False Memory Syndrome Foundation Vol 08 No 05 1999 julyaug

20 Pages·1999·0.93 MB·English

FALSE MEMORY SYNDROME FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER
I \
JULY/AUGUST 1999 Vol. 8 No.S
Dear Friends, patient. The patient had come to believe that she had been
part of an intergenerational satanic cult. (See Simpson v.
Although we can track the changes in the FMS phe
Litwin, this newsletter.)We had to conclude that for us, at
nomenon through such indicators as statistics, legal deci
least, there is no getting away from the reality of what has
sions, and publications, for most of us, change (or the lack
so profoundly affected our lives.
thereof ) is made meaningful by the events that affect us
But what a tremendous change has occurred in these
personally such as a contact nibble (or no contact) from a
seven years. From a problem in its ascendancy in 1992,
lost child. At least that is true for this writer.
FMS has become a problem in decline in 1999. Although
And like many people grieving because of the nonsen
the problem will probably not disappear in our lifetimes, it
sical FMS cruelty, this writer, from time to time, tries to take
will become increasingly marginalized as people distance
a break from it. Thus, a chance event while on vacation this
themselves, or are forced to distance themselves, from it.
summer brought home the dramatic, almost unprecedented,
Renee Fredrickson, Ph.D. was one of the prominent names
changes that have occurred in this social problem.
in recovered-memory therapy seven years ago; now she is
It was similar to a chance event that occurred in 1992, a
just another example of the therapists forced to distance
few months after the Foundation had been fonned. We were
themselves because of serious sanctions by a state license
headed for a distant isolated location in an attempt to lessen
board. (See Legal Corner) Fredrickson has been permanent
the unrelenting grief, only to be greeted by a United Airlines
ly restricted from providing therapy that involves issues of
magazine advertisement for an abuse treatment center in
cult, ritual, or satanic abuse.
California. The ad stated: "Remembering incest and child
Another therapist under review for substandard therapy
hood abuse is the first step to healing," and "We can help
practices is Bennett Braun, M.D., the Chicago psychiatrist
you remember and heal." It claimed that the following were
at the center of the belief in MPD and satanic ritua1 abuse
signs of abuse:
and who was the best known founder of the ISSD
MOOD SWINGS • PANIC DISORDERS • SUBSTANCE ABUSE * (International Society for the Study of Dissociation). A few
RAGE * FLASHBACKS • DEPRESSION * HOPELESSNESS * ANXI
ETY * PARANOIA • LOW SELF ESTEEM • RELAPSE * RELATION professionals such as Daniel Brown, Ph. D., a speaker at the
SHIP PROBLEMS * SEXUAL FEAR • SEXUAL COMPULSION * SELF 1999 Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric
MUTILATION * BORDERLINE PERSONALITY * IRRITABLE BOWEL
Association, continue to defend Braun. Dr. Elva Poznanski,
• MIGRAINE * P.M.S. * POST TRAUMATIC STRESS * BULIMIA ._
ANOREXIA * A.C.OA * OBESITY * MULTIPLE PERSONALITY * a fanner Braun colleague at Rush Presbyterian, however,
HALLUCINATIONS • RELIGIOUS ADDICTIONS * PARENTING has agreed with the Illinois Department of Professional
PROBLEMS * SUICIDAL FEELINGS.
Regulation to testify against Braun in a hearing to strip him
We carried that advertisement with us because it of his license to practice medicine.
seemed such a concise statement of the warped and non-sci It will be interesting to see if the ISSD will ever recog
entific belief system confronting families. And we learned nize the problems it has helped to create; after all lawsuits
that however far one might travel, the emptiness in our
hearts would remain. Our children, after all, will always be
In this issue. •.
our children despite the pain they create.
Plper .................................................................................. 2
In July 1999, we again headed for a distant isolated
Feld ....................................................................................5
spot, partly in the hope that we could avoid reading, talking,
Merskey ............................................................................6
or thinking about FMS for a while. It was not to be. While
Legal Corner ....................................................................8
in transit we heard a radio heralding the news of a legal
From Our Readers. ......................................................... 14
decision in a case in which a therapist was sued by a former
Bu/leffn Board ................................................................ 18
3401 Market Street. Suite 130, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3315, [phone], Fox [phone]
against most of its founders indicate that something is reflection by therapists about their responsibility to provide
wrong. The International Society for Traumatic Stress safe and effective therapy.
Studies turned down the ISSD when the latter asked to inte The result of an on-air comment by Laura Schlesinger
grate. And the ISSD acknowledges its membership has been (Dr. Laura) two weeks ago, however, gave us a reminder
dropping. that the FMS problem is still all-too-much with us. A men
Another example of marginalization is the vehemence tion of FMSF by her-even with no telephone number
with which professionals such as Paul Fink, M.D., fanner brought a small deluge of telephone calls from desperate
president of the American Psychiatric Association, speak families looking for help.
against the FMSF and fundamental issues such as infonned The general direction of change in the FMS situation is
consent. Writing in the November 1998 Clinical Psychiatry nevertheless clear, and the Foundation needs to continue to
News, Dr. Fink said that "infonned-consent would 'destroy change in response. We no longer need to have such a large
dynamic psychotherapy."' On October 30, 1991, Dr. Fink staff to respond to calls and letters for help, but we do need
appeared on the "Jane Wallace Live" television program to be here for newly accused families and the steady num
and actually validated the sexual abuse claims of three ber of contacts from fonner patients--our children. We
women he had never evaluated. Dr. Fink went on to state: need to be alert and responsive to errors or bias in articles
"Everybody who has MPD has been abused. Everybody and presentations. to expand educational outreach efforts
who has Post Traumatic disorder has been abused. and to work for changes that will help families reconcile.
