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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)
SUMMER 2008 Vol. 17 No. 3
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ISSN #1069-0484. Copyright (c) 2008 by the FMS Foundation
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The FMSF Newsletter is published 4 times a year by the False Memory
Syndrome Foundation and 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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The next e-mail newsletter will be sent in October
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Dear Friends,
We've been surprised in the past few weeks to see the phrase "false
memory" or the letters "FMS" in unusual places. Did you know, for
example, that there is a music group called "Retractor" that formed in
2004 and that they have a song called "A False Memory?" We have
ordered the CD, but readers may find it on the internet.[1] Is there a
story behind this group? We would really like to know.
This month, a member forwarded us an email "scam" that she had
received that is in a completely different context. It included the
statement: "Through FMS office ...you are among people approved to be
paid half of their payment of USD $8million dollars." Not this office!
Don't believe all that you read!
Of more serious concern are the many websites and blogs that exist
that may either mislead readers into thinking the site reflects the
Foundation positions or to misinform readers because of incorrect
information about the subject. The first such site, to our knowledge,
was set up by a social worker and actually uses the letters "FMSF."
She "grabbed" the letters before the Foundation had initiated its own
site. What can be done about such situations in a nation that
treasures "free speech?" Even if it is possible to do something, are
the time and resources worth the effort?
In the case of the website that uses "FMSF," the content makes it
obvious that the site is opposed to the notion of false memory
syndrome. To us,, this particular site seems a pathetic effort. Other
sites simply repeat personal rumors that have long since been
answered.
On the other hand, some people, high school students for example, may
not necessarily have the breadth of experience to discriminate between
those sites offering credible information and those offering distorted
information. Indeed, this is a problem exacerbated by the amazing
amount of information available at a "click" and a problem that
extends far beyond the topic of false memories. We don't have a
solution, alas, other than to continue to try to educate people about
what constitutes good science in our area of concern. That effort is
and will necessarily continue to be ongoing. If you come across a web
site that seems especially pernicious and you think that it warrants
some notice, write to us with suggestions. Perhaps a section of the
FMSF web site could be devoted to that effort. On the other hand, it
may provide the offending web site greater exposure than it would have
if ignored. Educating people is the job of all FMSF members, not just
those of us in the office.
It has been your efforts, families and professionals, that have
propelled the topic of false memories to the forefront of
psychological research. Henry Roediger, Ph.D., FMSF Scientific
Advisor, is one of the researchers who has made an enormous
contribution to the effort. (See below) Professor Roediger recently
received the prestigious Warren Medal from the Society of Experimental
Psychologists. The presenters noted that Roediger's work "has become a
central thrust in the study of false memory -- one of the most
exciting and important new areas of research in cognitive psychology
and cognitive neuroscience in the last 30 years."
In October, a new book by FMSF Scientific Advisor Paul McHugh, M.D.
will be published: Try to Remember: Psychiatry's Clash Over Meaning,
Memory, and Mind. The new book should go a long way toward educating
the public about the problems that resulted in the false memory
phenomenon and about the professional changes required to prevent it
from happening again. But in that same month, a 20th Anniversary
Edition of The Courage to Heal will also be published in the United
Kingdom. Ultimately, the truth of the science will replace the popular
mythology about memory. Progress, unfortunately, often seems hampered
by the popular media.
The battle for understanding goes on. We now need a metaphoric ladder
to reach the top of the pile of research papers on our desk that we
really want to write about. We hope that you will find the articles
summarized in this issue as fascinating as we do. On the other hand,
you will also see that the popular media's love affair with recovered
memories shows no signs of ebbing. In May, Oprah featured a program
about the use of hypnosis to help people remember their past lives. We
have reprinted letters to her from the FMSF and from several of the
FMSF Scientific Advisors. (See below)
CBS finally aired its remake of the movie Sybil in June. (See below)
Most reviews were lukewarm. One negative review made us laugh: "I
could say it's the worst movie I've seen in some time, but I'd prefer
to say it's the best at being not good." [2] Two years ago, the
Foundation sent a letter to CBS citing all the research now available
that discredited the diagnosis of Sybil as a multiple personality and
challenging them to update the story to reflect the fact that Sybil's
"memories" were the result of suggestive therapy in combination with
hypnosis and drugs.[3] In its way, CBS did something. As the movie
concluded, on the screen appeared first: "During that time, multiple
personality disorder became accepted as a viable psychiatric
evaluation." The next screen noted: "Many colleagues continued to
believe that she [Wilbur] herself created the personalities assigned
to her patient." The last screen shows people finding the paintings
that were done by Sybil while the following words appeared: "Finding
her pictures created in a diversity of styles, giving support to the
belief that they were painted by many different artists using the same
hand." In other words, the different styles of the paintings were
presented as evidence that they were painted by different
personalities.
Football star Herschel Walker's memoir about his multiple
personalities was published in April: Breaking Free: My Life with
Dissociative Identity Disorder. (See below) Walker has a somewhat
idiosyncratic interpretation of the notion of multiple personality,
but the very fact that such a famous person claims that it was his
multiple personalities that were responsible for his success will
likely inspire others. "Hey! If multiple personalities can make Walker
famous, maybe if I find my multiple personalities, I'll be successful
too!"
So many aspects of the "memory wars" seem contradictory. On the one
hand, scientists have leapt forward in understanding false memories,
and we have reported that they tend to agree about what they have
learned. On the other hand, on page 19 there is a quote that says: "We
are no closer to consensus regarding the topic of false memory than we
were a decade ago." [4] Are we or not? Much depends on the context.
Memory researchers are in general agreement about most aspects of
false memories. These researchers have rigorous standards of
scholarship and what constitutes good research. Others come to the
discussion with a different standard of evidence. They are more
willing to accept anecdotal clinical reports. The lack of consensus
between these groups continues to fuel the "memory wars" and
consequent legal applications.
Is there room for optimism? Sure. Compared to a decade and half ago,
the situation is vastly improved. The explosive growth of false memory
cases has receded to a steady trickle. Is there room for concern?
Sure. There seems no let up in the popular media's love for recovered
memories. The hypervigilance of people about anything connected with
sexual abuse still leads to loss of common sense. A school district
recently charged abuse based on the readings of a psychic. (See
below). A recent campaign in Hampton Roads, Virginia to educate adults
on how to spot sexual offenders, features a male adult hand holding a
child's hand. What sort of message is that?
Thanks for all that you have done over the years to help bring reason
to this area. And thanks for keeping up your efforts.
PAMELA
[1] Vagrant Story Music - A False Memory on You Tube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l79RYL-SLHw.
[2] Alston, J. (2008, June 9). The return of 'Sybil.' Newsweek, 63.
[3] That letter is available at http://www.FMSFonline.org.
[4] Bremmer, J.D. (2008). Neurobiology of trauma and memory in
children. In M.L.Howe, G.S. Goodman, D. Cicchetti (Eds.). Stress,
Trauma, and Children's Memory Development Neurobiological,
Cognitive, Clinical and Legal Perspectives. NY: Oxford University
Press, 11-49.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DON'T MISS IT! COMING IN OCTOBER 2008 |
| Try to Remember: Psychiatry's Clash Over Meaning, Memory, and Mind |
| Paul McHugh, M.D., Washington D.c.: Dana Press |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
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PSYCHIATRY AS ENTERTAINMENT:
Oprah Features Past Life Regression
On May 13, 2008, the "Oprah" television program featured Brian Weiss,
M.D., who, as readers may recall, is the Yale Medical School educated
doctor who uses age regression techniques to suggest to hypnotized
patients that they can recover memories of their past lives. Several
Newsletter readers asked the Foundation to write to Oprah about this
program. Below are two letters. The first is a letter from the FMSF
and the second is a letter from Robert Karlin, Ph.D., John Kihlstrom,
Ph.D. and Emily Orne. Karlin and Orne are FMSF Scientific Advisory
Board members. To date, no replies have been received.
Dear Oprah:
You are a powerful leader and often help to raise awareness of
important issues with your program. You do the public a great
disservice, however, when you give credibility to the notion of
"past life regression." (May 13, 2008 program featuring Brian Weiss,
M.D.)
There is a vast amount of scientific research on the topic of
hypnosis and past life regression. Although proponents may act in
good faith, they are clearly ignorant of what science has shown.
People do not experience past lives; they experience suggestion and
imagination.
