False Memory Syndrome Foundation Vol 18 No 02 2009 spring

2009·0.17 MB·English

F A L S E M E M O R Y S Y N D R O M E F O U N D A T I O N N E W S L E T T E R
SPRING 2009 Vol. 18 No. 2
Dear Friends, Dr. Kluft made no mention of the skepticism about
Sybil’s diagnosis that resulted from the discovery of audio
In recent months, most of the publicity about recovered
tapes of her highly suggestive interviews with Dr. Wilbur.
memories and multiple personality disorder has been in
He makes no mention that Herbert Spiegel, M.D., who also
connection with the new Showtime television series: The
treated Sybil, did not diagnose her as having multiple per-
United States of Tara. For example, CBS, which owns
sonality.[2]The infomercial is blatantly biased. On page 4 of
Showtime, devoted a segment of CBS Sunday Morning to
this issue, Numan Gharaibeh, M.D., analyzes the Kluft
“Unraveling the Secret of ‘Alters.’” [1]The program includ-
infomercial and discusses the ethical responsibility of all
ed an interview with Diablo Cody, the Tara program’s
those involved.
writer, in which we learned:
An FMSF newsletter reader sent us the following
“Have viewers recognized themselves in Tara, [have they] thought provoking comment about The United States of
said, ‘Maybe I have this disorder’? Have you gotten that reac-
Tara:
tion?” asked Smith.
“It’s ironic that Steven Spielberg is the executive producer
“Yeah, it surprises me,” Cody said. “People actually have
of United States of Tara. He won an academy award for
said that.”
directing Schindler’s List,aHolocaust film, and founded the
Why was Diablo Cody surprised? Surely she knows that Shoah Foundation to preserve the testimonies of Holocaust
people make sense of their own lives by what they read or survivors. One would think that Spielberg would be keenly
see around them. Surely she and CBS understand the influ- aware of the response to trauma among Holocaust survivors
ence they yield. Surely she and CBS know that the diagno- and especially of the lack of Holocaust survivors who claim
MPD as their response to the trauma they experienced.”
sis of multiple personality skyrocketed after the television
movie, Sybil. Fascinating research about memory, suggestibility, and
Cody said that she wanted The United States of Tarato false memories continues to appear in scholarly journals
increase discussion about multiple personality.What kind of and the news. A reader sent us a news article about work
discussion might that be when the program has presented being done to erase painful memories. (See p. 8). With the
such a biased perspective? That bias is seen most clearly in article she commented:
the infomercial that is featured on the program’s website.
“I thought you might be interested in the article “Should
Richard Kluft, M.D., a strong proponent of multiple person- painful memories be erased?” If repression of memories is true
ality, now known as dissociative identity disorder, is the why would we need something to ‘erase’painful memories? We
only doctor to discuss the diagnosis on the infomercial. He seem to want things both ways.”
tells viewers: In a recent article, researchers Richard McNally and
“The most common question people ask me is: Is it real? Elke Geraerts write that they have new data that sheds light
And the answer is: ‘It sure is.’”
In this issue...
Dr. Kluft said the following about Sybil:
Gharaibeh..........................................................................4
“Sybil is a wonderful landmark case. She is someone who
Legal Corner....................................................................10
made a very successful recovery and had a wonderful career
From Our Readers ..........................................................13
but did not go public. Unlike Eve, she opted for a very quiet
Bulletin Board..................................................................15
and reserved and private life.”
The next newsletter will be sent in July 2009.
1955 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-5766, 215-940-1040, Fax [phone], www.FMSFonline.org
on the recovered memory arguments. (See p. 3) victed in 2005 based on the recovered memory of Paul
For the past decade McNally and colleagues have been Busa.. The critical point of the appeal is whether the recov-
studying the cognitive processes of people who have always ered memory evidence should have been admitted in court.
remembered their abuse, people who believe they have The Massachusetts law on the admission of repressed
repressed memories of abuse but no actual memories, and memory evidence was set in 2001 in Commonwealth v.
people who believe they have recovered repressed memo- Frangipane. Although the Supreme Judicial Court in that
ries of childhood abuse. This research enables them to case initially acknowledged that there was a significant con-
explain the circumstances by which “a genuine recovered troversy in the scientific literature, it then modified its
child sexual abuse memory does not require repression, issued opinion to say that scientific controversy was con-
trauma, or even complete forgetting.” There are people who fined to the mechanisms of memory and indeed there was
were abused but who did not perceive the abuse as traumat- no controversy in the scientific literature about the validity
ic at the time. They did not think about the abuse for many of repressed and recovered memory. This modification
years, and then they later recalled it. Everyday memory came about after an amicus brief was filed, post-decision,
processes can explain the subjective experience of recover- by the Leadership Council [1] that appeared to review the
ing a memory. scientific literature but, in our view, was riddled with seri-
The researchers note that this explanation of historical- ous errors and omissions. It appears that appellant
ly accurate recovered memories is not a middle of the road Frangipane was not permitted to respond to the brief filed
position but rather one based in scientific research. The by the Leadership Council. Nor were any other interested
legal consequences of this understanding are far-reaching, parties solicited for input. The Supreme Judicial Court’s
including a reexamination of statutes that rely on the unsci- decision in the Shanley case will be an important comment
entific notion of “repression.” on the legal status of “repressed memories” in the legal sys-
People continue to contact the Foundation about new tem at this point in time.
law suits based on claims of repressed and recovered mem- With all that has been learned about memory, sug-
ories. Afew older cases remain in the news. For example the gestibility, and false memories in the past decade, it should
Hosanna Church case in Ponchoutola, Louisiana lumbers be only a matter of time until the legal system reflects what
along with additional trials planned following two convic- is known. Of, course “a matter of time” can be extensive.