Everybody who has serious problems with depression With your ongoing support and financial generosity, we can
and. .. were abused." Now Dr. Pink marginalizes himself by do that.
repeating the totally inaccurate and false claim that the
FMSF is behind infonned consent legislation.
Evidence of change continues in the legal field. In this
Pamela Puts On the Glmcs!
month's Legal Corner we report a decision by the
r\ttgust P1pc1 M [).
Wisconsin Supreme Court that paves the way for parents to
bring lawsuits against their accusing (in this case deceased)
The first page of today's newsletter shows Pamela
daughter's therapists. The language of the court was strong
Freyd landing a few more haymakers on the recovered
and will be appreciated by accused families.
memory movement. As she correctly notes, many of its
"We are quite confident that negligent treatment which
practitioners are suffering increased marginalization. (I
encourages false accusations of sexual abuse is highly culpable
must confess I had to look the word up: it means "placing
for the resulting injury."
something in a position of marginal or minimal impor
"The hanns the Sawyers have alleged are the ordinary and tance.")
predictable injuries one might expect following negligent thera
One of Pamela's comments-about vehement attacks
py which implants and reinforces false memories of sexual
on the FMSF-reminded me of a phenomenon that occurs
abuse at the hands of family members which results in accusa
as a movement is being marginalized and discredited. At
tions of that abuse."
that point, its adherents, contrary to what might be expect
The Sawyer v Midelfort decision, in the wake of the ed, become even more passionate-as if raw passion could
-
Hun!;l:erford third party decision ' will surely be eau s e f or breathe li I e into the movement's dying flames. And some-
times the adherents can maintain their beliefs only by dos-
FREE
ing their eyes to more and more-as time progresses, ever
''Recovered Memories: .Are'They Reliable?"
more-evidence. Such self-imposed darkness leads at times
Call or write the FMS ·Foundation, for pamphlets.
to some very odd results.
Be sure to include yoill' address and
With respect to this phenomenon as it applies to the
the number of pamphlets you need.
recovered-memory movement, consider the paper by Chu
and colleagues ("Memories of childhood abuse:
special thanks Dissociation, amnesia, and corroboration") in the May issue
We extend a very speciaJ 'Thank you" to all of the people of the American Journal of Psychiatry (156: 749-755). The
who help prepare the FMSF Newsletter. Editorial Support:
authors state that:
Toby Feld, Alien Feld, Janet Fetkewicz, Howard Fishman,
Peter Freyd. Research: Michele Gregg, Anita Lipton. a) clinical research generally has supported the concepts of
Columnists: August Piper, Jr. and Members of the FMSF dissociative amnesia ... in relation to traumatic events;
Scientific Advisory Board. Letters and irifonnation: Our
b) a substantial proportion of participants reported partial
Readers.
or complete amnesia for abuse memories;
2 FMS Foundation Newsletter JULY/AUGUST 1999 Vol. 8 No. 5
c) a majority of participants found I) told the subjects what would-and there were 21 (3.3%) reports of child
strong corroboration of their recov what would not--qualify as confirma hood sexual abuse: 34 (5.3%) of phys
ered memories. tory evidence, 2) interviewed those ical abuse; and 17 (2.7%) of neglect.
people who allegedly "confinned" the There was little overlap between docu
Let us examine these claims.
experiences: or 3) even examined the mented and self-reported cases.
To make the assertion in a) "physical evidence." In short, the The authors concluded that per
requires a truly phenomenal immer investigators have taken the partici sons who had experienced childhood
sion in darkness. Why? Because very pants· word that the traumatic experi abuse or neglect were considerably
solid research has been published ences were confirmed. more likely than those not abused or
examining some 10,000 victims of var
It does not seem mean-spirited to neglected to have personality disorders
ious kinds of traumas I. These studies point out that such "confirmation" falls during early adulthood.
show that not a single person repressed just a mite short of scientific rigor. Although there was clearly an
the experience. Chu fails to even men These comments, and several oth association between reported abuse
tion these investigations-which is ers, have been submitted in a letter to and personality disorder, we cannot
indeed strange, given that the research the Journal's editor. Will the author conclude that abuse causes personality
was published by faculty members resolutely defmed his position, or disorder. For example. one conclusion
from his very own university. show the white flag? Stay tuned. might be that personality disorder is
One of Chu's major claims is 1. For a splendid summary of this research, associated with reporting sexual abuse
found in b): that the study participants instructive to both Jay and professional readers. rather than having actually experi
had high rates of amnesia for their see Pope, Harrison: Psychology Asrray: enced sexual abuse. Self-reports of
Fallctcies in Studies of "Repressed Memory"
childhood traumas. This assertion, of childhood sexual abuse of 20 to 35%
and Childhood Trauma (Boca Ratan, Florida:
course, contradicts a large and well Upton Books, 1997) have commonly been reported in the
established body of research. This literature (e.g. Russell, 1986).
August Piper Jr., M.D., is the author
work generally shows that unless ordi Assuming that the higher rates in those
of Hoax and Reali()•: The Bizarre World of
nary forgetting occurs, memorable other reports are correct, then 15 to
Multinle Personality Disorder. He is in
events are recalled by children older private practice in Seattle and is a member 20% of participants in this study were
than about age three or four. of the FMSF Scientific Advisory Board. abused but did not tell.
