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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)
WINTER 2011 Vol. 20 No. 1
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ISSN #1069-0484. Copyright (c) 2011 by the FMS Foundation
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The FMSF Newsletter will be published 4 times in 2011 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 April 2011
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Dear Friends,
They said it couldn't be done -- a third-party lawsuit against
therapists.[1] But Karen and Charles Johnson proved the naysayers
wrong. At 12:30 a.m. on January 23, 2011 in Madison, Wisconsin, a jury
of two men and ten women returned a verdict that Kay Phillips, Ph.D.,
and Jeffrey Hollowell, MD, had been negligent in their treatment of
the Johnsons' daughter Charlotte. Under their care, Charlotte had
developed the beliefs that she had been forced to participate in
satanic rituals and that her parents had tried to murder her. After 15
years traveling through the legal system, the Johnsons were finally
able to tell their side of the story. When they did tell their story,
a jury awarded them $1 million. (See below.)
The Johnson case is every FMSF member's case. It is what every family
falsely accused on the sole basis of "repressed-memories" recovered in
some therapeutic situation believed would happen if they were able to
get someone to listen to their story. But most professionals did not
want to listen. They hid behind a wall of patient confidentiality.
Indeed, therapist Kay Phillips in her testimony summed up the
overwhelming professional reaction to the families' concerns. She
reputedly said to her colleagues: "Circle the wagons!"
According to observers, the trial was riveting and emotional. There
were FMSF families in court to support the Johnsons every day of the
trial, and there were more than 20 present for the closing arguments.
Attorney William Smoler, who represented the Johnsons, kept a clear
focus throughout. He established the standards of care for the
treatment of patients, and then, using the doctors' therapy notes,
demonstrated where and how they failed to meet those standards:
*Duty to do no harm.
*Duty to stay current with professional literature.
*Duty to change treatment plan if treatment is not working.
*Duty to consider whether the memories are plausible.
*Duty to talk about the historical facts of an event if they are not
plausible.
Smoler argued that at times the standard of care requires informing a
patient that something May not not historically accurate and that it
is within the standard of care to raise the issue of the accuracy of
memories. He pointed out how the doctors involved seemed to have lost
all common sense in the face of Charlotte's increasingly bizarre
"memories."
The Johnson case has been in the courts for 15 years, such were the
legal obstacles that had to be overcome. In order to argue that their
daughter's treatment did not meet the standards of care, the Johnsons
needed proof of that treatment in the form of therapy records. Therapy
records, however, are considered privileged. Charlotte Johnson would
not permit her records to be made public. The story of how those
records were obtained has been told in the newsletter in bits and
pieces over the past 15 years, but at such long intervals that it was
hard to remember. Finally the whole story can be put together. (See
below.) Just as suspenseful as a mystery story, the Johnson's case
involved two trips to the Wisconsin Supreme Court and a seemingly
infinite number of motions, each of which involved waiting for a
decision.
The case raises some really important issues about confidentiality of
therapy records, and it is well worth reading the Wisconsin Supreme
Court thinking on that matter. These are online. (See p. 9) We doubt
any FMSF member would want to engage in therapy with a professional
thinking that what was said could become a matter of public record. On
the other hand, being accused of the most heinous crime against a
loved child and being unable to defend oneself is equally disquieting.
As one mother whose daughter eventually retracted commented:
"Let us hope therapists' records can be opened so the falsely
accused has a fighting chance. I could never get the records from
the California State Association of Family and Child Therapy Social
Workers, nor the California State Psychology Association nor
licensing groups -- all confidential. If a physician took out my
child's liver by mistake, I think I could get the records. In our
case, they confiscated our hearts and reputations."
The issue of the confidentiality of patient records is very important
and the story is not over. There have been some professionals who
complain that the FMSF has -- with this case -- caused a terrible
problem. Really, it would be more appropriate if they looked to their
own profession and addressed the problem of oversight and the
acceptance of unscientific treatments. If therapy results in public
criminal accusations against a third party, then it seems reasonable
that the accused person has a right to defend herself.
This newsletter issue has other examples of families fighting back
against false accusations. On page 12, there is a story about an
Oregon man whose family fell into the clutches of a "Christian
therapist" with the bizarre belief that just about everyone has been
sodomized. The accused man has initiated a lawsuit. On page 4 is a
story about a book written by Jim Fairlie and his daughter. The book
is about their efforts to hold therapists accountable in the United
Kingdon. Fairlie, a former government leader under Gordon Wilson from
1981 to 1985, sued the National Health Service and social services who
had treated his daughter. Fairlie brought his action in 1998, spending
tens of thousands of dollars. He believed that the lawsuit was "the
only way to make these people take responsibility."
Lest anyone think that the problem of the excavation of memories in
therapy is a practice of the past, on page 4 there is an excerpt from
the University of Illinois-Urbana Counseling Center website that
includes:
"Whether or not you have specific memories, if you suspect that you were
sexually abused, then you probably were."
Thanks for all your support that enables us to continue the work that
needs to be done.
PAMELA
[1] We are aware of only one other third party case in which daughter
did not give access for therapy records that reached the trial
level.
Sullivan v. Cheshier, United States District Court, Northern
District of Illinois, Eastern Division. Sullivan v. Cheshier, 846
F.Supp. 654 (N.D. Ill. 1994). Summary of Case and Issues: Five-
count complaint filed by third party parents against therapist who
treated their adult daughter and declared to Plaintiffs in a
meeting that their daughter's depression was the result of her
having been the victim of sexual abuse, that all five Sullivan
children had probably been sexually abused, and that each
plaintiff had also probably been sexually abused as a child. Case
filed: 1/6/92.
Disposition: In March 1994, Judge James Zagel granted defendant
therapist summary judgment as to Count II and III (Intentional
Infliction of Emotional Distress and Negligence) and denied Counts
I, IV and V (Malpractice, Loss of Society and Companionship and
Public Nuisance). In July 1995, the district court granted
Plaintiffs request for disclosure of therapy records. On April 2,
1997, the trial judge ruled plaintiffs must prove defendant's
"intentional" and "reckless" acts caused "loss of society." The
judge also restricted Plaintiffs cause of action to the loss of
society count. The jury found for the defendant.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "Of all fields of medicine, psychology seems especially prone to |
| fads. Freudian dream analysis, recovered memory therapy, eye |
| movement desensitization for trauma - lots of once-hot |
| psychological theories and treatments eventually fizzled." |
| |
| Chris Woolston, C. (2011, January 8) |
| Mindfulness therapy is no fad, experts say |
| Los Angeles Times - Health. Retrieved on January 8, 2011 |
| articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/08/health/la-he-mindfulness-20110109 |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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ROBYN M. DAWES OBITUARY
Robyn Dawes, a founding member of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation
Scientific Advisory Board and the Queenan University Professor of
Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University, died on December 14 at the
age of 74.
After attending Harvard, Dawes turned to mathematical psychology for
his doctorate at the University of Michigan. He was a member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the European Academy of
Science, and in 1990 received the William James Award for his book,
Rational Choice in an Uncertain World.
"Robyn was a giant in the field of psychology, constantly pushing the
boundaries and taking a fresh, innovative approach to real problems,"
said John Lehoczky, dean of the College of Humanities and Social
Sciences. "He helped create the area of behavioral decision research--
an intellectual field that merged psychology and economic theory and
that has since given us behavioral economics. His contributions to his
research, Carnegie Mellon and his students are impossible to measure.
