False Memory Syndrome Foundation Vol 19 No 01 2010 winter

2010·0.17 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
WINTER 2010 Vol. 19 No. 1
Dear Friends, Even though the FMSF problem continues to shrink,
the danger of a flare up remains. The story of the Mohler
Belief in the historical accuracy of “recovered repressed
arrests in Missouri (p. 11), the news that the Santa Clara,
memories” continues its journey through our culture, its
California District Attorney’s office failed to give more than
passage sometimes marked by incidents that seem discour-
3,300 videotapes of medical exams in child sex abuse cases
aging, as though no progress had been made. For example,
to defense attorneys (p. 9), and the knowledge that a thera-
on January 6, 2010 Time magazine published an article
pist that the Minnesota Board of Psychology found to have
called: “How childhood trauma can cause adult obesity,” a
violated numerous laws and regulations when she encour-
seeming backslide to the early 1990s when lists of signs and
aged a patient’s delusions of satanic cult rituals and govern-
symptoms of alleged sexual abuse were touted as abundant,
ment mind-control experiments is allowed to continue to
although without empirical base. (See p. 5) As we begin a
treat patients (p. 5) are all reminders that there remains work
new year, however, the broad perspective is far more
to be done.
encouraging than not. For example, a group of psycholo-
We thank you for your notes of encouragement and for
gists has started a movement to reform the way that psy-
your financial support that enables us to work together in an
chologists are certified, (p. 3) and a legal decision in Minne-
effort to prevent a resurgence of the recovered memory phe-
sota (p. 10) reinforces the understanding that there is a lack
nomenon.
of scientific evidence for the theory of repressed and recov-
Anumber of families have written to say how sad they
ered memories. Minnesota District Court Judge Gregg E.
are about the approach of the end of the printed version of
Johnson wrote that one of the parties in a case:
the newsletter. One mother said “No. You can’t stop!” and
“failed to meet his burden of proof under the Frye-Mack she sent us a large donation to continue to send out a print
standard of showing that the theory of repressed and recov-
version to families who need it. Even though our reason for
ered memory is reliable and trustworthy based on well-recog-
planning to stop was not financial, we accepted the check
nized scientific principles because of the significant method-
and we thank this generous member for you. As a conse-
ological flaws in the studies presented by plaintiff in support
quence of her determination, we will continue to send the
of that theory and the lack of any test to show reliability.”[1]
print version for as long as there is a newsletter.
In fact, a slew of popular articles have appeared in
At the same time, we will not stop encouraging readers
recent months that warn of the dangers of recovered memo-
to participate in the most exciting development in the trans-
ries. We suspect that you will enjoy the conclusion to one of
mission of ideas in our lifetime. It’s true that for us seniors
these as much as we did.
using computer/internet technology can be a challenge:
“So when it comes to memories, you’ll do well to remem- arthritic fingers, vision problems, and the fact that it takes
ber that they are very unreliable. And when it comes to
seniors longer to learn new things are all obstacles. But the
repressed memories, you’ll do best to forget the whole
thing.”[2]
In this issue...
In this issue of the newsletter, we invite you to learn
more about three of the FMSF’sbrilliant and dedicated sci- Legal Corner....................................................................10
entific advisors who have contributed to the research and B.D. from KS....................................................................11
publications that have done so much to speed the recovered From Our Readers ..........................................................13
Bulletin Board..................................................................15
memory phenomenon to its inevitable demise. (See p. 7)
The next newsletter will be sent in April 2010.
1955 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-5766, 215-940-1040, Fax [phone], www.FMSFonline.org
benefits are astounding. A huge world opens, as does the
Excerpts: Is YourTherapist
opportunity to keep expanding our minds and knowledge.
ALittle Behind the Times?
Reluctant techies could try getting both the printed and elec-
tronic versions until they feel comfortable with the ease and “The practice of clinical psychology—which
speed (not to mention the ability to view and print material includes psychotherapy—is akin to medicine as it was
in larger print) of the Internet. practiced a century ago. For at least 2,000-years, medicine
We wish to make a special acknowledgment and send was locked in a struggle between those who viewed it as
our thanks for a gift by Samuel Donald Schack, Ph.D., of an art and those who saw it as a science. Until the last cen-
Buffalo, New York of $100,000 to the Center for Inquiry in tury, most medical practitioners were guided by intuition
Amherst, New York for the establishment of the False and tradition, not by science. Healers commonly used
Memory Syndrome Foundation Library Archives. Although ineffective and often injurious practices such as blistering,
Dr. Schack was not personally involved, he has maintained purging and bleeding. Such techniques were used year
an active interest in the Foundation since its inception. This after year, and century after century, with physicians firm-
very generous contribution means that the FMSF Archives ly convinced that they were helping their patients.
will be available to the public early this spring. The “While psychologists certainly do not use such harm-
Archives will be housed in a special section of the larger ful practices, a similar dynamic appears to be at work in
CFI library and will have work-spaces and electronic equip- clinical psychology today. Many psychotherapists openly
ment available for researchers. This tremendous gift ensures state that scientific research is largely irrelevant to their
that the letters from families (identification removed), the practice. Most say that their clinical techniques largely
videotapes, the books, the legal documents, and the outra- reflect their own insights and experience; they tend not to
geous flyers and advertisements that fully document the use the most effective types of treatments available; and
existence of the tragic recovered memory phenomenon can they admit to little in the way of scientific training.”
be available to researchers, not just now but for years in the “But we believe that graduate education is largely to
future. The FMSF Archives will be a reminder to all of the blame for this dismal situation. Graduate programs in psy-
devastation that can take place when people who may have chology do not select science-oriented students to begin
the best of intentions ignore the lessons of science. with and do not train students to understand and use sci-
Now that the FMSF Archives are almost in place, it is ence once they are enrolled.”
