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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)
FALL 2011 Vol. 20 No. 4
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ISSN #1069-0484. Copyright (c) 2011 by the FMS Foundation
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The FMSF Newsletter by the False Memory Syndrome Foundation was
delivered electronically. It is also available at on the FMSF website:
www.FMSFonline.org. Those without access to the web should contact
the Foundation.
1955 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-5766
Phone 215-940-1040, Fax 215-940-1042
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Dear Friends,
Twenty years! We mailed the first FMSF Newsletter in March 1992 and it
is now almost 2012. What has changed? What hasn't changed?
Without question, the biggest change in the past twenty years is
increased access to information about false accusations based on
claims of recovered memories. The following article from that first
newsletter hints at people's desperation for information at that time.
___________________
FBI Asks Us to Stop
Kenneth Lanning, the author of the excellent FBI publication,
Investigator's Guide to Allegations of "Ritual" Child Abuse, January
1992, has asked if we would please stop calling the FBI for this
booklet. Not only have they run out of copies, we are clogging the
phone line. Since we are allowed to reproduce this book, we are
checking into the cost. We will let you know how to purchase it in
the next newsletter. FMSF Newsletter No 1.
In 1992, families were desperate for anything that could help to
explain what was happening to their children. Now, abundant
information is at our fingertips. Not only have books, documentaries,
scholarly articles, legal precedents and popular articles been
published, the Internet has made them almost instantly
accessible. That change is profound. What has not changed are the
emotions of those caught in the web of recovered-memory
pseudo-science -- be they the angry believers in the accuracy of their
own "recovered" repressed memories and the therapists who help create
them or the families who grieve after losing a child in such a
devastatingly cruel manner.
The accumulated knowledge about false memories and suggestibility
amassed in the past two decades is awesome. In this issue are two
reports of research: "What People Believe About How Memory Works"
documents the astounding number of people who hold misconceptions
about memory. The results hold profound implications for the
evaluation of legal testimony. A paper by Dutra and colleagues
examines the question of whether childhood sexual abuse causes
dissociation. The researchers conducted a longitudinal study that
separated abuse from general family care-giving. The results showed
that lack of parental responsiveness in infancy significantly
predicted dissociation in young adults. Childhood verbal abuse was the
only type of abuse that added to the prediction of dissociation. With
the exception of unreliable retrospective studies, there is still no
evidence that childhood sexual abuse causes dissociation.
The books that have been published in the past two decades have been
milestones on the way to the scientific understanding of recovered
memories. There isn't room in this newsletter to mention them all, but
this issue does report on the most recent milestone: Sybil Exposed:
The Extraordinary Story Behind the Famous Multiple Personality
Case. Regular readers of this newsletter will not be surprised that
investigative journalist Debbie Nathan's work showed that unlike the
romantic notions in the book and movies about Sybil, she was the heart
of a "corporation" formed by author Schreiber, psychiatrist Wilbur and
patient Shirley Mason. Sybil Exposed is an expose that reads like a
detective novel. Sybil was the defining case of multiple personality
disorder, a model for the thousands of MPD diagnoses to follow.
Psychiatrists, journalists, celebrities, and television producers were
all misled by their enthusiasm. It just wasn't so.
After twenty years, the question that is most intriguing is how can so
many people continue to hold beliefs that collapse in the face of
scientific research about memory. In a review of Sybil Exposed,
psychologist Carol Tavris tells an amazing story from the book, a
story that indicates that it is unlikely that we will see the end of
claims of recovered-memories or multiple personality disorder in our
lifetime.
Yet the promulgators of MPD do not seem to have learned anything.
They changed the label to "Dissociative Identity Disorder," but a
skunk by any other name is still a skunk. The International Society
for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation continues to give its
Cornelia B. Wilbur Award" for outstanding clinical contributions to
the treatment of dissociative disorders." When Ms. Nathan told the
society's president, Kathy Steele, about "the extensive evidence of
Connie's ignorance, arrogance, and ethical misconduct" that she had
unearthed, that Sybil was "a performance based on fiction," Ms.
Steele replied: "So what? I don't know what difference it makes."
What difference does a correct diagnosis make? At a professional
meeting in 1989, in response to a question from the audience about
how Sybil was doing, Connie announced casually that Shirley suffered
from pernicious anemia, a disease that causes an inability to
process vitamin B-12. Discovering that Connie knew this fact about
her patient may be Ms. Nathan's greatest scoop, for symptoms of
pernicious anemia include just about everything that plagued Shirley
Mason throughout her life: fatigue, social withdrawal, anxiety,
hallucinations, muscle pains, confusion about identity, distorted
memories and changes in personality. No one in Connie's audience of
psychiatrists, Ms. Nathan writes, took note.
Tavris, C. (2011, October 29). Multiple personality deception. Wall
Street Journal. Retrieved on October 30 from
com/article/SB10001424052970204524604576609350972680560.html
Beliefs in recovered-memory and multiple personality disorder are
deeply embedded in our culture, but they are now challenged in a way
that seemed impossible in 1992. The number of newly accused families
has plummeted and most of the new cases that come to our attention are
the result of church-related counseling.(See Ongoing Spread p 9)
Today, November 14, 2011, this writer received an email fund appeal
from Deeper Walk International.org that states:
At a recent gathering of ministry leaders, I heard Alaine Pakkala
warn that the church needs to prepare for a coming "tsunami of
dissociation." She believes that the church in America is about to
be swamped with people who have complex trauma and deep emotional
needs at a volume we have never before seen. (Marcus Warner)
Misguided beliefs in recovered memories are still dangerous and the
results still disastrous to families but the source of these beliefs
is increasingly outside mainstream therapy in the United States -- in
our opinion.
This seems an appropriate time to publish the last issue of the FMSF
Newsletter In the future, we will send frequent electronic news
bulletins, and for those without access to computers, we will collect
and mail them three or four times a year.
There are so many people to thank who have made this newsletter
possible: All of our generous donors; All of our readers; All of the
families who have written letters;. My friends and colleagues Janet
Fetkewicz, Emily Orne, and Peter Freyd whose advice and editing
suggestions have been invaluable. Thank you.
But we also must thank, in a bizarre way, all those whose practices
have given us laughs. In this newsletter, Kim Noble who found 80
personalities in one year from the time she was on Oprah to the time
she published her book You just can't beat that for good copy;.
Have a great holiday season. You will hear from us in January, if not
before.