tions. (See p.11) It seems a surreal 1990 drama set in 2009. Pamela
The Shanley case in Boston has reached the
1. Smith, T. (2009, March 8). Unraveling the secret of “alters”. Doctors
Massachusetts Commonwealth’s highest court. (See p. 10)
are of two minds about multiple personality disorder. CBS Sunday
The charismatic 1960s “street” priest Paul Shanley was con-
Morning. Retrieved on March 9, 2009 from
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/08/sunday/main4852177.shtml
How Many Alters? How Many MPD Patients? 2. See FMSF Newsletter May/June 2006, Volume 15 No. 3
3. Murphy,W.J. (2001, March 30). Brief of the Leadership Council,
In 1988 Dr. Richard Kluft described patients who had
Submitted to Commonwealth of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
many alters,[1]one with 4,500 alters and another with more in Commonwealth v.Frangipane,SJC-08359.
than 4,000. Kluft currently appears to believe that there
are millions of people who have “undiagnosed multiple Try to Remember: Psychiatry’s Clash
personality disorder.”[2] Over Meaning, Memory, and Mind
Paul McHugh, M.D., Washington, DC: Dana Press
“So do you think that there are, what, thousands of peo-
(Excerpts from Wall Street Journal Book Review)
ple walking around out there with MPD who don’t even
know it?” Smith asked. “One of the most extraordinary outbreaks of popular
“Oh, easily,” Dr. Kluft said. delusion in recent years was that which attached to the
“Tens of thousands?” possibility of ‘recovered memory’ of sexual and satanic
“Easily.” childhood abuse, and to an illness it supposedly caused,
“Hundreds of thousands?” Multiple Personality Disorder. No medieval peasant pray-
“Easily.” ing to a household god for the recovery of his pig could
“Millions?” have been more credulous than scores of psychiatrists,
“We might be at that level,” said Dr. Kluft. hosts of therapists and thousands of willing victims. The
1. Kluft, R. (1988). The phenomenology and treatment of extremely complex whole episode would have been funny had it not been so
multiple personality disorder.Dissociation, 1(4), 47-58 tragic.”
2. Smith, T. (2009, March 8). Unraveling the secret of “alters”. Doctors are of
Theodore Dalrymple. (2008, November 19). Destructive delusions. Wall Street
two minds about multiple personality disorder. CBS Sunday Morning.
Journal.Retrieved on November 20, 2008 from
Retrieved on March 9, 2009 from http://
www.cbsnews.comstories/2009/03/08/sunday/main4852177.shtml. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122714489697843157html.
2 FMS Foundation Newsletter SPRING 2009 Vol. 18 No. 2
Understanding the Subjective involves cases in which people were having thought about something for a
Experience of Recovered Memories actually abused but who did not expe- long time is not the same as having
McNally, R.J. & Geraerts, E. (2009). A rience the abuse as traumatic at the been unable to remember it.
new solution to the recovered memory time that it happened. These people did The researchers have found that
debate. Perspectives on Psychological not think about the abuse for a long there are two qualitatively different
Science4(2), 126-134. time. In some cases, they remembered groups who believe that they have
Over the past decade, Harvard pro- the abuse but then later forget that they recovered repressed memories: 1) peo-
fessor Richard McNally and his col- had previously remembered it. The ple who come to suspect that their
leagues Susan Clancy and Elke authors remind us that: “Recalling emotional problems and life difficul-
Geraerts have greatly increased our CSA after many years is not the same ties are the result of blocked memories
understanding of recovered memories thing as having recalled a previously of sexual abuse. These people tend to
and false memories. McNally was the repressed memory of trauma.” Not recall memories gradually – often with
first to study the cognitive processes of suggestive techniques; 2) people who
“Factors that increase likelihood that
people who claimed to have repressed are unexpectedly reminded of events
a recovered memory of CSAis gen-
memories and recovered memories of that they believe they had not thought
uine
child sexual abuse. For example, about for many years. These people
McNally and colleagues found that 1. The victim experienced the abuse as tend to recall the memories suddenly.
people who claimed to have recovered confusing, disgusting, or scary, but not McNally and colleagues have
repressed memories did not show a as a terrifying trauma. found that the corroboration rate for
superior ability to forget material relat- 2. The abuse occurred only once, or at people who either failed to think about
ed to abuse as would be predicted by most a few times. their abuse or forgot their previous rec-
the dissociative amnesia hypothesis. ollection and later recalled it sponta-
3. The victim failed to understand the
They also found that people reporting neously after encountering reminders
experience as sexual or as abusive.
recovered child sexual abuse memories outside of psychotherapy is the same
exhibit a heightened propensity for 4. The victim successfully avoided rate as that of people who never forgot
thinking about experience.
forming false memories. The their abuse.
researchers failed to find the cognitive 5. There were no reminders so the vic- The authors argue that the “repres-
characteristics that the theory of disso- tim forgot about it. sion interpretation does not withstand
ciative amnesia predicted. 6. The victim forgot prior recollections empirical scrutiny,” and note that pro-
The current paper brings even of abuse producing the illusion that he ponents of dissociative amnesia have
greater clarity to the debate. Ordinary or she had forgotten it all along. made significant errors in interpreting
memory processes can explain the sub- the studies on which they rely. For
7. When person recalls during adult-
jective experience of recovering mem- hood, recollections sudden and accom- example, they note that in some stud-
ories in some situations. The authors panied by shock that she had forgotten ies, the memory problems that are
note that the memory debate has been it. mentioned actually refer to everyday
characterized by two perspectives: 1) forgetfulness—not an inability to
8. When the recollection occurs sponta-
“Some people repress their memories neously in response to reminders out- remember the trauma. Other errors
of abuse because these experiences side of suggestive psychotherapy. proponents frequently make include
have been so emotionally traumatic, confusing a failure to encode an expe-
9. The memories that are spontaneous
and they become capable of recalling rience with the inability to recall it and
outside of therapy are more likely to be
the child sexual abuse only when it is mistaking organic amnesia for the psy-
corroborated.
psychologically safe to do so many chic repression of trauma.
