False Memory Syndrome Foundation Vol 04 No 06 1995 june

20 Pages·1995·1 MB·English

FMs Foundation Newsletter
3{(JJ Jlfm<pSbrdmiteE<! ~ !P!ll!JIOI-3315, {21.987-1865} '//of4 -'\P. 6
June I, 1995
For th~ >:ears, critics have tried to portray the FMSF
" ... the phenomenon of memory repression as an orgamzation of pe~trato~. as a group against ther
and the process of therapy used in these cases t~ apy, and as a. bac!ctash agamst child abuse. None is correct.
recover the memories, have not gained general Th.e Foundation ts very much concerned that those found
ac~ept_ance in the field of psychology; and are not gwlty of abuse are appropriately punished and that every
screntijica/ly reliable. " effort be made to stem child abuse. Any ''backlash" is a
backlash against. science by those who have ignored it and
. William J. Groff, Presiding Justice
made unsubstantiated claims.
New Hampshire Superior Court, May 23, 1995
. As th~ !lumber '?f retJ:actors and reunited families
mcreases, 1t 1s beconung evtdent that the perpetrators and
Dear Friends,
abu~~ were careless mental-health professionals. While
May was a remarkable month for people interested in fannhes h3:ve u_nderstandable anger at those who have
the issues of recovered memories and for those concerned banned therr children, anyone who has taken the time to
about justice. In the first two cases in which the scientific SJ?eak to reunited families will have heard them speak
acceptance o~ mem~ry rep!CSsion was on trial under Frye htg~ly and en~usiastically about the help they have
and Dauber!. judges m Balbmore and New Hampshire came ~etved fro~ skille;cl and caring therapists. Psychotherapy
to the same conclusion after hearing evidence from both ts an essential servtce and people who need that service
sides: memory repression has not gained gen- should be assured of quality care.
eral scientific acceptance. These decisions The concern of the Foundation is that all
must work their way through the appeal pro Inside mental health professionals are being tainted
cess before establishing case law, but even because of the misguided practices of some.
before that happens, they will probably influ Frontline Reviews 2 They are being tainted because the profes
enc~the discussion and the actions around Our Critics 4 sional organizations have not disciplined
the repressed memory debate. The most Merskey 6 those who fall below the ''the standard of
likely effect will be that more courts will hold Piper 7 p~tice." It looks as if the professional orga
pre-trial hearings to determine the reliability Legal Corner DIZations have forgotten the injunction,
of claims based only on recovered memories. (N.H. Decision) 9 "First, do no harm." Their inaction on the
illtimately, we expect that there should be From Our Readers 14 critical issues in the FMS problem has
fewer lawsuits and threats of lawsuits brought brought serious harm to thousands of people.
Ferguson 16
solely on the basis of recovered memory. Opportunity for action by these organiza
There are increasing reports of legal tions is being lost. The courts are deciding the
actions in which a doctor's responsibility to a third party is important issue of the scientific standing of memory repres
the issue. In May, the Foundation submitted an amicus brief sion, and also what constitutes "the standard of care." There
in Alabama that argues that under the principles of special is still need and opportunity for professional organizations
relationships and circumstances, foreseeability, direct to improve monitoring to make a serious effort to detennine
victims and public interest considerations, mental health which therapies are safe and effective, to establish policies
professionals may owe a duty to third parties not to misdi for introducing innovative therapies, and to review educa
agnose sexual abuse in their patients. tional programs at both certification and continuing educa
Comments about "justice" being served were repeated tion levels. If they don't, others will do it for them. The
many times this month as the convictions in two major day public deserves the assurance of quality mental health care.
care cases, Edenton. North Carolina and Martensville, In her testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on
Saskatchewan, were overturned. The McMartin day-care Chi~dren and the Family on May 26, Carol Hopkins
case in Manhattan Beach, California was once again in the remmded us all that January 14, 1997 will mark the 300th
news because of the docudrama, "Indictment". Testimony anniversary of the Massachusetts Day of Repentance, the
was given before the Senate Subcommittee on Children and official apology for the Salem Witch Trials. She asks us all
the Family on May 26 on ways to improve the Child Abuse to "consider that day as a national day of contrition for the
Prevention and Treatment Act which has been the fmancial injustices which we have perpetrated and remembrance for
"engine" of the child abuse industry. What ties all of these the victims of that injustice." It's not too late for everyone
with the recovered memory issue is concern about ·~ustice." to simply say a mistake was made, apologize and move on
in. a manner that lessens the chance of repeating the same
rmstake.
"The court in no way is judging [the plaintiffs'] cred
ibility, but their recollection. That did not meet the
test of scientific reliability. .. No empirical studies ver "The fact that the phenomenon of repressed
ify the existence of repressed memory. There is no memory.l!J!D. be validated in the future provides no
way to test the validity of these memories." justification for the introduction of such evidence in
Judge Hilary Caplan a trial today under our system of criminal justice."
The BalJimore Sun May 6, 1995 William J. Groff, Presiding Justice
New Hampshire Superior Court, May 23, 1995
FMs
Fbundation Newsletter page2
June 1995
REVIEWS OF FRONTLINE'S A new religion, charlatans, a political movement. an out
DIVIDED MEMORIES growth of the addiction movement, hysteria - these were
some of the explanations given by the reviewers as a
Last month, we printed comments from reviews about source of the FMS problem. Some people have suggested
the Frontline documentary, "Divided Memories," that aired another factor-money.
on PBS on April 4 and 11. Since none of the 40 reviewers
had any connection to the FMS Foundation, we thought that
this provided a unique opportunity to examine opinion and WHY SOME PEOPLE THINK RECOVERED
understanding of recovered/repressed memory therapy in a MEMORY THERAPY IS ABOUT$$$$
relatively systematic manner. The reviews were consistent
in their view that the program was fair. Most of the reviews Thousands of parents have received letters similar to
expressed scathing criticism of the therapy sessions shown the one that follows. To families it looks like a seam to get
and in particular the notion that "the truth doesn't matter." money for therapy and not an effort to insure either justice
Many of the reviews expressed dismay at the therapy pro or protection for children. Incest is. after all, a crime. If a
fessiOn in general. crime was committed. the perpetrator should be punished
We also examined the reviews for comments about - not offered the opportunity to pay money so that there
how the patients were perceived. Families have said that would be no legal action. The money does not seem to be
they believed their children were getting worse rather than so much for a treatment plan for their child but rather a
better in this therapy, but maybe families are biased. It payment plan for the therapist. Families call these "extor~
seems the reviewers, however, endorsed the parents' view. tion letters."