time for the Foundation to focus on updating the website. “Medicine reformed itself…There are now about 160
Because of the success of FMSF in its original mission to medical schools in this country, including schools that
disseminate the findings of relevant scientific research to grant M.D. and D.O. degrees. They meet rigorous stan-
families, to the general public and to the media, it is now dards of evaluation through relevant professional organi-
critical, as the administrative office winds down, that the zations…”
FMSF website become as user friendly as possible while “About half of clinical psychologists are trained today
carrying historical as well as up-to-date citations and refer- in for-profit schools that are not associated with universi-
ences to relevant scientific research studies. This will help ties, and many such programs explicitly play down sci-
future afflicted families, provide relevant information where ence. Relative to university-based programs, these
needed by the legal system, and aid future researchers, schools have very large class sizes, faculty with marginal
scholars, and historians investigating false memory issues. scientific credentials and low admission standards.”
Amore user friendly website will serve as an enduring lega- “In essence, many of the students being trained by
cy of FMSF which would not be possible without the loyal graduate schools are not prepared to understand or use
supportive members throughout the world. research evidence, let alone contribute their own… Our
We enter the new year and the new decade with the report and prescription is an attempt to serve as the equiv-
expectation that we will continue to see diminished num- alent of the Flexner Report for clinical psychology. We
bers of families newly accused and with the hope increased hope it leads to increased scrutiny of the programs that
numbers of families that are reunited. train psychotherapists…. A new science-based accredita-
Pamela tion system will mean that, eventually,patients entering a
psychologist’s office can expect to receive the best care
1. John Doe76C vs. Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.No 62-C9-06-
that psychological science has to offer.”
003962. Minn. 2nd Judicial District. Dec 8, 2009.
2. Mason, S. (2010, January 6). Recovered memory syndrome: Amodern witch- Baker,T., McFall, R. and Shodam, V. (2009, November 15). Is
hunt. People. Retrieved on January 7, 2010 from
your therapist a little behind the times. Washington Post
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/look-it-way/201001/recovered-memory-
syndrome. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/arti-
c cle/2009/11/13/AR2009111302221.html
2 FMS Foundation Newsletter WINTER 2010 Vol. 19 No. 1
PROPOSALFOR A perhaps the majority, are deeply scientific basis of training or practice.”
NEWPSYCHOLOGY ambivalent about the role of sci- (p. 84) Indeed, a 2006 APA report,
ACCREDITATION SYSTEM [1] ence in informing their practice. “Evidence-Based Practice in
http://www.psychologicalscience.org/j For instance, they value personal Psychology (APA Presidential Task
ournals/index.cfm?journal=pspi&con- clinical experience over research Force on Evidence-Based Practice,
tent=pspi/9_2 evidence, tend to use assessment 2006), “actually equates the personal
practices that have dubious psy- experiences of the clinician and client
“We propose that clinical psychol-
chometric support, and tend not to preferences with scientific evidence –
ogy has not fulfilled its obliga-
use procedures for which there is astriking embrace of prescientific per-
tions to public health because, as
the strongest evidence of efficacy.” spective.” (p. 84) Apparently the APA
a field, it is deeply ambivalent
(p. 77) has no reason to change the status quo.
about the role of science and
Walter Mischel of Columbia The authors carefully point out
research in dictating the course
University who wrote an editorial that why retraining is not sought by clinical
and content of its practice. In this
appeared in the same journal stated: psychologists who are now practicing.
sense, it resembles medicine at a
“The disconnect between much of clin- The problem is that: “considerable evi-
point in history when its practi-
ical practice and the advances in psy- dence indicates that many, if not most,
tioners were operating in a large-
chological science is an uncon- clinicians view science or research as
ly prescientific manner.” (p. 77)
scionable embarrassment.” having relatively little relevance to
In a strongly worded paper pub- Clinical psychology, the writers their practice activities and decisions.”
lished in November in the journal suggest, is now at a place of develop- (p. 80) When these clinicians are ex-
Psychological Science in the Public ment where medicine was in the early posed to the information and training
Interest,9(2), 67-103, authors Timothy 1900s when Abraham Flexner wrote a of the new effective therapies, they
Baker, Richard McFall, and Varda report on medical education that was ignore them. “Regardless of the rea-
Shoham argue that the only way in published by the Carnegie Foundation. sons, practice has remained largely a
which clinical psychology can be The Flexner report pointed to the ratio- craft, not a science.” (p. 83)
moved to a more scientific foundation nal scientific medical practices with In a response to the Baker et al.
is with the implementation of a new proven therapeutic efficacy that had paper, officials of the APAdefend their
accreditation system for psychologists. been developed and pointed out that system saying it’s “accreditation sys-
They present cogent reasons why the most doctors were still being trained in tem does encourage an understanding
current accreditation system of the techniques such as bleeding and purg- of scientific research…” [3] As readers
American Psychological Association ing that had no known efficacy. The of the FMSF Newsletter are well
(APA) fails and why it is intransigent American Medical Association adopt- aware, however, vast numbers of APA
to change.[2] ed new standards for the training of accredited courses are totally unscien-
The writers begin by noting that as physicians that resulted in the closing tific, including courses in satanic ritual
the demand for mental health care has of many of the existing training abuse and auras.
been growing, psychologists have been schools for doctors. The report revolu- In 2006, in frustration, a group of
increasingly bypassed. They say “psy- tionized medical education until it the leading scientifically oriented clin-
chologists have not made good busi- became what it is today: highly stan- ical psychology departments joined to
ness and clinical cases for the value of dardized and highly demanding. The provide a new assessment program:
their services and interventions.” (p. authors of the new report point out: The Psychological Clinical Science
69) What psychologists need to Accreditation System (PCSAS). The
“Still, reform did not occur
demonstrate is that the services they hope is that the new accreditation sys-
overnight. Inferior medical schools
offer are truly beneficial and that they tem will promote a new brand of clini-
survived, and charlatans continued
are cost effective. The only way that cal science training and “foster a new
to practice. (Of course, medicine is
this can be done is to base practice on breed of integrative clinical scientists
not entirely free from such prob-
therapies that have been shown who will work to reform the mental
lems even today.)” (p. 79).
through research to be effective. health care system.” (p. 87) The
Baker and colleagues present
Unfortunately, research shows that the PCSAS accreditation should be a
much evidence to support the observa-
majority of clinical psychologists badge of distinction and provide a
tion: “Unlike the AMA in the early
ignore science. powerful positive example.