10. Lab research indicates those who
years later.” The other perspective: The repression interpretation lacks
recover memories gradually in therapy
“Many reports of recovered memories convincing scientific support. There is
exhibit heightened propensity to exhibit
of sexual abuse are false memories, plentiful solid evidence that shows that
false memories on Deese-Roediger-
often inadvertently fostered by thera- McDermott wordlist task. Those who some people do recover memories of
pists.” In this article, the authors pro- spontaneously recover their memories child sexual abuse that never occurred.
vide a third interpretation that applies outside of therapy show a heightened This does not mean all recovered mem-
to a subset of people who report recov- “forgot it all along” effect in laboratory ories are false. The current research
ering memories of child sexual abuse. studies when compared to those who shows that ordinary memory processes
This third interpretation is not a recover memories in psychotherapy.” can explain the subjective experience
middle of the road position. Rather it McNally & Geraerts (2009). of recovering memories in some situa-
FMS Foundation Newsletter SPRING 2009 Vol. 18 No. 2 3
tions. “[W]hat’s ailing Tara [DID/MPD] delusions are real to the person experi-
Many states have extended their isn’t new…..cases like hers have cap- encing them, but unreal for third par-
statutes of limitations in situations in tured the public’s imagination for ties.
decades, from the Three Faces of Eve
which there are claims of recovered Kluft’s answer “It sure is” is over-
in the 50’s to Sybilin the 70s.”
repressed memories. The authors state reaching. It is not supported by enough
Ironically, it is the entertainment
that because of their research, the evidence. DID/MPD prophets may be
industry that decides what is offered to
statute of limitations should not be “sure,” but many others are not so arro-
the public based on decisions about
tolled just because someone makes a gantly confident. Indeed, a 1999 study
what is likely to capture the public’s
claim that he or she has been unable to of board-certified psychiatrists found
imagination. The public will be capti-
recall abuse for many years, even when “little consensus regarding the diag-
vated by the stories and the characters
the abuse is corroborated. Ordinary nostic status or scientific validity of
presented to them—whether Batman,
memory processes, not repression, dissociative amnesia or dissociative
Spiderman, Iron Man, or Eve, Sybil or
explain the subjective experience of identity disorder.” [2]
recovering a memory. “A genuine Tara.[1] It is the dramatization of In the infomercial, Kluft defines
DID/MPD that the audience finds of
recovered child sexual abuse memory dissociation as:
interest.
does not require repression, trauma, or
“[Ffailure to integrate normal
The narration continues:
even complete forgetting.”
aspects of sense of self, your memory,
c “Evidence of personality transfor- your perception, your level of con-
Dissociation mation can be traced back to early sciousness in a normal way.”
Paleolithic cave paintings.”
Prophets and Profiteers: What does normal mean?
AHidden Special-Interest Group The subtleness of gently inserting Dissociation enthusiasts would call my
Numan Gharaibeh, M.D. the word “personality” before transfor- daydreaming, or my missing a high-
mation is deceptive and insulting to the way exit because I was engrossed in
Cable television may be immune
viewer’s intelligence. Primitive soci- NPR news a sign of a dissociative
from responsibility for its dramatiza-
eties were saturated with superstition, diagnosis; my diagnosis: Homo sapi-
tions, and it may shrug off criticism
magic, myth, and curses. Physical ens.
that a particular program is irresponsi-
transformation is evident in the super- Moreover, other diagnoses share
ble, harmful, misleading, incorrect,
stitions of werewolves, vampires, symptoms attributed to DID/MPD. For
and even dangerous by claiming the
satyres, nymphs, and people cursed example, there is a disturbance of
defense of free speech or “in entertain-
into frogs, pigs, or monkeys. Using sense of self in borderline personality
ment, anything goes.”
Paleolithic cave paintings to support a disorder; a lack of integration of mem-
It seems likely that Showtime will
claim or prove a point is an indication ories in dementia, blackouts, or con-
hide behind the “it’s just a dramatiza-
of the bankruptcy of logical arguments cussions; there are disturbances in per-
tion” and “we did not claim it was edu-
for MPD. ception associated with many psychi-
cational” defense for its new series
Richard Kluft says on the infomer- atric disorders; and there are varying
about multiple personality: the United
cial: levels of consciousness in those expe-
States of Tara. Are those legitimate
riencing partial seizures and some-
“The most common question people
excuses given the fact that Showtime
ask me is: Is it real? And the answer is times the effects of prescription med-
included explanatory material about
‘It sure is.’” ications.
MPD by a psychiatrist in an infomer-
“Is it real?” is the kind of question Kluft adds:
cial? And what about the psychiatrists
that is appealing because of simplicity
who contribute to the program’s “Put simply DID is nothing more
“informercial?” What is their ethical and its yes/no logic. A busy layperson elaborate than a little child weeping in
has little time to see through the smoke bed at night wishing they were some-
responsibility? Can (or will) Richard
screen. “Is it real?” may not be one else, somewhere else…”
Kluft, M.D. or Colin Ross, M.D. be
answered until there is an agreement Is there is a human being who has
held responsible for misleading the
on the meaning of “real.” Otherwise, not at sometime wished she were
public and for making irresponsible
the only answer to this question would someone else, somewhere else?
statements? Following are some state-
be: “It depends on whom you ask, of
ments from the informercial and my “It’s a way of trying to cope with
course.” What is real (and what “real”
comments about them. overwhelming circumstances. Often
is) to individual X may not be real for
In the infomercial for the United that’s abuse.”
individual Y. For example, some phe-
States of Tara a narrator claims that: This is a hypothesis. Where is the
nomena such as hallucinations and
4
FMS Foundation Newsletter SPRING 2009 Vol. 18 No. 2
evidence? An extensive review of the ble had Kluft stated that he thinks or If dissociative experience scales
published literature appearing in the believes that MPD/DID is not rare. If similar to the items above were used, I
2004 Canadian Journal of he had answered honestly, he would am surprised that the percentage was
Psychiatry[3] found no evidence to have added that MPD was considered so low.
support Kluft’s assertion. a very rare disorder until after the Kluft is asked: “How many per-
There is an abundance of retro- books and movies The Three Faces of sonalities can a child come up with?”
spective interpretation in DID therapy Eve and Sybil appeared. In 1980, there He replies:
(as well as therapies for other condi- were only 200 cases in world history.