The ultimate question, though is, does any of this do good? Dear Mr. and Mrs. "R",
Is lt, as the therapists say, empowering for women to find
abuse and confront it? Happiness is not transparent, but the Please be advised that this Law Ann represents your
women Bike! focuses on look, after years of therapy, haggard ?aughte~. She has consulted with me regarding the effects she
and unsure of themselves. 1s suffenng from severe childhood trauma resulting from the
In place of long Ht roubled lives, they have a new life that abuse inlllcted by all of you. The trauma descnbed is unspeak
began with the definition of their victimhood. In place of par able.
ents, siblings, spouses, even children, they have deep attach As a result of this trauma, without relating all of the details
ments to their fellow victims and, especially, to their therapist. in this letter, she has been unable to hold a full-time job. Fur~
ther, her condition requires Intensive therapy and frequent hos
SteveJohnson Chicago Tribune April3,1995
pitalizations. Alth<lugh she has been suffering !he financial bur·
In the end, though, the film's most telling scene Is the one den of this condition alone, at this time, she can no longer
In which a band of therapy patients who have supposedly afford .to do th!& and is seeki11g compensation from you.
recovered their memories of abuse sit around grimly diSCUssing Without filing a Court action, Ms. ~R· has authorized me to
their new-found happiness, and how they now enjoy the full make the followmg demand letter for settlement
range of emotions. Each seems to have discovered his Inner
child. Wrth luck they will lose them. 1. You assume responsibility for Ms. "R's• medical and thera~
peutic expenses including any hospitalization for the remainder
Dorothy RabinOwitz, Wall Street Journal, April 3, 1995 of her life.
We wondered what the reviewers would attribute 2. Reimbursement to Ms. "R• for therapy and hospitalization
as a cause of this problem of "therapy gone awry." expenses incurred during 1990 and 1991, in the estimated
amount of $10,000.
Th~ .film reveals that "psycho.therapy" is the most significant
rel1g1on of our age, ana shnnks and pseudo-shrinks have 3. Payment of $250,000 to help, In some small way, to com
become the priests, even though many are clearly charlatans. pensate her for the disabilities, pain, suffering, humiliation and
severe lifetime trauma that she has suffered and Is expected to
John Haslet Cuff, Globe and Mail, April4, 1995
suffer.
"SOme of the female therapists appear to believe that they are
4. A life insurance policy to be taken out on your lives with Ms.
winning souls for feminism each time a female patient
"R" to be named as beneficiary to ensure thi.t the settlement be
remembers a previously forgotten incident of abuse by a
paid.
renegade daddy.
But the impression one gets Is a kind of hysteria sweeping 5. That you a9ree never to contact her or her children In any
the land, part of the eternal quest not only for explanations but way. Ms. "A's therapists and I am familiar with the details ot
for scapegoats. In their zeal to portray themselves as victims, her childhood trauma. We all agree that any contact with her
some of the patients make victims out of others who may be family would be detrimental to her recovery.
utterly and helplessly innocent.
Tom Shales, The Washington Post, Apri14, 1995 I am therefore requesting that you address all communica~
lion to my office.lf you wish to enter Into settlement at this time
"Divided Memories" places recovered memory as an out without the necessity of Court action, please contact my office.
growth of the addiction movement, in which love is "enmesh If I do not hear from you within 10 days, 1w UI assume that you
ment' and friendship is 'people addiction, • and of pop-psych do not. intend to enter Into setHement and will advise Ms. ~R·
theory popularized during the 1980s about healing the inner regarding the appropriate judicial relief. Rest assured, how
child. e~er, that if yo~ do not setH~ this matter, in any lawsuit, Ms. "R"
Steve Johnson, Chicago Tribune, April3, 1995 will be requesting substantially hi~her sums and her attorney's
fees. M a lawyer, I have dealt with many of these cases, and
FMs
June 1995 Fbundation Newsletter
page 3
the facts that have been related to me and which will be related
tors to potentiate self-harm .... You will find the pos
to a jury, warrant the Imposition of substantial punitive and
sibility of disguised contact-or clandestine
comli!'::e~~ages.
contact-with perpetrators that will then potentiate
Your daughter's lawyer self-harm.
"Let me just give a sterling example of this
''Do no harm?" By their inaction, the professional organi because, indeed, it's so Insidious that lt can look
zations gave tacit approval to the new notion that lawsuits benign. A ritual·abuse survivor-in a case 1 was
are therapeutic. Therapy for whom and at what price?
consulting to-received a postcard from her sister
Most families, however, have not been sued. Instead
who had also been abused and-we believe-was
they have tried to understand how therapy could produce
still active in the perpetrating group. And it's a very
such alienation as seen in the contrast of letters that follow.
benign postcard on the surface. lt said:
'DearSis,
Before and After Therapy
Mom and I have been thinking about you.
May 1987 Csn't wait to see you again. .. ln the mean
Dear Dad, time take care of yourseff.
Just a note to thank you for taking such good care of me
Love, Sis'
and my friend during our much-too-short stay. My friend is
impressed and a bH envious of the loving relationship and open
fines of communication which you and I share .. .! love you and "Client got this postcard and began to engage in
I'm glad you're my dadl horrible seH·harming behavior for a period of about
Love •o•
six weeks until we appreciated that this had been a
trigger. Let's just simply look at it and see how
November 1989
~ __..-1a m writing this letter for two reasons: (i) to attain closure Insidious it can be. 'J'om and I have been thinking
for myseH regarding my relationship with you and (ii) in the about you' caters to the client's magical thinking.
hope that you will seek help before you hurt anyone else the The client believes that people can read her mind.
way you hurt me.