His legacy will live on through the Department of Social and Decision
Sciences, which he built."
FMSF Newsletter readers may be familiar with his 1996 book, House of
Cards: Psychology and Psychotherapy Built on Myth in which he
criticized mental health professionals for ignoring empirical research
in favor of techniques that ignore scientific inquiry
Dawes decided to join the FMSF Board, he says, "because I knew
something about memory," an understatement of great proportions.
Citing research in the field and his general knowledge of memory,
Dr. Dawes declares: "I was quite dubious that these constructive
memories of implausible events could be historically accurate."
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Excerpt of comments by Richard McNally on the Diane Rehm Show with |
| Meredith Maran, author of My Lie: A True Story of False Memory, |
| See: thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-09-28/my-lie-meredith-maran |
| |
| INTERVIEWER: Can a traumatic memory be forgotten and then |
| remembered, do you think? |
| |
| McNALLY: Well, truly traumatic events -- truly traumatic events, |
| the sorts of things that are life threatening, overwhelmingly |
| terrifying and so forth are usually involved with the release of |
| stress hormones, which consolidates the memory. Makes it very |
| strong, makes it very vivid as in the case of Post Traumatic |
| Stress Disorder, PTSD. So people who are exposed to genuinely |
| traumatic events, life threatening, overwhelmingly terrifying |
| events tend to remember them all too well." |
| |
| INTERVIEWER: But can a traumatic memory then be created and |
| remembered as true? |
| |
| McNALLY: Well, there certainly were cases in the 1980s when this |
| certainly seemed to have occurred. Perhaps the best example of |
| that were people who began to recover memories of satanic ritual |
| abuse, being involved in all kinds of weird cult rituals, |
| cannibalizing babies and infant sacrifice and things of that |
| sort. When the FBI investigated all of these cult crimes, they |
| never could find any physical evidence of these crimes. And many |
| of these people later retracted these memories. But after they |
| began recalling these memories in certain types of psychotherapy, |
| they would -- they originally had depression and then they |
| developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder apparently on the basis |
| of false memories. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
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BOOK SERIES HONORS
THREE MEMBERS OF THE FMSF SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD
Modern Pioneers in Psychological Science: A Book Series Published by
APS and Psychology Press The Association for Psychological Science and
Psychology Press have released a new book series honoring the careers
and contributions of distinguished psychologists. There are currently
seven books in the series and we were delighted to note that three of
the people honored were members of the FMSF Scientific Advisory
Board: Robyn M. Dawes and Elizabeth F. Loftus who were founding
advisors and Henry L. Roediger, III who joined in 1995. Following are
the descriptions of the books as they appear on the Psychological
Society website: www.psychologicalscience.org/books/index-new.cfm
_____________________________________
Rationality and Social Responsibility:
Essays in Honor of Robyn Mason Dawes
Edited by Joachim I. Krueger
This volume brings together a diverse group of authors who have been
associated with Robyn Dawes over the years. The breadth of topics
covered reflects Dawes's wide-ranging impact on psychological theory
and empirical practice. The two themes of rationality and social
responsibility are well developed in the book. Dawes always urged
investigators to take seriously the question of how individuals can
reconcile self-interest (i.e. rationality) with the collective good
(i.e. social responsibility). The area of judgment and decision-making
poses a similar challenge: Here, rational judgment is the most
responsible judgment because it minimizes errors. To attain
rationality in this domain, individuals need to accept the limitations
of their own intuitions.
______________________________
Do Justice and Let the Sky Fall:
Elizabeth F. Loftus
and Her Contributions to Science, Law, and Academic Freedom
Edited by Maryanne Garry & Harlene Hayne
For more than 30 years, renowned psychological scientist Elizabeth
F. Loftus has contributed groundbreaking research to the fields of
science, law, and academia. This book provides an opportunity for
readers to become better acquainted with one of the most important
psychologists of our time as it celebrates her life and
accomplishments. It is intended to be a working text-one that
challenges, intrigues, and inspires all readers alike. Do Justice and
Let the Sky Fall collects research in theoretical and applied areas of
human memory, provides an overview of the application of memory
research to legal problems, and presents an introduction to the costs
of doing controversial research.
______________________________
The Foundations of Remembering:
Essays in Honor of Henry L. Roediger, III
Edited by James S. Nairne
The Foundations of Remembering presents a collection of essays written
by top memory scholars in honor of Henry L. Roediger III. The chapters
were originally delivered as part of the "Roddyfest" conference at
Purdue University which awarded Roediger an honorary doctor of letters
in recognition of his many contributions to the field of psychology.
Authors were given a simple charge: Choose your own topic, but place
your work in historical context. Roediger is fascinated by the
intellectual lineage of ideas, so addressing historical "foundations"
seemed a fitting tribute. The chapters contained in this volume help
to establish the foundations of remembering, circa the first decade of
the 21st century, as perceived by some of the leading memory
researchers in the world.
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OLD BELIEFS ARE STILL BEING TAUGHT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
BY THE URBANA CHAMPAIGN COUNSELING CENTER
The excerpts that follow were taken on January 1, 2011 from the
website of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Counseling
Center. See:http://www.counselingcenter.illinois.edu/?page_id=170
_________________________________
"Surviving Childhood Sexual Abuse
"How can I know if I was sexually abused?
"If you remember being sexually violated as a child, trust your
memories, even if what you're remembering seems too awful to be
true. Children simply do not make things up. It is common, however,
for individuals who have been abused not to have clear memories. One
way of coping with sexual abuse is to repress or forget that it ever
happened. Even in the absence of conscious memories, certain
experiences can trigger intense feelings of fear, nausea, and despair.
Some of these "triggers" include specific sounds, smells, tastes,
words, and facial expressions.
"Whether or not you have specific memories, if you suspect that you
were sexually abused, then you probably were. Often the first step in
remembering involves having a hunch or a suspicion that some type of
violation occurred. Pay attention to these feelings, for people who
suspect that they were sexually abused generally discover that this
has been the case."
____________________________________________
"What are the effects of child sexual abuse?
"There are many ways that people experience the harm that results from
having been sexually abused. Consider the following questions (Bass
and Davis, 1988):
____________
"Self-Esteem
"Do you often feel that you are not a worthwhile person?
Do you feel bad, dirty, or ashamed of yourself?
Do you have a hard time nurturing yourself?
Do you feel that you have to be perfect?"
__________
"Feelings
"Do you have trouble knowing how you feel?
Have you ever worried about going crazy?
Is it hard for you to differentiate between various feelings?
Do you experience a very narrow range of feelings?
Are you afraid of your feelings? Do they seem out of control?"
__________
"Your Body
"Do you feel present in your body most of the time? Are there times
when you feel as if you've left your body?
Do you have a restricted range of feelings in your body? Do you find
it difficult to be aware of what your body is telling you?
Do you have a hard time loving and accepting your body?
Do you have any physical illnesses that you think might be related to
past?"
______________________
"Need Additional Help?
"The following are excellent sources of information on child sexual
abuse:
The Courage to Heal. Ellen Bass and Laura Davis. New York: Harper and
Row, 1988.
The Courage to Heal Workbook. Laura Davis. New York: Harper and Row,
1990.
Victims No Longer. Mike Lew. New York: Harper and Row, 1990.
Outgrowing the Pain: A Book for and about Adults Abused as
Children. Eliana Gil. San Francisco: Launch, 1983.
