' is how |
| the psychiatrist [Dr. Richard] Worst puts it. 'I don't believe in |
| Satan. I believe in sociopaths. I believe in clever, manipulative |
| sociopaths [therapists] who have found another way to get victims, |
| to break vulnerable, inadequate people's defenses, to manipulate |
| them, usually for sex. There are those who do believe in Satan, |
| though, and for them, here it is. This is a tool. this raises them |
| up, enlarges them. This gives them a cause, a crusade.'" |
| |
| Siegel, B. (1992, May 17) |
| Idaho Gothic. Los Angeles Times Magazine |
| (available at |
| www.maryellenmark.com/text/magazines/la_times/216O.html) |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
Does Australia Have A Ritual Abuse and Torture Problem:
Review of a New Report
In April 2006, the group Advocates for Survivors of Child Abuse (ASCA)
published the report "Ritual Abuse & Torture in Australia" that can be
found on the web at:
http://www.tfyqa.biz/images/pdfs/brochure_ritualabuse_2006.pdf.[1]
Funding for the report was a Victims of Violent Crimes grant from the
New South Wales Department of Corrective Services. The authors
identify themselves as ASCA members from around Australia and write
that the purpose of the report was to review the existing research
evidence and to compile personal experiences of ritual abuse and
torture. The authors state that they hope that the report will "bring
a new perspective on ritual abuse and torture to those professionals
and policy makers whose support is crucial in exposing the full extent
of ritual abuse in Australia."
Freda Briggs, a prominent Australian expert in child development, and
psychologist Marie O'Neill, wrote a foreword to the report. After
congratulating ASCA "for producing this important paper," they write:
"Although there are more than six million documents on the Internet
addressing the issue of ritual abuse, few take as fair and
comprehensive approach as this; many of the writings deny the
existence of ritual abuse despite masses of evidence to the contrary.
As a consequence, some victims are persistently re-abused
psychologically by having to deal with the fact that organized
abusers, their defenders and even police refute their realities and
dismiss their reports as fantasy or mental illness."
Who are the "organized abusers" to whom the writers refer? Are there
not mandated reporting laws in Australia? Why are these groups not
named so that the police can investigate them? Can anyone truly
conceive that there are "defenders" of organized abusers? Do the
writers truly believe that the police are so witless? The only group
in the body of the report mentioned as challenging the claims of
survivors is the False Memory Syndrome Foundation. Do you suppose that
Briggs and O'Neill are intentionally making such a degrading
reference to the FMSF? Or do you suppose that Briggs and O'Neill are
just muddled?
Not surprisingly, the report itself is extremely muddled. It says,
"Advocates of FMS generally deny that adults may forget, and then
remember, traumatic events from their childhood ¦" Does any reader of
this newsletter know any FMS proponent who makes such a claim? Indeed,
advocates of FMS do say that people may forget and later remember an
event. That is ordinary memory. People forget all kinds of things and
then remember them. They forget some things that they will never
remember. And they may also think that they remember some things that
may have no basis in history. That is the nature of memory. The
concerns of FMS proponents are the claims that there is some special
mechanism of memory that operates only in some traumatic
situations. The body of the report, in fact, refers heavily to the
special magical qualities of traumatic memories.
The body of the report is a muddle of various types of organized
ritual abuse and torture: e.g. groups responsible for the sexual
trafficking of women and children, groups of pornography rings,
terrorist groups, and satanic groups. It is a muddle of reality and
invention. By grouping some situations about which there is no
disagreement with those for which there is no evidence, the naive
reader can be drawn in.