Past life regression is entertaining. It may even be good for
ratings. But it is not good to mislead the public about medicine and
science. The processes and beliefs that are involved in past life
regression are those that have caused the disastrous false memory
problem that destroyed thousands of families. There are excellent
uses of hypnosis. Why not have a program about these? I am enclosing
a recent article from Scientific American (1995, June) by professors
Robert Nash and Grant Benham called "The Truth and the Hype of
Hypnosis." I suggest that you contact the authors before launching
another episode of pseudoscience. They write:
"Readily hypnotized subjects... can routinely be led to produce
detailed and dramatic accounts of their first few months of life
even though those events did not in fact occur and even though
adults simply do not have the capacity to remember early
infancy. Similarly, when given suggestions to regress to childhood,
highly hypnotizable subjects behave in a roughly childlike manner,
are often quite emotional and may later insist that they were
genuinely reliving childhood. But research confirms that these
responses are in no way authentically childlike -- not in speech,
behavior, emotion, perception, vocabulary or thought patterns. These
performances are no more childlike than those of adults playacting
as children. In short nothing about hypnosis enables a subject to
transcend the fundamental nature and limitations of human memory. It
does not allow someone to exhume memories that are decades old or to
retract or undo human development." Page 53, 55
Sincerely,
Pamela Freyd, Ph.D.
Dear Oprah,
We are afraid that Dr. Weiss' presentation on your May 13th program
may have misled members of the public. So, we wanted to relate a
little of what scientific psychological research says about hypnosis
and past-life regression. The question is not whether or not people
live more than once; science remains silent on what happens before
conception or after life ends. Rather, it is the relationship of the
tool (hypnosis) and the context (memory for what happened to someone
before this lifetime) that are highly problematic. Briefly, hypnosis
can enable an individual to create plausible memories for the remote
past that have no relationship to historical reality.
Any medical resident or psychology graduate student, given a few
hours of training and a standardized script, can induce hypnosis in
the large majority of willing participants. Using age regression
suggestions, that student and a hypnotized, normal adult can then
generate memories of infancy, birth, time in the womb and previous
lives. For a significant minority of participants, such memories
will be vivid, detailed and superficially convincing.
However, it is also true that the same student equipped with a
slightly altered script can take hypnotized people into the future,
even into a future life. In age regression, one might suggest to
the hypnotized person (for example), "It is no longer 2008 or even
1998 or 1988. Rather it is 1808. Tell me where you are and what you
see." To change this to age progression instructions, one might say
to a similarly hypnotized person, "It is no longer 2008 or even 2018
or 2028. Rather it is 2208. Tell me where you are and what you
see." (In both cases many different wordings are possible, but the
essence remains the same.) If the suggestions are for age
progression, future lives may be described by the hypnotized person
with the same detail and vividness as past ones and future events
predicted with great certainty. Thus, memories for future events can
be created just as can memories of past ones. Similarly, one can age
progress a hypnotized individual into next week and have them read
next Monday's newspaper. Unfortunately, betting large sums on that
newspaper's reports of next Sunday's baseball games or golf
tournament does not lead to increased wealth.
What one is generating in age regression to infancy and earlier and in
age progression is vividly imagined fantasy that is experienced as
real. The translation of such fantasy into memory is an interesting
process. Memory for the central events of what happens to a person is
usually pretty good. Memories fade with time, details are mutable, and
vividness has an unclear relationship to historical accuracy; but, we
remember what happens to us pretty well. Memory for what has happened
must be good; if our ancestors did not remember in which part of the
forest the tiger prowled, they were more likely to wind up as lunch,
not as our ancestors.
But like most of our mental functions, memory has vulnerabilities.
Interestingly, our sense of remembering something is most vulnerable
when there is little or nothing to remember. Sleep, early infancy and
before and tomorrow or later are among the times when there is
literally nothing available to conscious awareness as memory. For
example, no "truth serum" or psychological procedure, including
hypnosis, can bring back veridical memories of one's own birth, never
mind anything that occurred before it. However, among at least 20% of
normal adults, when there is a period of no memory, one can
metaphorically "paint on a blank screen." Age regression or
progression suggestions in an appropriate setting will result in
detailed memory of what can only be fantasy.
One role of hypnosis in such fantasies is to legitimize suggesting
them in the first place. Let us continue to use birth as an example.
People know they can't remember what happened when they were born,
so they don't try. With hypnosis, one has permission (and even an
invitation) to try to remember and authoritative sources (e.g., the
hypnotist) who expect one to actually do so. Given that set and
setting, a highly hypnotizable person will experience themselves
being born and is often able to relate the conversation in the
delivery room. Unfortunately, like memories of next Sunday's
baseball game, the relationship of such memories to what really
happened is limited to what people have been told about their birth
by parents and others, their knowledge of the birthing process and
by their own desires, fears, and needs. Aside from these factors,
birth memories have no relationship to historical reality, to what
really happened.
Hypnosis can produce spectacular phenomena, including hallucinations
and analgesia [inability to feel pain while still conscious] in
response to simple verbal instructions. This interests scientists
and many of the best scientific psychologists and psychiatrists of
the past 125 years, from Sigmund Freud to some of modern psychiatry
and psychology's brightest lights (e.g., Erika Fromm of the
University of Chicago, Josephine and Ernest Hilgard of Stanford
University, and Emily and Martin Orne of the University of
Pennsylvania) have studied hypnosis. Among other things, they
learned that hypnosis can fool you and requires highly sophisticated
and thoughtful research methodology. The International Journal of
Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, which Martin Orne, MD, Ph.D
edited for 30 years, is widely cited in academic psychology
journals. Hypnosis research has had a significant and lasting impact
on social science research because of its emphasis on sophisticated
and careful research with human participants. Thus, we know quite a
bit about many aspects of hypnotic phenomena.
However, for the last two and a quarter centuries, hypnosis has also
been an area in which credulous healers of many types have used the
spectacular nature of the phenomena to fool themselves and others.
Many such have been well intentioned, as Dr. Weiss seems to be.
However, there are no people who can run two minute miles and jump
30 vertical feet. The organism has limitations. Similarly, there are
no hypnotists who can help people recover veridical memories of
birth, never mind of previous lives.
Robert A. Karlin, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Psychology Department
Rutgers University
John F. Kihlstrom, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Psychology
University of California, Berkeley
Emily Carota Orne
Co-Director
Unit for Experimental Psychiatry
University of Pennsylvania
Note: Each of the authors is an internationally known and respected
authority on hypnosis and hypnotic phenomena. CVs are available by
request.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Foundation Audit |
| |
| We have received the audit of the fiscal year March 1, 2007 to |
| February 28, 2008 as provided by Goldenberg Rosenthal, LLP, the |
| CPA firm that audits the books and financial statements of the |
| Foundation. The Foundation spent $168,388 in the fiscal year, of |
| which 77% went to program activities, 23% went to management of |
| the office and less than 1% went to fund raising. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES MADE ME SUCCESSFUL
Breaking Free: My Life with Dissociative Identity Disorder
Herschel Walker with Gary Brozek and Charlene Maxfield.
Foreword by Dr. Jerry Mungadze. (2008). Simon and Schuster
Americans seem to have an insatiable appetite for stories about
multiple personality disorder (MPD). It doesn't matter that the
credibility of the diagnosis (now called dissociative identity
disorder or DID) has been thoroughly undermined both at the scientific
level and at the personal level in almost all cases that have been
examined. When individual stories are investigated, they collapse as
reviews of previous memoirs in this newsletter have demonstrated.
First Person Plural (1999) by Cameron West, A Fractured Mind (2005) by
Robert Oxnam, Switching Time (2007) by Richard Baer are some of the
more recent stories continuing in the tradition started by Sybil.
Sybil has been shown to be the product of suggestion, hypnosis, and
drugs. The others also have serious flaws.
The most recent addition to the list of MPD /DID memoirs is Breaking
Free by football legend Herschel Walker. Walker's story, however, does
not follow the familiar blueprint of such memoirs: not only was Walker
never sexually abused, he had incredibly supportive parents. (See below)
Walker came from a poor family in Georgia. As a young child, he was
fat, but making matters worse, he had a debilitating stutter that
affected his schoolwork and social life. His classmates teased him
cruelly: "H-H-H-Her-sh-sh-sh-el the g-g-girl-sh-sh-sh-el." Anyone who
has ever been teased can sympathize.
Between his seventh and eighth grades, however, Walker turned his life
around by starting to run. His older sister was a terrific runner, and
he modeled his activity on hers, but he did it in secret. Walker lost
weight and became a fine athlete. By reading out loud every day with
his mother, he overcame his stutter and, as a consequence, became an A
student. Herschel's inner strength, focus, and determination that
brought about these changes were the characteristics that would later
skyrocket him to success, wealth, and fame.
Walker however, does not assume responsibility for his
accomplishments. He attributes both his accomplishments and his
failures to his multiple personalities.