Incest and Sexuality: A Guide to Understanding and Healing. Wendy
Maltz and Beverly Holman. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1987."
The Counseling Center
110 Turner Student Services Building
610 East John Street, Champaign, IL 61820
Phone: (217) 333-3704
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TWO NEW BRITISH FMS BOOKS
__________________________________________
Unbreakable Bonds 'they know about you Dad'
Jim Fairlie
(2010) Austin & Macauley Publishers
Jim Fairlie fought back! Unbreakable Bonds is the moving true-life
account of his struggle to clear his name after being accused of
sexually abusing his daughter, of being the leader of a pedophile
ring, and of being a murderer.
In 2004, the FMSF Newsletter had several stories about Fairlie's
case. Fairlie, a former government leader under Gordon Wilson from
1981 to 1985, sued the National Health Service and social services who
had treated his daughter for defamation, negligence and personal
injury. Fairlie brought his action in 1998, spending tens of thousands
of dollars. He believed that the lawsuit was "the only way to make
these people take responsibility."
Unfortunately the case was dismissed because neither the hospital nor
the doctor had a duty of care to Mr. Fairlie. The judge commented:
"It goes without saying that if the psychiatrist made the diagnosis
which it is said he did, and it was one reached carelessly and
without proper investigation, [Fairlie's] concern to seek redress is
wholly understandable."
A year before Fairlie's daughter Katrina confronted her parents in
1995, she had been admitted to the hospital to have her appendix
removed, but the doctors found nothing wrong with her. When her pain
continued, doctors believed that the symptoms were psychosomatic and
admitted her to a psychiatric unit of Perth's Moray Royal Hospital.
She was treated with mind-altering drugs, hypnosis and prolonged
interviews, techniques since condemned by the Royal College of
Psychiatrists.
Katrina deteriorated rapidly. She was encouraged to talk about
nightmares which turned to hallucinations and she finally tried to
commit suicide. Katrina came to believe that her father had raped her
and beaten to death another six-year-old girl. She thought he was
involved in a pedophile ring with 17 other men, including two MPs.
Katrina's accusations split the family and the rift began to heal only
after it became obvious to family members and the police that her
claims never happened. By 1996, Katrina also realized that her
accusations were false and she pursued her own civil action against
the authorities.
Fairlie and Katrina worked together on this engrossing book. In the
introduction they explain their reasons for writing it.
Jim Fairlie's Comments:
"Most of all, it is the story of a belief in a system gone wrong, of
professionals, bureaucrats and their legal back-up teams financed by
public money, all of whom were prepared to deliberately destroy an
entire family rather than admit that a mistake had been made."
"This is a book which should never have been written. It is also a
book which had to be written. It tells the story of a young woman,
my youngest daughter Katrina, driven to the point of suicide and
tormented by false images of murder, of ritual and serial rape, of
being abused by her father and others, from the age of two for a
period spanning over twenty years."
Katrina's Comments:
"I had no intention of taking part in the writing of this book
because I wanted only to forget the most frightening period of my
life. Those who have been subjected to Recovered Memory Therapy will
know that you tend to continue to have the images which were
created, long after the therapy has ceased. I was repeatedly told
that I was so ill that I might never get well enough to function as
a normal person. Had I been prepared to listen and continue to allow
the psychiatrists to keep me in therapy, I am convinced I would not
have survived. During my time under their care in Murray Royal in
Perth, a period of fifteen months, there were 66 incidents when I
self-harmed or attempted suicide. At least four of those attempts
almost succeeded. Since discharging myself from their tender
mercies, there has not been a single instance of either self-harming
or attempted suicide.
"Why then, would I want to revive the memories of the most harrowing
period of my life, by participating in the writing of this book with
my Dad? Why would I want to relive the horror of the nightmares,
nightmares induced by the drugs the psychiatric team prescribed?
There is no simple or straightforward answer to that question.
Perhaps the best answer is to say it is the same reason I would give
to victims of rape for why they should speak out. Silence on the
part of the victims, is the best and most potent weapon those who
are guilty of rape have. Similarly silence is the best protection
practitioners of Recovered Memory Therapy have. When they refuse to
give answers to questions they have to be challenged. They also have
to be stopped.
"I feel an enormous sense of betrayal by the health service, the
legal profession, and the justice system. Perhaps the most appropriate
question that should be asked of me is why would I not speak out?"
_____________________
Miscarriage of Memory:
Historic Abuse Cases-A Dilemma for the Legal System.
Edited by W. Burgoyne, N. Brand, M. Greenhalgh and D. Kelly.
British False Memory Society, 2010
A follow up to the 2007 book Fractured Families, Miscarriage of Memory
tells of the struggles of families caught in the British legal system
after accusations of claims of recovered memories. The thirty-two
chapters were written by families and professionals. There are
sections focusing on third parties, disciplinary hearings,
investigations, and other relevant topics.
This book arrived as the newsletter was going to print. It will be
further described in the next newsletter issue.
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UPDATE ON DR. BENNETT BRAUN
Two Newsletter readers contacted the Foundation recently to tell us
that psychiatrist Bennett G. Braun, MD, is currently practicing in
Butte, Montana. The information that they felt was newsworthy was the
fact that a search of his professional status showed "No malpractice"
and "No sanctions" on the HealthGrades site. The InsiderPages website
listed Braun with a "clean record."
Most readers probably recall that in 1998 Dr. Braun agreed to give up
his Illinois medical license for two years in response to the Illinois
Department of Regulation complaint against him. (See complaint at:
http://www.fmsfonline.org/braun.complaint.html) His membership in the
Illinois and the American Psychiatric Associations ended.
Braun, one of the founders of the International Society for the Study
of Multiple Personality and Dissociation, was a leader in the
recovered-memory/MPD movement. Many doctors and therapists learned
about MPD and recovered memories at conferences organized by
Braun. Ultimately, he was sued by a number of former patients.
In Gale v Braun (2004, $7.5 million settlement) a woman with mild
depression was brainwashed into believing she was MPD, a member of a
cult, and required sterilization in order not to bear any more babies
to be sacrificed for the cult.
In Burgess v Braun (1997, $10.6 million settlement) a patient
originally sought treatment for postpartum depression but was
diagnosed MPD as a result of supposed sexual and ritual abuse
including cannibalism and torture. Even her preschool children were
hospitalized,diagnosed MPD, and treated for satanic ritual abuse
(SRA).
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L E G A L C O R N E R
FMSF Staff
__________________________________________________
Johnsons Awarded $1 Million in Epic Wisconsin Case
Johnson v Rogers Memorial Hospital
No 1996CV001228, Dane County Court, Madison Wisconsin
January 23, 2011
After a two-week trial, a Madison, Wisconsin jury of two women and ten
men returned its verdict after ten hours of deliberation at 12:30 a.m.
Sunday morning January 23, 2011 in the epic recovered-memory case
Johnson v Rogers Memorial Hospital, Kay Phillips, Jeffrey Hollowell
and Timothy Reisenauer. The jury found two of the doctors negligent
and awarded Karen and Charles Johnson $1 million.
This case has been in the courts for 15 years because of the
difficulties in mounting a 3rd party action. It is an especially
significant case because the Johnson daughter apparently still
believes her memories of abuse and satanic rituals and she denied the
plaintiffs access to her therapy records. At every setback, the
Johnsons and their Madison, Wisconsin attorney William Smoler
appealed. The case went to the Wisconsin Supreme Court twice on issues
dealing with access to therapy records.