"By the way, when an abusive parent of a survi
1h ave spent 37 yaam of my !He denying amt minimizing 1he
torture that was my childhood and adolescence ... I genumely vor dies it doesn't necessarily mean more safety.
hope this letter causes you to seek help -you are a very sicK My experience Is it means less safety, because
man. 1d o not wish to hear from you unless you are willln~ to what happens then Is when the person is alive you
admH the things you did to me and to seek help for your srck can locate them but when they die they become
nees.
omniscient and omnipresent. And again catering to
'D"
the magical thinking. Oftentimes injurictions are
spoken during the abuse that reinforce that. For
How does such a remarkable change in the attitude toward
a parent take place in therapy'? Perhaps the following sec example, 'No matter where you are, ot what you
tion· will provide a clue. are doing I will know if you tell.' This gets internal
ized .... So 'Mom and I have been thinking about
you' caters to that. Now of course, it's coincidental
If the truth doesn't matter, what's the point
for being In therapy. So that's enough almost right
in searching for memories?
there.
Executive Director, FMSF
"Then: We can't wait to see you again.'Now you
have to take this in context. This is a woman, the
client Is a woman who's on the lam from her family.
Professional Training in Alienation She's running from her family and the perpetrating
group. She ~-whether it's true or not I don't
While the issues around confidentiality rightfully
know-she .lm2w§ that if she goes back something
prevent us from observing what happens in individual ther
terrible is going to happen to her. So they're speak
apy sessions, we can gain insight into some therapists'
ing of the Inevitability that she will, in fact, go back:
belief systems from the articles that they wiite and from
"can't wait to see you again." We call that a pre·
the lectures that they give. The following segment is
quoted verbatim from the tape of a presentation at the pres supposition.
tigious Menninger Clinic in the spring of 1993. The pre . "The most Insidious part, however, is the last
senter was David Calof, a family therapist who specializes sentence: 'In the meantime take cars of yourself.
in di'So'SoociaU:ve di'Soorders and multiple personality disorder Love, Sis.' Now let's take a look at that. Anybody
(MPD). Calof stated: have a hit off of that? That's it, you've got it, that's
it. 'Take cars of yourseff.' Exactly. lt was an injunc
"In ritual abuse especially you will see 'triggering tion to kill herself. We finally found in this case an
programs' that are literally installed by the perpetra- historical precedent tor this. She went back to a lit-
FM;s
Fbundation Newsletter page4
June 1995
~-----------------, which the writer refers. Three
ual In which she remembered major studies have failed to fmd
watching ariother child being mur- " ... Experts in psychology and group any evidence for such cults. The
dared for disclosure. OK? The behavior warn that anyone can fall prey to Goodman et al (1994) study
people that murdered that child paranoia-given the right combination of looked at 12,000 allegations of
came to the client in question peer pressure and repeated exposure to one intergenerational satanic cult
then, when she was just a little viewpoint." activity and found no evidence.
girl-1 don't remember how old, 3, "By all accounts, the descent into delu- History, on the other h~d.
sion is gradual. Everyone has experienced 'th deal f
4, 5, no older than that-and said slights, insults or failures at one tt. me or provides us w••t. a •g reat . o
to her, 'If you tell, we will take find evidence that mte1 1tgent, articu-
another, and most people some way to d d
care of you or you will have to if th do • ed f · d late, educate , well-intentione
cope. 0 r, ey n t, a trust nen or . fro
take care of yourself.' And there it family mem be r may persu ad e th em to 1c orget individuals" are nof t un.m ·u n, e md
·r
Was. there Was the Program. OK? th e past and get on W'lt h th er· r liv es. B u t 1 the influence o JDJsm,orme
"So lef me urge you to con- they cannot shake off the sense of humilia- belief systems. Families that are
sider the possibility of clandestine tion, they may instead nourish their grudges desperately trying to reach their
recontact in these cases. 1 don~t and start a mental list of all the injustices in children wonder if there could be
I I I d ' their lives. Rather than take a critical look at a misinformed belief system in
want you to ee paranoid. on t operation when the psychiatric
t t leave You W"h the teel1'ng themselves, they blame their troubles on 'the
wan o 11 community at an institution such
th t 't 1 1 1 · th company,' for example, or 'the government'
a you can ee sa e 1n ese as Menninger Clinic, for example,
B 1 h 1 or 'the system;"'
cases. ut must tell you t at "Often these aggrieved people fall in does not immediately question the
learned the hard way that this with others sharing the same point of view. interpretation of In the meantime
happens. The group helps them to rehearse their take care ofy ourself. Love, Sis' as
n
grievances, ensuring that the wounds remain "an injunction to kill herself."
This was a verbatim transcrip
open, and exposes them to similar corn- Rumo r 2 Contained in a letter. to
tion from the tape ofCalofs talk. No
plaints. As a result, paranoia blossoms and the FMS Foundation. --.......
questions or comments from the
spreads." Gonnan notes that the initial con-
audience were heard on the tape.
cern can be very real and shared by other gAs you probably are aware, there
That is disturbing. Does it mean that citizens. are rumors circulating that your
the Menninger staff was in agree group received financial support
"Members of the group bond to one covertly from the CIA. Is this true?."
ment with this approach?
another and lose contact with other people
For families, the lecture at Men
who bold different opinions. The isolation FMSF Response: The FMS
ninger provides insight into the puz
works to reinforce their views ... " Foundation has never received
zeling aspect of FMSF - the alien
ation and the fear. (Excerpt from a sidebar p 69)Time, May 8, 1995, funding from the CIA.
Christine Gorman (reported by Lawrence
Rumor 3 We received a phone
Mondi)
call on May 15 from a person
requesting clarification of the
RUMORS AND OUR CRITICS
FMSF Scientific Advisory Board. "I have been told that the
Advisors are paid a salary by the Foundation," the caller
The follOwing are four rumors to which we were asked said. "Is that true?"
to respond hi the last month. FMSF Response: The members of the FMSF Scientific
Advisory Board receive no salary or payments from the
Rumor 1 F(l>m a letter sent to a member of the FMSF Sci Foundation. They serve on a volunteer basis. In fact, some
entific Advisory Board (May 16). of the members of the Advisory Board feel so strongly
gl've had a minimum of experience with MPDs/DIDs and about the issues FMSF is addressing that they have made
have heard from them and associates of theirs that the monetary contributions to the Foundation in addition to
Repressed Memory (Foundation?) is a brainchild of the cults offering their advice.