1990s, there is no clear evidence that
Will this new report and the cre-
“Copious evidence suggests that the APA [American Psychological
ation of a new system of accreditation
many clinical psychologists today, Association] sees a need to enhance the
FMS Foundation Newsletter WINTER 2010 Vol. 19 No. 1 3
make a change or will it be relegated to FMSF Newsletter readers may be interest- explosion of scientific knowledge
the heap of languishing great ideas? ed to read again what FMSF published about mental disorders and how to
Perhaps the time has finally come about restructuring education of psy- treat them. In Therapy’s Delusions,
when there are a sufficient number of chotherapists back in 2000. Watters and Ofshe also bluntly make
Reprinted from
concerned professionals to take strong the comparison:[4]
FMS Foundation Newsletter
action. FMSF families know only too
January/February 2000 Vol. 9 No. 1 “Flexner’s conclusion could not
well how important and how needed
be more true of the mental health
these changes are. Is Restructuring of Professional
field at present. As medicine was a
Education of Psychotherapists
1. Baker, T.B., McFall, R.M., Shoham, V. hundred years ago, the mental
(2009). Current status and future prospects of Necessary -- orPossible?
health field is now plagued by a
clinical psychology: Toward a scientifically Charles C. Congdon, M.D.
large gap between its research and
principled approach to mental and behavioral
According to William Longmire in
health care. Psychological Science in the clinical applications.”
Public Interest,9(2), 67-103. a recent issue of The Pharos, [1] “as
In a 1994 survey, Michael Yapko[5]
http://www.psychologicalscience.org/journals/i recently as the end of the nineteenth
documented professional ignorance of
ndex.cfm?journal=pspi&content=pspi/9_2 century, medical education in the
basic facts about memory and hypno-
2. The Psychological Clinical Science United States was in a deplorable state.
Accreditation System (PCSAS) was initiated sis. In that same year Robyn Dawes[6]
Hundreds of medical schools were lit-
by the Academy of Psychological Clinical exposed the unscientific ideas that
tle more than academically anemic
Science (APCS). Information is available at: were a part of current professional
http://www.pcsas.org/history.html apprenticeships.” Longmire cites
training. The lives of families, individ-
“The idea of creating an accreditation system extensively from Abraham Flexner[2]
uals and children have been tragically
targeted on doctoral education and training in
who was noted for a famous study and
psychological clinical science had been dis- shattered because of this lack of scien-
report on medical education in the
cussed for many years—at least since 1992, tific understanding, a harm well-docu-
when the National Institute of Mental Health early part of the 20th century. Flexner
mented in books by Mark
(NIMH), the Association for Psychological was convinced that the central defi-
Pendergrast,[7] Terence Campbell,[8]
Science (APS), and the Council of Graduate ciencies in medical education at the
Departments of Psychology (COGDOP) spon- Tana Dineen,[9] Joan Acocella,[10] and
time were (1) the failure to teach state-
sored a special summit meeting on accredita- Margaret Hagen,[11] to name a few.
of-the-art knowledge, and (2) the
tion in Chicago. The birth of PCSAS can be If a similar tragedy is to be pre-
traced to a special meeting on accreditation absence of science-based and evi-
vented in the future, improved profes-
organized by the APCS executive committee, dence-based medical education. Arev-
sional education must be an important
held in Tucson, AZ, in January 2006. This
olution in medical education resulted
meeting culminated in the decision to pursue part of the effort. Medical education
from the Flexner report. Medical
development of a new accreditation system.” was transformed and became science-
3. Aujla, S. (2009, October 2). Report calls for schools were overhauled, many were
based. Can education for mental health
added science in psychology Ph.D. programs. closed and the curriculum became sci-
professionals be similarly trans-
Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved on ence-based. To this day, doctors still
September 21, 2009 from http://www.chroni- formed?
worry about keeping a balance
cle.com/article/Report-Calls-for-Increased- What would the process be? Who
between research and practice in pro-
/48697/ would provide the leadership? What
fessional education.
Some additional articles about the would the curriculum look like? How
Several contemporary observers
Bakeret al. report. would such a program encompass the
have made the analogy between med-
multitude of different mental health
Los Angeles Times: ical education at the turn of the centu-
professionals and regulatory groups?
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/ ry and professional education of psy-
If there is to be a reform of educa-
2009/10/do-therapists-know-what-theyre-
chotherapists now. For example, Paul
doing-dont-bank-on-it-three-psychologists- tion in psychotherapy, it must be a fun-
McHugh, Chief of Psychiatry at Johns
say.html damental reform. It will require scien-
and Hopkins Medical Institutions, has
tific integrity and scientific thought.
http://www.latimes.com/ commented frequently about the com-
Attention to the form without sub-
features/health/la-he-psychotherapy11 parison and the importance of improv-
2010jan11,0,3172452,print.story stance won’t work. In my opinion, the
ing education in the mental health
content for any restructuring of profes-
Newsweek: fields.[3]
sional education in psychotherapy
http://www.newsweek.com/id/216506 The time is right. There was no scien-
should come from the educators them-
Nature: http://www.nature.com/nature/jour- tific foundation for psychiatry in its
selves with attention to the issues out-
nal/v461/n7266/pdf/461847a.pdf early years, but that has changed in
siders raise. Outsiders are essential for
the past two decades with a veritable
* * * change, but content is an insider game.