“The number can be astronomical,
tions). The historical accuracy and reli- By 1986 there were 6,000 recorded
in the hundreds or even higher.”
ability of such retrospective interpreta- cases and the number has continued to
Kluft could have mentioned that in
tions should be taken with informed explode.
addition to the enormous growth in the
and healthy skepticism. “What is problematic is that most peo-
number of MPD/DID cases, there has
To therapists such as Kluft, ple aren’t taught how to systematically
also been inflation of the number of
repression (inherited from psychoana- screen for it.”
alters. Twenty years ago, the mean
This seems contradictory. If the
lytic therapy) is accepted as fact.
number of alters per case was perhaps
disease is common, then why is it not
Speculating on children’s “defense
ten. Now it is up to sixteen to twenty.
diagnosed more often? Kluft would
mechanisms” or coping skills (i.e.
In a 1988 article, Richard Kluft wrote
have us believe that it is because
repression) is a retrospective distortion
that he had a patient with more than
“most people aren’t taught how to sys-
and carries little weight when com-
4,500 alters and another with more
tematically screen for it.”
pared to the detailed observational
than 4,000. [4]
There are tests readily available on
studies of children. In fact prospective
Can children under twelve actually
the Web that claim to screen for
studies (which carry much less bias)
articulate highly abstract slippery con-
MPD/DID. For example at:
have shown how unreliable retrospec-
cepts such as personalities? Most of
http://counsellingresource.com/quizze
tive recollections may be.
the information comes from adults in
s/des/index.html there can be found:
There are many other problems
therapy who believe they have recov-
Dissociative Experiences Scale, A
with this hypothesis. Kluft comments:
ered memories of their childhoods.
Screening Test for Dissociative
“Certainly there are places in the Kluft:
Identity Disorder. It is a 28-question
world where awful things of abuse are
self-test. (See box page 6/7) The first “.. it’snot at all unusual for children
happening—where you’re watching
two questions are indicative of all: with a religious backgrounds to form
genocide, you’re watching people
personalities based on even angels or
starve to death, overwhelming experi- 1. Some people have the experience
saints or even Jesus...”
ences that you just can’t bear. It often of driving or riding in a car or bus or
helps to be able to separate those subway and suddenly realizing that “It’s not all that unusual for people
kinds of behaviors. When that occurs they don't remember what has hap- with a Native American background
in connection with trauma, you often pened during all or part of the trip. to form alters that are based on certain
get such extreme separation that you tribal totemic animals...”
(Never)ooooooooooo(Always)
get something like DID. “
“One patient was brought up by par-
If overwhelming circumstances 2. Some people find that sometimes
ents who were movie fans and hoped
they are listening to someone talk and
are cited as “causation” factors, then that their daughter would somehow
they suddenly realize that they did not
where are all the African, Afghan, become an actress. You can bet that
hear part or all of what was said.
South Asian, South American, and she came up with an amazing stable of
Eastern European women (and men) (Never)ooooooooooo(Always) different alters, many of them based
who have been through much more Perhaps MPD/DID is not diag- on famous Hollywood celebrities.
That is what is in her environment and
“overwhelming circumstances” than nosed as often as Kluft would like
that is what she learned to use in order
their North American White counter- because others see the screening tests
to cope.”
parts? And why wasn’t there an epi- as a description of normal human
In the MPD literature there are
demic of MPD/DID among the men experience.
descriptions of alters of people of the
and women who were Holocaust sur- Kluft comments:
opposite sex, of the treating therapist,
vivors?
“If you look at 100 consecutive psy- of infants, television characters, and
Kluft declares:
chiatric patients probably somewhere demons. There have been descriptions
“DID isn’trare at all.” between 1 and 5 percent will have pre- of dog, cat, duck, and lobster alters.
viously unknown DID.”
It would have been more responsi- There have been alters of people thou-
5
FMS Foundation Newsletter SPRING 2009 Vol. 18 No. 2
sands of years old or from another this manner actually be a hidden spe- Dissociative Experiences Scale, AScreening
dimension.[5] cial-interest group perpetrating an illu- Test forDissociative Identity Disorder.
According to Kluft: sion through the entertainment media? http://counsellingresource.com/quizzes/des/in
dex.html
Numan Gharaibeh, M.D.: Principal
“There are two superstar cases in
Psychiatrist, Western Connecticut Mental Please note: This test will only be scored cor-
the history of DID. One of those is
rectly if you answer each one of the questions.
Health Network, Danbury, CT. General
Eve, The Three Faces of Eve. … has
Psychiatry at New York Medical College, 1.Some people have the experience of driving
gone public. … She’s written a num-
Forensic Psychiatry at Massachusetts or riding in a car or bus or subway and sud-
ber of books about her treatment and
denly realizing that they don't remember what
Mental Health Center, Boston.
about her life after treatment. She is has happened during all or part of the trip.
really a wonderful example of how a (Never)ooooooooooo(Always)
1.Why is it that Jeckyl and Hyde are not spo-
person can come together from this 2. Some people find that sometimes they are
ken about often when DID/MPD is men-
disorder and have a productive life listening to someone talk and they suddenly
tioned? Is it because Dr. Jeckyl does not fit the
and make a very solid contribution.” realize that they did not hear part or all of
current theories of DID enthusiasts (a male, no
what was said.