Now, given that Chu's paper repre Even allowing for this problem,
sents a radical departure from this 0 the authors still fail to control for other
well-recognized scientific work, one Does Childhood Maltreatment potential confounding variables. For
would think he would meticulously Cause Adult Personality Disorder? example, in determining parental psy
document the subjects' amnesia. FMSF Staff chiatric disorders, if the mother did not
Instead of doing so, however, he trots "Childhood Maltreatment Increases Risk know the psychiatric history of the
out the same tired old questions that for Personality Disorders During Early subject's biological father, only infor
have been thoroughly discredited by Adulthoocl" Johnson, 1. G., Cohen, P, mation regarding the mother was used.
other investigators: "Was there a peri Brown, J., Smailes, E.M., Bemstein, D.P This is one example of the method
Archives of General Psychiatry Vol 56
od of time when you did not remember ological limitations that make it diffi
July 1999 p. 600-606
that this [traumatic] experience hap cult to draw conclusions from this
pened?" Evidence of childhood physical, report.
Similar remarks apply to the asser sexual abuse or neglect was obtained
0
tion in c). Any study claiming "corrob from state records and from self
oration" of traumatic events must sat reports in a longitudinal study involv A Sign of Our Times
isfy one absolutely fundamental ing a representative community sam Alien Feld
requirement: that the events in ques ple of 639 youths and their parents
Few would disagree that there
tion be rigorously documented. How from the state of New York. The study
have been significant changes in soci
did Chu attend to this requirement? By controlled for age of onset of abuse,
ety's view of "recovered memories."
asking the study participants whether, gender and parental psychopathology.
Just think back to early 1992, prior to
first, anyone had ever confirmed their In the documented sample there
the Foundation opening its doors.
experiences, and second, whether the were 4 cases (0.6%) of sexual abuse;
Would you expect to find references to
particpants had physical evidence of 15 cases (2.3%) of physical abuse; and
"so-called recovered memories" or
the experiences. The published paper 23 cases (3.6%) of neglect reported to
"false memories" in your summer
does not indicate that the investigators authorities. In the self-report sample
novel reading? The following refer
FMS Foundation Newsletter JULY/AUGUSr 1999 Vol. 8 No. 5 3
ences were recently found within a er byproduct of forceful suggestion on
two-week period: a mind experiencing extreme stress. Memories Lost and Found -
Part I.
Another panelist is an "So the officers conducting such an
07/01/1999 The Harvord Mental
Englishwoman who's written a book interrogation would gradually intro
Health Lener Copyright 1999
about so-called recovered memory--- duce new information and incorporate
Information Access Company.
in her case, hers. She woke up one it into their questioning. (p. 463)"
All rights reserved.
morning and "remembered" that her (Quotation marks in original)
father had raped her, and her brothers
This comment is a response to a Critics are especially concerned
had raped her-and all her uncles.
question of an expert witness, called about psychotherapy, because they
Her grandfather, too! Every morning
by the defense, and was asked by the believe it is the source of many of
she wakes up and "remembers" some
one else who raped her. She must be defendant's attorney (one of the main the memories they are challenging.
exhausted! (Italics and "quotation characters). It appears in a book that Suggestion is most effective when it
marks" in original.) p. 320. weaves contemporary women's issues comes from a person designated as a
throughout its interrelated plots and healer and authority. Beliefs about
John lrving ( 1998) A Widow for
features three strong women as main memory and memory recovery are
One Year NY: Random House 537
pages characters. easily instilled !:>y therapists, who
(As an aside: [t is difficult for me may disguise their influence, even
Neither this panelist nor her
to overlook contributions that several from themselves, as education,
"remembered" experiences are impor
Advisory Board members may have information, or discovery. For
tant to the plot In fact, there is only
made to the issues in this brief para example, a memory of sensations
one other brief reference to her:
graph. Some examples are Richard felt while being innocently bathed
On the elevator, there was the tragi Ofshe's work on false confessions and by a parent could take on sinister
comic Englishwoman; from the look Elizabeth Loftus and Martin Ome's on connotations that quickly suggest
of her, she'd doubtless awakened with the "subtle power'' and "feeding infor false elaborations. Insistent leadin~
recovered memory of yet another
mation." Their professional contribu questions are especially danger
rape. (p. 321)
tions are widely known.) ous,but even a therapist who is try
Both excerpts seem to be tinged It is deceptive to draw conclusions ing to be neutral may convey a bias.
with humor and, perhaps, even from these two examples and from HYpnosis afidi,Wd~~im~g~cy.,oam~
ridicule. Obviously, the author could other casual references similar to these monly used by recovered- memory
have chosen other descriptors. Since often mentioned to us by our members. therapists, blur the line between
writers strive to communicate, I would It is not my intent to suggest that these imagination and reality and greatly
assume that the author believed that citations reflect either change in soci heighten confidence in memories
enough readers would appreciate the ety or that the Foundation had a major while lowering their accuracy.
irony in these casual passages about role in accomplishing this. When Source confusion iS magnified when
this panelist. Since this novel is written things like this start to appear in our patients are asked to imagine some
in a witty style, I also assume John popular culture, I am hopeful that it is thing repeatedly until it seems famil
Irving believed enough readers would a positive sign of our times. iar and then talk about it as though it
understand the humor intended. were real.