that ritually abused them. They claim in earnest that this
group and professionals like you are on the payroll of these Rumor 4 From a posting on the 'traumatic stress list' (i.e. a
cults to discredit true allegations of abuse. computer bulletin board)
"This accusation sounds inflammatory, indeed paranoid,_
in print But I wanted to bounce it off you since I heard it from "The FMSF is. working not only to keep accuse.d perpe
intelligent, articulata, educated, well-intentloned individuals. trators out of jail and from having to making monetary repara
Have you heard this before? Do you have any comment?" tions to victims, it is also getting convicted perpetrators out of
prison.D
Staff Member, Health Services at major university
FMSF Response: The FMS Foundation believes that
FMSF Response: The Foundation is funded by the dues those who are ·guilty of abuse should be appropriately pun
and contribUtions of the families who have contacted it for
ished. An accusation of sexual abuse should be taken very
information· and help. These are families that are desper
seriously. To make an accusation of Sexual abuse and then
ately trying to find a way to talk to their children who have
to refuse to have it investigated is not taking such an accu-
cut off contact. We have no knowledge of the "cults" to
FM,s
June 1995 Foundation Newsletter
pages
sation seriously.
Many of our critics have used the term :·accused perpe
ACADEMIC FREEDOM ISN'T THE ISSUE
trators" to refer to people who contact the FMS Foundation. INMACKCASE
How do our critics know that these people are "perpetra
Reprinted with permission of the author
tors?" That is something that can only be detennined by an Leners, Boston Globe, May 18, 1995
investigation. In the absence of external corroboration, there
Recent coverage of the Harvard Medical School's
is no way to know the historical reality of any memory. The
people who contact FMSF are "accused people." To refer to inquiry into the research conduct of faculty member Dr.
John Mack has been entirely in tenns of academic freedom.
them as ''perpetrator:s" before there has been an investiga
Mack is not just a researcher investigating signs that
tion shows the extent of the bias of our critics.
Martians contacted the Mayans 10,000 years ago. He is a
The tenns "victim" and "perpetrator" indicate judg
medical doctor, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School.
ment. The tenns "accuser'' and .. accused" are appropriate
He has written a book lending credence to highly sexualized
prior to investigation.
alien abduction fantasies and has appeared On talk shows to
promote that book.
He is joined in the media by dozens of psychotherapists
DOCTORS FACE GUILT BY ASSOCIATION
American Medical News who claim that it makes no difference whether a patient's
fantastic allegations are truth or fiction. Mack claims that it
May 8, 1995
makes no difference whether thousands of disturbed indi
Julie Johnsson and Howard Larkin
viduals were actually abducted and sexually manipulated by
A "litigation feeding frenzy" is taking place in Texas in body snatchers from outer space.
the wake of the kickback scandal at Psychiatric Institutes of Really? Would a responsible oncologist write and pro
America (PIA) which was fonnerly owned by National mote a book touting the claims of bogus treatments for des
Medical Enterprises. The scandal is that hospital adminis perate, dying cancer patients?
trators paid doctors for referrals and this led to unnecessary Is psychotherapy truly a branch of medicine in which
admissions and extended stays and other abuses. Any asso reality is completely irrelevant to the patient's health?
ciation with PIA has made physicians targets for malprac Harvard is a medical center as well .ta s a scholarly
tice lawyers who have taken out ads in newspapers and research academy. Like all medical centers, has an obliga
magazines looking for people who have ever been treated at tion to the well~being of all patients whose treatment is
PIA. The stigma of being associated with PIA has appar influenced by its conduct of medicine.
ently prompted some HMOs to. drop some p~ysicians fJ"?m Let's hope the school's inquiry is not sidetracked by
their panels. Others have had difficulty "getting on hospital secondary issues of so-called academic freedom.
staffs and obtaining licenses in other states." Ten doctors
Margaret A. Hagen
who claim they had nothing to do with kickbacks but have
Professor, ·Department of Psychology, Boston University
nevertheless been tainted by the fact that they have prac
ticed at a National Medical Enterprise facility are them
selves suing. The attorney for the ten doctors says the situa
Repressed Memory Claims Expected to Soar
tion is unfair to doctors who may accept a salary or other
National Psychologist Vol4 #3
payment in good faith that could later be construed as a
May/June 1995
payment for referral.
A counselor by the name of Bolen who owned a clinic According to Eric Marine, vice president of claims at
in Burleson was sentenced last month to a prison term and a American Professional Agency, Amityville, NY which is
steep fine for participating in the kickback scheme. The FBI the oldest writer of mental health practitioner insurance,
has brought in at least 10 agents to investigate health care there were hardly any claims connected with repressed
fraud among other providers ~-------------------~ memory complaints in 1992. In
in Dallas. They are examining ..T he point of this seminar is to show that continuing 1994, repressed memory
disguised kickbacks such as a tolerance of the belief in rampant repressed memories complaints represented 16% of
physician who accepted a sal- of sexual abuse (and the suggestive therapy which the claims filed against mental
ary as an official of a psychi- accompanies it) is adversely affecting the practice of health professionals insured by
atric inStitute which was in clinical psychology. The public is losing respect for the American Professional
fact payment for referrals and all psychotherapists and beginning to suspect their Agency·
also a ''professional associa- motives." Marin noted that more than
aticocne ptoefd pasny acnhniautarli sptsa"y mthenatt Fr om a de scn.p u · o n of 0 sem•·nar , "False Memory and Cl•··,· - 2w0e0re refiplereds siend 1m99e4m owriyth c5a5se%s
from Brookhaven ·Psychiatric cal Psychology" presented at the ~tern Psychological being against psychologists. The
Pavilion in Dallas. Association, Boston MA March 31-April2, 1995. defense fees are expensive with
The director on one Dal- the largest to date exceeding
Ias hospital has stated that $700,000.
this scandal has devastated Dallas's psychiatric providers.
'"!be fear and distrust that was spawned certainly spills over
on every facility, every physician."