"I do know that without DID, I would probably not have been able to
endure all the taunting and teasing from my classmates. With DID, I
was able to find a safe space I could go." (p. 62)
Walker won the Heisman Trophy in 1982 when he was only a college
junior. An event that gives even non-sports fans an idea of his
reputation was his 1989 trade by the Dallas Cowboys to the Minnesota
Vikings. One Herschel Walker was traded for five veteran players and
eight draft choices in return.
Football and winning were Walker's passions. Although he adored his
wife, his dedication to his work absorbed him. Not surprisingly,
Walker began to have problems after he left professional football in
1997. "All I know for sure is that when I stopped playing football, it
was hard for me to shift gears." (p. 211) He and his wife drifted
apart. He bought a gun and played Russian roulette in secret,
something totally uncharacteristic for him. He lost his sense of
perspective and, at one point, for a most trivial reason, felt that he
wanted to kill someone for touching his car.
A chance occasion turned his life around in 2001 when he was
reintroduced to Jerry Mungadze, Ph.D. at a dinner party. Herschel had
known Mungadze 20 years earlier when Mungadze was a recently arrived
student from Kenya on a track and field scholarship. The two men were
competitive runners and got to know each other at competitions.
Herschel learned that Mungadze had become a psychologist, and so it
was to him that he turned for help. As fate would have it, Walker had
turned for help to one of the more infamous excavators of memories and
diagnosers of multiple personality. Mungadze runs a Christian
dissociative clinic in Texas and over the years has participated in
the community of satanic ritual abuse believers. But Hershel knew none
of this.
Soon after starting therapy, Walker learned the reason for his
problems. "Truth be told, until I was diagnosed with the disorder in
2002, I had never heard of it." (p. 12)
As have others, Walker appears to have become obsessed with his
diagnosis, wanting to share it with the world. His understanding of
DID is somewhat idiosyncratic, however, and he is not always
consistent in what it is and how it works. For example, on page 15 he
writes: "When a person has DID, they either consciously or
unconsciously create another identity in order to dissociate from some
painful, traumatic events." But on page 25 he comments: "All of the
dissociation and formation of alters takes place at the subconscious
level." (Or maybe what this shows is that neither the ghostwriters
nor the editors know much about dissociation either.)
In Breaking Free, Herschel Walker has rewritten his life from the
perspective of someone with DID.
"I am recounting my life as best as I can recall it through the
filter of this diagnosis of DID...In looking back, I can see how
these many alters may have acted on my behalf at certain points in
my life, but I also have to say that I was unaware of their
presence in those moments." (p. xv)
Walker is a truly amazing person but appears unable to accept
responsibility for his success. He attributes his determination, his
perseverance, and his focus to alters that he developed. For example,
because he never used drugs, he had his wisdom teeth extracted with no
medication. He explains that he was able to do this because he had an
alter to endure the pain. On the other hand, Walker also attributes
the deterioration of his marriage to his alters. There is some
consistency at least.
Breaking Free was written with two ghostwriters, Gary Brozek and
Charlene Maxfield. Herschel Walker comes across as an honest,
interesting, complicated, highly driven person about whom one would
like to know more. It seems a waste that Walker's truly amazing life
story is diluted both by "ghost" language that loses his voice and by
the inclusion of multiple personality psychobabble.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Remembering the Future |
| |
| " Without breaking sweat, you can hurtle yourself backwards or |
| forwards in time in your mind's eye -- what is known as "mental |
| time travel." ... "[T]he act of conjuring them up [can feel] very |
| similar. It's as if, embedded somewhere in your brain, there is a |
| time machine that can take you forwards and backwards at will" |
| |
| "... After more than a century of focusing on just one aspect of |
| mental time travel -- remembering the past --... scientists are |
| turning their minds to a bigger question: what if we have been |
| looking at only half the picture? What if the thing we call |
| "memory" works both ways, helping us both recall the past and |
| imagine the future." |
| |
| "Evidence is accumulating of an intimate mental connection between |
| recalling the past and imagining the future. ..[P]eople who have |
| lost their memories also lose their ability to imagine the future, |
| and that the brain regions that are used for remembering are also |
| used for imagining. These similarities may help explain some of |
| our memory's weaknesses, and even suggest that we are built to |
| spend much of our lives engaged in mental time travel." |
| |
| "From an evolutionary perspective, this might make sense, |
| according to University of Toronto neuroscientist Endel Tulving: |
| It is hard to imagine how personal recall alone might be |
| evolutionarily useful, but if remembering how cold and hungry you |
| were last winter helps you realize the benefits of putting food |
| away for the next one, or convinces you to plant a few of your |
| grains instead of eating them all, you stand a much better chance |
| of surviving than someone who cannot project themselves backwards |
| and forward in time. 'I cannot imagine how civilization could |
| emerge from brains that cannot imagine the future,' Tulving says." |
| |
| Marshall, J. (2007, March 24) |
| Future recall: If you thought that memory was all |
| about making a record of the past, thing again |
| New Scientist, Cover Story, 36-40 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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A CAUTIONARY TALE
In December 2003, Richard walked away from the Utah prison that had
been his home for the previous decade. His release should have marked
the end of his ordeal of being falsely accused of sexual abuse.
Although Richard's reentry into society is one of the most successful
stories that we have yet heard, his ordeal is not yet over. Maybe it
will never be over. This is a brief account of the events that led to
Richard's incarceration and of the accomplishments and challenges he
has experienced since regaining his liberty. It is a cautionary tale.
In 1992, Richard was a 25-year-old who had just completed a
prestigious post graduate fellowship with faculty from Stanford
Medical school, an ambitious and enthusiastic social worker and family
therapist, and an expert on dealing with gifted and talented
children. He appeared to be on the fast track to success, a path that
had begun in high school and continued through college and his
professional training, a path strewn with accolades from those with
whom he worked. But Richard's dreams and hopes evaporated in 1992 when
a teenager told the police that Richard had abused him. The teenager
had been Richard's client two years earlier.
The evidence of Richard's innocence of the accusations is
overwhelming. Many of his records are in the Foundation files. The
young man who made the accusations already had a criminal history,
including the sexual abuse or rape of ten victims, most of them
minors. He was later sent to prison. His actions and his psychological
tests indicated that he was extremely anti-social and a pathological
liar. The times and places of the incidents he claimed the molestation
occurred are highly improbable, given the many people who would have
been present. Indeed, there is compelling evidence that the alleged
victim actually recovered his "memories" of abuse with the help of a
therapist.
How could Richard have been convicted given the lack of evidence? This
was 1992 when an accusation of sexual abuse was as good as a
conviction. "Why would someone make such a horrible accusation if it
wasn't true?" was a rallying cry. "Children don't lie!" was the
mantra. The professional who excavated the alleged victim's recovered
memory was obsessed with finding sexual abuse.
Richard hired two lawyers who were considered to be some of the best
defense attorneys in his city, but those attorneys, it was later
discovered, believed that Richard was guilty. As a consequence, they
did no investigation; they planned no defense. They recommended that
Richard take a plea. Richard and his family had no experience with the
criminal law. They had hired attorneys they believed to be experts
and, thus, followed the attorneys' disastrous advice.
Richard continued his education while incarcerated, moving into an
entirely new field dealing with computers and information technology.
He contacted the FMS Foundation in 1994 and gradually came to
understand both the cruelty of the rampant hysteria and the inadequate
legal representation that devastated his life. During these years in
prison, Richard had something important going for him -- his family
and friends tirelessly championed his innocence. Unfortunately,
appeals went nowhere. In early 2002, Richard finally met the Parole
Board and a member of that board believed his claim and the evidence
of his innocence. That Parole Board member started to make inquiries,
and one and one-half years later, Richard was released.
After his release, Richard served a two and one-half years of parole
period without a problem. He continued the studies begun in prison,
received a prestigious fellowship, worked as an assistant in the
University Dean's office, and went on to earn a Ph.D. He fell in
love, got married, and now is expecting his first child. That should
be the happy ending.
Sadly, in our society Richard is not yet free. The draconian laws[1]
governing people once convicted of a crime of sex abuse prevent him
from working except as a contractor. They prevent him from pursuing
his dream of teaching at the university level. The registered offender
laws prevent him and his family from living a normal life because they
must always fear that neighbors will try to chase them away.
Richard's mom continues her efforts to hold accountable the therapist
whose obsession resulted in the accusation and the attorneys who did such
a miserable job representing him. She recently picketed the attorneys'
office and visited the license board of the state to which the professional
eventually moved. But not much has changed.
A false accusation of sexual abuse in our society lasts a lifetime.