0
Jean Hanef Korelitz ( 1999) in The
Sabbathday River (New York: Farrar,
Straus & Giroux, 499 pages) wrote
Wisconsin Supreme Court Decision Sawyer v. Midelfort
this:
"It's a message to therapists that they may be held accountable to individu
It was not a question of simple con
fession, Harvey explained. There als other than their patients if they allow therapy to go awry;• attorney Wt11iam
tended to be a gradual progression Smoler of Madison said. 'There are other people who are really hurt by mis
from "I didn't do it" to "I must have guided therapy and it's time people recognize that"
done it," each step achieved through
In the only dissenting opinion, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley warned that the
the subtle power of modem interroga
court's majority opinion could lead to more third-party lawsuits against therapists.
tion tactics, an insidious feeding of
"As the saying warns," Bradley wrote, ''Once the camel's nose is in the tent the
information to the suspect, who is
rest is sure to follow."
after all distressed and fearful. This
Court allows 'repressed memories' malpractice lawsuit to proceed,
phenomenon, he said, was something
Associated Press State & LocaJ W"ue. June 30, 1999
akin to that of false memories, anoth-
4 FMS FoundatiOn Newste"e' JULY/AUGUST /999 Vol. 8 No. 5
product. between, in his examples, experi
Clients Therapeutically Created
Over time, I sometimes wondered menters and subjects. This turned out
Pasts and Present lnllucm:es Can
if myth-making had become an impor to be the barest beginning of the liter
Lead to Fuhn·e l'mblems
ature on covert influence.
tant component in some therapists'
Alkn r..:ld Compelling, painstaking accumulated
approach to helping. I believe that my
evidence now makes it indisputable
I have always questioned the ther questioning has merit, in part, for the
that powerful ideas may be triggered
apeutic necessity, wisdom and rele following reasons: therapists have no
and inculcated without either partici
vance of delving deeply into a client's way to determine the truth and validity
pant's conscious awareness. In fact,
past-especially a client's remote past of a client's reporting of the past. In the absence of conscious awareness
or early childhood. These concerns fact. I sensed some didn't even seem to may potentiate the effects of influ
become even more robust if the rea care about historical accuracy. A thera ence. As patient or therapist we are
sons for such exploration are vague or pist may express keen interest in a quite capable of intuiting, without
not scientifically supported. I remain client's narrative and this, coupled conscious awareness, the unconscious
belief of others, even ideas which,
bewildered by the apparent subjective with the client's desire to please this
when raised to consciousness, are dis
interpretation frequently used in this important "authority figure," might
avowed.
type of therapeutic approach and inflate the importance of the narrative;
The power of a therapist's belief
befuddled by the lack of verifiable although a client might be in therapy
system in determining not only what is
"evidence" to support questionable for only one hour, therapy may be with
consciously and explicitly emphasized
conclusions. The devastating experi a client the remaining 167 hours of the
but also what is unintentionally or
ences of FMSF families have rein week; if the past were distorted in its
implicitly emphasized in therapy
forced those concerns. It is important telling by the client, and possibly fur
should not be understated or over
to stress: My questioning has been ther distorted, even unintentionally, by
looked. I believe that these two con
directed to the therapeutic use of the the therapist with such things as mis
cepts, covert influence and therapists'
past and not the personal importance understood comments, questions,
belief system, at the very minimum,
that people may ascribe to their past. speculations, interpretations and/or the
impact and affect each other and may
Early in my social work career, client's "homework." clients might
ultimately merge. I might even be per
when colleagues discussed dealing integrate distortions into their life
suaded to accept the proposition that
with a client's past, I had at least the story.
some therapists who claim they did not
following three questions: a) Even if Thus, with relative ease a myth
influence the "discovery" of memories
the therapist's role in developing a can be created. Over time and with
of incest, or some clients who are
client's narrative of the past can be set continued therapeutic exchanges, the
adamant in stating that they have not
aside, how is it possible for a therapist strength of the client's and therapist's
been influenced by the therapist, may
to judge the accuracy of the client's belief in the myth might grow. A myth
actually be unaware of how therapeu
created narrative? b) Precisely how can become a virtually unshakable
tic influences such as these may be at
does a therapist help a client in the pre reality. Indeed, readers of the
play.
sent time with information from the Newslelfer are aware of the hann that
A client is not expected to be cog
past? c) How would (or, does) a thera these myths caused, and are still caus
nizant of how unintended influences
pist alter her/his approach to helping, ing, to families. This scenario
impact the therapist and her therapy.
if the client's narrative were different? describes, at least in part, an example
However, the standard for a therapist
Simply stated, I rejected the notion of what some call covert influences
is, and must be, different. A therapist's
that the past determined a client's pre that occur in therapy.
lack of awareness of possible unin
sent or future. While I accepted the C. Brooks Brenneisl (p.
tended influences is unacceptable.
importance that people often place in xvi)describes Martin T. Orne's2 impor
Some may argue that a therapist's error
what they believe are their pasts, I jux tance in articulating this phenomenon.
of not comprehending or considering
taposed that with the concerns I had
... Ome ( 1962) captured the process the heavy influence he or she exerts
about the reliability of specific details
of influence and suggestion quite dif merits their escaping especially severe
of a person's early years. ferently from what I had imagined it sanctions in false-memory cases. I
Understanding that the client's telling to be. Where I anticipated deliberate
vehemently disagree. The sanctions
of her narrative was an outgrowth of an indoctrination foisted upon a more or
should be equally severe regardless of
exchange with the therapist, I recog less passively receptive subject, Ome
a therapist's awareness or conscious
nized that the exchange itself had a saw shades of influence, covertly
ness of that influence. The damage to
expressed, and running back and forth
significant potential to impact the final
FMS Foundation Newsleffer JULY/AUGUST 1999 Vol. 8 No. 5 5
the client and the ensuing family dev the riotous inconsistency of its practi
astation occur whether the influence is tioners and their victims. It would be
intended or not. funny if it were not only serious and
Additionally, therapists represent sometimes tragic.