FM;s
June 1995 FOundation Newsletter page6
WHAT IS A SYNDROME? sive state. Any of the items which lead people to request
by H. Merskey, D.M. counselling and which have been taken to be signs of false
memories may be part of the syndrome. So, in this respect,
Arguments sometimes arise in medicine about what is a the syndrome is very broad and the main common feature of
syndrome. These arguments seem to depend mostly upon the onset is that there was a reason for consultation, or else
the expectations of individuals about whether a set of phe that the person has been in touch with others, or with a set
nomena is sufficiently discrete to be recognized and treated of ideas and thoughts, which might have led to consultation
as an entity or not. but, instead, led to the independent development of ideas
The word syndrome is used by physicians to indicate a that he or she has been abused. There is so much discussion
set of phenomena that go together. lt comes from two Greek of abuse nowadays, that the idea may have been produced
roots meaning 'with' and 'running'. Webster's dictionary simply by the influence of the media or some "friend",
defines a syn.drome as: "a group of symptoms that occur which is the main feature of the "label."
together." The Oxford dictionary definition is similar. The third main feature of the illness is that it is a doxo
Dorland's medical dictionary defines a syndrome as "a set genic disorder, i.e. it is one due to thinking about an illness
of symptoms which occur together; the sum of signs of any and having the thought gives the condition. This tenn has
morbid state; a symptom complex." been applied in the last three years to multiple personality
Syndromes may consist of symptoms, or they may con disorder (Merskey, 1992), as weU as to some types of con
sist of signs, or they may consist of version symptoms like hysterical
a mixture of symptoms and signs. ,-----------------, fits, otherwise known as pseu
A cold is a syndrome. It usually doseizures (Merskey, 1994).
One feature of the false memory syn
begins with a tickle and some dis Other symptoms of the false
drome, which is quite striking and
comfort in the back of the throat. memory syndrome are that it gener
unlike many other findings in
with reddening there, a thin, pro ally occurs in a younger person
psychotherapy, is that the patient is
fuse catarrh and sneezing. The suf with respect to an older person,
ferer may have a mild fever and a encouraged to hate another person. although some people accuse others
hoarse throat and coughing. The This is unique in psychiatry. who are near to themselves in aie,~
catarrh soon becomes thick and the and some quite middle aged and
nose gets blocked with characteris- Harold Merskey elderly people have volunteered
tic effect on speech. It lasts about .__ _______________ _j this syndrome. Beside focusing, for
two weeks. the most part, on the issue of child
In psychiatry, multiple personality disorder is a syn abuse, FMS often arises in conjunction with very bizarre or
drome. Particular things happen with that syndrome. Many characteristic phenomena. Eighteen percent of cases indi
people think jt is artificial-particularly many members of cate a history of alleged satanic ritual abuse. More than
the FMS Foundation Scientific Advisory Boare - but there 40% of the cases involve only vague accusations, rather
is no reason why we cannot recognize an artificial syn than specific ones, and the accusation is usually directed at
drome for what it is as well as a spontaneous natural one. a family member. One feature of the false memory syn
The reCovered memory phenomenon is a syndrome, drome, which is quite striking and unlike many other fmd
principally due to an artificial cause, i.e. induction of ideas ings in psychotherapy, is that the patient is encouraged to
by an externiU person. Other such syndromes are recognized hate another person. This is unique in psychiatry.
in psychiatry. For example, Folie a Deux (now called The above combination of complaints and observations
Shared Psychiatric Disorder in DSM-IV) occurs when one characterizes many people who have laid accusations
person with delusions persuades another person to believe against families who have contacted the FMS Foundation. lt
in them sincerely. It used to happen most often when there does not necessarily characterize people who make false
was someoqe with a paranoid schizophrenic illness. or simi accusations such as police officers who have overinter
lar severe mental illness, living in close proximity with a viewed small children, or parents who make false allega
family member, who was unable to resist accepting the tions against an estranged spouse in the course of custody
ideas of the primary patient. One can say that the false disputes.
memory syndrome is a delusional state which is due to the To sum up, the phenomena of false-memory syndrome,
influence of people who do not have that delusions about frequently include a person with a problem, a set of ideas
themselves (as a rule), but do impose it upon other people. for which there is no independent evidence, complaints
But, these false beliefs or delusions differ from the types of based upon so-called recovered memories, and the propaga
delusions and other mental changes which occur in schizo tion of hate and hostility. By the criteria that I have given of
phrenia or hypomania or delirium. the syndrome, i.e. a set of items running together, there is
The usual pattern of a syndrome in false memory cases no question that the FMS Foundation has identified a pecu
has been w~ll recognized. Among other things, it includes liarly nasty syndrome.
the fact that the person who develops it is fairly likely to
have been troubled by some difficulty at the time of onset. Dr. Merskey is a member of the FMSF Scientific Advisory
The difficulty may have been present for a short while, or Board and a professor at the University of Western Ontario
for a long time. It can be a trivial matter, such as concern in Canada. ~
about a job change and a feeJing that some counselling is
required, or a severe illness, such as quite a marked depres-
FMs
June 1995 FOundation Newsletter
page7
WORDS FROM A READER hypothesis that repression can occur, three kinds of evi
August Piper Jr., M.D. dence are required.
Someone once offered the following counsel to any First, of course, a traumatic event should, in fact, have
writer or speaker: First, have something to say. Second, say befallen someone, and some evidence that it did should be
it Third. when you finish, shut up. avail~I.e. ~OP;e and HudSOJ! point out that documenting sex-
During the past few weeks, I have bad nothing to say to ual Vlc~zation, though dtfficult, is by no means impossi-
readers, and thus, in an attempt to follow the first sugges- bl~: medical records or reports from reliable and unbiased
tion above, have been. absent from this newsletter's pages. ~ttne~ses, for ~xample, should suffice. The logic of
My apologies to those who have missed reading the col- mcludmg a requtrement for an actual traumatic event is
umn, and my thanks to those who have complimented it in compelling and transparently obvious. Therefore, that the
the past. requirement is routinely violated in the published writing of
Apologies and thanks alike are owed to CamiUa Halli- recove~-memory theorists, as well as in everyday clinical
nan, a reader from California. Ms. Hallinan wrote the Foun- work With recovered-memory patients, is nothing less than
astonishing.