The heart of the report is about satanic ritual abuse as we have come
to know it since the appearance of Michele Remembers. By associating
the old beliefs with terrorist groups and a new name, they are meant
to seem more respectable. Rather than mention the criminals and the
unscrupulous greedy people who have looked the other way so that real
sex trafficking can operate, this report says that the abusers are
"mothers, fathers, relatives, friends, neighbors, and professionals ¦
The victims of ritual abuse are the sons, daughters, nieces, nephews,
grandchildren, or foster children of perpetrators ¦The one factor [the
victims] have in common is a set of traumatic symptoms so severe that
they have been compared to Holocaust survivors and prisoners of war ¦"
A telling page in the report is titled: "Why aren't more perpetrators
caught?" The answers include the assertion that the "neuropsychology
of extreme trauma" makes victims unable to provide detailed
disclosures; The shame, terror and guilt of victims keeps them silent;
The police are not looking for the perpetrators; and ritually abusive
perpetrators have demonstrated a preference for torture techniques,
such as electrocution and near-drowning, which do not leave a mark.
One can have sympathy for the writers of the report because of their
naivete in understanding what qualifies as evidence and for a lack of
experience in evaluating the quality of sources. The writers do not
claim to be professionals. Professionals would surely understand that
the following is not evidence of the existence of ritual abuse: "[T]he
degree of disability associated with a history of ritual abuse is so
high that it argues against any 'confabulated' origin." Professionals
would not rely on self-published web articles or from personal reports
in non-peer reviewed books for proof of existence of ritual abuse.
References need to be checked carefully. For example, the authors
cited a 1994 paper by Robert Rockwell as one source that there really
is ritual abuse. Obviously the writers did not know that Rockwell was
forced to surrender his license to practice medicine because of
ethical violations.[2] Another example of a problem is a paper cited
by Young, Sachs, Braun and Watkins. Not only have Sachs and Braun had
many lawsuits filed against them because of their practices of
recovering memories, Walter Young has greatly revised his opinions on
these matters. There are huge problems with the references.
The ASCA report is extremely weak. Because it was funded by the
government, however, because it has the support of ASCA, because it
has the endorsement of prominent researchers, and because on the
surface it appears to be well documented, readers with no background
in the subject may take it seriously.
[1] See Beneath the Radar in this issue for the history of ASCA.
[2] See FMSF Newsletter, 7(8), December.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Evidence for the Need for Ongoing Education |
| About Memory and Suggestibility |
| Children's Past Lives: How Past Life Memories Affect Your Child |
| Carol Bowman |
| Bantam Books: New York, 1997 |
| |
| The book jacket of Children's Past Lives notes that author Carol |
| Bowman's young son "suddenly developed an inexplicable terror of |
| loud noises." A friend suggested that she try hypnosis to help him |
| resolve his fear. What the son remembered under hypnosis was an |
| experience he had as a Civil War soldier. After revealing this |
| memory, his phobia disappeared. |
| |
| Bowman then investigated other children and found her son's |
| experience was not unique. She collected the stories and even |
| found that some children could remember their past lives without |
| hypnosis. Bowman concludes that children's memories of their past |
| lives are powerful evidence for reincarnation. |
| |
| Brian Weiss, M.D., author of Many Lives, Many Masters, wrote that |
| this is an important book because "children are trying to tell us |
| about their past lives and we must not remain deaf." |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
Beneath the Radar
Perhaps recovered memory beliefs continue to flourish within large
segments of the Christian counseling community because the practices
take place beneath the radar of ordinary regulations. In September,
Australian investigative journalist Richard Guilliatt documented a
situation in that country demonstrating how difficult it can be to
hold unlicensed "healers" accountable for the harm they have done.[1]
In 1993, prominent Australian show business casting agent Liz
Mullinar, while under hypnosis by an "aura reader," believed that she
had recovered memories of being raped by a doctor at the age of
five. She soon left the entertainment industry and formed a lobby
group called Advocates For Survivors of Child Abuse (ASCA). (This is
the organization that recently released the report about satanic
ritual abuse in Australia.) With her many connections in the
entertainment industry, Mullinar was able to raise millions of dollars
through private and government funding, and she was able to obtain a
great amount of publicity for her new cause of combating child
abuse. ASCA became a high-profile child abuse lobbying group. [2]
In 1999, Mullinar opened Mayumarri, a Christian healing center to help
victims of abuse. Unfortunately, there have been many serious problems
with the running of this center. Over the years, at least seven
complaints were lodged with government authorities, many of them by
former staff. Among the agencies where the complaints were filed were
the police, the Health Department, and Department of Family and
Community Services. The complaints alleged dangerous and bizarre
practices such as drug-taking, sexual indiscretions by staff, and
negligence toward the children under care. One complaint noted that
exorcisms were performed on staff.