PAMELA
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Special Thanks to Greg Louis, Ph.D. |
| |
| When the FMS Foundation decided in 1998 that it was time to start |
| a website, a notice was placed in the newsletter asking for |
| volunteers to help us in this new venture. How fortunate that |
| Canadian Greg Louis answered our plea for help! |
| |
| Greg was initially a research scientist, having received his |
| Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Ottawa in 1972. In |
| 1985 he relinquished his position as director of reproductive |
| endocrinology research in a Toronto hospital, and he devoted |
| himself full-time to computers, which had been an avocation since |
| 1965 and a rewarding sideline since 1981. By 1998 he had become |
| Information Systems and Technology manager for Consultronics |
| Limited, a small but influential multinational provider of |
| telecommunications test equipment and monitoring systems for |
| network operators and telecom equipment manufacturers. With |
| locations in Canada, the US, the UK and Hungary, Consultronics |
| provided Greg with a challenging and fascinating working |
| environment; and Greg responded by keeping a top-quality computer |
| network functioning efficiently and intrusion-free via the |
| Internet for the whole of his 9 years as IT manager. |
| |
| In setting up the FMSF website, Greg worked to ensure that it |
| would be a useful research tool. He has been ever patient and |
| helpful in explaining what is possible and then how to do it. |
| |
| Greg's comment on his association with the FMSF: "I was and am |
| only too glad to have been able to give service to the FMSF as a |
| small return for its benefit to me and in appreciation of its |
| inestimable value to society as a whole." |
| |
| Thank you, Greg, for your many years of critical help to the FMS |
| Foundation. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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Important New Book
SYBIL EXPOSED: THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY BEHIND THE FAMOUS
MULTIPLE PERSONALITY CASE
Debbie Nathan
Free Press, New York, 2011
Sybil Exposed entwines the biographies of Shirley Mason, the patient
known as Sybil, Cornelia Wilbur, the psychiatrist who treated her, and
Flora Rheta Schreiber who wrote the best-selling book Sybil.
Investigative reporter Debbie Nathan has written a compelling story
about the creation and marketing of Sybil. The story behind Sybil is
an account of outrageous medical and journalistic malpractice.
Indeed, one reviewer even suggested that it is Sybil Exposed that
deserves to be a movie. Sybil Exposed reads like fiction, but it is
fact, the result of painstaking investigation.
FMSF Newsletter readers are familiar with the role that Sybil played
in popularizing the notions of recovered repressed-memories and
multiple personality disorder. Over the years, there have been
numerous articles in this newsletter showing that Shirley Mason's
childhood was not as portrayed in the book and that her multiple
personality symptoms were almost certainly a consequence of the highly
suggestive therapy combined with high dosages of drugs administered by
Wilbur. Nathan's new book adds much new information that she gathered
from interviews and and research into original documents to what was
previously known. To get a flavor of Nathan's writing, here is an
excerpt from a recent article:
One May afternoon in 1958, Mason walked into Wilbur's office
carrying a typed letter that ran to four pages. It began with Mason
admitting that she was "none of the things I have pretended to be.
"I am not going to tell you there isn't anything wrong," the letter
continued. "But it is not what I have led you to believe...I do not
have any multiple personalities...I do not even have a 'double'...I
am all of them. I have been essentially lying."
Before coming to New York, she wrote, she never pretended to have
multiple personalities. As for her tales about "fugue" trips to
Philadelphia, they were lies, too. Mason knew she had a problem. She
"very, very, very much" wanted Wilbur's help. To identify her real
trouble and deal with it honestly, Mason wrote, she and Wilbur
needed to stop demonizing her mother. It was true that she had been
anxious and overly protective. But the "extreme things" -- the rapes
with the flashlights and bottles -- were as fictional as the soap
operas that she and her mother listened to on the radio. Her
descriptions of gothic tortures "just sort of rolled out from
somewhere, and once I had started and found you were interested, I
continued...Under pentothal," Mason added, "I am much more
original."
Mason was the most important patient in Wilbur's professional
career. She was preserving the tape-recorded narcosynthesis
interviews she was doing with Mason and preparing to speak about the
case at professional meetings. Wilbur told her patient that the
recantation was "a major defensive maneuver," merely the ego's
attempt to trick itself into thinking it didn't need therapy. But
Mason did need it, badly, Wilbur insisted. She was denying that
she'd been tortured by her mother; this showed she really had been
tortured.
Mason went home and composed a new letter. "One Friday," she wrote
Wilbur, "‘someone' stalked into your office, imitated me [and] had
a paper written about how she had now become well and was confessing
...that it had all been put on. Well, you knew better."
Tavris, C. (2001, October 14). A girl not named Sybil. New York
Times Magazine, 56-59. www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/magazine/a-girl-
not-named-sybil.html?pagewanted=all
Don't miss this important new book.
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I HOPE YOU'RE SEATED.
Robert Stern, MD
I recently learned that the Los Angeles Women's Task Force on Ritual
Abuse is still in existence. Remember them? Back in December of 1992,
they were the ones who claimed that Satanists were pumping bug spray
into their offices. I took this opportunity to call and ask them to
send some literature. And, they did. They sent me the 1994 Task Force
Report containing the same old discredited beliefs—only 17 years
older. It is unchanged.
I think I recall someone once saying: "Bad ideas don't die off when
they're replaced by better ideas; bad ideas die off when the people
who believe the bad ideas die off." Whoever it was, sure hit the
bull's eye. In the interest of accuracy, the booklet is called Ritual
Abuse: Definitions, Glossary, The Use of Mind Control. September 1,
1994. Report of the Ritual Abuse Task Force, Los Angeles County
Commission for Women.
The Chair of the Task Force on Ritual Abuse was Myra B. Riddell, LCSW,
but Catherine Gould, PhD and Lyn Laboriel, M.D. were given special
thanks "for their outstanding contribution to this project and to the
work of this Task Force."
The last time I ran across a blurb about Dr. Gould, I believe that she
was wondering aloud to an audience why, with all their licentious
behavior (orgies and the like) more Satanists were not succumbing to
AIDS. Honest. That was 2008, or so.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ ______________ \
| Lest We Forget |
| Dr. Gould became well-known for her check list of symptoms of |
| Satanic Ritual Abuse that was used in many of the notorious and |
| now-overturned day-care cases. Signs included "Fear of ghosts and |
| monsters" and "Fear of 'bad people' taking the child away." |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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MEDIA PROMOTION of MPD:
Kim Noble Finds 80 Personalities in One Year
Just one year ago, this newsletter contained an article about Oprah
Winfrey's promotion of Kim Noble, an aspiring British artist who
claimed at that time that she had 20 personalities.[1] On her show,
Oprah has promoted multiple personality disorder (MPD) for many years
and, indeed, her May 1990 program featuring Truddi Chase (who claimed
92 personalities) almost certainly helped to make this controversial
disorder more popular.
This past September, the Guardian newspaper [2] featured an article
about Kim Noble, who is publicizing her new ghostwritten book: All of
Me Kim now claims that she has 100 personalities.
The facts about Kim's life as described in the Guardian article are
essentially the same as those shown on Oprah. Kim Noble was born in
1960 to unhappily married factory workers who left her in the care of
neighbors and friends. This article explained how Noble came to
develop multiple personalities. Although no clear details are given,
Kim is reported to have suffered "extreme and repeated" abuse
"somewhere between one and three years old." Because of this her mind
was "traumatized beyond endurance" and "shattered into fragments." As
a teen, Ms. Noble overdosed and was put in a psychiatric hospital.
Later she was "exposed to a pedophile ring". In retribution for her
telling the police about the ring, the Guardian article notes that
someone threw acid in her face and set her bed afire, gutting her
home.
According to the Guardian, most of "principal personalities [of Kim
Noble] had no memories of her abuse and no flashbacks." As an adult,
Kim Nobel sought therapy. We are told that she initially considered
the idea of a diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder as absurd in
1995. However, after six years of therapy, she accepted the diagnosis.
The Guardian article states that the "therapist had to tease out the
separate personalities and treat them individually."
Noble was treated by Valerie Sinason, Ph.D., known to FMSF newsletter
readers for her 1994 book, Treating Survivors of Satanist Abuse.