Ialways wondered why MPD/DID indication of sexual abuse, no memories to
(Never)ooooooooooo(Always)
patients are so attached to their diagno- recover from repression, no savior therapist, a 3. Some people have the experience of finding
villain not a victim).
sis and so territorial about it when most themselves in a place and having no idea how
2. Pope, H.G., et al. (1999). Attitudes toward
psychiatric patients don’t want to be they got there. (Never)ooooooooooo(Always)
DSM-IVdissociative disorders diagnoses
4. Some people have the experience of finding
“labeled.” among board-certified American psychiatrists.
themselves dressed in clothes that they don't
American Journal of Psychiatry, 156,321-323.
“Sybil is a wonderful landmark remember putting on.
3. Piper, A. & Merskey, H. (2004). The persis-
(Never)ooooooooooo(Always)
case. She is someone who made a very
tence of folly: Acritical examination of
5. Some people have the experience of finding
successful recovery and had a wonder- Dissociative Identity Disorder,Part 1: The
new things among their belongings that they
ful career but did not go public. Unlike excesses of an improbable disorder and Part 2:
do not remember buying.
Eve, she opted for a very quiet and The defence and decline of Multiple
(Never)ooooooooooo(Always)
reserved and private life.” Personality or Dissociative Identity Disorder. 6. Some people sometimes find that they are
Canadian Journal of Psychiatry Vol 49(9),
It is less than honest for Kluft to approached by people that they do not know
592-600and Vol 49(10),678-683.
who call them by another name or insist that
omit mention of the fact that tapes of
4. Kluft, R. (1988). The phenomenology and
they have met them before.
sessions of Sybil with her psychiatrist treatment of extremely complex multiple per-
(Never)ooooooooooo(Always)
Cornelia Wilbur, M.D., have shown sonality disorder. Dissociation, 1(4), 47-58 7. Some people sometimes have the experi-
5. Piper, A. (1998). Multiple personality disor-
that at least some of Sybil’s alters were ence of feeling as though they are standing
der: Witchcraft survives in the twentieth
the consequence of highly suggestive next to themselves or watching themselves do
Century.Skeptical Inquirer,May/June, 44-50.
something and they actually see themselves as
therapy that used hypnosis and drugs. 6. See FMSF Newsletter May/June 2006,
if they were looking at another person.
It is less than honest to omit the infor- Volume 15 No. 3 ...
(Never)ooooooooooo(Always)
mation that another psychiatrist who 8. Some people are told that they sometimes
c
worked with Sybil did not agree that do not recognize friends or family members.
(Never)ooooooooooo(Always)
she had MPD. [6]
9. Some people find that they have no memo-
In the end, one has to ask if board Excerpt from interview with
ry for some important events in their lives (for
certified psychiatrists find “little con- Diablo Cody, the writer of example, a wedding or graduation).
sensus regarding the diagnostic status “United States of Tara” (Never)ooooooooooo(Always)
of DID,” should Kluft be regarded as a 10. Some people have the experience of being
“Have viewers recognized them-
accused of lying when they do not think that
prophet or profiteer? Usually
selves in Tara, said, ‘Maybe I have they have lied. (Never)ooooooooooo(Always)
MPD/DID treatment of the kind Kluft
this disorder’? Have you gotten that 11. Some people have the experience of look-
describes is a lengthy process. At a ing in a mirror and not recognizing them-
reaction?” asked Smith
time when psychiatry and medicine selves. (Never) ooooooooooo(Always)
seek the most efficient way in which to “Yeah, it surprises me,” Cody said. 12. Some people have the experience of feel-
help a patient back to productive sta- “People actually have said that.” ing that other people, objects, and the world
around them are not real.
tus, drawing out many “alters” and Smith, T. (2009, March 8). Unraveling (Never)ooooooooooo(Always)
excavating decades-old “memories” the secret of “alters”. Doctors are of two 13. Some people have the experience of feel-
and then taking years of treatment to minds about multiple personality disor- ing that their body does not seem to belong to
them. (Never)ooooooooooo(Always)
integrate them back to one functioning der. CBS Sunday Morning.
14. Some people have the experience of
productive self seems self-serving Retrieved on March 9, 2009 from
sometimes remembering a past event so vivid-
from the perspective of therapist fees. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories ly that they feel as if they were reliving that
/2009/03/08/sunday/main4852177.shtml
Might those who treat MPD/DID in event.
6
FMS Foundation Newsletter SPRING 2009 Vol. 18 No. 2
(Never)ooooooooooo (Always) Therapy Cult in Perth,
Misinterpreting Psychogenic
15. Some people have the experience of not Western Australia
Amnesia as Traumatic Amnesia
being sure whether things that they remember
happening really did happen or whether they Matthew Meinck is a self-styled
“Psychogenic amnesia is a rare
just dreamed them. New Age “healer” near Perth, Western
syndrome whose hallmark is sudden,
(Never)ooooooooooo(Always) Australia who believes that people
16. Some people have the experience of being massive retrograde memory loss,
retain body memories of past abuse.
in a familiar place but finding it strange and including some loss of personal iden-
Meinck, a former monk, also believes
unfamiliar. (Never)ooooooooooo(Always)
tity, which cannot be attributed to a
17. Some people find that when they are that he can release those memories
direct physical insult to the brain
watching television or a movie they become during two-week-long retreats that he
so absorbed in the story that they are unaware (Kihlstrom & Schacter, 2000).
organizes. He uses regressive therapy,
ofother events happening around them. Neurologists assessing these cases
intensive meditation, and deep-tissue
(Never)ooooooooooo(Always) can sometimes identify antecedent
18. Some people find that they become so massages. FMSF Newsletter readers
stressors, but these are seldom trau-
involved in a fantasy or daydream that it feels will surely not be surprised to learn
matic (e.g., difficulties at work).
as though it were really happening to them. that most of his patients recover
(Never)ooooooooooo(Always) Moreover, it is unclear whether the
“memories” of being sexually abused
19. Some people find that they sometimes are stressor precipitated the syndrome or
by their parents. Now, at least eight
able to ignore pain.
coincidentally preceded it (McNally,
(Never)ooooooooooo(Always) irate former patients have gone to the
2003, pp 186-189). The term psy-
20. Some people find that that they some- police and the media in an effort to
times sit staring off into space, thinking of chogenic implies the absence of an
expose what they claim has become a
nothing, and are not aware of the passage of obvious organic cause rather than an
cult. Their aim is to have Meinck’s
time. identified psychological etiology.