To our knowledge, this is the second recovered-memory case to progress
through the courts in which the patient denied access to her records.[1]
The story of how the therapy records became available and what those
records demonstrated in court is quite possibly the biggest step to
date in the battle of parents who have lost their children because of
accusations of past sexual abuse based on false memories (beliefs)
that developed in therapy. The result of this case is a symbolic win
for all families who believe that their children were harmed in
therapy that focused on excavating memories and led to beliefs that
they had been sexually abused by their parents.
This case opens the door to new causes for action. The first section
that follows describes the Johnson trial in January 2011. The second
section reviews previously published news about how the Johnsons
obtained access to therapy records so that the trial could proceed.
_________
The Trial
The trial began on Tuesday January 11 in the courtroom of Judge Daniel
Moeser.[2] Rogers Memorial Hospital had settled with the Johnsons a
few weeks before the trial so the case was against the three doctors
who treated the Charlotte Johnson. The experts for the Johnsons were
Hollida Wakefield and Gregory Van Rybroek, Ph.D. The experts for the
defense were Laura Brown, Ph.D., James Chu, MD, Peter Clagnaz, MD,
Richard Kluft, MD, and William Smith. Ph.D. The Johnson's had one
attorney and they paid their own legal expenses. The defendants had
three attorneys and most expenses were apparently covered by
insurance.
After the jury was selected, Charles Johnson took the stand. Johnson
is a former Madison physician and faculty member of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. He also served as chief of medical staff at a
St. Louis hospital. Johnson described how he had tried unsuccessfully
to reach the doctors who were treating his daughter Charlotte because
he was so concerned about her deteriorating condition. Charlotte, who
had been an honor student and Missouri State Champion swimmer and
Olympic hopeful, had done her college fieldwork in Kenya. It was when
she was in graduate school at the University of Wisconsin that her
problems began. Charlotte contacted a Rape Crisis Center in Madison
and received five months of therapy for family issues. After she began
to have some unusual feelings, she sought counseling with Kay
Phillips. Charlotte was hospitalized within two weeks of seeing
Phillips and soon claimed to have recovered memories of childhood
abuse. Charles attended a therapy meeting with Drs. Hollowell and
Reisenauer in 1991 to try to find out how his daughter was doing and
he also agreed to pay her hospital costs. Charlotte cut off contact
with her parents and Charles showed a letter that her lawyer sent to
them stating that she would sue her parents unless they agreed to pay
one million dollars.
Two of the Johnson's daughters, one of whom is a psychiatrist,
testified in support of their parents. Then Sue Karn, a neighbor and
best friend of Karen Johnson, testified that she had known the Johnson
children from a very young age. The Johnson children had been best
friends with Karn's children and she had never seen any signs of abuse
with any of the children. Sue Karn had accompanied Karen Johnson in
1993 when she drove from her home in St. Louis to what turned out to
be a confrontation with Charlotte in the office of Dr. Jeffrey
Hollowell. Karen had gone to the therapy session in the expectation
that there would be reconciliation with her daughter. The friend
testified that she was not allowed to accompany Johnson and had had to
wait in the lobby while Johnson had the meeting. Mrs. Karn said that
when Johnson came out she was so upset that she could not drive. The
friend testified that she drove home while Mrs. Johnson wrote notes
about what had happened in the meeting, including the fact that
Hollowell had berated her saying that she was an angry terrifying
woman.
When Karen Johnson took the stand, further details of the
confrontation and accusations after therapy were given. Charlotte came
to believe that her parents had tried to kill her by stabbing and
drowning. These accusations contrasted to the pictures of a healthy
smiling Charlotte as she was growing up and to a 1989 Mother's Day
card expressing love and affection that she had given to her mother.
On Thursday expert Hollida Wakefield testified to the many errors
present in the book The Courage to Heal by Ellen Bass and Laura
Davis. Attorney Smoler then produced a chart that listed the
"standards of care" to which treating doctors are supposed to
adhere. Wakefield showed how the advice in The Courage to Heal failed
to meet the "standards of care" and how the treating doctors who
appeared to follow the advice in that book also failed to meet the
"standards of care."
The standards of care to which Smoler referred throughout the trial
were:
Duty to do no harm.
Duty to stay current with professional literature.
Duty to change treatment plan if treatment is not working.
Duty to consider whether the memories are plausible.
Duty to talk about the historical facts of an event if they are not
plausible.
At times the standard of care requires informing a patient that
something is not historically accurate. It is within the standard of
care to raise the issue of the accuracy of memories.
On Friday, Gregory Van Rybroek, Ph.D., Director of the Mendota Mental
Health Institute of Madison, Wisconsin was the next expert to testify.
William Smoler continued a clear focus on the standards of care and
Van Rybroek testified to each standard and how the doctors failed to
meet those standards in their treatment of Charlotte Johnson.
The defense began its case on Tuesday January 23. In the following
days the three doctors on trial and the five experts for the defense
testified. None of the doctors who treated Charlotte seemed to have
heard of the work of Elizabeth Loftus from 1988 or the Lanning report
about SRA from 1989. Kay Phillips was a professional counselor in 1992
when she treated Charlotte. When asked if she believed everything
Charlotte had told her, she replied, "I don't really know." She gave
the same response when asked if she believed in Satanic Ritual Abuse.
Phillips had Charlotte admitted to Rogers Memorial Hospital two weeks
after her first session. Smoler compared Phillips' therapy notes to
the "standards of care," and the jury was able to see where her
treatment failed to meet those standards.
Dr. Hollowell treated Charlotte at Rogers Memorial Hospital and
testified about his great concern for her. He noted that the Johnsons
would not even help their then 24-year-old daughter who by that time
had no money. Smoler was able to show that because Charlotte had taken
out a restraining order against her parents, the judge would not allow
the Johnsons to have any contact with their daughter, even to give her
money. Dr. Hollowell presented his interpretation of what happened at
the confrontation. He also testified that he saw Charlotte for
individual therapy after her release from the hospital. He could not
produce notes from the individual therapy stating that he had left his
therapy records at Rogers Memorial when he left that institution.
Rogers Memorial did not seem to have his notes about Charlotte.
Dr. Reisenauer was a "floater" at Rogers Memorial Hospital who
substituted for Hollowell when he was unavailable during the time
Charlotte was hospitalized. After the hospitalization, Charlotte
continued with individual therapy from one or the other doctor --
Hollowell or Reisenauer. Reisenauer testified that he shredded his
notes from the individual therapy after one years because he thought
that he only needed to keep them that long. In fact, Wisconsin law
requires notes to be kept for seven years. William Smoler continued a
clear focus on the standards of care and Van Rybroek testified to each
standard and how the doctors failed to meet those standards in their
treatment of Charlotte Johnson.
Neither Dr. Hollowell not Dr. Reisenauer could produce therapy notes
for Charlotte for the period after the hospitalization.
Expert Laura Brown tried to argue that the standards of care were
different in the early 1990s from with the standards shown by Smoler.
Smoler showed that in a 1988 case Brown had presented the same
standards that Smoler had just presented.
Richard Kluft testified that he had spent 75 hours preparing for the
trial and that he charged $350 an hour. As with all the defense
experts, he said he saw nothing wrong with the treatment that had been
provided to Charlotte. Smoler showed Kluft an article that Kluft had
published in the late 1980s rasing the same concerns that Smoler was
raising. Exactly the same thing happened with Dr. James Chu.