[1] For an interesting analysis of the role of the media in the
passing of sex offender laws see: Horowitz, E. (2007). Growing
Media and Legal Attention to Sex Offenders: More Safety or More
Injustice. The Journal of the Institute of Justice & International
Studies, Number 7, 143-158. Note the increased frequency in the
media of the terms "sexual predator" and "sex offender." Paper
available at: http://www.ncrj.org/SafetyOrInjustice.html
Table 1 from the Horowitz paper
Frequency of "sexual predator" and "sex offender" in headlines,
lead paragraphs, or terms of U.S. newspapers, 1991-2006
Year Frequency of Frequency of
"Sexual Predator" "Sex Offender"
1991 107 536
1992 96 789
1993 167 1,019
1994 452 1,760
1995 453 2,336
1996 913 4,123
1997 1,710 5,010
1998 2,131 6,096
1999 2,227 7,116
2000 1,400 4,795
2001 1,575 5,802
2002 2,273 7,098
2003 2,113 8,699
2004 2,040 9,645
2005 3,501 15,822
2006 5,006 15,558
Source: LexisNexis, 2007.
The increase is unrelated to any increase in crimes during the same
period.
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| If any reader is interested and able to help Richard find |
| employment in the information technology field, please contact |
| the FMSF and we will forward your message. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
**********************************************************************
Are Emotional Memories More Likely to Be Reliable?
Laney, C. and Loftus, E.F. (2008).
Emotional content of true and false memories. Memory, 16 (5), 500-516
It is often assumed -- even by professionals in psychology and the
legal system, that the emotional content of memories is an indicator
of their veracity. But are emotional memories more likely to be
accurate? In this set of studies designed to examine the relationship
between emotion and false memories, Laney and Loftus seek to answer
this question.
In this study, false memories for one of three emotional childhood
events were compared with participants' true memories. Three initial
studies identified the emotional events plausible to subjects but not
so common that most would already have necessarily experienced them.
Three critical memory items were used in the main study: 1) you were
hospitalized overnight (besides when you were born), 2) you caught
your parents having sex, 3) you witnessed a physically violent fight
between your parents.
Study participants (301 undergraduate students) rated their memories
for life events and rated the emotionality attached to the experiences
on questionnaires. Then they were randomly assigned to groups (3 for
each critical memory item) according to whether they were rated as
having true memories or potential false memories for the events. This
included control groups. A bogus 'profile' was created for subjects,
and for those assigned to the manipulation group, it contained
information about the critical event that they had not experienced.
During the next session, participants engaged in exercises designed to
encourage elaboration of the false memory for the critical item.
Thirty-nine of the 165 (23.6%) of the participants in the critical
event manipulation group developed false memories for the event, with
moderate levels of confidence in their false memories. When comparing
the emotionality of true and false memories for the same events, true
and false memory subjects showed virtually no difference in two out of
three measures of emotionality.
The authors note that this research has implications for the legal
system. For example, data has shown that mock jurors may believe that
genuine emotion signals a genuine memory. This study demonstrates that
testimony should not be considered more credible simply because of its
emotionality. Witnesses can be confident and highly emotional about
false memories. The authors conclude, "...even substantial emotional
content may not reliably indicate memory accuracy."
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "This study demonstrates that False memories, like True memories, |
| can be emotional. Therefore, just because a particular memory is |
| emotional for the person who remembers it, that is no guarantee |
| that the memory represents authentic experience." (p. 513) |
| |
| Laney, C. and Loftus, E.F. (2008) |
| Emotional content of true and false memories |
| Memory, 16 (5), 500-516 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
NEW BOOK OF INTEREST
Stress, Trauma, and Children's Memory Development:
Neurobiological, Cognitive, Clinical and Legal Perspectives (2008)
Mark L. Howe, Gail S. Goodman & Dante Cicchetti (Eds.)
New York: Oxford University Press
The editors of Stress, Trauma, and Children's Memory Development have
organized a sampling of current research "to (a) focus attention on
the impact of stress and trauma on memory development, (b) highlight
the consequences of early traumatic experiences for subsequent memory
performance, and (c) capture relations of early trauma to other
measures of cognitive and clinical functioning in childhood, as well
as to the longevity of trauma memories formed early in life."
The book is divided into the sections mentioned in the title and
contains 10 chapters and a prologue. As would be expected from these
respected editors, the papers are of high quality.
One paper, for example, explored the role of discrete emotions in an
effort to understand the varied results of past studies about
children's memory for stressful events.[1] First the authors noted the
types of situations that have often been used for studying the effects
of trauma on memory. They observed that not all children may perceive
an event in the same way. If children are with their families during a
hurricane, they may not feel fear, but instead feel sadness later when
seeing the hurricane's effects. Children who are undergoing a painful
medical procedure might be angry with their parents for letting it
happen, they might feel fear if they do not know what is happening, or
they might be confused. In addition, as children develop, their
ability to cope with their emotions will likely change. The authors
argue that it is important for future research to avoid a unitary view
of distress.
The concluding chapters demonstrate how research in children's memory
for stressful events may be or has been applied in clinical and legal
settings to benefit children.
The editors do come to some conclusions.
"First, can children remember traumatic experiences? The answer is
yes, especially if they occur after the period known as infantile
amnesia and care is taken with the manner in which children attempt
to recollect this information (including the manner in which others
pose questions). However, memories for these experiences are not
immune to processes that affect nontraumatic memories, namely
suggestion, false memories, interference, and normal forgetting."
"Second, can stress, trauma, and maltreatment affect the course of
normal memory development? The growing consensus is yes....."
(p. 7)
Overall, then, stress, trauma, and maltreatment can affect memory
development as well as memory for the traumatic experience(s). The
interactions are often complex and depend on a host of factors.
[1] Davis, E.L., Quas, J.A., Levine, L.J. Children's memory for
stressful events: Exploring the role of discrete emotions.
236-264.
[2] Howe, M.L., Goodman, G.S., Cicchetti, D.
Prologue: Turning science into practice 1-8.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "We are no closer to consensus regarding the topic of false memory |
| than we were a decade ago." p. 19 |
| Bremmer, J.D. (2008) |
| Neurobiology of trauma and memory in children |
| In M.L.Howe, G.S. Goodman, D. Cicchetti (Eds.) |
| Stress, Trauma, and Children's Memory Development Neurobiological, |
| Cognitive, Clinical and Legal Perspectives |
| NY: Oxford University Press, 11-49 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
TAKING THE "TRAUMA" OUT OF POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
Bodkin, J.A., Pope, H.G., Detke, M.J., Hudson, J.I. (2007)
Is PTSD caused by traumatic stress?
Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 21, 176-182
If a patient presents for treatment showing signs of Posttraumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD), is a doctor justified in attributing the
symptoms to prior trauma? One might think so since the condition, as
the name suggests, is said to be a result of exposure to trauma.[1]
Indeed, PTSD is one of the very few diagnoses that assume an etiology.
In a paper that stands the diagnosis of PTSD on its head, Bodkin and
colleagues asked, "whether the clinical syndrome of PTSD requires
prior exposure to trauma, or whether the same symptom picture can
occur in the absence of trauma."
The study was conducted between 1997 and 2001 on patients who
presented with major depressive disorder as the primary diagnosis.[2]
When the patients were screened they were asked questions about
symptoms usually asked only if patients reported a history of
trauma. If subjects denied experiencing trauma, they were then asked
if they had experienced a prominent period in their lives when they
might have been painfully worried about things that could happen or
might have happened, such as "death or harm to family members, or
thoughts about having something seriously wrong with yourself."
There were 54 subjects who were judged by two blinded raters as having
experienced clinically significant trauma. Of these, 42 (78%) met all
the other DSM-IV criteria for PTSD. There were 36 subjects who were
judged by the raters as not having experienced trauma. Of these, 28
displayed all the other DSM-IV criteria for PTSD -- also a rate of
78%.
The researchers conclude that this study adds to "a growing body of
literature that raises the important question of whether the symptoms
of PTSD are necessarily caused by trauma. Instead, it appears that the
symptom cluster currently attributed to PTSD may be a non-specific
group of symptoms widely observed in patients with mood and anxiety
disorders, regardless of trauma history.
[1] "The essential feature of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is the
development of characteristic symptoms following exposure to an
extreme traumatic stressor involving direct personal experience of
an event that involves actual or threatened death or serious
injury, or other threat to one's physical integrity; or witnessing
an event that involves death, injury, or a threat to the physical
integrity of another person: learning about unexpected or violent
death, serious harm, or threat of death or injury experienced by a
family member or other close associate." (Page 424) Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth
Edition. (1994). American Psychiatric Association.