Gone are the days in which reporters might do some research on a
subject about which they wrote. For example, the author of the
Guardian article appears to be woefully ignorant of the fact that DID
is a controversial diagnosis. She appears to be ignorant of the type
of suggestive therapy in which Kim Noble engaged. She seems to be
ignorant of Valerie Sinason's reputation for belief in satanic ritual
abuse. Maybe it is a sign of the times that reporters and newspapers
see their task as simply to do some rewriting to a press release and
not ask questions or check facts. Didn't the reporter think it odd
that Kim Noble claimed to have 20 personalities in 2010 and 100 in
2011? [3] Or is it 20 personalities in the United States and 100 in
Britain?
Our culture has left reporters in the lurch when it comes to writing
about anything that touches on the scientific. This paves the way for
the promotion of myths and misinformation.
[1] Oprah Got it Wrong: MPD as Entertainment. FMSF Newsletter Vol. 19
No. 4 Fall, 2010.
[2] Mitchison, A. (2011, September 30). Kim Noble: The woman with 100
personalities. Retrieved on Oct 4, 2011 from http://www.guardian.co.
uk/lifeandstyle/2011/sep/30/kim-noble-woman-with-100-personalities
[3] "With guidance from a therapist, we meet some of the 20
personalities of Kim Noble, a mother and artist who has
dissociative identity disorder—a condition formerly known as
multiple identity disorder." Kim Noble's multiple personalities.
Oprah. Retrieved from www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Introduction-to-
Kim-Nobles-Multiple-Personalities-Video
+--------------------------------------------------+
| It's an indicium of witchraft to defend witches. |
| Martin Del Rio (16th Century) |
+--------------------------------------------------+
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LOST: THE LAST TWO DECADES
Lisa Michels is the founder of Surviving the Realities of Repressed
Memories. According to a press release from Virginia Wesleyan
College,[1] Ms. Michels was to speak to the Sociology and Criminal
Justice class at the college in October. The purpose of the talk was
to give the class exposure to the realities from a survivor of family
violence and child sexual abuse, to enhance textbook and classroom
coverage of the issue.
According to the press release, not only did Michels repress her
memories of abuse, she recovered those memories when she appeared on
The Oprah Winfrey Show. The release noted that Michels will talk to
the class about the "issue of the memory of childhood sexual abuse and
how often it's repressed until much later."
Curious about Ms. Michels expertise in memory, we found more details
about her and her recovery of memories on a blog, (likely posted to
publicize her forthcoming book). [1] In one paragraph we read: "Her
memories surfaced in 2001 when her abuser moved in with her and her
family." In another: "During the four days of intense on-air therapy
she began verbalizing for the first time her memories of abuse."
Dr. Phil was her therapist on the Oprah program.
Lisa Michels is described as an entrepreneur, public and motivational
speaker, writer and advocate. She was invited to speak to students by
Assistant Professor Alison Marganski at Virginia Wesleyan College.
Readers are forgiven if they feel transported to 1991. Clearly the
last two decades of research were lost at Virginia Wesleyan College
and Oprah's Show.
[1] Administrator (2011, September 23). Lisa Michels Speaking October
6. Image Publicity. Retrieved from imaginepublicity.com/2011/09/
23/lisa-michels-speaking-october-6-to-students-of-virginia-
wesleyan-college-2/of 10/1/11.
[2] http://lisamichels.blogspot.com/p/child-abuse-awareness.html
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ONGOING SPREAD OF MPD/DID BELIEFS
One of the ways in which MPD beliefs continue to spread is through
conferences, especially, it seems, religious counseling meetings. A
notice for a DID Symposium in Colorado Springs in mid-September
sponsored by several different ministries caught our eye. The notice
about the symposium stated that the target audience was: "counselors
and others who want to help."
When we checked later, it turned out that the symposium had been
canceled and in its place a workshop about DID was being offered.[1]
The person leading the workshop had "emerged from a traumatic
childhood to inspire and equip hundreds of others who are stuck in
emotional pain," She is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a
Master's degree in Biblical counseling.
The notice said:
Previously, DID was known as Multiple Personality Disorder. As a
result of movies like Sybil and The Three Faces of Eve, many people
have preconceived ideas about what DID really is. This workshop will
shed light and answer many questions about DID and the people it
affects. This one day workshop will give Biblical and clinical
instruction in a way that not only makes the subject easier to
understand, but will offer much hope to those who are challenged by
this experience.
Some topics
What is Dissociation and what are its symptoms? How does
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) develop? What is the role of
the therapist, pastor or caregiver? What are the Biblical Principles
in working with those who have DID? What is Integration and how is
it achieved?
[1] Information retrieved on October 20, 2011 from www.lifetouchmin.
org/conferences/dissociative-identity-disorder-workshop/.
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AUDIT REVEALS $640,000 of PSYCHIATRIC FUNDING
MISALLOCATED in LONDON, ONTARIO
Almost ten years ago, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at the
University of Western Ontario Dr. Harold Merskey attempted to organize
a one-day seminar at the London Health Sciences Centre that examined
the research about the accuracy of recovered-memories. Roadblocks were
placed in his path every step of the way until finally Dr. Sandra
Fisman, the chair of the Psychiatry Department, refused to support the
conference or even to grant it continuing education credits claiming
that the subject was "too controversial" and "outside the mainstream"
of psychiatric issues.
When we saw Dr. Fisman's name mentioned in an article about an audit
of the London Health Sciences Center, we were reminded of that
unfortunate experience and naturally curious to learn about the
funding scandal.
According to reports in The London Free Press, the audit accused
Dr. Fisman of concealing funding, skirting rules and pressuring anyone
who questioned her. The audit was the result of a challenge two years
ago by 14 psychiatrists about the way that funding was managed.
The essence of the problem was a decision by Fisman to spend $640,000
of funds and 160,000 hours to train doctors and staff to speak
effectively to one another. The problem with this decision was that
the money was part of a larger grant that was specifically designated
to be spent to "induce psychiatrists to spend more time treating acute
mental illness that required immediate help."
Dr. Fisman is soon to resign her position claiming the decision was
made before this scandal.
Sher, J. (October 9, 2011).$ 640,000 hospital training tab
‘shocking.' The London Free Press. Retrieved on October 9, 2011
from http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/08/29/18615291.html
Sher, J. (August 30, 2011). Hospital did not return more than
$800,000. The London Free Press. Retrieved on September 4, 2011 from
http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/08/30/18620321.html
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RITUAL ABUSE CASE UPENDED: WEST MEMPHIS THREE ARE FREE
In August 2011, the three teenagers (now men) who had been convicted
of brutally murdering three young Cub Scouts in the early 1990s in
West Memphis, Tennessee were released from prison. One of the three,
Damien Echols, had been on death row for two decades. To many the
"deal" that gave them their freedom seems strange.
Under the terms of a deal with prosecutors, Mr. Echols, Mr. Baldwin
and Mr. Misskelley leave as men who maintain their innocence yet who
pleaded guilty to murder, as men whom the state still considers to be
child killers but whom the state deemed safe enough to set free.[1]
The guilty pleas mean that these three men cannot sue the state.
The gruesome murders in 1993 of the 8-year-old boys sparked claims
that the deaths involved Satanism. During the trial, both the
prosecution and the media portrayed the murders in the context of
satanic rituals including sexual abuse and genital mutilation.