Expert Richard Kluft argued that the failure of the doctors to contact
Charlotte's family was because she did not give permission. Yet the
records showed that Charlotte had actually given permission to share
her progress. In fact, because the Johnsons had paid for some of
Charlotte's therapy, they had already received some records from the
hospital. Peter Clagnaz, a psychiatrist in Madison, perhaps helped the
Johnson case when he testified as to the proper procedures to follow
when a patient is suicidal. It became clear that treating therapist
Kay Phillips did not do those things.
All of the defense experts testified that the treating doctors met the
standards of care.
Summary arguments were held on Saturday, January 22 and the case went
to the jury in the late afternoon. The jury rendered its verdict at
approximately 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning. Drs. Phillips and Hollowell
were found negligent. Dr. Reisenauer was not found guilty, perhaps in
part because there were no notes of his treatment of Charlotte. The
jury awarded five hundred thousand dollars each to Charles and Karen
Johnson and decided that Phillips was 30 percent responsible and
Hollowell was 70 percent responsible for the harm.
[1] Sullivan v. Cheshier, United States District Court, Northern
District of Illinois, Eastern Division. Sullivan v. Cheshier, 846
F.Supp. 654 (N.D. Ill. 1994). Summary of Case and Issues: Five-
count complaint filed by third party parents against therapist who
treated their adult daughter and declared to Plaintiffs in a
meeting that their daughter's depression was the result of her
having been the victim of sexual abuse, that all five Sullivan
children had probably been sexually abused, and that each
plaintiff had also probably been sexually abused as a child. Case
filed: 1/6/92.
Disposition: In March 1994, Judge James Zagel granted defendant
therapist summary judgment as to Count II and III (Intentional
Infliction of Emotional Distress and Negligence) and denied Counts
I, IV and V (Malpractice, Loss of Society and Companionship and
Public Nuisance). In July 1995, the district court granted
Plaintiffs request for disclosure of therapy records. On April 2,
1997, the trial judge ruled plaintiffs must prove defendant's
"intentional" and "reckless" acts caused "loss of society." The
judge also restricted Plaintiffs cause of action to the loss of
society count. The jury found for the defendant.
[2] The information about the Johnson v Rogers Memorial Hospital trial
was obtained from conversations with people who observed the trial
and from talks with attorney William Smoler.
__________________________________
How the Johnson Case Reached Trial
It took 15 years for the Johnson case to get to trial, primarily
because of the problem of access to the therapy records. In the
process the case went to the Wisconsin Supreme Court twice. The court
deliberated very carefully on this issue and its thinking is of much
interest. This report is just a summary. We encourage readers to
follow up and read the Court's decisions, which are posted on the web.
The Johnsons first filed their case on May 29, 1996, alleging the
following facts: Beginning in the late summer or fall of 1991,
Charlotte began psychotherapy treatment with defendant Kay Phillips
(Phillips) and defendant Heartland Counseling Services. Shortly
thereafter, Phillips referred Charlotte to defendant Rogers Memorial
Hospital (RMH) for treatment in specialty programs that focused on
eating disorders and depression. Charlotte was admitted to RMH as an
inpatient in early November 1991. The Johnsons entered into a
financial agreement with RMH in which they agreed to pay for this
inpatient care.
At RMH, Charlotte received treatment from defendants Jeff Hollowell
and Tim Reisenauer. During this treatment, Charlotte developed the
belief that her parents had sexually and physically abused her as a
young child. Charlotte remained as an inpatient at RMH until November
29, 1991, but continued to receive treatment from Hollowell and
Reisenauer after that time as an outpatient. She confronted her father
about this abuse on November 22, 1991 and confronted her mother on
October 28, 1993. Both confrontations occurred during meetings with
Hollowell present. The Johnsons denied that such abuse occurred.
Nevertheless, Charlotte terminated her relationship with her parents.
The Johnsons were unsuccessful in reestablishing any relationship with
her. Charlotte continues to believe that her parents abused her.
In their complaint, the Johnsons alleged negligence against Phillips,
Hollowell, and Reisenauer (therapists) for their treatment of
Charlotte. They claimed that the treatment provided by the therapists
resulted in Charlotte's false beliefs that she had been abused and
that their continued treatment of Charlotte reinforced these false
beliefs. The Johnsons also contended that the therapists failed or
refused to counsel Charlotte to determine the validity of these
memories despite being informed by the Johnsons that these beliefs
were false. They sought damages for past and future mental and
emotional pain and suffering.
The Dane County Circuit Court, the Honorable Daniel R. Moeser,
dismissed the complaint, concluding that the claims against the
therapists failed to state claims upon which relief could be granted
(they did not have therapy notes) and that the claims against RMH
required dismissal because the Johnsons did not have standing to sue
RMH. The court also noted that the Johnsons' claims against RMH were
barred by the statute of limitations.
Smoler appealed to the Wisconsin District Court of Appeals. That court
agreed with the trial court.
In a 2-1 decision, the Wisconsin 4th District Court of Appeals
decided that Charles and Karen Johnson may not sue the psychologist
of their estranged daughter because the daughter will not waive her
right to keep her records confidential. The court stated that the
daughter's rights to keep her records confidential outweigh her
parents' interest in being compensated for their claimed injuries.
In a dissent, Judge Charles Dykman noted that "it is a dangerous
practice for judges to guess what a plaintiff may or may not be able
to prove at trial, and to dismiss cases that they predict cannot be
proven." Dist 4, July 13, 2000 (2000 Wisc.) App. LEXIS 642)
Smoler appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court noting that he was "not
worried about being able to prove even without medical records that
these were false memories that came out during medical therapy." The
Court had recently made an important decision about therapy records in
another case (Sawyer) and so accepted the Johnson case. It issued a
decision in June 2001.
"In sum, in view of the current state of the record, we conclude
that the Johnsons have presented claims upon which relief may be
granted. The record is insufficient for us to determine whether
public policy considerations bar the Johnsons' claims. Further, the
factual record is insufficient for us to determine whether the
statute of limitations bars the Johnsons' claim against RMH. As a
result, we reverse the court of appeals' decision, which upheld the
circuit court's dismissal of the complaint." REVIEW OF A DECISION OF
THE COURT OF APPEALS, 2000 WI App 166, Reported at: 238 Wis. 2d 227,
616 N.W.2d 903. Opinion filed June 19, 2001.
After the Wisconsin Supreme Court allowed the Johnson case to
continue, Smoler filed a request to obtain Charlotte's therapy
records. This request also worked its way to the Wisconsin Supreme
Court. In July 2005, the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a split decision
ruled that a judge could decide if the Charlotte Johnson's therapy
records should be made available to the parents over her and her
therapist's objections.
The 2005 ruling stated that if the Johnsons could explain to the
judge why the victim's records might show a reasonable likelihood of
establishing that the memories were the result of bad therapy, then
the judge could view the therapy records. If the judge is persuaded
by the Johnsons' arguments, he could then review the records in
camera and provide to the plaintiffs those sections that he deems to
contain relevant information. The parents might get many records or
none depending on the evaluation of the judge. The decision noted the
following as grounds for its decision.
The grounds for waiver may be summarized as follows:
1. Charlotte disclosed that she was in therapy.
2. Charlotte had told a friend that she had been subjected to
hypnosis.