4
FMS Foundation Newsletter WINTER 2010 Vol. 19 No. 1
Is it possible to have a “Flexner” Minnesota: Therapist Who Does Childhood Trauma Cause
investigation and report on the profes- Encouraged Delusions of Satanic Adult Obesity?
sional education in psychotherapy? It Cult Rituals to Continue Practicing
Maia Szalavitz, M. (2010, January 5).
seems to me that could be the first step How childhood trauma can cause adult
In a disciplinary report in October,
in bridging the gap between research obesity. Time. Retrieved on January 6,
2009, the Minnesota Board of
and clinical applications in profession- 2010 from http://www.time.com/time/
Psychology allowed St. Cloud psy-
al education. health/article/0,8599,1951240,00.htm
chologist Suzanne James, Ph.D., to
1. Longmire, W.P. The Halstedian influence maintain her license even though she A recent article in Time magazine
goes west: Personal and historical remarks.
was found to have violated numerous claims that childhood trauma can be a
The Pharos/Summer 1999, p. 19-24. (Halsted
laws and regulations when she encour- cause of adult obesity. This conclusion
was a reformer of surgical training in the U.S.
around 1904.) aged a patient’s delusions of satanic is based on data from the Adverse
2. Flexner, A. Medical education in the United cult rituals and government mind-con- Childhood Experiences study that
States and Canada; a report to the Carnegie trol experiments. The Board said that includes thousands of patients in the
Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
James could continue to see patients Kaiser Permanente health system.
1910.
3. McHugh, P. public remarks. with multiple personality as long as From this huge database, Dr. Vincent
4. Watters, E. and Ofshe, R. Therapy’s delu- she discusses her treatment methods Felitti and his colleagues recorded
sions: The myth of the unconscious and the with a supervising psychologist and 17,000 reports of negative childhood
exploitation of today’s walking worried.
has training on professional bound- experiences such as neglect, living
Scribner, 1999. p. 230-231.
aries. with only one parent, having a mental-
5, Yapko, M. Suggestions of abuse.Simon &
Schuster,1994. Acomplaint was filed in 2006 by a ly ill, incarcerated or drug-addicted
6. Dawes, R. M. House of Cards: Psychology relative of the patient after Dr. James parent, witnessing domestic violence,
and Psychotherapy Built on Myth.Free Press, brought her to a hotel so that she could and sexual, physical or emotional
1994.
avoid members of a cult supposedly abused. Then the researchers searched
7. Pendergrast, M. Victims of memory: Sex
abuse accusations and shattered lives,2nd following her. The relative who filed for correlations between the experi-
Edition. Upper Access, 1996. the complaint received a reply three ences and adult health.
8. Campbell, T.W. Smoke and mirrors: The years later. She has said that she is dis- It seems but a minute ago that
devastating effect of false sexual abuse claims.
appointed and thinks “this lady needs researchers were claiming that child-
Insight Books, Plenum Press, 1998.
her license taken away.” hood sexual abuse was the cause of
9. Dineen, T. Manufacturing victims: What the
psychology industry is doing to people,2nd In 1999 the Minnesota Board of bulimia and anorexia. If one believes
Edition. Robert Davies, 1998. Psychology prohibited psychologist the claims, trauma causes a person to
10. Acocella, J. Creating hysteria: Women and Renee Fredrickson from treating be too fat or too thin. FMSF
multiple personality disorder.Jossey Bass,
patients who might believe in cult Newsletter readers recall all too well
1999.
11. Hagen, M.A. Whores of the court: The abuse.[1] That case was brought by the early 1990 lists of problems
fraud of psychiatric testimony and the rape of attorney R. Christopher Barden who believed to be caused by sexual abuse:
American justice.Harper Collins, 1997. has commented that licensing boards wearing clothes that were too tight or
must struggle with conflicts of interest to be too thin; to be sexually repressed
Charles Congdon is Professor Emeritus in
because they are supervising peers. or to be sexually promiscuous (i.e.
the Graduate School of Medicine at the
According to the Star Tribune, Blume, E.S., 1989. Secret Survivors).
University of Tennessee Medical Center in
“Barden described such agencies as Indeed, people have claimed that more
Knoxville. He is an experimental patholo-
‘captured boards’ that act more like than 700 different symptoms are
gist.
therapists than regulators aimed at pro- caused by childhood sexual abuse.
c
tecting the public.” Barden stated: Does trauma cause adult obesity?
“For a hundred years, people “The problem of how to deal with Although there appears to be some evi-
thought memory was wired into the harmful quack psychotherapies goes dence that physical abuse is associated
brain. Instead, we find it can be far beyond what a small staffof licens- with adult obesity (Bentley & Widom,
rewired—you can add false informa- ing boards can manage.” [2] 2009), the research presented in the
tion to it, make it stronger, make it Time article does not support the con-
1. SeeFMSF Newsletter,Vol 8 No 5, 1999.
weaker, and possibly even make it clusion that trauma causesadult obesi-
2. Pabst, L. (2009, October 31). Disturbed
disappear.” patient, disturbing therapy.Star Tribune, A1. ty.