[2] Patients with lifetime histories of psychotic symptoms, bipolar
disorder or substance abuse were excluded.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Henry Roediger Receives Prestigious Award |
| |
| The Society of Experimental Psychologists awarded the Warren Medal |
| to FMSF Scientific Advisory Board member Professor Henry Roediger |
| at its Annual Meeting in April 2008. This is the Society's highest |
| honor and was given to him for "his creative experimental |
| investigations of false memory and its underlying processes that |
| have led to a new understanding of human memory." The presenters |
| said that Roediger's work "has become a central thrust in the |
| study of false memory -- one of the most exciting and important |
| new areas of research in cognitive psychology and cognitive |
| neuroscience in the last 30 years." Four Warren Medal winners have |
| gone on to win the Nobel Prize. |
| |
| The Society was founded in 1904 and it is an honorary elected |
| group of about 200 psychologists. They select one person each year |
| to receive the medal for "outstanding recent work in experimental |
| psychology." Four Warren Medal winners have gone on to win the |
| Nobel Prize. |
| |
| Henry "Roddy" Roediger III, Ph.D. is the James S. McDonnell |
| distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences at |
| Washington University in St. Louis. With collaborator Kathleen |
| McDermott, Ph.D., he developed a paradigm based on the work of |
| James Deese, in which researchers can quickly and under tightly |
| controlled laboratory conditions lead healthy adults to recall |
| events that never happened. Participants typically recall non- |
| presented items at a rate similar to presented items and also |
| claim to know that the items were presented but to have a vivid |
| memory of their presentation. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
HOW WILL PTSD BE INCLUDED IN UPCOMING DSM-V?
Rosen, G.M., Spitzer, R.L. & McHugh, P.R. (2008)
Editorial: Problems with the post-traumatic stress disorder
diagnosis and its future in DSM-V
British Journal of Psychiatry, 192, 304
Rosen, G.M. & Lilienfeld, S.O. (2008)
Posttraumatic stress disorder:
an empirical evaluation of core assumptions.
Clinical Psychology Review, 28, 837-868
Spitzer, R.L., Rosen, G.M., & Lilienfeld, S.O. (2008)
Editorial: Revisiting the institute of Medicine report
on the validity of posttraumatic stress disorder
To appear: Comprehensive Psychiatry.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-V of the American Psychiatric
Association is due for publication in May 2012. Groups of scientists
and clinicians have been working on this project for the past decade.
Two controversial diagnoses in past versions of the DSM have been
particularly relevant to the problem of false accusations that
initiated the forming of the FMS Foundation in 1992: multiple
personality disorder (now called dissociative identity disorder (DID))
and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Virtually all of the people
who made accusations against their parents based solely on memories
recovered in therapy were diagnosed with PTSD. Patients diagnosed with
multiple personalities also had PTSD, but the trauma of the alleged
sex abuse was said to be so horrible that supposedly the child could
survive only by developing alter personalities.
The PTSD diagnosis is distinct in the DSM classification system
because it assumes that the symptoms have been caused by a particular
traumatic event. Other diagnoses do not have a causative event as part
of the core assumption of the diagnosis. A 2006 report by the
Institute of Medicine on the scientific status of PTSD concluded,
however, that there is much evidence supporting the assumptions of the
diagnosis.[1]
Not everyone agrees. Criticism of the PTSD diagnosis has been growing
in recent years as the publication of the updated DSM gets closer. The
papers cited are examples. Two are editorials whereas the article in
Clinical Psychology Review is a thorough analysis that sets out full
arguments and citations. These papers and others present a challenge
to the DSM-V working committee members who are responsible for the
PTSD entry. Indeed, they challenge all who are involved with this
diagnosis to reflect. After several decades of the use, it is time to
ask: "Is there a legitimate reason for its continuation?"
Following are just some of the problems mentioned in the papers:
* The original diagnostic criteria defined PTSD as the "Existence of a
recognizable stressor that would evoke significant symptoms of
distress in almost everyone." By 1994, the diagnosis was much
enlarged and did not require that the person actually experience the
event. PTSD can result from learning about a serious injury to a
friend or family member. It can develop from watching a terrible
event on television. Therapists can get it from their patients'
stories.
* PTSD symptoms can develop in the absence of a life-threatening
event. The symptoms can develop from non-life-threatening
experiences such as divorce or financial problems.
* Non event variables or individual vulnerabilities frequently
contribute more to PTSD symptoms than does the magnitude of trauma.
* There is no dose-effect with PTSD. In other words, one would expect
that a more serious trauma would result in a more serious case of
PTSD. That does not necessarily happen.
* Most people who experience traumas do not develop PTSD.
* The rationale for the diagnosis of PTSD is that it is a distinct
clinical syndrome. This is seriously challenged by the fact that
depression and specific phobias also constitute the requisite
criteria for the diagnosis.
* Trauma is neither necessary nor sufficient to produce PTSD.
Why does it even matter if this diagnosis continues in its present
form? Perhaps PTSD is not a response to trauma, but rather it is
sometimes an amalgam of other disorders. As Rose, Spitzer, and McHugh
comment:
"By narrowing a physician's analysis of causation to a single event,
a PTSD diagnosis may downplay or even ignore crucial pathogenic
features that are to be found in the broader context of a patient's
personality, developmental history, and situational context."
[1] Institute of Medicine. Posttraumatic stress disorder: diagnosis
and assessment. (2006) Washington (DC): The National Academies
Press.
**********************************************************************
MEMORIES FOR SEXUALLY TRAUMATIC EVENTS ARE NOT
IMPAIRED COMPARED WITH MEMORIES OF OTHER EMOTIONAL EVENTS.
Peace, K.A., Porter, S. & ten Brinke, L. (2008)
Are memories for sexually traumatic events "special"?
A within-subjects investigation of
trauma and memory in a clinical sample
Memory, 16(1) , 10-21.
One of the beliefs that fueled the false memory phenomenon was that
people's memories for traumatic sexual events were recalled
differently from other memories. In order to study this assumption,
the authors of this research compared the characteristics of traumatic
memories for sexual violence and two other types of emotional
experiences in 44 women recruited from a local sexual trauma
agency. They asked each of the women to recall and describe three
autobiographical events, a sexual abuse/assault, a non-sexual trauma,
and a positive emotional event. They compared the results using both
subjective and objective measures.
The results showed that memories for sexual victimization are not
impaired when compared to other types of emotional experiences. The
researchers found that "memories for sexual trauma were associated
with a remarkably high level of vividness, detail, and sensory
components." They also found that the quality of the sexual memories
lasted decades after the assaults.
Peace et al. also found that memories of sexual abuse as a child or
sexual abuse as an adult had few differences. The stories of child
sexual assaults were somewhat less coherent than the stories of adult
assaults. People who were abused as children tended to make more
claims of prior forgetting when compared to people abused as
adults. The authors noted that this could be a result of children
processing or encoding the experience in a less coherent manner.
Peace and colleagues noted that research has shown that people who
report recovering memories of child sexual abuse might overestimate
their prior forgetting.[1] The authors observe that memory, repression
and fragmented recall could likely have been discussed in the therapy
in which the memories were recalled and that this could account for
the difference.
Finally, the researchers found that higher levels of traumatic stress
were associated with enhanced recall. In sum, the authors found no
evidence that memories for sexually traumatic memories are in any way
impaired.
[1] Geraerts, E., Arnold, M.M., Lindsay, D.S., Merckelbach, H.,
Jelicic, M. & Hauser, B. (2006). Forgetting of prior remembering
in persons reporting recovered memories of childhood sexual
abuse. Psychological Science, 17, 1002-1008.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Does Repression Exist? |
| |
| "The debate regarding the existence of repression has focused |
| mainly on clarifying whether people remember or forget trauma. |
| However, repression...is a multidimensional concept...The overall |
| findings from all five domains seriously challenge the classical |
| psychoanalytic notion of repression...[T]he abandonment of |
| repression seems inevitable in light of the comprehensive |
| empirical evaluation presented in this article." |
| Rofe. Y. (2008) |
| Does repression exist? |
| Memory, pathogenic, unconscious and clinical evidence |
| Review of General Psychology, 12(1).63-85 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
L E G A L C O R N E R
____________________________________________________________
Boy Found Guilty of Sexual Assault for Tickling Over Clothes
Gets New Trial
R. v. C.L.Y, 2008 SCC 2. January 25, 2008. No. 31811
Decision at:
http://scc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/2008/2008scc2/2008scc2.html
On January 25, 2008, the Supreme Court of Canada overturned a 2007
Manitoba Court of Appeal decision in a molestation case. The case was
that of a young girl about six years old who accused her teenage
babysitter, C.L.Y., of touching her inappropriately when he tickled
her over her clothes. The accusation was made seven months after the
alleged incidents. The evidence was "he said, she said."