(Never)ooooooooooo(Always) counseling business shut down.
Most cases of psychogenic amnesia
21. Some people sometimes find that when The Sunday Timesof Perth investi-
remit within hours, days, or weeks,
they are alone they talk out loud to them- gated the allegations. The paper had
selves. and often without therapeutic inter-
the complainants sign oaths that their
(Never)ooooooooooo(Always) vention.
stories were true. Among the former
22. Some people find that in one situation
“The striking differences
they may act so differently compared with patients was one woman who said that
between the syndrome of psy-
another situation that they feel almost as if Meinck talked her into telling her par-
they were two different people. chogenic amnesia and reports of
ents that she needed space from them
(Never)ooooooooooo(Always) traumatic dissociative amnesia mean
because they were harming her. She
23. Some people sometimes find that in cer- that they are dissimilar clinical con-
tain situations they are able to do things with said that she has not seen her parents
structs. With traumatic dissociative
amazing ease and spontaneity that would usu- for several years even though she no
amnesia, a person is (allegedly)
ally be difficult for them (for example, sports, longer believes they ever hurt her.
work, social situations, etc.). unable to recall a specific traumatic
Another person told about the thou-
(Never)ooooooooooo(Always) event rather than being entirely
sands and thousands of dollars she
24. Some people sometimes find that they
unable to recall his or her past.
cannot remember whether they have done spent. One man said he had even con-
Persons alleged to have repressed
something or have just thought about doing it fessed to “raping” his children and a
(for example, not knowing whether they have memories of trauma do not entirely
babysitter. Fortunately, he realized that
just mailed a letter or have just thought about forget their personalities.” p276
his memories were false after treat-
mailing it). (Never)ooooooooooo(Always) Geraerts, E. & McNally,R.J. (2008).
25. Some people find evidence that they have Assessment of recovered and false memo- ment at a local hospital.
done things that they do not remember doing. ries. In R. Rogers (Ed.) Clinical Assessment Michael Meinck refused to com-
(Never)ooooooooooo(Always) of Malingering and Deception (3rd ed). 274- ment on the article and was not avail-
26. Some people sometimes find writings, 284. New York: Guilford. able for an interview. Michael Meinck,
drawings, or notes among their belongings
a charismatic leader, is an example of
that they must have done but cannot remem-
ber doing. (Never)ooooooooooo (Always) “More important than learning the problems that can arise when coun-
27. Some people sometimes find that they how to recall things is finding ways selors are not regulated.
hear voices inside their head that tell them to
to forget things.”
do things or comment on things that they are
Eagan, C. (2009, January 17). Bizarre secret
doing. (Never)ooooooooooo (Always) Eric Butterworth
cult ripping families apart. PerthNow.
28. Some people sometimes feel as if they are
Retrieved on March 12, 1009 from
looking at the world through a fog so that “I have a photographic memory, http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,215
people and objects appear far away or
but I don’t have same-day service.” 98,24926123-948,00.html
unclear.
Peggy D. Joseph
(Never)ooooooooooo(Always) c
FMS Foundation Newsletter SPRING 2009 Vol. 18 No. 2 7
ABig Step Closerto Erasing day be able to remove the terror from about his thoughts at a meeting of the
Frightening Memories terrifying memories. For example, the British False Memory Society:
Han, J., Kushner, S.A., Yiu, A.P, Hsiang, sights and sounds of a car accident
“When I raised the accusation, often
H., Buck, T, Waisman, A., Bontempi, B., would remain, but the memory of the
put forward by those who believe in
Neve, R.L., Frankland, P.W., Josselyn, fear could be removed.
the repression of memory, that the
S.A. (2009, March 13). Selective erasure
1. Hall, J. (2009, March 13). Should painful BFMS was full of child abusers, the
ofafear memory.
memories be erased? Toronto Star. Retrieved engineer said: ‘Look, if you were real-
Science, 323,1492-1496.
on March 15, 2009 from ly a child abuser, it’s not the sort of
The inspiration for the 2004 sci- http://www.thestar.com/article/601600. thing you would want to tell anyone
ence fiction film Eternal Sunshine of See else about. Even when you’re falsely
the Spotless Mind was the work of http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/32 accused you think twice about telling
3/5920/1507b/DC1for a transcript of a pod-
someone. But the outrage at the injus-
researchers headed by Sheena Josselyn
cast interview with researcher Sheena
tice of a false accusation is greater
at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Josselyn.
than that reluctance and it’s that that
Children.[1]In the movie, two ex-lovers
c drives you to seek the help and emo-
decided to erase their memories of
tional support of a society like this.’
I Remember—orDo I?
each other. Later, in spite of the treat-
This rang true with me. After all, if sex
Sabbagh, K. (2009). Remembering Our
ment, they reunited. abusers all band together and pretend
Childhood: How Memory Betrays Us.
Although the idea of altering our to be innocent, why aren’t their estab-
New York: Oxford University Press.
memories has been the stuff of fiction, lished societies of murderers, burglars,
such as George Orwell’s 1984, recent- Karl Sabbagh is a British profes- and embezzlers doing the same
ly researchers have been working to try sional writer and television documen- thing?” (p. 174)
to find ways to help people cope with tary producer. He is skilled at explain- FMSF Newsletterreaders will like-
the aftermath of horrible events. They ing complicated matters in a way in ly find new information in this book.
are experimenting with altering memo- which non-experts can understand, and They may also view it as a book that
ry for therapeutic purposes so that con- he is also able to do it in an entertain- would be good to give to friends or
ditions such as post-traumatic stress ing manner. family members who do not fully
disorder might be avoided. Remembering Our Childhood is a understand the memory wars.