Karim Nader. Quoted in McGowan, K. Pabst, L. (2009, December 7). Family: State It is one of the most elementary
(2009, July). Out of the past. failed patient. Star Tribune.A11. mistakes in psychology, as students are
Discover.p. 32 c taught in “psych 101,” that correlation
5
FMS Foundation Newsletter WINTER 2010 Vol. 19 No. 1
does not prove causality. When we So in short, between 1) the fallacy adulthood.
have dinner, the sun often sets, but it that correlation implies causality and But here’s what makes this study
does not follow the dinner caused the 2) the problems caused by recall bias, really interesting: at the time of the fol-
sun to set. People who smoke have a it would be extraordinarily naïve to low-up interview, Widom and her col-
higher incidence of adult-onset dia- assume that just because one group of leagues did not disclose that they were
betes. Should we conclude that smok- people reports a higher level of a given aware of the abuse histories of the par-
ing helps cause adult onset diabetes? childhood experience than another ticipants from the data that they had
No, because when people stop smok- group, one could assume that this collected 20 years earlier. However,
ing, their risk of diabetes goes up even childhood experience somehow they asked the participants, during the
higher. In other words, people who caused the symptoms of the first course of the follow-up interview,
happen to smoke also happen to be at group. whether the participants had been
risk for diabetes for reasons complete- So what about the issue of child- abused as children. Interestingly, the
ly independent of smoking. If any- hood sexual abuse? It turns out that participants with substance abuse
thing, smoking seems to be slightly there are actual studies documenting problems were much more likely to
protecting them from diabetes. This the error of relying on people’s retro- claim that they had been abused than
example shows that just because A spective reports that they were sexual- were participants who did not have
comes before B or Ais associated with ly abused, and then assuming that the substance abuse problems! In other
B, it would be foolish and naïve to sexual abuse played a causal role in words, if one had relied simply on the
assume that Ahas caused B. their current adult problems. For retrospective claims of the partici-
But the mistakes go even deeper example, in one of the largest, best pants, and had not possessed the hard
than that. The Time report mentions controlled, and most sophisticated data collected 20 years earlier, one
that the researchers recorded “reports prospective studies of the effects of would have erroneously concluded
of adverse experiences.” When we ask childhood abuse to be published that childhood abuse was associated
people to describe experiences that (Widom, Weiler, & Cottler, 1999), Dr. with substance abuse later in life!
they had in the past (a so-called retro- Cathy Widom and her colleagues per- Another study by Raphael and col-
spective study), their recollection of formed a 20-year follow up of a sam- leagues (Raphael, Widom, & Lange,
the past is colored by their experiences ple of 1,196 participants. These 2001), based on the same long-term
in the present – a phenomenon known included 676 individuals who had follow-up study data, tested to see
as “recall bias.” For example, one been abused or neglected in childhood, whether childhood sexual abuse was
study looked at women who gave birth and a matched group of 520 other indi- associated with complaints of pain in
to a deformed infant and compared viduals of similar gender, age, race, adulthood. As with the drug abuse
them to women who gave birth to a and approximate social class with no study, this research found that people
normal infant (Werler, Pober, Nelson, evidence of childhood abuse. On the who have been physically and sexual-
& Holmes, 1989). When the women follow-up interviews 20 years later, ly abused as children did not show an
were asked to recall exposures that Widom and her colleagues found that elevated rate of pain syndromes as
they had experienced during pregnan- rates of drug and alcohol abuse or opposed to the comparison group.
cy (such as taking antibiotics or over- dependence were virtually identical Once again, however, when the adults
the-counter drugs) the women with among individuals in the abused group were askedretrospectivelyabout sexu-
deformed infants were much more and in the comparison group. al abuse, the ones with pain were much
likely to recall such exposures than the Specifically, a lifetime history of sub- more likely to report a history of
women with normal infants. But when stance abuse or dependence was found abuse. Therefore, if we had simply
the investigators compared the actual in 35% of the participants who were relied on people’s retrospective
documented histories of the two known to have been abused, and in reports, we would have erroneously
groups, there was no difference in 34% of the comparison participants. concluded that childhood sexual abuse
exposure rates. This finding is hardly Among participants who specifically was somehow associated with adult
surprising. Women with a deformed were victims of sexual abuse, as pain syndromes.
infant would almost certainly be more opposed to physical abuse or neglect, The research reported in Time can
likely to think carefully about any pos- the lifetime rate of substance abuse be compared to results from a prospec-
sible exposures that they might have was 33%. Thus, the study provided no tive study reported by Bentley and
had, whereas women with normal support for the theory that childhood Widom (2009) involving court sub-
infants would be unlikely to think as sexual abuse causes individuals to stantiated physical abuse, sexual
hard about it. develop substance abuse problems in abuse, or neglect incidents. Bentley
6
FMS Foundation Newsletter WINTER 2010 Vol. 19 No. 1
and Widom found that a “30-year fol- Three FMSFAdvisors in the News others are quick to point out, Beck’s
low-up of children with documented revolutionary impact does not
Aaron T. Beck, FMSF Advisor since
histories of abuse and neglect” demon- emanate from his development of
June 1995, is the subject of the lead
CBT, but from the methodical way in
strates the long-term impact of child-
article in the current edition of The
which he developed it. “The crucial
hood physical abuse on adult weight.
American Scholar, Vol. 78, Issue 4 point is, Beck took a form of psy-
Neither sexual abuse nor neglect
(published by Phi Beta Kappa) chotherapy and he did a series of sys-
showed this relationship. Bentley and
http://www.theamericanscholar.org/the- tematic, empirical studies that showed
Widom cite the strengths and weak-
doctor-is-in/ that it’s more effective than placebo,
nesses of their study, noting: “Because and that it’s as effective as antidepres-
The DoctorIs IN
much childhood victimization occurs sant drugs in mild and moderate
By Daniel B. Smith
in the context of multiproblem homes, depression,”
the maltreatment may be a marker for At 88, Aaron Beck is now revered
“Kandel says. “And he wrote a man-
other family problems that together for an approach to psychotherapy that ual for the therapy, a cookbook, so that
lead to higher [body mass index]. pushed Freudian analysis aside. others could do studies as well.” His
These findings do not take into account rigorous, scientific, data-driven
Afew excerpts:
the likely contribution of hereditary approach to psychotherapy represent-
influences on the predisposition to “Beck is the inventor of cognitive- ed, Kandel says, a “major, major
become overweight.” behavior therapy (CBT)...the most advance” for the profession.”