dati on I ate last year, in response to some concerns raised in
this column about bridging the canyon between recovered- For example, in a recent lawsuit in which I served as a
and false-memory camps; she believes the following sug- consultant, the psychiatrist had repeatedly told the patient
. - call her Elaine - that Elaine had suffered uncounted
gestions will help erect such a bridge. Apologies are due acts of violent childhood abuse. It did not matter that
because so much time has elapsed since she wrote; thanks
because of the time and,---------------------, Elaine, before entering tteat
effort she spent in penning Ethical judgments are supposed to lead to action; ment, had not a whiff of any
memory of even one such
her ideas. Her thoughts fol- knowing what is right without doing what is right is of event. Nor did it matter to the
low; Ms. Hallinan took pains little value to anyone. doctor that Elaine bad asked
to point out that these sug- Kevin M. McConk:ey, Ph.D. again and again if the doctor's
gestions apply to both camps. L _______ :A::us=''="l=ian=P:.::ry=cho=lo"g"i::st'-, M=an:=h:.:1::9_:9::5_J stories were actually true. It
1. Decide on a central was not a matter of concern
theme and resolve it. The first questions might (a) can that Elaine became progressively more distraught and
memory be repressed, and (b) can repressed memories, if depressed as she began to believe that her mother and
they exist, be retrieved'? grandmother-and many others as well-had repeatedly
2. Stop name-calling; it knocks bridges down. In and brutally maltteated her during childhood. It did not
Native American spirituality, what you dislike about trouble the physician that her patient spent months in the
another person is a mirror reflection of yowself. Every hospital being treated for symptoms largely resulting from
charge hurled against one side in this debate is true of the the excesses of the physician's treatment.
other. Further, although sarcasm and mockery can be used Finally, it did not matter that the doctor possessed not a
as teaching tools, that path is steep and strewn with stones; I shred of evidence for her ghoulish theory of Elaine's past.
suggest these techniques be avoided. The second kind of evidence required by Pope and
3. Come to a consensus on terminology. For example, Hudson for a test of repression is a demonstration that the
the materials I read never address childhood dissociation. victim actually developed .. psychogenic" anmesia for the
Agree upon a definition of tenns. Strive for clarity, but at trauma. This demonstration is quite difficult. It means
least agree. excluding cases of anmesia due to ''biological" causes -
4. Accept that none of us owns the truth. State things in head injury, alcohol or drug abuse- and requires that the
absolute tenns only when there is no possibility of an traumatic event should have occurred after the period of
opposing troth. Richard Ofshe is a bad offender at this. For normal physiologic amnesia- lasting until about age three
example, in referring to robust repression, he says, ''The to six - shown by all children. It also requires excluding
~evidence supporting this concept is circumstantial and cases where victims simply avoided thinking about the
comes .2Dh out of the therapy sessions." This is not true for trauma over the years, or where they remembered the
me. trauma but failed to report it to an interviewer. As Pope and
5. Learn from survivors who want to communicate with Hudson note, research investigators have known for years
you. I learn from FMSF, even if I do not agree. Listen to that during interviews, people commonly fail to disclose all
survivor accounts. manner of life events - sometimes because of embarrass
• • • ment .
Another recent legal case highlights a different reason
Brava!
to claim amnesia. The patient - Ms. A - told me that for
A few comments, now, from me. First, it does seem
two decades she had repressed all memories of her child
that a good start toward answering Ms. Hallinan' s first
hood abuse, and had remembered it only after another thera
question has already been made. I am referring, of course,
pist - Dr. B - discovered it. Of course, legal actions
to Pope and Hudson's paper in Psychological Medicine
based on wrongs that took place long ago are usually for
(25:121 126, 1995) that proposes criteria by which claims
4 bidden by statutes of limitation. However, some states,
of repression can logically, critically, and scientifically be
including Washington, allow the statute of limitation
evaluated. I suspect anyone can hear the calm voice of rea
.. clock" to begin ticking only when the childhood abuse is
son in these proposals. In order to satisfactorily confJnD the
discovered by the claimant. Such so-called "toliing" power-
FMs
June 1995 Foundation Newsletter pageS
fully encourages people to claim amnesia: if they didn't members according to FMSF statistics. Fathers were
make such a claim, their cases would not be heard by the accused of abuse six times more often than siblings were
courts. The obvious problem is that claims of amnesia are accused.
impossible to refute. In the case involving Ms. A, I pointed The difference between the data noted by Levitt and
out to the attorney that despite Dr. B's claims to the con Pinnelt on sibling-to-sibling incest and the data FMSF
trary, he simply bad no way of knowing whetherMs. A had families report on accusations of sibling abuse is indeed
truly forgotten the childhood maltreatment. or was merely dramatic in a number of ways. The accusations against
saying she had. {Both Slovenk.o and Campbell have exam siblings reported to the Foundation are virtually all in
ined the problems caused by "tolling":Joumal of Psychiatry families in which parents (and sometimes grandparents) are
and Law, Spring1993, 7-33; American Journal of Forensic also accused. In addition, FMSF data from retractors show
Psychology 16:25-51, 1995.) that out of 40 surveys examined, twelve retractors reported
The third kind of evidence is that the abuse be suffi to the Foundation that they also falsely accused siblings, but
ciently severe that no one could reasonably be expected to not one of these twelve women accused only siblings.
forget it. Several writers have noted that the tenn "sexual The difference surrounding the FMSF 6:1 ratio (father
abuse" is very difficult to define. Therefore, many experi to~sibling abuse) and the 13:1 ratio (sibling-to-father abuse)
ences described as "sexual abuse" may well neither be cited by Levitt and Pinnell is even more startling when the
memorable to a child or cause significant long-tenn harm to data the Foundation has about litigation in this atea is taken
the child: it depends on whether a wide or narrow definition into account. The sibling subgroup of falsely accused is an
is used (See Levitt and Pinnell for a recent review:/nterna· insignificant factor in the lawsuits known to the Foundation.
tional Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis Less than one percent of the more than 800 cases the
43:145-162,1995). Foundations is tracking is against only a sibling. The
A closing remark on the comments about tenninology. percentage increases to slightly more than one percent when
In these columns and in my papers, I have repeated (proba siblings are included in lawsuits with other family
bly to the point of nausea in the reader) that terms so com members. It is reasonable to assume that if siblings were the
monly used in recovered-memory therapies - dissociation, significant or prime family person to have committed acts
alter personalities, repression - are so vague as to mean of incest, there would be many more legal actions involving
nearly anything and everything one wants. Those who siblings.