The trial judge rejected the babysitter's evidence and found him
guilty of two counts of sexual assault. The judge wrote that after
considering the evidence of the girl, the judge believed the girl was
telling the truth. When she examined the boy's evidence, the judge did
not believe his testimony about what happened. The reasons she gave
for her decision were that the boy was reluctant to admit that he ever
tickled the girl and that the boy remembered a "surprising amount of
detail" surrounding the events. "The trial judge, believing the
complainant, turned to the accused's evidence and, not surprisingly,
disbelieved him."[1] In other words, there was not a presumption of
innocence.
The Canadian Supreme Court had 17 years earlier pronounced three steps
to help trial Judges in deciding cases such as this: [2] Trial judges
in their decisions must show that they understand this law although
there appears to be some flexibility as to its adherence.
First, if you believe the evidence of the accused, obviously you
must acquit. Secondly, if you do not believe the testimony of the
accused but you are left in reasonable doubt by it, you must acquit.
Thirdly, even if you are not left in doubt by the evidence of the
accused, you must ask yourself whether, on the basis of the evidence
which you do accept, you are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt by
that evidence of the guilt of the accused.
The boy's attorneys appealed the trial decision claiming that by
considering the evidence of the girl first, the trial judge had
shifted the burden of proof.[2] The boy would have had to prove that
he was not guilty in order to win the case. In a split decision, the
Manitoba Court of Appeal, however, upheld the trial judge's ruling.
The case then went to the Canadian Supreme Court, which noted in its
decision:
"The flaws in this case which does lead to concerns about the
fairness of the trial relate to fundamental misapprehensions and
mischaracterizations of the evidence leading to the convictions."
"In reaching the conclusion that C.L.Y.'s evidence did not raise a
reasonable doubt in her mind, the trial judge relied primarily on
what she said were two features of his evidence: that he was
reluctant to admit to any tickling at all, a reluctance she found
did not 'ring true', and that he remembered a 'surprising amount of
detail' surrounding the events."
In fact, court records showed that the boy did admit to tickling. What
he denied was that he ever tickled her inappropriately. The trial
record also showed that the boy was frequently unable to remember
details of what happened. There was nothing surprising about what he
remembered.
[1] Kapoor, A.K. (2008, January 30). R. v. C.L.Y.: The soft-boiled egg
of W.D. Retrieved on June 10, 2008 from
www.thecourt.ca/2008/01/30/r-v-cly-the-soft-boiled-egg-of-wd/
[2] R. V. w. (D.), [1991] 1S.C.R. 742.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Why interest in R. v. C.L.Y.? |
| |
| When FMSF Canadian contact Adriaan Mak sent the decision, he |
| commented: |
| |
| "This is the least intrusive allegation of childhood sexual |
| assault that I have seen successfully prosecuted in Canada. The |
| case consisted of a simple claim of touching or tickling over |
| clothing on three occasions. There was no evidence. There was no |
| mens rea (criminal intent) shown. If we convict with such a lack |
| of evidence, God help any male who touches a child in any |
| manner." |
| |
| Assuming, as the judge did, that the now nine-year-old girl was |
| completely credible about her memories from when she was six, all |
| that shows is that she sincerely believed what she was telling the |
| court. It is not proof that her beliefs were true or well founded. |
| The mistake was to focus on the credibility of the witness rather |
| than on what might actually have happened. Could a six-year-old be |
| mistaken if she was touched inappropriately? Had the child |
| recently had good touch bad touch training? Could a nervous parent |
| have twisted what she said and the story change in the retelling? |
| There are many areas that could have been considered. |
| |
| A person can be blinded by prejudgment. When the judge wrote that |
| her decision was based on the fact the boy remembered a |
| "surprising amount of detail," her bias prevented her from |
| perceiving the court record accurately. The judge's reasoning that |
| the boy was guilty because he was reluctant to admit that he ever |
| tickled the girl, is another way to say that a person is guilty |
| because he or she denies the act. There is no room for innocence |
| in that reasoning. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
SYBIL
TV-Movie Remake -- Finally
On Saturday June 7, 2008, CBS finally aired its remake of the 1976
television movie Sybil. Originally scheduled for release more than a
year ago, it had already aired in some foreign markets before its
release in the United States. The movie stars Jessica Lange as
Dr. Cornelia Wilbur and Tammy Blanchard as Sybil. Both the original
movie starring, Sallie Field and Joanne Woodward, and the remake were
based on the 1973 book Sybil written by Flora Rhea Schreiber.
Reviews of the movie have been mixed, with the majority seemingly
lukewarm. Positive reviews tended to focus on the performances of the
actors and on the story of Sybil's alleged emotional and physical
torture.
A number of reviewers asked why CBS would bother to remake the
four-hour 1976 blockbuster since it was given only two hours. One
reviewer observed that the remake: "is told at such high speed that it
becomes more psychiatric variety show -- for our next number, Sybil as
a boy! -- than the careful excavation of a mind through the life-
changing relationships of patient and doctor, which made the original
so unforgettable." [1] Another reviewer wrote that he thought the
retelling: "was hatched to give actress Tammy Blanchard a big vehicle
to suit her big talent." [2] A few reviewers said that they found the
movie unintentionally funny. One of these wrote that he would not want
to see it again. "I could say it's the worst movie I've seen in some
time, but I'd prefer to say it's the best at being not good."
Of particular interest to FMSF readers, however, is whether the remake
included the information that Sybil's memories were the result of
hypnosis, drugs, and suggestion. Indeed, see the letter from Karlin et
al. in this issue for an explanation of the problems with memories
"recovered" using hypnosis. In 2006 and again before the movie aired
this June, the FMSF sent out information to the media informing them
of newly found tapes of revealing conversations between Schreiber and
Wilbur. Below is a copy of the recent press release. A letter sent by
the FMSF to CBS in 2006 can be found at http://www.FMSFonline.org.
Most reviews, but definitely not all, assumed the historical reality
of the Sybil story. The movie's creators tried to frame it as true by
making the character representing Dr. Herbert Spiegel, who has
publicly stated he disagreed with the MPD diagnosis, as particularly
insensitive and ignorant of Sybil's problems. At the movie's
conclusion, CBS gave some recognition to the controversy in the
following context. As the movie concluded, on the screen appeared
first: "During that time, multiple personality disorder became
accepted as a viable psychiatric evaluation." The next screen noted:
"Many colleagues continued to believe that she [Wilbur] herself
created the personalities assigned to her patient." The last screen
shows people finding the paintings that were done by Sybil while the
following words appeared: "Finding her pictures created in a diversity
of styles, giving support to the belief that they were painted by many
different artists using the same hand." In other words, the different
styles of the paintings were presented as evidence that they were
painted by different personalities. CBS neglected to mention that
artists frequently experiment and improve their own work by imitating
the styles of different masters.
[1] McNamara, M. (2008, June 7) 'Sybil' doesn't give audience a chance
to analyze much. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on June 8, 2008 from
www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/reviews/
tv/la-et-sybil7-2008jun07,0,6218103.story
[2] Gilbert, M. (1008, June 7). In remake of 'Sybil,' less depth and
less personality. Boston Globe, D7.
[3] Alston, J. (2008, June 9). The return of 'Sybil': A new life for a
TV movie that already had plenty. Newsweek, 61. "I could say it's
the worst movie I've seen in some time, but I'd prefer to say it's
the best at being nor good."
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "No remake can replicate that kind of jolt. But even those who |
| weren't alive in 1976 have the ghost to contend with. Today |
| dissociative identity disorder (as Sybil's problem is now called) |
| is just another condition in the psychiatric pantheon, largely |
| because of the visibility brought to it by "Sybil" and the 1973 |
| book by Flora Rheta Schreiber on which the movie was based. |
| |
| Genzlinger, N. (2008, June 7) |
| Meeting the twin sister of a multiple personality |
| New York Times. Retrieved on June 8, 2008 from |
| www.nytimes.com/2008/06/07/arts/television/ |
| 07sybi.html?_r=1&oref=slogin |
\____________________________________________________________________/
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "Every generation gets a multiple-personality character to call |
| its own." |
| |
| "Although the truth of this story and the psychological categories |
| it explores are still open to debate, "Sybil" seems to have been |
| written to challenge and reward the serious performer." |
| |
| McDonough, K. (2008, June 7) |
| CBS, not 'Sybil,' suffers from split personality |
| United Features Syndicate. Retrieved on 6/8/08 from |
| www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ |
| article?AID=/20080607/LIFE/806070310 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "Oddly, the CBS movie is less sophisticated than the original |
| despite the fact that so much progress has been made during the |
| past 30 years in our understanding of both mental illness and |
| child abuse." |
| |
| "Over the years, a few experts have questioned Wilbur's diagnosis |
| of Sybil, as well as the way the case was shaped by writer Flora |
| Rheta Schreiber for her book "Sybil" on which the movies are |
| based. The best way to have gone back to "Sybil" might have been |
| to dramatize the way Wilbur worked and Schreiber wrote, or to go |
| back to the case in reaction to all the controversy. To merely |
| restate the original with less depth is, alas, an unnecessary |
| exercise." |
| Gilbert, M. (2008, June 7) |
| In remake of "Sybil," less depth and less personality |
| Boston Globe, D7 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TV Movie Reviewer
June 5, 2008
Sybil: An Mpd Hoax
On Saturday June 7, 2008 CBS will air its remake of the movie Sybil,
(based on the 1973 book with the same name) about an early, alleged
case of "multiple-personality disorder" (MPD).