Emotions were high at the time and when the teenagers were arrested
200 residents of the small town gathered to yell, "Burn in hell!"
There was no physical evidence linking the teenagers to the crime. A
member of the defense team noted, "The first trial was pretty much a
witch hunt."
The prosecution case had relied on a confession of one of the teens, a
mildly retarded 16-year-old boy, but it was full of factual errors and
was given after 12-hours of questioning. The boy did not know the
correct time of the murders or even the basic facts. A prosecution
expert, Dr. Dale Griffis, who claimed to have a doctorate in law
enforcement and psychology, got that degree by mail order from a
diploma mill called Columbia Pacific University. Griffis is a former
police captain from Tiffen, Ohio who in the late 80s and early 90s
called himself a "Cult Cop" went around the country talking to police
departments about the signs and dangers of satanic abuse.
A 1996 HBO documentary "Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood
Hills" drew celebrity support for the accused in this notorious case.
Over the years, appeals failed, as did post-conviction hearings, but
the case got new life in 2007 when defense lawyers representing
Mr. Echols reported that new forensic tests of evidence at the crime
scene turned up no genetic material belonging to any of the men — but
did turn up some belonging to someone else. The men received new
hearings from the Arkansas Supreme Court which led to the release.
"I'm just tired. This has been going on for 18 years. It's been an
absolute living hell," said Misskelley.
"This was not justice," said Baldwin. "In the beginning we told
nothing but the truth. We were innocent, and they sent us to prison
for the rest of our lives. That's not justice, no matter how you
look at it. They're not out there trying to find out who really
murdered those boys."
"I won't tell you it's a perfect resolution," defense attorney Braga
said. "It's the best possible resolution under the circumstances."
[1] Robertson, C. (2011, August 19). Deal frees "West Memphis three"
in Arkansas. The New York Times. Retrieved on August 24, 2011 from
www.nytimes.com/2011/08/20/us/20arkansas.html?pagewanted=all.
Dewan, S. (2007, November 11). New evidence in 3 boys' slayings.
Philadelphia Inquirer, p. 9.
Leveritt, M. New evidence in West Memphis murders: Victim's mother
believes defendants innocent. (2007, July 19). Arkansas
Times. Retrieved from www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.
aspx?ArticleID=f1b058c2-82ac-455c-b193-83cfce18215d on
November 11, 2007.
Stark, A. (2006, August 31). Life after death. Los Angeles
CityBeat. Retrieved from http://69.94.104.186/article.php?IssueNum=
169&id=4287 on November 11, 2007.
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AND ON IT GOES:
A Challenge from Ross Cheit
In July 2011, Brown University Associate Professor of Political
Science and Public Policy Ross Cheit, J.D., Ph.D., posted five
challenges to the FMSF Newsletter Editor on a blog related to his
Recovered Memory Project website.[1] The five challenges are five
cases in which he asks this writer to inform our readers about
information that is posted on his website that he says contradicts
information in past newsletters. Cheit did not contact the Foundation.
Nevertheless, we respond briefly as an example of the type and quality
of criticism received by FMSF in 2011.
1
Will you inform your readers that the Johnson case in Wisconsin, as
documented here [on the Recovered Memory Project website [1]], had
nothing to do with hypnosis or "digging for memories" as you have
falsely claimed in several places?
__________________
"Falsely claimed"?
Dr. Charles and Karen Johnson sued their daughter's therapists more
than 15 years ago. In 2011, they were awarded $1 million. Their
daughter had imaginings of satanic cults, rapes, cutting off a baby's
head, dogs nailed to a cross, and more while she was a patient at
Rogers Memorial Hospital after she was worked over by nurses
supervised by one of the therapists. Their daughter was placed in a
survivor group and she was involved with inner-child work.
A 2005 Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling related to the case stated:
Charlotte disclosed that she was in therapy; Charlotte had told a
friend that she had been subjected to hypnosis; and Charlotte had
threatened to file a civil lawsuit against her parents, and as part of
that threat, her attorney referenced repressed memories. (Johnson V
Rogers Memorial No. 2003AP784 & 2003 AP1413 Wi Sup Ct Jul 8 2005)
Were the therapists in Johnson v Rogers guilty of practicing recovered
memory therapy?
The Johnson's attorney Bill Smoler commented in his closing argument:
And what does Kay Phillips say about that when she writes to the
Disability Board to try to help Charlotte get Disability? And this
would have been in May of 1992. Kay Phillips writes: ‘During her
stay at Rogers Memorial Hospital November 4, '91 to December 7, '91,
she began recovering memories of childhood sexual abuse.
(Page 11-12 from Closing arguments of Bill Smoler. See Footnote 2.
Complete closing arguments at: www.fmsfonline.org/smolerWI2011.pdf)
A jury found that the therapists in the Johnson case did not meet the
standard of care in Charlotte's treatment. The defendant therapists
appealed the decision. The judge denied the appeal writing:
Phillips argues that her treatment did not cause injuries to the
Johnsons and was not negligent. A reasonable jury could have and did
find the opposite and had a rational basis for doing so. While the
damage to the Johnsons may have started at a finite point the damage
continued for many years and continues today. Phillips treated
Charlotte during many of those years and, like Hollowell, failed to
adjust treatment, change treatment or challenge/corroborate the
allegations of Charlotte until the threat of a lawsuit is mentioned
in her notes. According to her notes, the direction of therapy did
change eventually but the significant damage had been done.
Based upon the record in this case Hollowell's and Phillips' motions
after verdict are denied.
April 11, 2011, and Judge Daniel R. Moeser, Johnson v Kay Phillips,
Decision and Order Re Defendants' Motion after Verdict,Case No 96 CV
1228, Wisconsin.
2
Will you correct the record about the use of Betrayal Trauma theory
in court? You falsely insinuated that Betrayal Trauma Theory was not
accepted in court, when in fact, it has passed the Daubert test.
_____________________
"Falsely insinuated"?
Betrayal Trauma Theory emerged as a way to explain how child sex abuse
victims repressed memories of abuse from close relatives on whom they
depended. Washington v. Martin was mentioned in the Fall 2010
Newsletter, 19 (4) as one in which that theory was supposed to explain
why an adult woman shot her husband — that she suffered emotional
abuse leading up to her husband's admission of [an] affair, and that
the heartbreak caused her to dissociate from reality. Therefore, she
couldn't form the intent to try to kill him.
Washington Senior Deputy Prosecutor John Fairgrieve noted that: "there
is no prior record of this defense being raised in any courtroom in
the United States." He also noted, however, that that it was once
used in federal court to explain why a sexual assault victim delayed
reporting the incident. That was U.S. v. Chatman (CR 07-178-RE) in
which a cheerleader sued stating that she had been sexually abused by
her coach on an airplane from Chicago to Portland.
What was written in the newsletter?
"The court concluded …it [Betrayal Trauma Theory] has not been
researched and established to any degree with respect to adult
domestic violence." See Note 3.
It remains to be seen how this theory will be accepted in various
court cases.
3
Will you acknowledge the evidence of guilt against serial child
molester, Billy Banks, who was embraced by the FMSF? Your newsletter
reported on his case without mentioning the evidence of guilt, which
is documented, including recent charges (to which he pled guilty).
___________
"Embraced"?