To Hell and Back: Multiple
themselves as possessing, are assumed Gail Macdonald tells a story of her
Personality Dis<1rder as a Betrayal
by their clients to possess and indeed induction into MPD and her escape
of the Patient
should possess, the requisite skills and from it. Born into a working-class fam·
MAKING OF AN [UNESS: MY EXPERIENCE
knowledge to understand fully the ily, she had good parenting until her
WfrH MULTIPLE PERSONALrrY DISORDER.
influence that they may potentially father took to alcohol. She became a
Reviewer: Harold Merskey
exert. Therapists' work should, as dic troubled adolescent and a dropout,
Gail Macdonald. Forward by Campbell
tated by the credo of medicine, "cause who took to alcohol and drugs and
Perry. 1999. L.aurentian University
no harm." Clients are entitled to this: Press, Sudbury, Ontario. Pp. Ill, soft went through numerous relationships
their clients' families deserve this; back $10.00 Canadian. and one divorce. In her second mar
society should demand this. riage she was still miserable but sought
A thorn by any other name would
I Brenneis, B. C. ( 1997) Recovered memory of out Alcoholics Anonymous and was
prick as sharp (with apologies to
trauma: Transferri'l8 the present to the past, able to stop drinking. Still distressed,
Juliet).
International Universities Press.
and possessed by much anger against
Medical historians, especially
2. Ome, M.T. ( 1962) On the social psychology
her father, she went on to ACOA
of the psychology experiment: With particular those who popularize medical writing,
(Adult Children of Alcoholics) where
emphasis to demand characteristics and their like to remind us of past excesses, such
implications. American Psychologist, 17: 776- at the age of 33, and herself a mother
as bleeding and purging of patients in
783. of two children, she met a handsome
extremis, and making them vomit, all
Alien Feld is Director of Collfinuing counsellor-therapist.
of which frequently seems to have fin
Education for the FMS Foundation. He
Looking back over her illness at
has retired from the faculty of the School ished them off. Chaining and beating
this point, a conventional doctor who
of Social Work at Marywood University in of lunatics, the use of the ducking stool
was skeptical of MPD and pragmatic
Pennsylvania. and the whirling chair, not to mention
in regard to treatment issues might
0 witch hunts and executions all figure in
well have given her a judicious\y cho·
these dramatic excesses of medicine.
-
sen sedative, anti-depressant drug, so
Today's equivalent, MPD, now skulks
Are you onE-mail?
that by night she would sleep well and
under the DSM-IV label of
If we don't have yonr by day her more rational moments
Dissociative Identity Disorder, the
could increase and be extended with
e-mail address, name change no doubt seeking to min
the help of supportive psychotherapy.
please send it to imize opposition and to escape the
Instead the social worker/therapist
obvious fallacies of frequent changes
[email protected] in a small town of 15,000 people took
of ideas about what "it" is, as well as
her into treatment and entered her into
Ambiguous Loss: Learning to Live With Unresolved Grief a group he was collecting together.
Harvard University Press, 1999, Dr. Pauline Boss Before long she was one of 25 individ
uals all given the diagnosis of MPD by
As defined. by the author, an "ambiguous loss" is when a lost person is still
her therapist, who was not-according
physically present but emotionally absent or when a lost person is physically
to the rules of the province of Ontario
absent but still emotionally present. Examples of the latter are a soldier miss
-entitled to make diagnoses as a pro
ing in action or a child who has disappeared.
fessional practitioner. He became her
Dr_ Boss notes that with an ambiguous loss it is often difficult for people
friend and walked with her socially.
to get on with thelf lives. She notes that "People and families become frozen,
She bought The Courage to Heal on
their lives grind to a near-halt. because they cannot properly mourn someone
his recommendation, read it, and with
who is not completely gone." The author suggests that the best way to live with
additional interviews ("therapy")
an ambiguous loss is with resilience. She states that the goal for families is to
acquired ten alters. Of course, she was
find some way to change even though the ambiguity remains. She advises that
told to find her memories, and ulti
fainilies must learn to balance grief over what was lost with a recognition of
mately did so.
what is possible.
The procedures by which this was
Many FMS families will see parallels to their own s~tuations in the notion
achieved included activities resem
of an ambiguous loss.
bling the practice of hypnosis in all but
6 FMS Foundation News/eHer JULY/AUGUST 1999 'vbl. 8 No. 5
name, as Campbell Perry indicates in her therapist kissing another patient in Dr. Harrison Pope have indicated that
his foreword. With difficulty and dis his car. the status of the diagnosis is unsettled.
tress, she came to accuse her father of The husband of another patient Bolder (or more foolhardy) spirits,
sexual abuse and not just of his drunk had been urging both of them to give who early on decided that no case
enness and its consequences. The alters up the treatment, which he said was existed that had been proven or was
included girls between four and seven making them worse. Gait took a break likely to be proven, are being joined by
years old, three male teenagers and two from her therapist and the buzzing of increasing numbers who think that the
females, aged about 20. As well, there voices declined. She saw her family diagnosis as such should be dropped;
was one called "Shadow" - or alterna doctor and two psychiatrists, all of and many have doubts as well about
tively and ironically - "Black Mass. whom concurred that she did not have the whole concept of Dissociative
The Courage to Heal describes an MPD. The second psychiatrist Disorders as promulgated in the last
Emergency Stage in which patients (or described her in an article in the med several decades.