speak in these tenns, it seems, might heed Ms. Hallinan's The reasons for these differences are ripe for
request for clarity. speculation. One conjecture is that the important
August Piper Jr. M.D., a psychiatrist in private practice in Seat intervening variable of therapists' beliefs can be an essential
tie, is a member of the FMSF Scientific and Professional Advisory element in these vast differences. H therapists believe incest
may be present. do they assume it is parental incest and
Board.
approach their clients with that assumption? Another
speculation is: Will those who have yet to prove that the
RESEARCH QUESTION brain deals with trauma in a special manner now also ask
A PUZZLING DIFFERENCE society to believe that the brain differentiates between
incest at the hands of parents from incest initiated by a
The possible influence of the therapist in helping
sibling? These and other hypotheses can possibly be fertile
clients '"recover" memories of parental incest can be areas for research.
examined from another prospective-the data on sibling
abuse. H incest occurs between siblings, would "repression" ~ G ~ .,/g, i' aM QCC«'.,P jallun
or ''traumatic amnesia" operate in the same way as it sup
posedly does in cases of parental incest? How will those
OOPS! CORRECTION
who believe in the unproved theory that the brain deals with
In the May issue on page 17 in the "Recommended Read~
the trauma of incest in a unique manner explain the
ing" list we erred in two citations. The correct infonnation
supposition that therapy rarely seems to uncover "memo
is as follows:
ries" of sibling ince5t?
An excellent new article by Eugene E. Levitt and .Gullible's Travels, or The Importance of Being Multiple.
Comelia Mare PinneUI includes data about the incidence of Simpson, M. In Dissociative Identity Disorder (1995).
incest that is often overlooked. In a thorough review of the (Cohen, Berzott & Elin, Eds.}, Jason Aranson.
research on the effect of childhood sexual abuse on adults, .A skepticallook at multiple personality disorder. Piper, A.,
the data on incidents of sibling incest were also discussed. Jr., In Dissociative Identity Disorder (1995), (Cohen, Ber
The authors noted that the most authoritative research zott & Elin, Eds.), Jason Aranson.
reveals that sibling incest is far more prevalent than father
daughter incest, having a ratio of 13:1 (13 reports of incest
Are you a snow bird?
by a sibling for each report of incest by a father). However,
virtually the reverse is being reported by accused family H you change your residence during the suminer or
winter. it is necessary for you to notify Nadine each
I. Levin, E. E. & Pinnell, C. M. (1995). Some additional time your address changes. Please mail or Fax
light on the childhood Abuse-Psychopathology Axis. The International (215-387-1917) your address change one month in
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Vol. XLill, No. 2, April advance to allowt time for her to make the change.
1995145·162.
f<Ms
June 1995 Foundation Newsletter
page 9
LEGAL CORNER
sion of the role of the interplay of Federal and State rules of
FMSF Staff evidence, all discussion of the specifics of the particular
cases, and all discussion of the psychological literature.
Recovered memory claim denied in sex abuse case What remains (just a quarter of the original) is still a
The Baltimore Sun May 6, 1995 weighty document and we take great pleasure in printing it:
Robert Erlandson and Joe Nawrozki
THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In Maryland's first test of recovered memory in sex
moe HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT
abuse cases y. Maskell will be further reviewed in the
July/August FMSF Newsletter), a Baltimore judge dis State of New Hampshire
v.
missed a lawsuit brought by two former students against a
Catholic priest who is alleged to have molested them almost Joel Hungerford
25 years ago. The ruling, dated May 5, 1995, by Circuit 94-S-045 thru 94-S-047
Judge Hilary Caplan concerned only the narrow issue of
whether the women's long-suppressed memories qualified State of New Hampshire
v.
for an exception to Maryland's statute of limitations for
civil suits. John Morahan
The two women claimed that a Roman Catholic priest 93-S-1734 thru 93-S-1936
and a gynecologist molested them while they were students DECREE
at Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore 25 years
ago. Now in their 40's, the women assert they had devel THIS IS AN ABRIDGEMENT
oped an "amnesiac aspect of post-traumatic stress disorder"
These cases involve indictments for aggravated feloni
for decades because of the incidents until three years ago.
ous sexual assault. The Court fmds that the victims had no
The women argued - unsuccessfully - that this qualified
memory of the assaults in these cases for several years and
them for an ex~ption to a three-year statute of limitations that their memories were recovered through the process of
on civil suits for those judged to be mentally incompetent at
psychotherapy. The victims now wish to testify to the mem
the time of the alleged incidents. Judge Caplan said the
ory they claim to have recovered about the occurrence of
plaintiffs did not show that post-traumatic stress disorder
these events. A hearing was held to determine whether the
"automatically leads one to amnesia. This is a leap of faith
victims' testimony would be admitted at trial. The Court
this court cannot make." finds that the testimony of the victims as to their memory of
After hearing testimony regarding the reliability of the assaults shall not be admitted at trial because the phe
repressed memory testimony in a pre-trial hearing, Judge nomenon of memory repression, and the process of therapy
Caplan concluded, ''The court in no way is judging [the used in these cases to recover the memories, have not
plaintiffs'] credibility, but their recollection. That did not gained general acceptance in the field of psychology; and
meet the test of scientific reliability ... No empirical studies are not scientifically reliable.
verify the existence of repressed memory. There is no way
Jo test the validity of these memories." REQUIREMENT OF SCIENTIFIC ACCEPTANCE AND
RELIABll.fiY
In the State's view, these cases do not involve expert
NEW HAMPSIDRE DECISION testimony or scientific method. They simply involve the lay
testimony of witnesses whose memories have been
One of the most important FMS legal events occurred refreshed. Their testimony is a matter of credibility for the
on May 23 in the New Hampshire Hillsbourgh County jury. It is the lay testimony of the witness from the recov
Superior Court. Presiding Justice William J. Groff had ered memory which is sought to be prohibited, and it is the
ordered a pre-trail hearing to consider the admissibility of phenomenon of that memory and the process of which that
recovered memory testimony. The expert witnesses were, memory is the product, which is to be subjected to the test
for the State, Daniel Brown. Ph.D and Bessel van der Kolk, of scientific acceptance and reliability. Testimony that is
M.D. of Harvard University and Jon Conte, Ph.D. of the dependent upon recovery of a repressed memory through
University of Washington; for the defense, Elizabeth Lof therapy cannot be logically disassociated from the underly
tus, Ph.D. of the University of Washington, J~es Hudson, ing scientific concept or the technique of recovery.