Banks was found guilty. That was in the title of the FMSF Newsletter
article. The article also stated that he is serving a life
sentence. Cheit writes in his blog about Billy Banks that "He was
convicted on the basis of the testimony of his daughter and niece, now
adults." That was what was also written in the FMSF news article. The
FMSF article additionally mentioned a defense argument that one of the
accusers made her accusation after she was arrested on a crack-cocaine
charge and while she was undergoing intensive drug addiction
counseling. The FMSF article mentioned that the defense lasted one
hour. The article is reprinted in Note 4 below.
Cheit went on to say:
The Foundation claimed that these "recovered memories" were
implanted for the daughter in counseling and for the niece in
rehab.[5]
We cannot find that statement in the short FMSF article which is
reprinted in Note 4 below. Readers can decide for themselves if
"embraced" is an accurate description.
4
Will you acknowledge that Wayne Sergent, mentioned favorably in the
FMSF newsletter, admitted....that his "false memory" defense was a
ruse?
______________________
"Mentioned favorably"?
Below, in its entirety, is the only Newsletter mention of the case.
Cheit in his question gives the answer: the case turned out to have
nothing to do with FMS. Cheit's complaint, note, is that the
Newsletter mentioned the case "favorably." Really?
State of New Hampshire v Sargent,
1999 WL 547885, (N.H.)
The New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled that expert testimony on the
risk of false memory implantation through suggestive and coercive
questioning is admissible because the average juror may not have the
knowledge or understanding of the proper protocols and techniques
blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/ used to interview child
victims. (From the Legal Aid Society NY, J.R.D. Newsletter 25 (32)
August 30, 1999)
>From FMSF Foundation Newsletter Vol 8 No 7, October 1999.
5
Will you acknowledge that memories recovered in therapy led to the
conviction of Calvin Huss, who... confessed to the crimes?
______________
"Calvin Huss"?
There is no mention of this case in any FMSF Newsletter. What the FMSF
has stated since its start is that some memories are true, some
memories are false and some memories are a mixture of truth and
fantasy – whether those memories are continuous or recovered after a
time of being forgotten. The only way to know the truth or falsity of
a memory is with external corroboration.
The fact that someone claims that he or she has recovered a memory
does not mean that the memory was "repressed" and thus subject to some
special mental mechanism. Ordinary memory processes can explain the
phenomenon of recovering a memory. (See Ghetti, S/. et a;/
(2006). What can subjective forgetting tell us about memory for
childhood trauma? Memory & Cognition 34(5), 1011-1025. See Also
McNally, R. & Geraerts, E. (2009). A new solution to the recovered
memory debate. Perspectives on Psychological Science 4(2), 126-134.)
In his blog, Cheit wrote: writes:
"But Geraerts et al. (2007) reported that none of their subjects who
reported recovering memories of abuse during therapy were able to
obtain corroboration. This case challenges the generalizability of
that conclusion."
It does not. What Geraerts et. al. wrote was
[D]iscontinuous memories that were recalled in the context of
therapy were significantly less likely to be corroborated than were
either continuous memories or discontinuous memories recalled
outside therapy. Indeed, of the 16 therapy-based discontinuous
memories, not a single one could be corroborated.
[1] Cheit, R. (2011, July 29). Five Easy Questions-for Pamela are
posted at: blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/ In that blog, there is
a link to "The Incredible Distortion of Johnson v Rogers Memorial
Hospital." blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/2011/02/04/featured-post
-the-incredible-distortion-of-johnson-v-rogers-memorial-hospital/
[2] Excerpts from Bill Smoler's Closing Arguments:
This case is about whether or not things went wildly astray when
common sense was not used. And instead of dealing with legitimate
issues that Charlotte had, this case went off into who knows
where. I believe that the records in this case make that very
clear. ( Page 4)
We'll never know why Charlotte's memories began. I have not in this
case tried to say to you that Charlotte, whatever it was that she
had in early October is the result of something of the defense. I
don't believe we will ever know what that was. (Page 6)
It's our position that when you go to a doctor and you say, ‘I've
got chest pain,' the doctor doesn't say to you, ‘Well that's nice.
What do you think it's from?' ‘Well, I think it's from – I'm sure I
need open heart surgery,' and dive in and do open heart surgery.
The doctor says, ‘Let's do some tests. Let's start trying to figure
out what's going on here because, gosh, it could be an ulcer, it
could be cancer, it just could be anxiety. Who knows?' And questions
are asked. And you'll notice that nowhere in any of the records,
despite my repeated questioning, did we ever hear about a
differential diagnosis. What's the possibility of what's going on
here? Might it be something other than truthful memories? Never was
that looked at through out this entire therapy. (Page 9-10)
Let's go to Rogers Memorial Hospital records. November 8, 1991, just
a few days after Charlotte arrived there. ‘Plan: Support
patient. Talk and share feelings of abuse.'
Three days later, November 11, 1991. ‘Plan: Support patient in
remembering history and acceptance of past' – ‘of past.' Excuse
me. Two days later: ‘Patient is encouraged to keep sharing and
talking about her abuse.' That was what went on in the first Rogers
hospitalization.
And what does Kay Phillips say about that when she writes to the
Disability Board to try to help Charlotte get Disability? And this
would have been in May of 1992. Kay Phillips writes: ‘During her
stay at Rogers Memorial Hospital November 4, '91 to December 7, '91,
she began recovering memories of childhood sexual abuse. (Page
11-12)
[3] McVicker, Laura. (2010, August 5). Unusual defense sought in
woman's attempted murder trial. Her attorney says she was too
distraught to form legal intent. Retrieved on November 2, 2011 from
www.columbian.com/news/2010/aug/05/unusual-defense-sought-in-
womans-attempted-murder/?print.
Freyd said Martin had suffered emotional abuse leading up to her
husband's admission of the affair, and that the heartbreak caused
her to dissociate from reality. Therefore, she couldn't form the
intent to try to kill him, by Freyd's theory.
Heartache doesn't give you license to shoot someone, not does it
mean you can't form intent," said Senior Deputy Prosecutor John
Fairgrieve. He called two witnesses, including a Western State
Hospital psychologist, to testify Wednesday about how betrayal
trauma is relatively unknown in the psychology community. It's also
not listed in the DSM-IV, a guide book psychologists use in
diagnosing patients.
"The most glaring error is that there is no prior record of this
defense being raised in any courtroom in the United States,"
Fairgrieve said. The only exception, he added is that it was once
used in federal court to explain why a sexual assault victim delayed
reporting the incident. Senior Deputy Prosecutor John Fairgrieve
stated:
Most psychologists aware of the theory are among a close-knit group
who focus on trauma behavior or are students of Freyd, he said.
[4] Criminal Conviction in Florida Based on Recovered Memories,
FMS Foundation Newsletter 2005, 14(4).
On April 10, 2005, a Stuart, Florida jury of four women and two men
found 68-year-old Billy Banks Sr. guilty of sexually molesting two
girls in the 1960s. The only evidence in the trial were the
recovered memories of two accusers ages 43 and 44. Banks is a former
firefighter who is now 68 and uses a wheelchair. The charges against
him date from the 1960s. The accusers, Banks' daughter and another
woman, described fondling, oral sex and rape. They claimed Banks
assaulted them for years between the ages of 6 and 10, as often as
every weekend or more. They said that he drove them to wooded areas
and took turns raping each child in view of the other on the front
seat of a pickup.