In what has been described as “an wonderfully written book about mem-
c
ingenious set of experiments,” ory. Sabbagh begins with stories of
Josselyn and colleagues have been able people telling what they remember Canadian Scientists Find That
to identify the fear-storing neurons in from their childhoods and then uses Child Abuse Causes Brain Changes
the amygdala region of mice. (It is con- these stories to bring scientific Patrick O McGowan, Aya Sasaki, Ana C
sidered almost certain that human fear- research to life to show how easily our D’Alessio, Sergiy Dymov,Benoit Labonté,
storing neurons would be located in the memories may be reshaped or even Moshe Szyf, Gustavo Turecki, Michael J
same region of the amygdala.) The false memories planted. His interviews Meaney (2009) Epigenetic regulation of
researchers were then able to inject a with memory researchers are colorful the glucocorticoid receptor in human brain
associates with childhood abuse.
virus that killed the neurons where the and interesting, in part because he
Nature Neuroscience, 12(3), 342-348.
fearful memory was stored. freely expresses his own perspectives.
Karim Nader, a professor of neuro- Using the research that demon- For many years, psychiatrists have
science at McGill University stated: strates how unreliable our early child- claimed that abused or neglected chil-
“The elegance of this one, which goes hood memories may be, Sabbagh dren have a greater probability of suf-
orders of magnitude beyond other argues passionately against ‘recovered fering from mental problems such as
studies, is that now they didn’t do memory therapies.’ He leads readers anxiety or depression later in life. Yet,
something that was global to all neu- into the memory wars through the con- other abused children are resilient.
rons in the lateral nucleus. They can sequences of some legal cases, noting They somehow manage in spite of hav-
kill only the neurons that they think that courts have not yet fully accepted ing horrible childhoods. Scientists
express the memory.” the implications of the new memory would like to know why some people
The experiment did not destroy the research. Sabbagh insists that objective are resilient and others are not and they
brain’s entire capacity to remember scientific inquiry must be the basis for have been working to understand how
fear, just the specific recollection in the making sound legal judgments. abuse or neglect might affect the brain.
experiment. The researchers suggest Sabbagh is truly sympathetic to A team of scientists from McGill
that there is hope that they will some- falsely accused families. He writes University in Montreal has taken a big
8
FMS Foundation Newsletter SPRING 2009 Vol. 18 No. 2
step forward. Led by Michael Meaney, investigators did not specify what tion that had been converted to a more
the team in the past has shown how types of abuse occurred in the 12 vic- relaxing environment with items such
affectionate maternal care can change tims; they mention that it was only as a recliner, a sofa and soft lights. In a
the expression of genes in animals such “severe.” Thus there are many ques- cognitive interview, subjects are first
that they show less physiological tions still unanswered. “The bottom asked open-ended questions and they
response to stress. These changes (bio- line is that this is a terrific line of work, respond in a narrative fashion.
logical buffers) are passed on to the but there is a very long way to go either The purpose of the interview was
next generation. to understand the effect of early expe- to help Lenora Parker remember the
The changes they have observed rience or the causes of mental disor- details of her alleged vision of her
are referred to as “epigenetic.” An epi- ders,” explained Dr. Steven Hyman,[1] father strangling her mother. The inter-
genetic change is something that professor of neurobiology at Harvard. view was not tape recorded. Instead,
changes the activation of genes without 1.Quoted in Carey, B. (2009, February 24). one officer took notes as he sat in
changing the DNAstructure. After abuse, changes in the brain. New York another room and observed. During the
Times.Retrieved on March 20, 2009 from
In the current study, the team interview, the group left to visit the
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/health/res
examined the brains of 24 people who grave of Parker's mother.
earch/24abuse.html.
had committed suicide. Twelve of the In a 2007 hearing, Daniel Wilson,
c
people had been abused or neglected as chair of the Creighton University psy-
Nebraska MurderCase Based on
children and 12 had not. The chiatry department, testified that there
30-HourCognitive Interview is
researchers obtained the childhood his- is no scientific evidence to show that a
Dismissed[1]
tory of each person through extensive cognitive interview is a reliable way to
interviews with family members and In October 2008, the murder extract a traumatic memory from an
by examining medical records. They charge against Donald J. Sykora was adult who had witnessed an event 33
even accounted for whether victims dismissed. In 2005, prosecutors had years earlier when she was 4. Wilson
suffered mood disorders, alcoholism or accused Sykora of the 1971 murder of was concerned about the great duration
drug addictions. his wife based primarily on the testi- of the interview and the impact of the
The results showed that the people mony of his step-daughter Lenora Kay visit to the mother's grave.
who had been abused or neglected as Parker who had recovered memories in In that same hearing, Ronald
children showed epigenetic changes a 30-hour highly suggestive cognitive Fisher, a Florida International
that most likely made them more bio- interview in 2004. Parker had been University professor of experimental
logically sensitive to stress. This sug- four-years-old at the time of her moth- psychology, testified that cognitive
gests that the trauma of child abuse or er’sdeath, and no charges were filed at interviews are as reliable or more reli-
neglect might be associated with an the time. (See FMSF Newsletter,Vol 16 able than standard police interviews.
alteration in the way in which a per- No. 4) He said people usually provide more
son’s genes express themselves. These The case was dismissed because information in a cognitive interview.
results appear to translate the research Sarpy County District Judge William In a 2007 decision, Judge Zastera
done with laboratory animals to Zastera concluded that there was no noted that the Parker interview did not
humans. way to determine what Parker really follow recommendations for standard
Does this research show that child- remembered and what memories could cognitive interviews and that the ques-
abuse causes mental disorders? Not have been suggested by other influ- tions of a federal agent were so sugges-
yet. First, the direction of causality is ences. Judge Zastera disallowed tive that Parker's testimony would not
not certain; the observed effects might Parker's testimony because her memo- be reliable.
be caused by the abuse itself, or they ry had been enhanced by a 30-hour 1.State of Nebraska v.Donald J. Sykora,CR
might be caused by some other con- cognitive interview, a technique he said 05-148,District Court of Sarpy County.