M.D. of Harvard University, and Paul McHugh, M.D. of The concept of repressed memory and its recovery
Johns Hopkins University. In our next issue we will carry a through therapy are clearly scientific processes. The recov
legal analysis of Judge Caplan' s decision in the Maskell ery of a victim's repressed memory through therapy is not
case (Baltimore) and Justice Groff's decision in New the same as a simple refreshed recollection under ordinary
Hampshire. circumstances. [f the victim's testimony is admitted, the
jury will have to decide the credibility of the witness. How
Justice Groff's decision is a brilliant legal document. ever, this determination must be predicated upon the jury's
We wish we had the room in this newsletter to print it all understanding of the method by which the testimony was
(see page 13 to order). What appears below is the result of developed.
removing all citations, all discussion of case law, all discus-
The reliability of the victim's testimony of her recov-
FMs
June 1995 FOundation Newsletter page 10
ered repressed memory depends on the reliability of the review, and perhaps generally accepted. Yet the peer accep
phenomenon of ..r epressed memory" itself and upon the tance of these studies relates mostly to tested and unchal
reliability of the process used to recover it. Before the testi lenged hypotheses, upon the extrapolation of which, the the
mony of the victims may be admitted, the scientific validity ory of repressed memory relies. The question is whether
of the (>henomenon of repressed memory and the process by based on those studies, and that evidence, the present theory
which 1t was recovered must be ascertained. may be rationally and scientifically exhibited. At that level
Finally, the Court finds that expert testimony is the analysis must fail. In this sense, there has been much
regyired in this case, if the victims' testimony is to be publication and peer review, but little agreement. The reaw
admissible. New Hampshire has acknowledged in numerous son for such disagreement lies in the inappropriate appljca
instances that where common knowledge furnishes no crite tion of many of these studies to this phenomenon, and the
substantial flaws in methodology which have been men
ria for judgment, or where proof depends on observation
and analysis outside the common experience of jurors, tioned in regard to these stUdies. For these reasons. the test
expert testimony is required to establish the proof. A jury ability may be seriously challenged and refutability may be
can most assuredly understand the infirmities of memories seriously advanced.
and the motives that shape them in the normal course of Finally, the falsifiability of the phenomenon of
their experience. The jurors are completely capable of eval repressed memories cannot be dismissed. Every expert that
uating the accuracy of the memory ~d the credibility of the has testified in this case, and probably every researcher and
person testifying from it, by virtue of the ordinary knowl professional involved in this issue, will concede that there is
edge, common sense, and practical experience by which we absolutely no ability, absent independent corroboration or
all make such determinations in our everyday lives. confinnation, to determine whether a particular "repressed
However, the very concept of a .. repressed" memory, memory" is false or true. The potential of such false memo
that is, that a person can experience a traumatic event. and ries and the inability to identify them has readily been
have no memory of it whatsoever for several years, tran acknowledged since this controversial issue of memory
scends human experience. There is nothing in our develop repression surfaced one hundred years ago. The very ques
ment as human beings which enables us to empirically tion of whether a "repressed" memory exists is simply a
accept the phenomenon, or to evaluate its accuracy or the question of whether what is remembered is true or not. It is
credibility of the person "recovering" the memory. The either a memory, i.e. an actual recollection of an actual trau
memory and the narration of it are severed from all the ordi matic event. or it is a false memory, i.e. a manufactured nar
nary human processes by which the memory is commonly rative of an event which never happened. Furthermore, it
understood. To argue that a jury could consider such a phe must be acknowledged that "false" memories do occur. This
nomenon, evaluate it and draw conclusions as to its accu is known by the existence of cases in which it is impossible
racy or credibility, without the aid of expert testimony is that the events remembered occurred, such as in cases of
disingenuous to say the least. remembered alien abductions. A further indication of the
potential for false memories are the recantation of a grow
PHENOMENON OF REPRESSED MEMORY
ing number of those who once claimed recovered memo
It is absolutely clear that a raging or robust debate ries.
exists in the field of psychology as to whether such a phe
The implication of this potential falsifiability is devas
nomenon as "repressed memory" as defined in these cases
tating. Since the phenomenon of memory repression itself is
exists. There is no reluctance to accept the existence of
beyond the life experience of the average juror, a juror has
some limited partial amnesia as generally associated with
no basis to judge, evaluate, or determine the victim's testi
trauma. However, it is the concept of the total loss of mem
mony. The experts in this case have impressed upon the
ory of the trau.ma,tic event for a period of years, or "massive
Court that the vividness or completeness of the memory, or
repression" which is highly disputed. It is clear from the
the confidence of the witness in the accuracy of the memory
testimony of the expert witnesses, the literature, and the are not determinative of memory's validity.
published opinions of the professional societies that there is
not a general acceptance of the phenomenon of repressed PROCESS OF PSYCHOTHERAPY
memory in the field of psychology today. It is in fact clear Even if the phenomenon of "repressed memory", itself,
that there is not only a lack of consensus, but a '"violent" were accepted, the processes of psychetherapy used in these
disagreement. It is clear that the state has failed to meet its cases failed to achieve the required level of scientific
burden of proof in this regard. acceptability and reliability. Psychotherapy as reasonably
In applying these and other considerations to the phe practiced by competent professionals for the legitimate
nomenon of repressed memory, the Court finds that the reli treatment of psychological and emotional conditions is
ability of the phenomenon bas not been established. The clearly an established science, and the Court does not pre
level and nature of the debate in this instance appears to sume to criticize or denigrate that respected 1;1rofession. It is
extend across a panorama of scientific disciplines. The clear, however, that the psychotherapy utilized in these
Court suffers form a Jack of confidence in the validity of the cases failed to exemplify the respected traditions of that
concept as a result of this continuing "scientific dialogue." profession.
The consideration of peer review and publication is There are no studies indicating that false memories
complex. In one sense, it can be agreed that at a certain have evc::r been implanted by the therapy process. However,
level studies have been published and submitted to peer theliJ.Py IS recognized to be inherently suggestive. It is uni-