According to the Palm Beach Post, the defense attorney noted that
one of the accusers made her charges after being arrested on a
crack-cocaine charge and undergoing intensive drug addiction
counseling. The second accuser is disabled by back problems and
depression for which she takes painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs.
The defense had planned to present an expert from Michigan to
testify about the fallibility of recovered memories. However, at the
last minute the expert could not come, and the Circuit Judge Larry
Schack refused to delay the trial. The defense lasted an hour.
Defense attorneys were Deborah Gowen and Mitchell Tyre of Palm
City. The prosecutor was Assistant State Attorney Kathryn Nelson.
Taylor, J. (2003, September 17). Father, son face sex-abuse
charges. Palm Beach Post, 2B.
Ash, J. (2005, April 27). Accusers testify in child sex-abuse case.
Palm Beach Post, 1B.
Ash, J. (2005, April 28) Jury finds retired firefighter guilty of
molesting girls in ‘60s. Palm Beach Post, 1B.
Taylor, J. (2005, June 7). Woman confronts father about
molesting. Palm Beach Post, 1B.
Ash, J. (2005, June 16). Juror faces scrutiny in abuse trial. Palm
Beach Post, 1A.
[5] http://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/2010/10/31/the-
misrepresentation-of-the-case-of-billy-banks/
**********************************************************************
MISUNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT MEMORY
Simons, D.J., & Chabris, C.F. (2011)
What people believe about how memory works:
A representative survey of the U.S. Population.
PloS ONE, Vol. 6 No. 8.
www.plosone.org/article/info:doi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0022757
The authors talked with 1838 people selected from a nationally
representative sample. Simons and Chabris conducted this survey during
research for their book, "The Invisible Gorilla," which explores
commonly held (and often incorrect) beliefs about memory and
perception. The major findings were:
AMNESIA: 82.7% of respondents agreed that "people suffering from
amnesia typically cannot recall their own name or identity." All 16
experts disagreed.
CONFIDENT TESTIMONY: 37.1% agreed that "in my opinion, the testimony
of one confident eyewitness should be enough evidence to convict a
defendant of a crime." All 16 experts disagreed.
VIDEO MEMORY: 63.0% agreed that "human memory works like a video
camera, accurately recording the events we see and hear so that we can
review and inspect them later." All 16 experts disagreed.
PERMANENT MEMORY: 47.6% agreed that "once you have experienced an
event and formed a memory of it, that memory does not change." 15
experts disagreed and 1 responded "Don't Know/Unclear."
HYPNOSIS: 55.4% agreed that "hypnosis is useful in helping witnesses
accurately recall details of crimes." 14 experts disagreed and 2
responded "Don't Know/Unclear."
UNEXPECTED EVENTS: 77.5% agreed that "people generally notice when
something unexpected enters their field of view, even when they're
paying attention to something else." 13 experts disagreed and 3
agreed.
These beliefs show a misunderstanding of the way that memory works.
The authors mentioned that they were disappointed because "many of the
ideas we tested refer to scientific findings that have been
established for decades." They point out that jurors likely also hold
mistaken beliefs about memory and that expert testimony on the issues
could help to overcome the misunderstandings. The misunderstandings
also point to the need for better education about memory.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| A Blog worth reading |
| Issues of MPD |
| |
| http://churchmouse.wordpress.com |
| http://jeanettebartha.wordpress.com/author/jeanettebartha |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
DOES EARLY CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE PREDICT DISSOCIATION?
NOT IN THIS STUDY
Dutra, L., Bureau, J, Holmes, B, Lynbchik, A., Lyons-Ruth, K. (2009)
Quality of early care and childhood trauma:
A prospective study of developmental pathways to dissociation.
Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 197(6), 383-390.
Does early childhood sexual abuse predict dissociation? That is
certainly the assumption behind claims of "recovered
repressed memories." That is a relationship shown in "retrospective"
studies. Retrospective studies, however, are not reliable for making
such a causal claim. What is known is that many traumatized survivors
do not dissociate and some non-traumatized people do, so clearly there
are other factors involved in the development of dissociation besides
trauma. Dutra and colleagues note that longitudinal studies are needed
to provide evidence for a causal link between trauma and dissociation.
This longitudinal study examined the quality of 56 low-income
children's early care and childhood sexual, physical, or verbal abuse
as predictors of dissociation when they were young adults. Trauma was
indexed by state-documented maltreatment, self-reports, and
interviewers' ratings of the participants' stories. Quality of care
was measured by observer ratings of mother-child interactions. The
researchers used the Dissociative Experience Scale to measure
dissociation.
Eight percent of the participants were rated as experiencing childhood
sexual abuse, twenty-one percent experienced physical abuse; thirty-
one percent experienced verbal abuse and nineteen percent witnessed
serious family violence. The authors note that there was no overlap
among those who were sexually or physically abused.
The results showed that a lack of parental responsiveness in infancy
significantly predicted dissociation in young adults. Childhood
verbal abuse was the only type of trauma that added to the prediction
of dissociation.
The authors comment that because of previous literature, they had
expected that childhood abuse would account for unique variance in
dissociative symptoms. The authors note the limitations of the study
and theorize about the quality of early care and later dissociation.
**********************************************************************
MULTIPLE PERSONALITY TESTIMONY OF COLIN ROSS, M.D.,
EXCLUDED IN TEXAS TWILIGHT RAPIST CASE.
In September a jury of six men and six women in Edna, Texas took 10
minutes to convict 54-year-old Billy Joe Harris on charges related to
the sexual assault of an elderly disabled woman. They rejected his
claim that he had multiple personality disorder.
Harris had been arrested as he came out of a nursing home where he had
assaulted a disabled resident. DNA evidence also ties him to five
other assaults on elderly women in the past two years. He became known
as the "twilight" rapist because most of the attacks occurred just
before dawn
Harris's attorney had entered a plea of not guilty by reason of
insanity but he said he was not surprised at the verdict. "I tried
the best defense I could...I tried a Hail Mary defense."
One doctor who examined Harris testified: "I've never seen any worse
depiction of someone being mentally ill. To me, he just looked goofy."
Not only did Harris never tell anyone in or out of the family about
multiple personalities, he was also taped talking to a girlfriend on
the telephone bragging to her about the show he put on in court with
his multiple personalities.
To support the claim of MPD, the defense called Dr. Colin Ross who
testified that he believed Harris suffered from multiple
personalities. Ross based that belief on a personal interview, 35
minutes of which were spent talking to one of Harris' four alters.
Ross also based that belief on three tests that another doctor had
administered, a very unusual procedure. Ross testified that because
dissociative identity disorder is in the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) that it is "real and valid disorder."
The District Attorney asked if Ross had made any attempt to determine
if Harris was lying about the wild stories that he told. He had not.
He then asked if Ross had personal knowledge of who actually answered
the test questions. Ross did not. In answering the DA's questions,
Ross admitted that the diagnosis of MPD (DID) is controversial.
R. Christopher Barden, Ph.D., J.D. testified: "If something is
controversial it means it's not generally acceptable." He also
testified: "Because something is in the DSM doesn't mean it's reliable
or should be allowed in a court of law." The DSM is a kind of
dictionary or catalog so psychiatrists are "using the same language."