"clients") get worse and may harm ical literature as one of five patients in Readers of this book will find it to
themselves. Gail duly got worse, as did whom the diagnosis was recognized as be both moving and distressing. Most
others in her group. Written journals false. She also appeared in a ground of all it is straightforward without
were developed to explore her inner breaking film of the Canadian unnecessary complexity, direct and
experiences while trying to reconcile Broadcasting Corporation shown in unflinchingly honest. It describes the
or merge the alters. Concomitantly, November, 1993. outcome in one patient out of a large
she was both accepting and hating the There were still difficulties and number whom medicine has betrayed.
thoughts of her father as an abuser and painful emotions to confront; not about The swing of intellectual opinion in
ultimately started cutting her wrists her father but about her own mishaps - medicine is well on the way to dis
and engaging in self-mutilation. This but life is much better for her now. missing MPD and recovered memories
seems to have culminated in tearing off Gait Macdonald tells her story but some proponents still fancy their
a great toe nail with great pain and with great honesty and much frankness skill at diagnosing or treating such
bleeding. Self-mutilation indeed had in self-disclosure. She makes no excus conditions. They ought not to be
become the topic of the group. She es for her mistakes, harnesses the past allowed to do so since it now is
heard "voices" and began to realize to the present and has moved on with approaching a level of professional
that rreatment was starting to make her impressive strength to rebuild her life. negligence, if not worse, to make the
mentally ill. Voices were explained as She is free from the symptoms of cut diagnosis of MPD. From the point of
the voices of her alters. Many members ting and suicidal actions but her second view of a psychiatrist, it is a telling
of the group showed up with bums on marriage ended during her illness. example of a professionally made dis
their bodies or cuts from knives or Now, in her third marriage, she has a aster from which some at least have
razors. Her therapist encouraged sever small business which she runs with a escaped. Yet the proponents of this
ing ties with her family and she began partner, maintains the care of her diagnosis and of recovered memories
to become isolated. This is only some daughters and is rebuilding her life. still ply their trade, urging all who will
of her story but it would pass easily for Although there are occasional listen to reject one of the greatest acts
a template for a therapist's guide on minor grammatical errors, the writing of reparation of twentieth century psy
how to manufacture MPD with false of this book is direct and well orga chiatry: the overturning of one of our
memories. There were a few boundary nized. The illustrations include family most egregious errors.
violations by her therapist as well. photographs and letters or documents
Harold Merskey, D.M. i.~ Professor
Salvation reached her from several produced under the influence of her Emeritus in Psychiatry at the University of
sources. First she came across an old former diagnosis, and these provide Westem Ontario and a member of the
letter from her father written in love, some classical examples both of better FMSF Advisory Board. He is the author of
and could not reconcile this with him times and of the changes wrought by The Analysis of Hysteria: Understanding
being an abuser. When she showed this MPD. Conversion and Di.~.~ociation. 2nd ed.
letter to her therapist, he interpreted it Readers of the newsletter will find
To order:MAKING OF AN ll...LNESS
as the opposite and as evidence of his in this book a story which is all too true
by Gail Macdonald
wicked behaviour. Her therapist made and the more impressive for the quiet
Contact: Laurentian University Press,
other mistakes including advising dignity with which it is told.
935 Ramsey Lake Road
her-a member of AA-that one day The diagnosis of MPD is increas
Sudbury, ON, P3E 2C6
she would be able to drink again. In her ingly suspect. A majority of board cer
Phone: [phone]
questioning state she also came across tified psychiatrists recently sampled by ISBN# 0-88667-045-4
FMS Foundation Newsletter JULY/AUGUST /999 Vbl. 8 No. 5 7
like and were, therefore, inadmissible in Utah courts.
L E G
The Utah Supreme Court held that the trial court had
erred by I) using an "abridged record" of the trial to over
turn the jury verdict on JNOV, and by 2) equating the thera
FMSF Staff py techniques with hypnosis. Nevertheless, the justices
found other strong reasons to overturn the jury verdict that
Utah Supreme Court: Repressed Memory Testimony
had been entered in favor of the plaintiff.
Should Not Have Been Admitted at Trial
In Franklin, the Utah Supreme Court expanded on one
Franklin v. Stevenson, Supreme Court Utah, 1999 Utah
of its earlier rulings. Utah was among the first state supreme
LEXIS 95, 1999 UT 61, dated June 18, 1999.
courts to decide a repressed memory case and one of the
The Utah Supreme Court overturned a 1996 jury verdict first to recognize that the reliability of repressed memory
in favor of a plaintiff who had claimed recovered memories claims must be considered. In 1993, the court had held that
of childhood sexual abuse. The unanimous court held that "because of the dearth of empirical scientific evidence
because the memory recovery techniques used by plaintiff's regarding the authenticity and reliability of revived memo
therapist have not been proven to be scientifically reliable, ries, the inherent reliability and admissibility of expert wit
repressed memory testimony should not have been heard by ness testimony regarding memory repression and revival
the jury. All expert testimony regarding repressed memories may be an issue that will have to be reached at trial. "121T he
and all testimony of the plaintiff derived from the unproven Franklin court found that repressed memories have not been
therapy techniques in this case were held to be inadmissible. proven to be reliable during the intervening years, "Neither
In other repressed memory cases, the justices held, such tes the record nor our research indicate that these techniques
timony should undergo strict scrutiny as for any new scien enjoy a general acceptance within the field ... In fact, our
tific method. research suggests that the idea of memory repression itself,
The case was brought by Cherese Franklin, then 36, let alone the methods of recovery, is a point of disagreement
who says that she did not begin to "recall" previously within the medical, psychiatric, and psychological commu
"repressed" memories of sexual abuse until she entered nities."
therapy after experiencing panic attacks and hearing hallu The court reaffirmed that the trial judge is to serve as a
cinatory voices telling her to kill her infant daughter. Her "gatekeeper" and make sure that all testimony based on new
therapy included relaxation techniques such as deep breath scientific evidence is reliable. It is up to the proponent of the
ing and visualization techniques such as "communicating" scientific evidence to convince the trial court that the prin
with her "inner child." The court described one such tech ciples or techniques underlying the proffered testimony
nique - writing personal questions with her right hand and meet the standard of inherent reliability. The court held that
allowing her "inner child" to answer with her left-that was in the absence of such an initial showing, the evidence is to
associated with the development of Franklin's "recovered be excluded.
memories." The Supreme Court said that the "memories" The Utah Supreme Court emphasized that under certain
that emerged included "particularly heinous, traumatic acts" circumstances the lay witness' testimony may be called into
that supposedly occurred when she was between ages 5 and question. For example, if the testimony of a witness has
12. Franklin first thought her father might have been the been tainted by inadmissible evidence such as hypnosis,
abuser, but later decided it was a cousin. then that person's testimony is inadmissible in Utah courts.