Bentley and Widom do not claim well-funded, deeply researched, popu- * * *
lar, and rapidly growing psychothera-
that childhood physical abuse causes
py in existence. It is taught in nearly “He hasn’t been the only person to
adult obesity. They state that there is an
every clinical psychology and psychi- insist that psychotherapy rest on a
“increased risk for physically abused
atric residency program in America, foundation of replicable data — he
children to be overweight in adult-
and it is the cornerstone of a new, $117 wasn’t even the first — but he has
hood.” million program implemented by the been the position’smost dogged, visi-
One cannot help but wonder why U.S. Army to foster mental resiliency ble, sophisticated, and influential pro-
Time chose to publish an article based in soldiers. Beck, in turn, is today ponent. As a consequence, psy-
on such weak results when so many arguably the most well-known psy- chotherapy has been moving steadily
strong papers exist. Perhaps it is chotherapist alive. In 2006, Beck won from a model that is “eminence-
because our culture still clings to the the Lasker Award, the most presti- based,” as a rueful saying has it, to one
gious scientific honor in the United that is “evidence-based” — a powerful
Freudian notion that all our problems
States, often referred to as the watchword in the field. Over the past
stem from past “trauma.”
“American Nobel.” In 2007, he was several years, federal and state agen-
Bentley, T. & Widom, C.S. (2009). A30-year
short-listed for the actual Nobel, in cies in the United States and govern-
follow-up of the effects of child abuse and
physiology or medicine, although ment-based health-care systems
neglect on obesity in adulthood. Obesity,
17(10). 1900-1905. unlike every laureate in the 105-year abroad have been spending hundreds
Pope, H. (1997). Psychology Astray: Fallacies history of the prize, he has never con- of millions of dollars to disseminate
in Studies of “Repressed Memory” and ducted biological research or invented psychotherapies for which there is a
Childhood Trauma.Upton Books. aphysiological or biological tool.” solid core of scientific evidence, while
Raphael, K. G., Widom, C. S., & Lange, G. insurance companies have been
(2001). Childhood victimization and pain in * * * encouraging the clinicians within their
adulthood: a prospective investigation. Pain,
“The power of this approach has led systems to practice “empirically sup-
92(1-2), 283-293.
it to be adopted, in one form or anoth- ported therapies” (EST) above others.
Werler, M. M., Pober, B. R., Nelson, K., &
er, by a vast number of mental-health In short, more and more, Freud’s
Holmes, L. B. (1989). Reporting accuracy
among mothers of malformed and nonmal- professionals. “Most psychotherapists, world of subterranean drives is
formed infants. Am J Epidemiol, 129(2), 415- consciously or unconsciously, are becoming Beck’s world of scientific
421. doing a lot of the things that Beck accountability.”
Widom, C. S., Weiler, B. L., & Cottler, L. B. pushed,” says the Nobel Prize-win-
* * *
(1999). Childhood victimization and drug ning neuroscientist Eric Kandel.
abuse: a comparison of prospective and retro- “They’re more directly involved, “In England, the empirically sup-
spective findings. JConsult Clin Psychol,
they’re giving more suggestions, ported therapies movement now bene-
67(6), 867-880.
they’re pointing out thought process- fits from full governmental support. In
c es. Whether they call it Beckian or not, 2007, the British government
“Ihave a photographic memory, but I and whether or not they’re doing other announced it would be spending close
don’thave same-day service.” things as well, they’re doing Beckian to $300 million to train and employ
Peggy D. Joseph kind of stuff.” And yet, as Kandel and 3,600 additional psychotherapists, pri-
FMS Foundation Newsletter WINTER 2010 Vol. 19 No. 1 7
marily in CBT. This official endorse- has been an expert witness or consul- She served as president for several
ment has proved a powerful incentive tant in hundreds of cases, including organizations, including the Western
for therapists not historically predis- the McMartin pre-school molestation Psychological Association in 1984 and
posed to empirical research to prove case, the Hillside Strangler, the 2004-05, and the Association for
that what they do is valid. Peter Abscam cases, the trial of Oliver Psychological Science in 1998-99.
Fonagy, one of England’s leading psy- North, the trial of the officers accused
“In addition to holding several hon-
choanalysts and chief executive of the in the Rodney King beating, the
orary degrees, Loftus has received
Anna Freud Centre, has called on his Menendez brothers, the Bosnian War
numerous awards and honors for her
colleagues to end their “splendid iso- trials in the Hague, the Oklahoma
research. In 2002, the National
lation” from the mainstream and to Bombing case, and litigation involv-
Academy of Sciences gave her the
adopt “a scientific attitude that cele- ing Michael Jackson, Martha Stewart,
inaugural Henry & Bryna David
brates the value of the replication of Scooter Libby and the Duke
Lectureship (an award for “application
observations rather than their unique- University Lacrosse players. Loftus
of the best social and behavioral sci-
ness.” also has worked on numerous cases
ences research to public policy
**** involving allegations of “repressed
issues”). The article that she wrote in
memories,” such as those involving
conjunction with this award was sub-
Elizabeth Loftus Advisor since April George Franklin of San Mateo, Calif.,
sequently selected for inclusion in
Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago and
1992 was the winner of The Joseph “The Best American Science and
Gary Ramona of Napa, California.