One couple employed at the Center spoke out this year: "We had
relocated to dedicate our lives to helping the place, only to find it
was an absolute lie. I left there saying I'd never met such
un-Christian people in my life." This couple was also disturbed
because many people undergoing the Center's healing program were
'recovering' memories that were very similar to Mullinar's. No action
was taken on any of the complaints because, as Guilliatt observed:
"Mayumarri operates in a regulatory void. Mullinar and her volunteer
staff have no medical qualifications, so they work outside the
jurisdiction of medical boards and healthcare regulators. It's an
issue causing increasing concern as alternative healers proliferate
and religious organizations snare an increasing share of government
welfare money."
Liz Mullinar's view of the causes of the complaints is quite
different. She denied arranging for an exorcism and views the
complaints as a result of disgruntled employees. A review by an
independent group, however, determined that Mayumarri was working
outside accepted International Society of Study of Dissociation
guidelines and mandatory reporting requirements for child sexual
assault. Mayumarri received more than $1 million between 2003 and 2005
of which half was from government grants.
At present there are no requirements for counselors or therapists or
persons running 'healing' workshops to have qualifications. The New
South Wales government intends to get tougher on alternative healers.
Guilliatt noted that "psychiatrists and other health professionals
have been lobbying for such regulation for years, but the cost and
complexity scares politicians away."
[1] Guilliatt, R. (2006, September 23). The untouchables. Australia
Magazine.
[2] ASCA's financial statements are available on its website.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Belief in Practice of Exhuming Memories |
| Still Holds Sway in Some Communities: |
| "Annie Rogers uses psychoanalysis to help |
| abuse victims uncover buried secrets." |
| |
| "The Freudian or Lacanian analyst is as much sleuth as listener, |
| piecing together a code that emerges from language, symptoms and |
| actions. ... In recounting her treatment of an 11-year-old girl |
| who suffered debilitating headaches and anxiety in the wake of |
| being abused by a neighbor, Rogers outlines a process of listening |
| for words or even parts of words the girl repeated during therapy, |
| remarking how motifs from her dreams connected to her waking life, |
| and remaining alert to any physical symptoms, in this case the |
| headaches. After sessions, Rogers took notes, and she ruminated on |
| what she'd heard. Like a good detective, she acted on a hunch as |
| well as evidence when she asked the child if headaches might not |
| be code for Ed aches, a way of 'telling by not telling' that the |
| neighbor, whose name was Ed, had hurt her." |
| |
| "It isn't everyone who can hear what we don't allow ourselves to |
| say." |
| Harrison, K.[1] (2006, August 13) |
| What's left unsaid: Annie Rogers uses psychoanalysis |
| to help abuse victims uncover buried secrets |
| Review of Rogers, A.G. (2006) |
| The Unsayable: The hidden language of Trauma, Random House |
| New York Times Book Review, 11 |
| |
| [1] Katherine Harrison is the author of The Kiss, a memoir of her |
| own sexual abuse as a child. The New York Times Book Review |
| described The Kiss as a " story is about the soul of a young |
| girl and the terrible injury inflicted by the man who should |
| have been its protector." |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
LOST IN THERAPY
Part 1-How I got into therapy
In 1990, when I was in my early 20s, my brother was in treatment for
alcoholism. During a Family Week visit with him, a counselor suggested
that I go to Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA) meetings. I began
attending those meetings, but only a few months later, a stranger
broke into my apartment and raped me. I was overwhelmed by this crisis
and joined a rape survivor's support group. I stopped the ACOA
meetings.
I attended the rape survivor's group for several years until I felt
that I had worked through the crisis of the rape. In 1990, I decided
that I wanted to delve deeper into some problems that I had had before
the rape, namely promiscuity and depression. I talked about this with
other members of the rape survivor's group, and one suggested going to
a psychiatrist she knew at a highly regarded hospital in the city.