(January,2007).
founding variable that is associated was not scientific and could produce
Baez, L(2008, October 28). Sarpy prosecutors
with the abuse. For example, children false memories. Without the testimony
lose hope in 1971 homicide case. Omaha
who are abused or neglected are prob- of Lenora Parker, prosecutors did not World Herald.Retrieved on February 15, 2009
ably more likely than non-abused chil- have enough evidence to proceed. from http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_
dren to have suffered other harms, such According to media reports, two page=2798&u_sid=10471578&u_rss=1&
See Whitehouse, W.G., Orne, E.C., Dinges,
as poor nutrition, infectious diseases, federal agents and a police officer
D.F., Bates, B.L., Nadon, R., Orne, M.T.
and other problems. interviewed Lenora Parker for four (2005, Summer). The cognitive interview:
Thus it is not clear what the specif- days in a row. The interview was con- Does it successfully avoid the dangers of
ic causal factor might be. Also, the ducted in a meeting room in a fire sta- forensic hypnosis? American Journal of
Psychology 118(2). 213-234.
9
FMS Foundation Newsletter SPRING 2009 Vol. 18 No. 2
Background of Shanley Case—Reprinted from FMSF
2005 March/April Newsletter14 (2).
On February 7, 2005, a Boston jury found defrocked
Roman Catholic priest Paul Shanley guilty of sexually abus-
Update: Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to hear ing now 27-year-old Boston fireman Paul Busa when he
appeal of formerpriest Paul R. Shanley was a young child. Shanley, age 74, was sentenced to 12-15
Commonwealth of Massachusetts v.Paul Shanley, years in prison.
Supreme Judicial Court, Middlesex County, No. SJC-10382 The evidence in the case consisted entirely of Busa’s
In May, 2009, the highest court in Massachusetts will recovered memories. Busa testified that his girlfriend called
hear an appeal from the defrocked priest Paul R. Shanley him on January 31 to tell him about a Boston Globe article
who was convicted in 2005 of raping and fondling Paul about Shanley.[1]Busa said he was surprised because every-
Busa. Last November, Paul Shanley’s motion for a new one had liked Shanley. His girlfriend called again on
trial had been denied by the trial judge. In agreeing to hear February 11 to tell him that his friend Gregory Ford was
Shanley’s appeal, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial accusing Shanley. Busa then called Ford. He testified that
Court (SJC) has indicated the issues in the case are impor- his own memories then started coming back. “I felt like my
tant enough to bypass the Appeals Court. world was coming to an end.”[2] At the time, Busa was a mil-
Shanley was convicted on the basis of Busa’s 2002 itary police officer in Colorado.
recovery of a repressed memory. A critical point of the On February 12, Busa visited a military therapist and
appeal is that Shanley’s trial attorney, Frank Mondano, then flew to Boston. According to investigative reporter Jo
failed to effectively challenge the admissibility of Ann Wypijewski.[3] the ticket was paid for by attorney Rod
“repressed memory” evidence. Robert F. Shaw, Jr. of MacLeish who was representing Ford. Busa also met with
Cambridge, Massachusetts is representing Shanley in the the same mental health professionals as Ford
appeal. and he also retained MacLeish. After Busa returned to
The Massachusetts law on the admission of repressed Colorado and entered counseling, he was told to start a jour-
memory evidence was set in 2001 in Commonwealth v. nal of his memories. He backdated the journal to February
Frangipane. Although the Supreme Judicial Court in that 1. Busa was discharged from the military in April.
case initially acknowledged that there was a significant con- In the 1970s, Father Shanley was known as a charismat-
troversy in the scientific literature, it then modified its ic “street priest” who worked with troubled adolescents and
issued opinion to say that scientific controversy was con- supported gay rights. Until the criminal trial, no one had
fined to the mechanisms of memory and indeed there was ever accused Shanley of being sexually involved with
no controversy in the scientific literature about the validity young children. There were, however,claims of his involve-
of repressed and recovered memory. This modification ment with adolescents or young adults in the 60s and 70s.
came about after an amicus brief was filed, post-decision, After the publication of the Pulitzer Prize-winning
by the Leadership Council [1] that appeared to review the Boston Globe series and a later press conference by attorney
scientific literature but, in our view, was riddled with seri- MacLeish, Shanley became one of, if not the, most high-
ous errors and omissions. It appears that appellant profile figures in the church abuse scandals. Shanley is one
Frangipane was not permitted to respond to the brief filed of the few priests to be criminally charged in Massachusetts.
by the Leadership Council. Nor were any other interested Because he had moved to California in 1990, the clock
parties solicited for input. stopped on the 15 year statute of limitations.
The Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in this case will There were two young men, besides Ford and Busa who
be an important comment on the legal status of “repressed made claims against Shanley. They all attended the same
memories” in the legal system at this point in time. Catholic religious classes at St. Jean L’Evangeliste in
Newton, Mass. They all said that Shanley would take them
1. Murphy,W.J. (2001, March 30). Brief of the Leadership Council,
out of class and rape them in the rectory, confessional and
Submitted to Commonwealth of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
in Commonwealth v.Frangipane,SJC-08359. restroom from the time they were six until they were 11 or
See (See http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090316/wypijewskifor an 12. They all claimed that they immediately forgot being
update of this case.
raped or abused and that they recovered the memories after
the Globe article. They all had the same lawyer. There is no
record of any person during those years who noticed any-
“The past is really almost as much a work of the
thing unusual involving the boys and Shanley.
imagination as the future.”
In April 2004, all four received settlements from the
Jessamyn West
Church in civil cases. Ford is said to have received more
10 .
FMS Foundation Newsletter SPRING 2009 Vol. 18 No. 2