3. Charlotte had filed a restraining order against her parents.
4. Charlotte had threatened to file a civil lawsuit against her
parents, and as part of that threat, her attorney referenced
repressed memories.
5. The Johnsons had paid for some of Charlotte's therapy and had
already received some records because of that.
Attorney Smoler comments on the decision. "What's most important here
is that the court recognized that it was creating a new, common law
exception to privilege," said Smoler, who noted that the decision is
narrowly drawn to extend only to a particular type of case. "The key
legal issue is: When does the public policy give rights to a person
wrongfully accused of sexual abuse? This ruling recognizes how
horrible those kinds of accusations are. And it says [to therapists]:
You can't inflict that kind of harm and get away with it."
The Johnsons satisfied the judge that there was reasonable evidence of
negligence. They argued that their investigations showed that the
therapists had not properly explained to their daughter the
possibility of developing false memories. They argued that without
records they could not determine whether such a discussion took
place. They also argued that their daughter had been treated with
hypnosis or something similar, based on the testimony of one of their
daughter's friends to whom she had told this fact. Only the records
could confirm this. Finally, the Johnsons argued that the therapists
failed to gather information from collateral sources (such as her
siblings, parents, or friends) to ensure the accuracy of her memories
and thus the appropriateness of their treatment.
Judge Moeser evaluated the arguments of the plaintiffs and the
defendants and decided that the Johnsons had made a convincing case
that the judge should evaluate the therapy records. The next step in
the legal journey was on June 14, 2006, when Judge Daniel R. Moeser
ordered that Rogers Memorial Hospital, psychotherapist Kay Phillips,
and doctors Jeff Hollowell and Tim Reisenauer give him the therapy
records of the daughter of Charles and Karen Johnson. Johnson v Rogers
Memorial Hospital. (Case No. 96-CV-1228 Wisconsin Circuit Court,
Memorandum decision and order, June 14, 2006.)
Judge Moeser then reviewed those records privately (in camera) to
determine if any of those records could be released to the Johnsons.
He determined that they could. The Johnsons received records, which
were the foundation of the current case.
It took another four years of legal skirmishes, but finally the stage
was set for the Johnson v. Rogers Memorial Hospital trial
See: Wisconsin Supreme Court
2001 opinion
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/wi-supreme-court/1372673.html
2005 opinion:
http://www.wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/DisplayDocument.html
?contentDhtml&seqNoD18948
________________________________
Impressions of the Johnson Trial
From the Perspective of an FMSF Parent
I was able to attend seven days of the Johnson trial. I heard Chuck
Johnson and his two daughters, and I was totally riveted when Karen
Johnson spoke about the horrors of her confrontation with Charlotte.
It was a completely different experience when I listened to the
treating therapists. I felt that there were many lies and half-truths
cloaked in the pretense of "good care." To me, some of the defense
experts seemed smug and arrogant. But I know I have a biased
perspective.
I watched Chuck and Karen Johnson as they listened to the defense
case. I felt so sorry for them when the defense painted them as bad
parents. Karen kept a picture of Charlotte as a child that she looked
at often. It seemed to give her strength to endure another hour of
lies about her from the defense. In addition, both Chuck and Karen
were suffering from Bronchitis.
Finally I listened to the closing arguments. I actually cried as
attorney Smoler summarized the case. He began by talking about Common
Sense. He said that this case is about common sense and he went over
all of the facts that have been heard so often, the therapy records,
the dates, the experts. He said the therapists forgot common sense. He
was inspirational. He told a story being a boy and watching a
television show about Texas Rangers who were there to bring justice.
He said that is what this lawsuit is about, bringing justice. He had
tears in his eyes. We all had tears!
There has been so much pain and heartache for so many FMSF families in
the last 20 years that this trial has brought up. I couldn't speak,
but I was thankful for Bill Smoler. I thought that whatever the
outcome, because of Karen and Charles Johnson, we are all finally
having our day in court.
The defense attorneys presented their closing arguments and I silently
screamed when one of them said that this case was just about money!
Then the jury went into deliberation. I wondered what the jury members
thought How could they possibly believe anyone who shredded his
records. What did they think about Dr. Hollowell who just left his
records in his desk - never to be seen again. It strains credibility.
What about Kay Phillips whose reaction to learning that there was a
possible lawsuit was to tell the others to "circle the wagons."
At 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning the verdict was in. We sat there. I held
my breath and prayed. The Johnsons won! It took Karen about 10 minutes
to realize that they that they had won and that this ordeal was
finally over. They have done everything to try to reach their daughter
and to help her return to the reality of her real childhood. They did
their best. They are my heroes.
I wonder if or when Charlotte learns of the results of this case what
she will think?
________________________________________
Oregon Man Sues Therapist for $1 Million
Skotko v. Knox 102333, Circuit Court Linn County Oregon, Filed August
2010. In August, 2010, Stephan Skotko filed a $1 million lawsuit in
Linn County Oregon against Marion and Doris Knox claiming that their
marriage counseling sessions led Skotko's family to file false charges
of child abuse against him.
In his complaint, Stephan Skotko explains that on September 21, 2008
he was arrested and spent three days in the Linn County Jail. He was
charged with sexually abusing and sodomizing his two adult children
when they were younger. After an investigation, the criminal charges
were dropped in November 2008. In January of 2009, however, the Oregon
Department of Human Services brought a protective proceeding against
Skotko claiming that he presented a danger to his youngest 12-year-old
son because he had sodomized his other children. The order states:
"The [criminal] charges were subsequently dropped against Skotko, but
the threat of harm to [his son] is still present." [1]
According to the Skotko complaint, the source of the abuse allegations
was the counseling provided by Marion and Doris Knox. Skotko and his
family sought counseling with Knox in 2002. A friend who was a pastor
of another church recommended Knox. Although his family continued with
counseling, Skotko stopped counseling in 2003 after two sessions in
which Marion Knox told them that their problems were the result of,
among other things, anal sodomy and evil spirits instilled by anal
sodomy. Knox told the family that the vast majority of people had been
anally sodomized and convinced him and his wife that they too had been
victims of sodomy by their parents. [2] Knox told the family to cease
all contact with their own parents. According to the complaint, the
Knoxes told the police that Skotko had sodomized his children .
An article in the Albany Democrat-Herald [3] noted:
"Marion Knox's counseling practices have come into question before.
In 2002, defense attorneys for a Brownsville man accused of sex
abuse found Knox had been counseling the girl who filed the charges.
The team spoke with other families who had been through counseling
with Knox and cited three cases in which Knox had concluded that
there had been sodomy with the families, although the families
disputed the allegation. The charges against the Brownsville man
were later dropped."
The arrest charges specifically mentioned that Skotko had molested his
daughter between January 1, 1998 and September 21, 2001. According to
Mr. Skotko, however, in April of 2001 his daughter had had a complete
assessment for abuse at the ABC House in Albany, Oregon because she
had reported to police at that time that she had been abused by
someone who came in the window. The examination at that time found no
signs of any abuse.
Oregon has licensing requirements for professional counselors and
marriage and family therapists but they do not apply to church-based
counselors such as Marion and Doris Knox.
Dan C. Armstrong of Heilig Misfeldt & Armstrong in Corvallis is
representing Stephan Sotko. Michael Long of Eugene is representing the
Knox family.
[1] Notice of Protective Services Founded Disposition Case: HT92417.