She was being treated at the hospital for "blocked out" memories of
child sexual abuse and thought maybe that her doctor could help me
determine if blocked memories could be my problem. My friend told me
that the doctor had used hypnosis and sodium amytal to help find the
memories, and she said that my problems of past promiscuity and
relationship problems sounded like symptoms of child sexual abuse. I
was open to the possibility, because I didn't understand why I had
issues with promiscuity in the past, and I wanted to know if child
sexual abuse that had been repressed could be my problem. I did not
question the credibility of the doctor because she worked at a
hospital with a good reputation. I had never been to a psychiatrist
before, and I really believed it could be beneficial to me. It never
occurred to me that the doctor might not be looking out for my best
interests or that I could be in any danger of harm. I called the
doctor and made an appointment.
Part 2: What happened in the "therapy"
At the first of my three years of appointments, I told the doctor that
I thought I may have blocked out some memories of child sexual abuse
and that I wanted to find out through hypnotism whether or not that
was true. She asked lots of questions and had me make "finger signals"
as a way to answer questions. Certain movements were answers to her
questions. She asked questions about whether or not I had been
sexually abused as a child. I think that I answered these questions
with finger signals. I did what the doctor asked, because she was the
professional. I moved my fingers in a way to indicate that maybe I had
been sexually abused. I told her that I thought perhaps my father had
done something to me sexually. Then she asked me: "Have you considered
that maybe all of the members of your family abused you?" I felt
shocked at the question.
After the initial session, the doctor assigned me to individual
therapy with a therapist under her supervision who would follow up on
the blocked out memories. I began regular appointments with the
therapist. The sessions involved talking about my feelings and
thoughts and then "sand box" therapy. I was supposed to make something
with the sand, and the figures in the sandbox were supposed to reveal
the things I had repressed. I didn't come up with any repressed
memories working in the sand. The therapists suggested I attend their
therapy groups for people with Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD),
since they believed I had Dissociative Disorder (a less severe but
related diagnosis). I agreed, because I believed their diagnosis of
me. I was now convinced that I had blocked out feelings from my past
and that is what I thought my diagnosis entailed.
I was shocked at how many MPD patients were talking about their
repressed memories. It really made me want to know even more if I had
repressed memories. During this time, the psychiatrist told me I could
be putting myself in danger if I kept contact with my family, so I cut
off contact with them. I totally trusted the psychiatrist and did what
she suggested.
By now, I was desperate to learn if I had repressed any memories so I
asked the psychiatrist to hypnotize me. She said that I would need to
be hospitalized in case I had a severe reaction. I understood that
rationale as other people in the group had talked about being
hospitalized for this. I was admitted to a locked unit on the
psychiatric floor of the hospital. Needless to say, I was with very
mentally ill people there, and it was frightening. I had never been
treated or diagnosed with any mental illness prior to this. My mother,
brother and sister had a history of chemical dependency, but other
than that, no one very close to me had any experience with mental
illness. I felt afraid and alone. My family didn't know I was in the
hospital. The doctor had told me to get a second opinion if I doubted
her, but at that point, I didn't understand that a doctor could be
wrong. I did not get a second opinion.
The doctor and my therapist hypnotized me, but no repressed memories
came out. The doctor became angry at me and accused me of being
manipulative. That really frightened me. I could not understand why
she would be angry unless she knew I was repressing something or she
knew I was being manipulative. I trusted her judgment. After all, she
was the doctor and I was the patient. It never occurred to me that she
could be misleading me. I was in a reputable hospital in a big city.
The doctor threatened to send me home if I didn't recover a repressed
memory during the next hypnosis session. During the next session, I
told them I had a memory of my dad sexually abusing me. I think that
"memory" came from confusion about trusting that my therapist and the
doctor both believed I was blocking out sexual abuse from childhood
and that if I had the image of the sexual abuse in my mind, then that
must be the "memory". It never occurred to me that the therapist and
doctor might be wrong when they said that I had been sexually abused,
but didn't remember it. They believed it. I wanted to know if it was
true and possibly the cause of my feelings of depression and trouble
in romantic relationships. It was then that I started believing my
thoughts were the memories.