Barden said the number of mental health professionals who tout
dissociative identity disorder as viable are few and far between.
"There are a few pockets of people left who are doing this. The
scientists I know condemn it to be the worst kind of junk science and
dangerous to the public. Controversial and experimental theories
should not be allowed to contaminate the legal system."
The Judge ruled these disorders are controversial and are not
generally accepted in the scientific community. He ordered jury to
disregard the testimony of Colin Ross.
Admission of MPD evidence has swung back and forth in the courts. This
case is another in which a trial judge did not allow the evidence. An
interesting appeal level case in which dissociative identity disorder
was ruled to be a generally accepted diagnosis, also stated that its
applicability to the issue of criminal responsibility was problematic
and that such testimony was not helpful to jurors. (State v. Greene
(139 Washington. 2d 64), the Washington Supreme Court)
Long, S. (2011, September 13). Defense claims multiple personality
disorder in Twilight Rapist case. Retrieved on October 20, 20011 from
m.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2011/sep/13/sl_twilight_rapist_day2_091411
_151920/
Associated Press (2011, September 14). South Texas rape suspect using
insanity defense. Retrieved on October 20,2011 from www.star-telegram
.com/2011/09/13/3365552/south-texas-rape-suspect-using.html
Long, S. (2011, September 20). Harris told girlfriend he put on a
‘show' in court. Victoria Advocate
Long, S. (2011, September 21). Twilight rapist case settled in 10
minutes: Guilty. Retrieved on October 20 from m.victoriaadvocate.com/
news/2011/sep/21/sl_twilight_rapist_day6_092211_152795/
Franklin, K. (2011, October 13). Multiple personality excluded in
twilight rapist insanity case. Retrieved on October 20, 2011 from
http://www.psychologytoday.com/print/76907
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Diane Lackey Brooks Makes Video Available |
| |
| In the 2011 FMSF Summer Newletter, the article about Diane |
| Lackey's lawsuit included a remarkable excerpt from a therapy |
| session. Diane has made the four-minute video from that session |
| available https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid= |
| 3dada092a844d022&resid=3DADA092A844D022!395 |
| |
| In addition the complaints in that case are now available on the |
| FMSF Website in the Legal Section (Retractors) |
| Lackey v. Baker -- Complaint |
| Lackey v. DePaoli -- Complaint |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
F R O M O U R R E A D E R S
___________________________
Update from the Netherlands
Sometimes I Wonder if the Dutch FMS Group disbanded too soon.
In these last few weeks I have spoken with two lawyers who specialize
in sexual-abuse allegations. One of them was especially critical of
the atmosphere here. She pointed out several disturbing decisions, one
of which I call the Dutch Paul Ingram case.
Even though the accused was finally acquitted by the judge, he was
given the same treatment by the police that Paul Ingram also had to
endure in many months of of interrogations. The Dutch detectives
convinced this man that he had repressed abusing his own children.
Then using guided imagery they started helping him to recover the
memories; they "helped" him to "break down the wall behind which he
had "hidden" those memories. He ended up confessing to everything.
Only in a very late stage did the prosecutor call in LEBZ (the Dutch
expert group on complex sexual-abuse allegations) which proceeded to
tear apart the interrogation procedure used by the police. For me this
is an infuriating case; I simply do not understand that these
detectives have not been prosecuted and locked up for
willfully provoking a false statements.
____________________
A Day of Remembering
The horror of the attack
The pain and anguish
The helplessness in loss
The abandonment and rejection
Crying out for justice and mercy
Two towers fell:
Your mother,
My daughter.
>From the ashes, a mother's love
and forgiveness.
You are forever missed, always loved and never forgotten.
Mom
_________________
Unimaginable Loss
Never seeing my family again is my greatest fear. Losing a child is a
parents' greatest fear: but losing all eight members of your family in
a matter of months—unimaginable. This is my story.
The nightmare began Friday, February 19th 2007 with a phone call that
changed our lives. It was not the phone call in the middle of the
night that any parent with a teenager dreads; but it was a phone call
in midday that signaled the beginning of the end of a loving
relationship between a closely knit family—father, mother, daughters
and grandchildren. At the time, I was unaware to the full extent of
the tragedy that was about to unfold.
It has been five long years since I have seen my children and
grandchildren, and I have learned that the saying, "Time heals all
things," is not necessarily true as was recently confirmed by the
heartbreaking interviews of those who lost loved ones during
9/11. When asked about their feelings regarding the discovery and
killing of Osama bin Laden, relatives recounted their daily
remembrances of loved ones reaffirming that even victory over evil
could not erase their pain of loss.
I remember losing my mother to cancer when I was twenty-three and
thinking how unfair, and then the grief of losing my father to the
ravages of Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's the memory thief. And now, the
terror of recreated memories has torn our family apart. Stripped our
children and grandchildren away like thieves in the night. Not
disease, not violence—no way. No, something more insidious—the
unscientific practices and techniques of some therapists playing with
the malleability of memory. Is there no justice? Is there no
accountability? "The great enemy of the truth is very often not the
lie—deliberate, contrived and dishonest—but the myth—persistent,
persuasive, and unrealistic." John F. Kennedy
A devastated Mom and Grandmother.
____________________________
Too Poor to Confront Remorse
I want to share an email I sent to my daughter on 9/11 with Newsletter
readers. I sent it to her after attending church where the sermon was
on forgiveness. One of the concepts presented was:
"Too poor to pay"
Debt forgiven.
My daughter is a returner, not a recanter. I am not able to totally
accept her without remorse on her part but after 10 years have decided
to forgive her as I understand that she is "too poor" in her
psychological state to confront what she has done.
A Mom
_____________________
Kick the Elephant Out
Our family was devastated in 1994 when our second daughter came and
told us we were allowed no communication. Not too long after her
bombshell, church leaders who employed her husband as a pastor removed
him from his church and pastorate. My daughter and her husband then
moved to another state.
My husband died in 1999 when he was seventy-six. I am now eighty-five
and live in an assisted living program.
In 2010, after 16 years, my daughter sent me a letter telling about
her family and their life. She wrote that she wished she could see
me. That was what I call a "God-Wink" because I called her immediately
She arrived a half hour early at the restaurant where we met and had a
breakfast that lasted four hours. We laughed, cried and reminisced.
In fact, we met one more time before I left her state. The second
meeting included my two now-grown grandchildren.
Since that visit, my daughter and I have kept in telephone
communication. On my first call I said: "Let's just kick the elephant
out of the living room and get on with our lives." We've let it go at
that and I feel good about it.
But I can't imagine what I would have done without FMSF. Thank you.