Albany, OR
[2] Knox has spoken in other places about his belief that most people
have been sodomized. See box below.
[3] Moody, J. (2011, January 2). Suit charges counselor with
instilling false memories. Retrieved on January 3, 2011 from
www.democratherald.com/news/local/article_13983e90-1638-11e0-
8f57-001cc4c03286.html.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| Comments About Memory |
| Mark Green, Ph.D. |
| |
| Appearing in Guevarra,G, & Espiritu, L. |
| (2011, January 22). |
| Revisiting credibility of police witness. |
| Philippine Daily Inquirer. |
| Retrieved on 1/23/11 |
| opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/talkofthetown/view/ |
| 20110122-315990/Revisiting-credibility-of-police-witness |
| |
| From the point of view of science, mistakes in eye witness |
| identification are more than a mere possibility. Dr. Marc Green |
| provides several reasons why memories can make such a monumental |
| mistake: |
| |
| Memory is blurred. The images in the mind are never as clear as an |
| actual perception. Memory often stores perceptual information in |
| verbal form rather than as an image. |
| |
| Memory fills in the gaps. Memory is a reconstruction; the |
| eyewitness will often have insufficient information in the memory |
| itself, so the reconstruction must invoke pieces of information |
| from other sources mainly pre-existing schemas and other memories. |
| |
| Memory may incorporate information subsequently gained from other |
| witnesses or read in the newspaper, information drawn from general |
| knowledge, information of another event or even information of an |
| imagined event. People may inadvertently combine memory of two |
| different events or confuse mental images with real events. |
| |
| Memory systematically distorts perception. In studies, people tend |
| to remember colors as being brighter and more saturated than they |
| actually were; overestimate slow speeds and to underestimate fast |
| ones and show systematic biases in remembering distance and size |
| and biases toward expected events. |
| |
| Memory is personal. Human memory does not exist so that an |
| observer may accurately report previously seen events. Each |
| witness extracts an interpretation that is meaningful in terms of |
| his own beliefs, experiences and needs. |
| |
| Memory is biased by question retrieval method. Eyewitness memories |
| can be biased by the questions asked at the time of retrieval. |
| The question can supply information that the eyewitness can |
| incorporate into the answer or fill in gaps in his memory. |
| |
| Memory changes over time and with retelling. Eyewitnesses |
| incorporate information learned after the event into memory. For |
| example, they may talk to another witness and use information from |
| the conversation to fill in their reconstruction of the events. |
| They may do this by combining two memories into one or by using |
| bias or expectations of what probably was seen. |
| |
| As people recall an event over and over, they drop details from |
| earlier versions and add new ones. The more times an eyewitness |
| is questioned, all things being equal, the less accurate the |
| last version will be. |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
Who Is Marion Knox?
There are several interviews with Marion Knox available on the
web. Excerpts from two of them paint a picture of a person with
bizarre beliefs.
_______________________________
http://www.whale.to/b/knox.html
Patton, R. (unknown date)
The Master Plan of the Illuminated Rothschilds.
"Marion Knox is a farmer, Gospel singer, and counselor from Lebanon,
Oregon. For several years, he has been helping set people free from
the affects of ritual abuse and mind control. Although some may think
of his methodology as unorthodox, it appears to be effective in
eliminating highly-structured dissociation in many of the people he's
worked with. While tediously assisting and supporting these survivors,
Marion has uncovered startling information concerning the inner-
workings of the Illuminati, the Rothschilds, and a possible end-times
scenario. His conclusions are not only based upon what his clients are
uniformly conveying, but also through Biblical and historical
research. Mr. Knox would like to emphasize that some of his opinions
are speculation or conjecture and need to be objectively verified and
validated by independent sources."
PATTON: How did you get into counseling survivors of SRA (Satanic
Ritual Abuse) and mind control?
KNOX: To begin with, my first experience with anything dealing with
the occult was through a friend of mine who thought his house was
haunted. So I volunteered. While trying to figure out what was going
on, a woman living in the house felt she was possessed. We went
through a deliverance session with her and she eventually became a
Christian. After that, I worked with people who had common sexual
abuse. It wasn't until several years later, in 1993, I started
counseling on a regular basis those who were ritually abused. So as
far as the Satanic stuff goes, I first worked with three women who had
multiple personalities, put in several hundred hours with each of
these victims and as a result, began to understand the belief system
and motives of the perpetrators.
________________________________
http://www.whale.to/b/knox1.html
Interview with Marion Knox by Elana Freeland
Interviewing Deprogrammers:
In the House of the Strong Man Sodomy is the Key
FREELAND: What is it about sodomy that does that?
KNOX: It attacks the nerves at the base of the spine and causes
something neurological to happen within the brain. It also has a
spiritual, demonic component to it that affects the person's mind in a
way that nothing else will, as near as I can tell. In other words, I
would state it this way: for a person to be able to develop multiple
personalities, they would have to be sodomized between two and four.
FREELAND: For all multiple personality disorders?
KNOX: As far as I know. It's not commonly told this way because sodomy
puts in a deaf and dumb spirit and causes memory loss so that some
people may remember occult rituals but won't remember the sodomy. But
sodomy is the foundation of the whole thing. It is called "The Key of
David" by the Rothschild Illuminati.
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| "What we are dealing with here is the paltry harvest of captive |
| minds. Such minds resort to conspiracy theory because it is the |
| ultimate refuge of the powerless. If you cannot change your own |
| life, it must be that some greater force controls the world." |
| |
| Cohen, R. (2010, December 20) |
| Opinion: The captive Arab mind |
| New York Times |
| www.nytimes.com/2010/12/21/opinion/21iht-edcohen21.html |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
F R O M O U R R E A D E R S
_________________________________
A Letter I Always Wanted to Write
I have always hoped that someday I would be writing to you to announce
the return of my daughter. That event occurred in 2010.
After fifteen years her brother, sister, and I began the process of
catching up. We recently spent a weekend with her and her husband. I
cannot begin to express my joy over the events that are now unfolding.
My appreciation for the Foundation will be eternal. My late wife and I
found our association with members of the FMSF and the information
from the FMSF to have been our Rock of Gibraltar, our anchor for those
many years.
Thank you from a very happy dad
___________________________________
FMS Continues to Devastate Families
I continue to hope that my daughter will find her way back to us
again. It has been six years since December 2004, the last time I
spoke to my now 27-year-old daughter. Then in January of 2007 I got
"the letter" and all of her accusations.
My family and I believe my daughter has been forever scarred. I
continue to try to reach out to her, but she refuses to talk to anyone
who does not support her delusion, including me, her brother, step
brother and step sisters.
My daughter has now recruited the support of my sister, along with her
new, uninformed, eager enabling friends.
She has accepted this new identity, and my fear with this acceptance
as a victim, is that she will ultimately be a real victim. I miss my
daughter so much. I have had to move on with my life, but I will
never, ever give up the hope that she will find her way back to the
family who loved her and loves her still.
The FMS Foundation has helped my family and me remain sane and
understand this horrible, devastating syndrome. Sadly it also reminds
us that we are not alone in our tragedy, but that there is help and
support for families afflicted by this syndrome's fallout.