During the next few years, the Dissociative Disorders groups became a
Dissociative Disorders Program. Things got worse for me. The
therapists suggested that I quit my job and go on Social Security
Disability so that I could do more therapy without so much stress. I
did what they suggested with a lot of encouragement and coaching from
other group members who had done the same thing. I listened to others
in the groups talk about uncovering repressed memories of being
members, victims and perpetrators in satanic cults. It was terrifying.
Another group member suggested my strong fears probably indicated I
had repressed memories of satanic cults as well. In my effort to rule
it out, I asked for additional hypnosis treatments. I was again
hospitalized and any thoughts that came to me I assumed were
memories. I admitted to terrible things such as cannibalism and child
molestation and child murder. I had heard others talk of these things
and I read the books they suggested. My mind was swimming in these
thoughts of satanic abuse and I believed that they were real memories.
My quality of life was terrible. I was filled with remorse and horror
much of the time. I often felt sick to my stomach and could not eat. I
lost weight because of all the stress, but the psychiatrist accused me
of having an alter that was trying to starve me. The groups were
verbally and emotionally abusive. One time a therapist called me a
"nasty bitch". Some of the group sessions lasted all day long.
Frequently, hours were spent talking to one person about how they were
not being honest with the group about what their other alters were
doing. It was terrifying, because it was believed the alters were
child molesters, killers, Satanists, etc. Once I panicked and started
saying whatever came to my head because I was so afraid of the danger
I could be putting people in. I blurted out how I wanted to hurt my
boyfriend, and they called the security guards and put me in the
locked unit of the hospital again. I did not have a big support system
at all since I had no contact with anyone outside of the therapy. My
family did not know where I was. The night I was put in the hospital,
my boyfriend was frightened because he didn't know why I had not come
home. I was not allowed to call him until the next day.
I remained there, because I was terrified of hurting someone without
being conscious of my other personalities and because I was afraid I
was completely insane. They told me that there was no one close who
could help. They were the elite. I felt I had no choice but to stay.
I often said I doubted the memories and that they didn't feel real to
me. I often told them I felt like I was making it all up. Instead of
validating my concern, they became angry and insisted I was in denial
or trying to manipulate them. Bottom line, I put all my trust in them.
Part 3: How I was able to leave therapy
There seemed no place else to go for help. We were in Omaha and the
therapists told us the closest therapists who could help us were in
Chicago. Although I had wanted to leave very much on many occasions
because of the emotional pain I was experiencing, I stayed as month
after month became three years. I stayed because I was terrified of
having this mental illness that could not be treated successfully. The
clear message was that I would remain unaware of my other alters and
their behavior, and I would continue to hurt others and myself in
heinous ways if I left these therapists. So I remained in Omaha. I
really believed I had to stay there for treatment (unless I moved to
Chicago for treatment), if I did not want to engage in criminal
behavior and have a miserable life.
The irony was that I had never been so miserable in my life as I was
when I was there. It finally dawned on me after about three years,
that most other patients in the groups left the treatment after being
frustrated with what was happening. When I had first started therapy
there were about 30 people in the groups. At the end of the three
years there were only about 6-10 who were there consistently. The few
people who remained did not appear to be progressing in their personal
lives. They were still very troubled, even if they had returned to
school or work. They did not seem to be any happier than they were
when I first met them. One young woman killed herself.
After three years, I realized that I was actually feeling the worst I
had ever felt in my life, and I had gone through some tough times
before this. I felt really alone. I wasn't fully understood by the
therapists, and I was disconnected from almost everyone in my past. I
had lost confidence in my ability to provide for myself financially
because I believed I had this mental illness. The worst was believing
I had other alters that I was unaware of who were hurtful. Every time
I presented with an uncomfortable feeling about these concerns that I
wanted to work through, I was told there must be an alter that I was
not aware of. I actually was yelled at in the group setting, "
'Susan', get out of the way!" in reference to demanding that I let my
other alters "out" in the group for therapy.