Priestley Award: October 15, Nature Writing.” In 2005, she won the
2009,http://www.dickinson.edu/news/prie “Loftus’ research for the last 20 Grawemeyer Prize in Psychology (to
stley/ind2009.html years has focused on human memory, honor ideas of “great significance and
Dickinson College’s press release follows: eyewitness testimony and courtroom impact”). In 2006, she was elected to
procedure. Loftus argues that people the American Philosophical Society,
have been led to remember non-exis- the oldest learned society in the
What’s the matterwith memory?
tent events from the recent past as well United States. This year, she received
“Plenty, according to Elizabeth as non-existent events from child- the Distinguished Contributions to
Loftus, Ph.D., a distinguished profes- hood. She said individuals can be led Psychology and Law Award from the
sor and recognized expert in the field. to falsely believe that they had experi- American Psychology-Law Society.
Loftus explained the controversies ences that would have been highly
“In a study published by the Review
surrounding this unreliable human traumatic had they actually happened,
of General Psychology, Loftus was
resource during an October. 15, 2009 and that false beliefs have conse-
ranked 58th among the 100 most emi-
lecture at Dickinson College. quences for people, affecting later
nent psychologists of the 20th century,
thoughts, intentions and behaviors.
“The author of 22 books, Loftus has along with Freud, Skinner and Piaget.
researched human memory, eyewit- “Loftus is a professor of law and She was the top-ranked woman on the
ness testimony and courtroom proce- holds positions in the Departments of list.
dure for 20 years. Her work has been Psychology & Social Behavior, and
“Each year the Priestley Celebration
funded by the National Institute of Criminology,Law & Society. She has
at Dickinson brings to campus a dis-
Mental Health and the National a faculty appointment in the
tinguished scientist to be honored for
Science Foundation, and she has been Department of Cognitive Sciences and
discoveries which contribute to the
an expert witness consultant in hun- is a fellow of the Center for the
welfare of mankind. The award is
dreds of cases. Loftus was awarded Neurobiology of Learning and
made in memory of Joseph Priestley,
the 2009 Joseph Priestley Award for Memory. She has published 22 books
discoverer of oxygen. During the cele-
her contributions to society’s under- and more than 450 scientific articles.
bration, the college’s collection of
standing of childhood abuse and trau- Her fourth book, Eyewitness
Priestley apparatus and memorabilia is
matic recovered memories. Named for Testimony, won a National Media
displayed. Award recipients are given
the Pennsylvania scientist and scholar Award (Distinguished Contribution)
an honorarium and a ceramic medal-
who discovered oxygen, the annual from the American Psychological
lion struck from an original 1779 mold
award honors distinguished scientists Foundation. One of her most widely
by Josiah Wedgwood which bears a
whose research contributes to the wel- read books, The Myth of Repressed
likeness of Priestley derived from a
fare of humankind. Memory, co-authored with Katherine
pen-and-ink drawing by John
Ketcham, has been translated into
Flaxman.”
“Elizabeth Loftus, distinguished Dutch, Taiwanese, French, German,
professor at the University of Japanese and other languages.
Media Contact: Office of Media
California—Irvine and an expert psy-
“Her work has been funded by the Relations 717-245-1289, media@dickin-
chology witness in many prominent
National Institute of Mental Health son.edu
cases [is] the 2009 recipient of the col-
and the National Science Foundation. ****
lege’s Joseph Priestley Award. Loftus
8
FMS Foundation Newsletter WINTER 2010 Vol. 19 No. 1
Martin Gardner,, FMSF Advisor “I had to struggle to get everything More than Three Thousand
since April 1993, was the subject of a clear before I wrote a column, so that Videotapes in Child Sexual Abuse
birthday profile in meant I could write it in a way that Cases Dating Back to 1991
people could understand.”
The New York Times. Withheld From Defense Attorneys
ForDecades, Puzzling People * * * Kaplan, T. (2010, January 6). Santa Clara
With Mathematics County judge orders man freed. Mercury
“Many have tried to emulate him;
By John Tierney, October 20, 2009 News.Retrieved on January 7, 2010 from
no one has succeeded,” says Ronald
http://.mercurynews.com/top-
www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/science/20t
Graham, a mathematician at the
stories/ci_14136010?nclick_check+1
ier.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=martin%20gard
University of California, San Diego.
ner&st=cse “Martin has turned thousands of chil- On January 6, 2010, Santa Clara
In October, Martin Gardner cele- dren into mathematicians, and thou- County California Superior Court
sands of mathematicians into chil- Judge Andrea Bryan ordered a man
brated his 95th birthday with the publi-
dren.” who had been sentenced to 38 years to
cation of his second book of the year, a
collection of essays and mathematical * * * life should be “freed on the grounds the
trial prosecutor in the child molestation
puzzles. According to Tierney,
Mr. Gardner says he has been grati-
case committed ‘numerous acts of mis-
Gardner, who has published 70 books,
fied to see more and more teachers
conduct,’ including giving false testi-
is the “world’s best-known recreational incorporating puzzles into the math
mony.”
mathematician and has probably intro- curriculum. The pleasure of puzzle-
The man had been convicted in
duced more people to the joys of math solving, as he sees it, is a happy
than anyone in history. byproduct of evolution. 2008 of sexually assaulting a young
relative, but the conviction was over-
In 1956 the editor of Scientific * * *
turned because the prosecution had
American asked Gardner if he could
“If all sentient beings in the universe withheld a videotape of the alleged vic-
write a monthly column on “recre-
disappeared,” he writes, “there would tim’s physical exam. When the video-
ational mathematics,” Tierney writes
remain a sense in which mathematical
tape was obtained after the conviction,
that the term sounded “even more oxy-
objects and theorems would continue
it contradicted prosecution testimony
moronic in 1956 than it does today.”
to exist even though there would be no
that the child had been abused. In addi-
Gardner accepted the challenge and one around to write or talk about them.
tion, the alleged victim states the man
became known to thousands and thou- Huge prime numbers would continue
did not abuse him. Prosecutors had
sands and thousands of people who to be prime even if no one had proved
enjoyed his mathematical puzzles for a them prime.” attempted to retry the man.