The new families suffering need support groups to discuss our delicate
topic, which is why along with another mom we have started an internet
support group forum. This forum is mainly a place to get opinions,
tell our stories, hear what other people living the same situation as
us are doing. If you are interested, please contact me at
wishfulmom@hotmail.com
A mom
________________________
Letter to Meredith Maran
On October 28, 2010 Frank Kane appeared on the Diane Rehm Show
with Meredith Maran, author of My Lie: A True Story of False Memory,
Also interviewed were psychologists Richard McNally and Christine
Courtois. Frank wrote the following letter to explain his
demonstration of emotion on the show.
You can listen to this interview at:
thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-09-28/my-lie-meredith-maran
Thank you for writing My Lie. I've been upset about how badly I
bungled the very few minutes I had on the show. After some 19 years,
one might surmise the emotional effect of the FMS experience would
have lessened, but I still get choked up when I try to talk about it,
even though my daughter, Maura, came out of it in 1993. And then we
went on Frontline's Divided Memories documentary in 1995. So, my 15
minutes of fame was appearing with my own daughter on national TV to
discuss Childhood Sexual Abuse. I volunteered in Philadelphia at the
FMS Foundation from August, 1993 until February, 1994, living with
another FMSF family in the area. I then was employed there from
January, 1995 until September, 1996. After returning to Massachusetts,
I have been the local contact person.
Maura is the Christian retractor in Mark Pendergrast's Victims of
Memory. The story of all the members of my family is told in
Claudette Wassil-Grimm's Diagnosis for Disaster.
FMS changed my life and I became an activist/advocate for justice
issues involving false accusations of and wrongful convictions for
childhood sexual abuse.For years, from late-1997, when Violet Amirault
died, until 2004, when he was finally paroled after 18 years, I
visited Gerald Amirault in prison, becoming a surrogate uncle to his
and Patti's three kids. In 2002, I signed on as the volunteer
treasurer for Bob Chatelle's National Center for Reason and Justice,
and began to visit Bernard Baran in Bridgewater Prison until NCRJ was
able to get him out in 2006, after some 22 years. I am also close
friends with Shirley Souza, the grandmother from Lowell, (her husband,
Ray, my good buddy, died in 2007 of Alzheimer's, following a 9-year
house arrest, 1993 to 2002). I also write to and am close friends with
Bruce Perkins (in prison in Huntsville, Texas on a false accusation of
child abuse.)
Aside from the bare-bones resume of my FMS and NCRJ background, I
wanted to tell you just a couple of things about the profound impact
Maura's accusation had on me, not to forget the effects upon everybody
in my family. At first, I cried nearly all the time, a 56-year-old
retired accountant, an ex-U.S. Army Infantry veteran, a lifetime
ball-player and coach. I couldn't sleep, agonizing over which
monstrous male baby-sitter could have molested my daughter (you see, I
didn't doubt my daughter's story, but I knew I hadn't been the "perp,"
as the therapist [or "therp," as I call her] had so casually
identified me).
Eventually, when I could sleep, I hoped I wouldn't wake up in the
morning. There was a lingering lump in my gut, a hopeless, helpless
feeling of endless loss and abject grief, mainly over worry that Maura
was seriously disturbed. This was in late 1991, before the Foundation
came into being in March of 1992. Probably at the same time, in
Philadelphia and around the country, similar stories were starting up,
leaving each Dad and Mom and Grandpa with similar pain, feeling
entirely alone in their sadness.
I came to realize in 1992, after discovering the Foundation, that I
was not alone. At the very first meeting I attended in Worcester,
Massachusetts, I met a man who said he was going to write a book about
it; he was Mark Pendergrast.
One final observation. I cannot ever be comfortable around children,
ever again, even my own grandkids. My trust is shot. I am depressed
that this ever happened to our family, and especially to my
daughter. As for me, after living a life that I considered to be a
credit to my long-dead parents, my relationship to my faith, my high
ideals of integrity and fair play, and my pride in never having
sullied the good name of my family in any way, I sadly discovered that
all could be destroyed in an instant by a careless, cavalier and
irresponsible set of words, bandied about in a reckless, emotional,
narcissistic fashion, with no basis in fact. I realized that there was
no justice in this world. Once you were accused, that was a fait
accompli, you were guilty regardless of your protestations to the
contrary, and there was no way you could ever prove a negative, that
something never happened.
In my mind's eye, I recently saw myself on TV, deep in that Chilean
mine, on Day 17, when the video feed picked up the first lost soul
down there. The lookin his eyes, the thousand-mile stare from this
gaunt, spectral ghost, told me better than I could ever describe in
words how he felt, and how I felt during my FMS time, to be lost to
life as I, and he, knew it. BURIED ALIVE!
Thanks again, Meredith, for writing the book. I read it in a day and
have passed it along to Shirley Souza to read; Shirley is listed on
the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board, a 79-year-old widow,
convicted in 1993 with coerced "testimony" from her toddler grandkids.
Her husband Ray died unexonerated and unreconciled with his children
and grandchildren, as have many of my other FMSF friends of advanced
age. The effects of the hysteria go on and on, ad infinitum. Sad.
Francis X. Kane
______________________________SIDEBAR_______________________________
/ \
| A Discredited Therapy: |
| Did it influence development |
| of the Recovered Memory Phenomenon? |
| |
| Psychologist Arthur Janov introduced the general public to primal |
| therapy in his 1970 book, The Primal Scream. which became an |
| international bestseller. "The idea behind the treatment is that |
| psychological problems emerge from the repression of early |
| traumas-even those experienced during childbirth. These "primal |
| pains" could be purged only by reliving them." |
| |
| "Janov's approach received a huge shot of publicity in 1970 when |
| John Lennon underwent several months of primal therapy before |
| recording 'John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.'...Lennon publicly |
| praised the therapy." |
| |
| "A major flaw with the treatment, critics say, is that studies |
| have cast doubt on the existence of deeply repressed memories, |
| which primal patients must unearth to ease their suffering." |
| |
| "'The problem with reliance on this concept of repressed memory is |
| that it increases the risk that someone might form a false |
| memory,' says Dr. Harrison G. Pope, . . .'That is a potential |
| danger in any therapy, primal or otherwise, where a patient is |
| exhorted to come up with supposedly repressed memories.'" |
| |
| Jaffe, E. |
| (2010, Nov 15). |
| A look at four psychology fads |
| LA Times |
\____________________________________________________________________/
**********************************************************************
* 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 *
**********************************************************************
* *
* 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 *
* and *
* http://www.afsifrance.org *
* French False Memory Group *
* *
* http:/www.psychoheresy-aware.org/ministry.html *
* The Bobgans question Christian counseling *
* *
* http:/www.IllinoisFMS.org *
* Illinois-Wisconsin FMS Society *
* *
* 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 *
* *
* 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 530-8730919
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
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 -- Quarterly (4th Sat. of Apr.,
Jul., Oct., Jan.) @12:30pm
Tom 417-753-4878 & Roxie 417-781-2058
MONTANA
Lee & Avone 406-443-3189
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Jean 603-772-2269 & Mark 802-497-1570
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
UTAH
Keith 801-467-0669
WASHINGTON
See Oregon
WISCONSIN
Katie & Leo 414-476-0285 or
Susanne 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
Burlington
Ken & Marina 905-637-6030
Waubaushene
Paula 705-534-0318
AUSTRALIA
Evelyn everei@adam.com.au
BELGIUM
werkgr.fict.herinneringen@altavista.net
FRANCE
afsi.fauxsouvenirs@wanaadoo,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
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Do you have access to e-mail? Send a message to |
| mail@fmsfonline.org |
| 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, January 1, 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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**********************************************************************