I finally reached a point of trusting myself that something was
terribly wrong. After three years, I saw no positive results in myself
or others. Logically, it did not make sense that people would go into
treatment and actually feel worse. I wasn't 100% certain that the
therapy was wrong, but I had enough doubt that I left.
I was terrified even when I left. What if I was wrong and I would go
on to hurt people and not know it? Still, I left, and contacted
another patient who had left before I left. She was the same person
who referred me to the therapy in the beginning. We began talking
about our shared concerns that the therapy was harmful. Things started
to feel better, but I suffered panic attacks for the first time in my
life as I tried to resume a normal life and return to work. I found
another psychiatrist who validated that the treatment I had received
was harmful to me, and she helped with my panic attacks and some
therapy sessions. Slowly, I began to rebuild my life.
"Susan"
To be continued:
Rebuilding My Life and Reconciling With My Family
**********************************************************************
F R O M O U R R E A D E R S
__________________
A Grandson Returns
I want to bring you up-to-date with our family. As you may recall, my
daughter has been estranged from the family for many years, ever since
she was in "therapy" in Eugene, Oregon. My daughter had a son who was
diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome when he was 7 years old. At the time
of her "therapy," we had adopted and were raising our grandson. He is
now 31 and over the years our daughter has had very little contact
with him.
At the time of her therapy, my daughter's two sons from her second
marriage were very young. We did not get to know them. Just before
last Christmas, however, completely out of the blue, I received a
phone call from the youngest of these two grandchildren who said that
since he was now 18, he could contact us. From that I assume that he
had not been permitted to contact us as he was growing up. My son (his
uncle) and I helped this grandson buy a plane ticket to our city. My
"new" grandson spent the whole Christmas vacation with us, and we had
a great time.
Sadly, it appears that our grandchild was under the impression that we
were the ones who had severed relationships with his mom and family.
He knew nothing of the awful things our daughter had accused us of
doing. We did not go into all of that, but he did ask about something
that he had been told over and over and that he thought was a true
story. He said that he had been told that once when he was visiting us
when he was about a year old, that I had taken him into the bedroom
and turned the heat up very high. He said that his mom rushed in,
grabbed him from me, and saved him by taking him outside. My grandson
wanted to know if this story was true. I told him that it was not true
and, in fact, could not have happened. Our home had central heat and
with our system there was no way I could have turned the heat up in a
just one room. I explained to him that his mother was a "victim" of a
therapist who had put false memories in her head and that she had
forgotten the real events.
During his stay, our grandson phoned his father. His father and my
daughter had been divorced many years ago. I took the opportunity to
also speak with my ex-son-in-law. Our grandson's dad said that at the
time of the accusations that there had been a "lot of craziness" and
that he had just gone along with our daughter to keep the
peace. Possibly he is sorry now. He has since remarried.
My son believes that his sister will never return to us because she
feels so guilty about the accusations that she levied on us. I hope
that he is wrong.
A happy grandmother
________________
Seeing the Humor
Once again it is the season to write my annual note to the
Foundation. Sadly, there has been no change. My daughter is still
removed from me, geographically and emotionally.
My wounded spirit has slowly calloused over and life is good. I am
most grateful to the work you have done and, like you, I have started
to see the humor in all of this. It is truly just bizarre.
A surviving father
______________________
Hurtful Hallucinations
We want you to know that the Foundation has given us priceless support
through these horrendous events.
The daughter we lost was once the warmest, sweetest beam of light and
love that a child could ever be. That changed when she came to believe
that she had recovered memories of abuse.
Our daughter was your stereotypical case: 31-years-old in 1993. I
understand that she feels the need to be right or else she would seem
horrible in her own eyes. She has had 13 years to reflect and during
that time she has become selfish and cruel. She has rejected and hurt
everyone else in the family, and she refused contact with me.
My husband and I have come to terms with our lives. At this point, we
don't want her as part of our family the way she is now. I could
never, ever have imagined that I could possibly say that. But our
lives are immeasurably happier without having to constantly deal with
the hallucinations of which she is so certain or her current venomous
attitude.