Franklin sued her cousin Stevenson, 44, in early 1994, The court compared the influence of hypnosis on memory
and two years later a jury with the influence of the
awarded her $750,000 for memory recovery tech
Memory Recovery Techniq11es and Theory of
physical and emotional dam niques in Franklin. The
Repression Found,' Oorelia:ble
ages. Immediately after the court noted that in one Utah
jury verdict, the trial judge "[B]ecause the scientific reliability of the foundations case, State v. Tuttle, 780
entered a Judgment on which these so-called 'relaxation techniques' are based P.2d 1203 (Utah, 1989), the
Notwithstanding the Verdict was not established, the testimony bas~d on memories hypnotized witness at least
reeovered through use of those techniques is thereby taint-
(JNOV) in the defendant's had a basic memory of the
ed."
favor.lll After hearing the trial information intact prior to
"In fact. our research suggests that the idea of memory
testimony, the trial judge con hypnosis. This is not the
repression itself, let alo!le t,he methods of recovery, is a
cluded that the therapy tech case with Franklin,
point of djsagreement within the medical, psychiatric, and
niques that led to Franklin's "Franklin's entire memory
psychological communities:"
"memories" were hypnosis- of the events owes its exis-
Utah Supreme Court. FmnJcljn v. v. Steyenson. June 18, 1999
8 FMS Foundation Newsletter JULY/AUGUST 1999 Vol. 8 No. 5
tence to the intervention and use of [the therapist's] thera ue to explore this issue in individual cases and determine the
peutic methodology. .. Accordingly this testimony is taint reliability-or lack of reliability--of such techniques when
ed by the unreliability of the recovery methods used. and is counsel has made a proper objection to such evidence."
therefore inadmissible." (emphasis added) The court suggested that the trial court could have held
The court determined that the reliability of the thera a pretrial hearing or could have ruled the testimony inad
peutic techniques clearly had not been established in this missible during the course of the trial: "The trial court erred
case (see Sidebar), but the court did not hold as a matter of in not finding the plaintiff's experts' testimonies inadmissi
law that the techniques are conclusively unreliable in all ble" especially when it was faced with a series of defense
cases. Therefore, the court instructed trial courts to "contin- motions to exclude the experts' testimonies regarding both
the theory of repressed memory and Franklin's memories in
Memory Recovery Techniques particular, as well as the admission of~ evidence or testi
mony derived from the recovered memories.
In discussing the reliability of the repressed memory tes
Th~ court concluded: ''This is not a case where, if the
timony, the Utah Supreme Court noted that both of the
evidence had been ruled inadmissible during the course of
plaintiff's expert witnesses conceded at trial that the mem
the trial, the plaintiff could have produced new admissible
ory recovery techniques used with the plaintiff lacked sci
evidence ... While no formal evidentiary hearing was held,
entific foundation. The court quoted from the cross-exami
the trial court accorded Franklin every opportunity during
nation of Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the plaintiff's
the trial to lay this foundation and address this issue. In the
expert witnesses:
end, the trial court should have found the evidence inadmis
Q. Is there any scientific literature, any studies that you are sible ... "
aware of that have been done that show that asking a question In addition, the court held that "It would be a waste of
with one hand and answering the question with the non-dom
judicial resources to remand the case to the trial court for a
inant hand is a mechanism by which you can recover an accu
ruling on Stevenson's motion for a new trial. .. Nothing
rate memory of the past? Are there studies?
would be gained by such a remand ... Based on [the testi
A. It's interesting that you ask the question, actually, because
mony of plaintiff's own experts], it is improbable that the
this great Frenchman who knew more about traUma than any
trial court would be persuaded of the reliability of any new
body els~ Pierre Janet. ..i n 1889 in his book ... actually wrote
evidence which Franklin could offer."
,abOUt: that: verY· ,phC:noineD.6n·.
! See FMSF Newsletter, Jan. !997. Frnnk1in v S!evcnson, Third Jud. Disc. Cc.. Salt
Q. Did his study deal with the issue of validating the accura Lake Co .. Utah. No. 94·0901779PI. JNOV dmed \216J96.
cy of the recovered memory, Doctor? 2 Olsen v Hoo!ey, 865 P.2d 1345. 1349-50 (Utah. !993). Emphasis supplied by
fuwklin.
A. No, he didn't
Q. Thank you. And are you aware of a single study as of 1996 Wisconsin Supreme Court Imposes Liability on
that has validated this as a reliable technique for recovering Therapist for Injury to Falsely Accused Parents
memory, Doctor?
Sawyer v. Midelfort, 1999 Wise. LEXIS 86, June 29, 1999.
A. Not to my knowledge.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court held that two therapists
Q. Thank you. can be held liable for the injury caused by false allegations
of sexual abuse that developed during negligent therapy
The Utah Supreme Court noted that on re-direct, plain
practices. The court held that all of the third-party claims
tiff focused on the scientific acceptability of repressed mem
were properly stated and none should have been dismissed.
ory itself and did not address the techniques used to recover
The court emphasized that the parents could sue their
the memories or the reliability of such techniques. Similarly,
daughter's therapist for injuries caused directly by the false
on cross-examination, Franklin's own therapist admitted that
allegations, but not for the "loss of society and companion
she knew of no scientific studies to suggest that if one wrote
ship" of their daughter. Under Wisconsin law, the court
a question using one's dominant hand and then answered th
held, the accused person needn't have been a patient in
question with the other hand that what was written would be
order to sue, nor must the third-party be related to the
the truth. She did, however, offer that this procedure is a
accuser.