Sybil was the first major book/movie to tie "MPD" to child abuse.
Before Sybil was published, there were fewer than 50 reported cases of
MPD worldwide. By 1994, over 40,000 cases had been reported. Sybil ,
however, is well known to be a hoax. See, for example, The New York
Review of Books, 44(7), April 24, 1997, "Sybil -- The Making of a
Disease: An Interview with Dr. Herbert Spiegel," by Mikkel
Borch-Jacobsen.
Dr. Spiegel (Faculty, Columbia Medical School) reported that
statements from the real "Sybil" convinced him that her "memories"
were the result of suggestion by Dr. Cornelia B. Wilbur. He reports
that Wilbur engaged author Flora Rheta Schreiber to write "Sybil's"
case for a popular audience only after professional journals refused
to publish it. He refused to lend his name and credentials to
co-author the work when asked to do so by Wilbur and Schreiber.
The 2006 book The Bifurcation of the Self: The History and Theory of
Dissociation and Its Disorder (Springer) by Professor Robert Rieber
(Fordham University) documents how the hoax was perpetrated. Rieber
had access to the original Schreiber/Wilbur interview tapes made when
Sybil was being written. We learn that the "memories were a result of
prolonged hypnosis and, to quote Dr. Wilbur: "Uh, the first time we
got any memories back was when I gave her Pentothal ..." (Rieber,
page 217)
Wilbur's treatment of "Sybil" required eleven years and a total of
2,254 sessions.
In a letter to Dr. Wilbur, (reprinted in Rieber page 91) Schreiber
reports that she had visited "Sybil's" hometown but was unable to find
anyone to corroborate the awful things that supposedly happened to
"Sybil" there. Schreiber was also unable to find the "woods" where
many incidents allegedly occurred.
Will the CBS remake of Sybil include the information documenting
"Sybil's" MPD as a hoax? Does it matter? Yes! Bitter experience shows
that when the media give credence to psychological anomalies, they
spread wildly.
Media coverage played a pivotal role in the dissemination of McMartin
preschool copycat cases in the mid 1980's, the spread of the "Satanic
Panic" and alien abduction sightings in the 1990's, and in widely held
beliefs about "repressed" memories of childhood abuse.
Sybil played a substantial role in a cultural and psychiatric tsunami,
later known as the "false" or "recovered" memory debate. In spite of
professional skepticism about MPD and multi-million dollar malpractice
suits by former MPD patients, there is danger of unleashing another
tsunami unless the truth is told.
Does anyone care? Yes! As Oprah Winfrey's recent experience over the
fraudulent James Frey memoir A Million Little Pieces shows, the public
really does care to know whether the material served them by the media
is fact or fiction.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.fmsfonline.org/sybil.html
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Never Underestimate the Lack of Common Sense? |
| |
| The local school board in Barrie, Ontario, made a report to the |
| Children's Aid Society (CAS) that 11-year-old Victoria, the |
| autistic daughter of Colleen Leduc, was a victim of child |
| abuse. The evidence? A psychic reading! |
| |
| On May 30, 2008, Ms. Leduc received a phone call telling her to |
| come to the school to meet with her daughter's teacher and the |
| principal. The teacher explained that an assistant in her |
| classroom had visited a psychic who asked her if she worked with a |
| little girl with the initial V. When the assistant said "Yes," the |
| psychic said, "Well you need to know that this girl is being |
| sexually abused by a man between the ages of 23 and 26." |
| |
| The principal showed Ms. Leduc a list of behaviors that Victoria |
| displayed in the classroom as support. Although the behaviors were |
| common in the class of autistic children, the principal had, |
| nevertheless, called CAS. |
| |
| Ms. Leduc soon met with officials of the Children's Aid Society |
| who quickly closed the case. |
| |
| The school superintendent then explained: |
| |
| "School staff and administrators have a duty to report... when |
| there is suspected abuse and if they believe there is reasonable |
| grounds. However, it is the CAS that weights any package of |
| evidence ..." |
| |
| "I can say that historical and current and future practice from |
| the board's position is that psychic readings are not regarded as |
| evidence." |
| |
| As of mid-July, Ms. Leduc had no apology from the school and does |
| not expect one. She is looking at other schools for her daughter. |
| Humphreys, A. (2008, June 19) |
| Psychic's vision sets of sex-abuse probe |
| National Post. Retrieved on June 26, 2008 from: |
| www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=597195 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
F R O M O U R R E A D E R S
______________
What Do We Do?
Whatever it is called -- "age regression therapy, " "deep emotional
therapy," "repressed memory therapy" -- it is alive and well in
Cranbrook, British Columbia. I can attest that in 2008 this type of
therapy led a bright 37-year-old professional woman to accuse her
mother of sexual abuse and her father of letting it happen. The
accuser's three siblings dismiss the accusation as pure fantasy.
For most of her adult life, our daughter regularly sent us loving
notes and cards, and telephoned her mom. She used to say that her mom
was her best friend as well as her parent. But not now. This is what
she wrote to her mother in an E-mail on Easter weekend 2008:
....You did very sick things to me. It was not a one time event, it
went on through my teen years. You came into my room at night, drunk
and naked, sleepwalking, doing sick and violent things to me. Do you
remember?....
No we don't remember. How could we? It never happened! What we do
remember, indeed, will never forget, is the horrible shock at
receiving this vile accusation from a daughter with whom we shared so
much love.
In the past two months, we have pivoted from disbelief to anger, then
to grief for the loss of our daughter and grandchildren, and to
frustration at not knowing what to do. And now back to anger.
We contacted the False Memory Syndrome Foundation after finding its
website. We corresponded with their contacts-all victims themselves at
one time or another. We downloaded articles and read books on the
subject of false memory. We watched a DVD by an affected family and we
read the FMSF newsletters, especially the parents' comments.
Some things became clear: Our daughter is gone. She may come back to
us later rather than sooner, or she may never come back. She may come
back a returner, but not likely a retractor, and we are supposed to be
thankful for that. If we try to contact her, or reason with her, it
will drive her further away. There's not a damn thing we can do! We
looked at the sad tales of parents in the FMSF newsletters and the
particularly heart-breaking remarks of a granny who is trying to keep
alive her grandchildren in her heart. We listened to advice about
sending little messages of love to our daughter and daring to do no
more lest it makes things worse. I ask you, how can they be worse? Our
daughter is gone and believes the worst of us. Her belief is like a
religious belief -- a cult belief -- and will tolerate no reason.
Our daughter was always prone to seek therapy. When things get tough,
some turn to booze, some to work, some to drugs and some to religion.
She turned always to therapy. This latest therapy was delivered, I
believe, by an employee or employees at a center for addiction in
Cranbrook, BC, although neither we nor our other three children were
ever aware that this daughter had an alcohol or drug problem.
So, what do we do?
The correspondents in the recent newsletters on the internet give sad
commentaries on destroyed relationships of ten or fifteen years ago
when all this was rife, and even sadder proof that some kids never
came back.
So what do we do?
Sit and wait for our girl to return to her family, and reintroduce our
little grandchildren? Sit and shake with grief at the thought of her
never returning? Hope that she will return on any terms, even without
retracting these terrible accusations?
We think not.
Our daughter says she is happy now. We suspect she is not. Her
therapists will wander into the sunset. For them this is a job. It
isn't their families they are destroying.
So what to do?
Well, we'll write this letter and send it to whomever will print it.
Then we'll get on with our retirement and enjoy the things we do and
the remaining family we have -- two fine sons and their partners, and
a wonderful daughter, her husband and two loving grandchildren.
We'll continue to hope that our accusing daughter will see the evil
thing that has possessed her and come back to us. We will never stop
loving her, but, thanks to this "therapy", she is no longer the happy,
witty, loveable girl we once knew. We can only hope that she will be
so again.