A now-resigned mother
______________
Accept What Is
Our best wishes and thanks to all of you. We remember how you eased
our pain. We do not have contact with our daughter but accept what is.
In deep appreciation and love,
A mom and dad
_________________
Forgotten Victims
The "memory wars" are not over. Just as in Vietnam there were
prisoners left after our troops had been pulled out, so there may
still be victims of false memory syndrome left behind in our nation's
prisons. These are people who have fallen out of public awareness.
Recently I served as a psychiatrist in temporary assignments to two
prisons in one of our Midwestern states. Both prisons had inmates who
were incarcerated as sexual offenders. Except for two prisoners,
however, all these people were able to freely recall and discuss the
offenses for which they had been convicted. Although these two could
remember the accusations, arrest, trial, conviction, and
incarceration, they could not remember events of sexual abuse charged
by their child accusers.
Both individuals seemed to me to be of hapless character structure,
helplessly resigned to the personally tragic outcome they found in
their lives. They had lost their places in their worlds "family,
friends, reputation, jobs and possessions "just as severely
impoverished victims of Hurricane Katrina lost family members, jobs,
possessions, and residence. The two prisoners' existential situation
was an equivalent in resignation exhibited by helpless victims in a
natural disaster. When I checked their backgrounds, I found that they
each had faced a zealous prosecuting attorney, a righteous judge in a
community where the "quality of mercy" had run dry, and had been
defended by either an incompetent or disinterested public defender.
In my state of Illinois (not the state where I had worked), the
"Innocence Projects" staffed by law students at Northwestern
University uncovered enough wrongful convictions in death sentence
cases that the governor declared a moratorium on executions. It might
be worthwhile for the FMS Foundation to inspire "Justice Projects"
that could be undertaken by students at law schools around the country
to research the court records of the convictions of sexual offenders
and to cull out those who seem likely to be victims of FMS. They could
then investigate and see if they are indeed forgotten victims of the
"memory wars."
Earl N. Solon, M.D.
__________________
Back in the Family
Seventeen years ago our two daughters, in their 30s, sued us claiming
that we molested them from age 5 until they left home for college.
Then, for the next 15 years both of them "completely forgot" all about
it until they went to a family therapist. the therapist told them the
reason they were having relationship problems is that they must have
been sexually molested in their youth, but forgot all about it "which
was good because they would not be barred by a Statute of Limitations.
That therapist is now teaching knitting. Last month one daughter
contacted us and asked forgiveness, which, of course, we did. We have
long chats. She wants to be back in the family.
A mom and dad
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* N O T I C E S *
**********************************************************************
* The FMSF Newsletter has been published 6 times a year by the False *
* Memory Syndrome Foundation. Starting in 2007 it will be published *
* 4 times a year and will be delivered electronically. It is also *
* available at on the FMSF website: *
* *
* www.FMSFonline.org. *
* *
* Those without access to the Internet *
* should contact the Foundation. *
**********************************************************************
* *
* WEB SITES OF INTEREST *
* *
* http://www.theisticsatanism.com/asp/ *
* Against Satanic Panics *
* *
* 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/ *
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* *
* 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 415-435-9618 (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 785-762-2825
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
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
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 609-927-4147
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 914-922-1737
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
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 Winter 2007 issue is December 15
Meeting notices MUST be in writing
And should be sent no later than TWO MONTHS PRIOR TO MEETING.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
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| 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 |
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The False Memory Syndrome Foundation is a qualified 501(c)3 corpora-
tion with its principal offices in Philadelphia and governed by its
Board of Directors. While it encourages participation by its members
in its activities, it must be understood that the Foundation has no
affiliates and that no other organization or person is authorized to
speak for the Foundation without the prior written approval of the Ex-
ecutive Director. All membership dues and contributions to the Founda-
tion must be forwarded to the Foundation for its disposition.
**********************************************************************
PAMELA FREYD, Ph.D., Executive Director
FMSF Scientific and Professional Advisory Board, November 1, 2006
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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