A very happy mother
**********************************************************************
* N O T I C E S *
**********************************************************************
* *
* 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 *
* *
**********************************************************************
* S O M E B O O K S O F I N T E R E S T *
* *
* THE TRAUMA MYTH: *
* The Truth About the Sexual Abuse of Children and its Aftermath *
* Susan A. Clancy *
* *
* 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 *
* *
* REMEMBERING OUR CHILDHOOD: HOW MEMORY BETRAYS US *
* Karl Sabbagh *
* Oxford University Press (2009) *
* *
* MAKING MIND and MADNESS *
* From Hysteria to Depression *
* Chapter 3: "A Black Box Named Sybil" *
* Mikkel Borch-Jacobsen *
* Cambridge University Press *
* 2009 *
* *
* TRY TO REMEMBER: PSYCHIATRY'S CLASH *
* OVER MEANING, MEMORY, AND MIND *
* Paul McHugh, M.D. *
* Washington, DC: Dana Press *
* *
* SYBIL EXPOSED *
* Debbie Nathan *
* Free Press, New York *
* 2011 *
**********************************************************************
* *
* WEB SITES of INTEREST *
* *
* http:/www.seweb.uci.edu/faculty/loftus/ *
* Elizabeth Loftus *
* *
* http://www.theisticsatanism.com/asp/ *
* Against Satanic Panics *
* *
* http://comp.uark.edu/~lampinen/lab.html *
* The Lampinen Lab False Memory Reading Group *
* University of Arkansas *
* *
* http:/www.exploratorium.edu/memory *
* The Exploratorium Memory Exhibit *
* *
* http://theretractor.angelfire.com/ *
* Site for retractors run by Laura Pasley *
* *
* http://www.process.org/ *
* Site of Investigative Journalist *
* *
* http://www.psyfmfrance.fr *
* French False Memory Group *
* *
* http:/www.psychoheresy-aware.org/ministry.html *
* The Bobgans question Christian counseling *
* *
* http:/www.IllinoisFMS.org *
* Illinois-Wisconsin FMS Society *
* *
* www.afma.asn.au *
* Australian FMA *
* *
* http:/www.ltech.net/OHIOarmhp *
* Ohio Group *
* *
* recoveredmemorytherapy.blogspot.com *
* Matt Stone's updates on Australia FMS *
* *
* http:/www.bfms.org.uk *
* British False Memory Society *
* *
* http:/www.religioustolerance.org/sra.htm *
* Information about Satanic Ritual Abuse *
* *
* http:/www.angryparents.net *
* Parents Against Cruel Therapy *
* *
* http:/www.peterellis.org.nz *
* Site run by Brian Robinson *
* contains information about *
* Christchurch Creche and other cases. *
* *
* http:/www.falseallegation.org *
* National Child Abuse *
* Defense & Resource Center *
* *
* http:/www.markpendergrast.com *
* Excerpts from Victims of Memory *
* *
* http:/www.rickross.com/groups/fsm.html *
* Ross Institute *
* *
* http:/www.enigma.se/info/FFI.htm *
* FMS in Scandinavia -- Janet Hagbom *
* *
* http:/www.ncrj.org/ *
* National Center for Reason & Justice *
* *
q* http:/www.traumaversterking.nl *
* English language web site of Dutch retractor *
* *
* http:/www.quackwatch.org *
* This site is run by Stephen Barrett, M.D. *
* *
* http:/www.stopbadtherapy.com *
* Contains information about filing complaints. *
**********************************************************************
_____________________________________
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
San Francisco & South Bay
Eric 408-738-0469
East Bay Area
Judy 925-952-4853
Covina Area
Floyd & Libby 626-357-2750
COLORADO
Colorado Springs
Doris 719-488-9738
FLORIDA
Central Florida - Please call for mtg. time
John & Nancy 352-750-5446
GEORGIA
Atlanta
Wallie & Jill 770-971-8917
ILLINOIS
Chicago & Suburbs - 1st Sun. (MO)
Eileen 847-985-7693 or Liz 847-827-1056
INDIANA
Indiana Assn. for Responsible Mental Health Practices
Pat 317-865-8913 & Helen 574-753-2779
KANSAS
Wichita -- Meeting as called
Pat 785-762-2825
LOUISIANA
Sarah 337-235-7656
MAINE
Portland -- 4th Sun. (MO)
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
MINNESOTA
Terry & Collette 507-642-3630
Dan & Joan 651-631-2247
MISSOURI
Springfield -- Biannual (4th Sat. of Apr. & Oct.) @12:30pm
Tom 417-300-3148 & Roxie 417-781-3929
MONTANA
Lee & Avone 406-443-3189
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Jean 603-772-2269 & Mark 802-872-0847
NEW JERSEY
Sally 609-927-4147 (Southern)
NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque -- 2nd Sat. (BI-MO) @1 pm
Southwest Room -Presbyterian Hospital
Maggie 505-662-7521(after 6:30pm) or Sy 505-758-0726
NEW YORK
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
Wayne (includes S. NJ)
Jim & Jo 610-783-0396
TEXAS
Houston
Jo or Beverly 713-464-8970
UTAH
Keith 801-467-0669
WASHINGTON
See Oregon
WISCONSIN
Katie & Leo 414-476-0285 or
Susanne & John 608-427-3686
_____________
INTERNATIONAL
BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
Vancouver & Mainland
Lloyd 250-741-8941
Victoria & Vancouver Island
John 250-721-3219
MANITOBA CANADA
Roma 204-275-5723
ONTARIO, CANADA
London
Adriaan 519-471-6338
OTTAWA
Eileen 613-836-3294
Burlington
Ken & Marina 905-637-6030
Waubaushene
Paula 705-543-0318
QUEBEC
Claudine: Claudisyl@hotmail.com
514-620-6397 French and English
AUSTRALIA
false.memory@bigpond.com
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
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
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| pjf@cis.upenn.edu |
| if you wish to receive electronic bulletins of radio and tele- |
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+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
**********************************************************************
The False Memory Syndrome Foundation is a qualified 501(c)3 corpora-
tion with its principal offices in Philadelphia and governed by its
Board of Directors. While it encourages participation by its members
in its activities, it must be understood that the Foundation has no
affiliates and that no other organization or person is authorized to
speak for the Foundation without the prior written approval of the Ex-
ecutive Director. All membership dues and contributions to the Founda-
tion must be forwarded to the Foundation for its disposition.
**********************************************************************
This is the final FMSF Newsletter.
In 2012, the FMSF will send shorter and more frequent electronic news
bulletins. These will be collected and mailed four times during the
year to those without Internet access.
**********************************************************************
PAMELA FREYD, Ph.D., Executive Director
FMSF Scientific and Professional Advisory Board, November 15, 2011
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;
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;
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;
JOHN HOCHMAN, M.D., UCLA Medical School, Los Angeles, CA;
DAVID S. HOLMES, Ph.D., University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS;
ROBERT A. KARLIN, Ph.D. , Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ;
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;
LOREN PANKRATZ, Ph.D., Oregon Health Sciences Univ., Portland, OR;
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;
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;
RALPH SLOVENKO, J.D., Ph.D., Wayne State University Law School,
Detroit, MI;
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
Advisors to whom we are grateful who are now deceased:
ROBYN M. DAWES, Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA;
MARTIN GARDNER, Author, Hendersonville, NC;
DAVID A. HALPERIN, M.D., Mount Sinai School of Medicine,
New York, NY;
ERNEST HILGARD, Ph.D., Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA;
PHILIP S. HOLZMAN, Ph.D., Harvard University, Cambridge;
HAROLD LIEF, M.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA;
MARTIN ORNE, M.D., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, PA;
CAMPBELL PERRY, Ph.D., Concordia University, Montreal, Canada;
THEODORE SARBIN, Ph.D., University of California, Santa Cruz, CA;
THOMAS A. SEBEOK, Ph.D., Indiana University, Bloomington, IN;
MARGARET SINGER, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, CA;
DONALD SPENCE, Ph.D., Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center,
Piscataway, NJ.
**********************************************************************
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**********************************************************************