"common clinical technique." Because ..n either witness
In 1996, the Sawyers sued their adult daughter's psy
could testify regarding any testing or corroboration of the
chiatrist H. Berit Midelfort and therapist Celia Lausted for
techniques [the therapist] employed, let alone the acceptance
negligent diagnosis and treatment that caused their daughter
or review of those techniques by their peers," the court found
to develop false memories of sexual abuse by her father and
that the witness' testimony did not "evoke confidence in the
reliability of the scientific evidence." various other family members and acquaintances. The
FMS Foundation Newsletter JULY/AUGUST 1999 Vol. 8 No. 5 9
daughter, who had changed her name to Anneatra to make it ferent than the hann that arises from accusations of sexual
more difficult for her parents to find her, confronted her par assault ... We do not believe that the alleged injuries are too
ents with the allegations of sexual abuse and filed a lawsuit wholly out of proportion to the culpability of the negligent
against them (but did not pursue it). Anneatra and her par tortfeasor."
ents did not speak again. After Anneatra's death in 1995, her
"[TJhe Sawyers' injuries stem directly from their daugh
mother was appointed administrator of the estate. Mrs.
ter's accusations that they abused her, and the accusations
Sawyer was then able to obtain copies of Anneatra's treat
stem from the defendants' negligent treatment that implant
ment records, and after reading them, claims to have first M
ed or reinforced in Anneatra her false memories of sexual
discovered the role of the therapists in her daughter's
abuse."
alleged recovery of false memories.
''We are quite ·confident that negligent treatment which
In March 1998, a Wisconsin appellate court had revived
encourages false accusations of sexual abuse is highly cul
a portion of the parents' malpractice suit. The Wisconsin
pable for the resulting injury."
Supreme Court quoted from the appellate decision and also
"The baims the Sawyers have· alleged are the ordinary
from several other courts which have upheld the right of
and predictable injuries one might expect following negli
accused third parties to sue for injury caused by negligent
gent therapy which implants and reinforces false memories
practice involving memory recovery techniques.lll
of sexual abuse at the hands of family members which
The Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed with the appel
results in accusations of that abuse."
late court that the Sawyer's claim is not barred by the statute
Wisconsin Supreme Court, Sawyer v. Midelfurt. noting that the injwy
of limitations. "While the Sawyers knew that they were to persons falsely accused of sexual abuse is direct and foreseeable.
injured, it is possible as they suggest that they did not know
until following Anneatra's death that their injury was caused The defendants conceded as much and even courts
by Lausted's conduct. As the court of appeals noted in its which have declined to impose liability in similar cases have
decision, the Sawyers have suggested a number of possible acknowledged that the harm to a parent accused of sexual
causes of their injuries apart from Lausted's negligence, abuse is foreseeable.12l The New Hampshire Supreme Court
including: 'psychiatric illness, Anneatra's involvement in observed that "[l)t is indisputable that 'being labeled a child
survivor groups, ill will or spite, or the reading of popular abuser (is) one of the most loathsome labels in society' and
literature on childhood sexual abuse."' The Wisconsin most often results in grave physical, emotional, professional,
Supreme Court continued, "Should any one of these alter and personal ramifications."l3l
nate, and plausible, reasons for Anneatra's accusations be The defendants argued that holding therapists liable to
responsible for their injuries. the Sawyers would not have third parties would create an unreasonably large number of
been wronged and therefore would not have had a claim possible lawsuits and that therapists would have to be con
against anyone. It was only upon discovering that Lausted cerned about possible lawsuits, rather than focusing on their
was using repressed-memory therapy that they determined patient. The court disagreed. If the Sawyers' claim had been
that their injury was the result of the negligent act of anoth injurious to the family relationship, the court said, there
er. Whether a reasonable person in the Sawyer's position could be an unknown number of potential claimants. The
would have done more to discover that their injuries could Sawyers, however, did not tie their claim of an injury to their
be attributed to Lausted's negligence is a factual question personal relationship, but rather to the direct effect of the
best left to the fact-finder." accusations of abuse. "Under the Sawyers' theory of the
The Wisconsin Supreme Court rightly observed that case, therapists may be held liable only to those who are
these cases turn on whether public-policy considerations wrongly accused by a patient of sexually abusing that
should bar a third-party claim. Both parties provided patient," the court wrote. "Further, we doubt that there is a
detailed public policy analyzes of the question. After a care significant possibility of fraud when a claim is based upon
ful review of public-policy issues, which are summarized accusations of abuse, particularly in light of the extraordi
here, the court concluded, "In sum, we find that none of the nary stigma our society places upon those accused of sexu
public policy considerations identified by the defendants ally abusing a child. We find that it is too unlikely that a
should preclude the imposition of liability in this case." claim premised upon being falsely accused of sexual abuse
The court concluded that the injury to the Sawyers was will be brought by someone who has not, in fact, been so
direct and foreseeable, "the Sawyers' recovery is predicated accused ... Their claims are appropriately limited to those
upon the direct injury they themselves suffered as a result of who are harmed by the accusations of sexual abuse arising
the defendants' negligence which was responsible for their from false and reinforced memories arising from negligent
daughter's accusations that they were abusive. The harm therapies. So limited, the claim has a sensible and just stop-
arising from the loss of a daughters' companionship is dif- ping point." Q
10 FMS Foundation Newsletter JULY/AUGUST 1999 Vol. 8 No. 5