Alex and Marjorie
Grieving parents
aaitken@cogeco.ca
___________
Too Painful
I just read the on-line newsletter. It reminds me how fortunate our
family is that our daughter has returned to the family and has
admitted "none of those awful things really happened." She continues
on her meds for bipolar disorder, stress and anxiety. She sees her
therapist one a month. She started gradually back in the family in
2000 after her Dad's death.
Our daughter has not wanted to talk about 'those years' and still will
not. I think they are too painful and she is too ashamed.
A mom
_______________
Out of the Blue
Our daughter returned "out of the blue" after 17 years. It happened
several months ago when she telephoned and asked if she could come by
to visit. We didn't hesitate: "Yes!"
We didn't have too much time to worry about what would happen. She
arrived and then spent about two hours with us. We talked about the
good times we had within the family while she was growing up and about
her life now. She told us that she is teaching English at a junior
high school and that she has purchased three houses in the small town
where she lives. She seemed proud to let us know that she had
remodeled those houses, mostly by herself. This was quite touching
because her Dad is a carpenter. She seemed happy. When she was getting
ready to leave, she asked if she could visit again. We didn't
hesitate: "Yes!"
She called again last night asking to come over. We agreed, but then
remembered that we were attending some grandchildren's ballgames that
evening. We called her back and rescheduled.
Why this return? Should we ask her? Do we want to know? Do we want to
rehash the past? What does she want? Is there a guidebook for this
situation? Do we go with our hearts?
She's our first-born daughter. We know that she was a victim of false
memories, that she just got caught in misguided therapy. We love
her. It was great to see her.
A Mom
____________________
Something On My Mind
M.K. , A Retractor
There is something that has been bothering me. Much of the rhetoric on
false memories relates to negative behaviors of professionals.
Although it may be beneficial to point out flaws, I think it would be
better to introduce a positive expectation to the process of therapy.
I believe that professionals would be better helped by being presented
with common sense interventions that preserve the dignity of patients
and that do not tread into dangerous territory.
An unspoken assumption that I find with the FMSF -- and many other
groups -- is a belief that clients feel we deserve medical care,
especially because we have been in such long-term, intensive
therapy. I do not think that this is necessarily the case.
I have had access to medical care all my life, but it was often in a
way that did not help with the particular problems I had. For example,
my pediatrician was a one-size-fits-all doctor who failed to address
my basic problems. Why did my parents put up with such poor care? They
loved me and cared about me. They made sure I got a good education.
My mother had grown up in poverty, without medical care. Although she
regularly took me to the doctor, she did not have any experience of
what to do when my problems were not resolved. In addition, my parents
were extremely devout Catholic fundamentalists, and I grew up hearing
things such as: "when you have a headache, don't take aspirin,"
because, they believed, that you should suffer as Jesus suffered.
It's a strange view: suffering is encouraged over relief of suffering,
especially when it comes to health. Indeed, when I was growing up I
found that words failed people when they tried to talk about my
parents. They might say something like: "Your father is...he's
... eccentric. Your father is very eccentric." Sometimes the thoughts
were never finished: "It's too bad your mother..."
My parents definitely did not believe in psychiatric care. Therapy
was viewed as self-absorption and the best way to cope with
problems was to "offer them up to Jesus." I suspect that there are
still some people who think that "our kind doesn't do that" when
it comes to therapy. People who were raised as I was, almost in an
alien culture, often have a difficult time adjusting to the need
for psychiatric care.
Not surprisingly, I needed therapy when I left home, but in addition,
when I was in college I became ill with bipolar disorder. I was
unprepared for therapy. My idea of doctors was that they were supposed
to keep me out of the hospital and that was about it.
Looking back, it seems to me that some of the therapists I encountered
were upset that they "must" deal with a person who had a severe mental
illness. I have never been violent and I have worked hard to remain
compliant with treatment and take my medications. Yet, I think that my
road to health was made more difficult by some therapists who believed
that those with psychosis were "crazy" and therefore beyond or beneath
help.
The problem I had with false memories was in the early 90's. It
involved some bad therapy that I quickly got out of. That false
memory problem, however, turned out to be one manifestation of a
larger problem which was: therapists who did not listen to me.
Eventually I found an excellent therapist and seeing her, along with
taking medications, has helped me improve greatly.
Recently I have encountered a doctor who in my estimation is
everything that a good doctor should be. I want to praise one person
who stands out more than anyone else in terms of expressing compassion
in an appropriate, brief manner. That person is my allergist.
I knew he was going to be different when I first started seeing him
and he recommended a series of allergy shots. I got them all on time
and went back to see him. He told me I had done a good job in getting
them on time. I looked at the floor and mumbled something, and then he
repeated it: "You did a good job." I was shocked. I was not used to
praise from Doctors and especially not a doctor who would take the
time to repeat himself when I didn't seem to get the point.
As the years have passed, he has continued to be attentive and I
started feeling more and more that I did not deserve the help.
Eventually I told him some difficult things from my past. He was very
supportive and he told me that child abuse was a tragedy, and then he
said that my having gone through something bad made no difference in
the way he thought about me. He said that I still deserved medical
care and that he had a therapeutic relationship with me and what
happened in the past, although it was bad that it affected me, did not
change that.
He said that I could choose to bring it up on future visits or not, as
I felt the need. But he also told me it was not his area of expertise,
so that he might not necessarily know all of the 'right' things to
say, but that he was willing to listen if I needed to talk about it
again. This was a big relief to me.
Until he talked to me, I was not aware of the extent to which I felt
upset and defensive about not feeling like I "deserved" medical care
even though I have seen a lot of doctors.
* Please, please -- if you are a clinician, treat your clients with
dignity. Convey to them that they deserve the help. It is not
necessarily abuse and neglect that make a person feel guilty about
getting help.
* Coming into therapy, seeing a psychiatrist and taking medication,
may represent a profound cultural shift for some people and it would
be unfortunate if false memories -- or any other iatrogenic problem
-- developed as a result of the client feeling unworthy, unfamiliar
with the therapy world, and totally at a loss as to how to deal with
it, given the hostility against therapists he or she encountered
growing up
* One of the best things a doctor can do is act like my allergist and
stay calm and tell patients that -- no matter what the past -- the
doctor is open to listening to the patient, whatever did or did not
happen.
+-------------------------------------------------+
| "Memories are like mulligatawny soup in a cheap |
| restaurant. It is best not to stir them." |
| P. G. Wodehouse |
+-------------------------------------------------+
**********************************************************************
NEWS FROM FRANCE
The False Memory Association name in France has been changed to AFSI
(Alerte Faux Souvenirs Induits), and the group's Email address is:
afsi.fauxsouvenirs@wanadoo.fr. In addition, a new website has been
established at: http://www.psyfmfrance.fr. The latest news from
France is the release of an official report from a government
commission called the MIVILUDES[1] on April 3, 2008. The report
contains a large chapter on False Memory Syndrome. This report
assimilates the mental manipulation of therapists with the
indoctrination of people into cults.
The chapter on False Memories was written by Delphine Guerard. She is
a psychologist who has worked for many years in Paris in the UNADFI
Association,[2] fighting against cults and the "sectarian drifts" of
some therapists. She has helped many French families understand what
has happened when their children, after regression therapy, have
accused them of horrible childhood abuse. Ms. Guerard now works on a
private basis helping the AFSI Association.
The good news is that nearly all the French newspapers, television
stations, and radio stations gave a great deal of attention to this
report. The report has also been transmitted to the French Prime
Minister. We are optimistic that this report will help therapists and
doctors understand the problem of false memories, and, as a
consequence, the professionals will be better able to help families.
[1] Inter Ministerial Mission for Vigilance Towards Cults (Sectes en
francais)
[2] Union Nationale des Associations de Defense des Familles et de
l'Individu Victimes de Sectes. (National Union of Associations in
Defense of Families and Individuals)
**********************************************************************
* N O T I C E S *
**********************************************************************
* *
* 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.tmdArchives.org *
* The Memory Debate Archives *
* *
* www.psyfmfrance.fr *
* French False Memory Group *
* *
* www.psychoheresy-aware.org/ministry.html *
* The Bobgans question Christian counseling *
* *
* 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.peterellis.org.nz *
* Site run by Bruce Robinson contains information *
* about Christchurch Creche and other cases. *
* *
* 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 *
* *
**********************************************************************
* 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 *
**********************************************************************
_____________________________________
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
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
Bobby 207-878-9812
MARYLAND
Carol 410-465-6555
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
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 915-595-2966
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
AUSTRALIA
Evelyn
everei@adam.com.au
BELGIUM
werkgr.fict.herinneringen@altavista.net
FRANCE
afsi.fauxsouvenirs@wabadii,fr
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 FALL 2008 issue is Septermber 10.
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, July 1, 2008
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., (deceased) 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., (deceased) 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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