Public defender Mary Greenwood
quarter century. Unmentioned in this piece is
commented on the decision:
Gardner relinquished his column Martin Gardner’s role in exposing
in 1981 but continued to write books pseudoscience, particularly in his long- “The court sent a resounding affir-
and essays. Tierney comments that his running column in The Skeptical mation that prosecutorial integrity is a
“reputation among mathematicians, Inquirer, “Notes of a Fringe-Watcher.” key component to justice in the court-
puzzlists and magicians just kept grow- house. Where a prosecutor commits
c
ing.” Starting in 1994, a “Gathering for misconduct, the entire justice system
“ Memory, it turns out, has a sur- is imperiled and public confidence is
Gardner” event has been held every
prising amount in common with imagi- compromised.”
two years in Atlanta.
nation, conjuring worlds that never The videotape was not the only
Some excerpts:
existed until they were forged by our tape not given to defense counsel. It
“The number of puzzles I’ve invent- minds.” appears that since 1991 that 3,300
ed you can count on your fingers,” Mr. McGowan, K. (2009, July). Out of the videotapes were not shown to defense
Gardner says. Through his hundreds
past. Discover.p. 32 counsel in child sex abuse cases. Santa
of columns and dozens of books, he
Clara prosecutors stated that they were
always credited others for the material “How can one tell where memory
aware of the videotapes but claim that
and insisted that he wasn’t even a ends and imagination begins?”
“most of the tapes are of little value.”
good mathematician. Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow
Judge Bryan’s decision supports the
“I don’tthink I ever wrote a column “The past is malleable and flexi- belief of legal experts that “dozens of
that required calculus,” he says. “The ble, changing as our recollection inter- other child sex abuse convictions in
big secret of my success as a colum-
prets and re-explains what has hap- [Santa Clara County] are at risk of
nist was that I didn’t know much about
pened.” being overturned.”
math.
Peter Berger
c
9
FMS Foundation Newsletter WINTER 2010 Vol. 19 No. 1
Jr., M.D., William M. Grove, Ph.D., and Elizabeth F. Loftus,
Ph.D.
Patrick Noaker and Michael Finnegan of Jeff Anderson
&Associates, St Paul, Minnesota represented the plaintiffs.
Christopher Barden and Thomas Wieser of Meier,
Minnesota Court Excludes Expert Testimony on
Kennedy & Quinn, Charered, St. Paul, Minnesota represent-
Repressed and Recovered Memories.
ed the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Anna
John Doe76C vs Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.No
Restovich of George F. Restovich & Associated, Rochester,
nd
62-C9-06-003962. Minn. 2 Judicial District. Dec 8, 2009.
Minnesota represented the Diocese of Winona.
On December 9, 2009, after a three-day Frye-Mackevi-
****
dentiary hearing, Minnesota District Court Judge Gregg E.
Some othercases in which recovered memory testimony
Johnson ruled that expert testimony about repressed and
was deemed unscientific:
recovered memory could not be presented by the plaintiffs.
Hamanne, et al. v. Humenansky, Ramsey County
The purpose of a Frye-Mack hearing is to establish that a
Minnesota File No. C4-94-203, Judge Bertrand Poritsky,
scientific theory is generally accepted in the relevant scien-
June 30, 1995, Transcript page 83-84. “The Fryehearing has
tific community and that the particular scientific evidence
been concluded and we are still on the record.. It’s my find-
has foundational reliability.
ing, first, that the theory a person can block out of awareness
Judge Johnson concluded:
[repress or dissociate] a long stream of [traumatic] events and
“Plaintiff failed to meet his burden of proof under the Frye- subsequently recall them accurately is not supported by
Mack standard of showing that the theory of repressed and experts in the field. And further that there is no agreement by
recovered memory is reliable and trustworthy based on well- experts that there is general agreement that such [recovered
recognized scientific principles because of the significant memory] evidence is reliable and trustworthy.That’sthe Frye
methodological flaws in the studies presented by plaintiff in standard. As to the Daubertstandard, it is also my ruling that
support of that theory and the lack of any test to show relia- such [recovered memory] evidence is not reliable nor helpful
bility.” to the jury.”
Of particular interest in this decision were Judge Carlson v. Humenansky (Minnesota Trial Ct), Judge
Johnson’s comments about the inclusion of “dissociative Bertrand Poritsky (January, 1996). Judge Poritsky again
found (as he had in Hamanne v.Humenansky)that repression
amnesia” in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the
and recovered memories were unreliable concepts, not
American Psychiatric Association (DSM-IV). Proponents of
accepted by the relevant scientific community, not helpful to
recovered memories have long cited as proof of their accep-
ajury and thus inadmissible.
tance the fact that “dissociative amnesia” is mentioned in
this manual. Judge Johnson disagreed and wrote: Engstrom v.Engstrom California App., 2nd App. Dist., Div
2, (CA1997) “[Repressed memory] is not generally accepted
“However, the court does not agree that inclusion of disso- as valid and reliable by a respectable majority of the pertinent
ciative amnesia in the DSM-IV establishes that the theory of scientific community...”
repressed and recovered memories has attained general
State of New Hampshire v. Hungerford and State of New
acceptance or has been scientifically proven. The United
Hampshire v. Morahan 698 A.2d 1244 (N.H. 1997) “The
States Supreme Court has recognized that a diagnosis in the
phenomenon of recovery of repressed memories has not yet
DSM-IV, ‘may mask vigorous debate within the profession
reached the point where we may perceive these particular
about the very contours of the mental disease itself.’Clark v.
recovered memories as reliable.”
Arizona.548 U.S. 735, 774, 126S. Ct 2709, 2734 (2006). The
DSM-IVis not a ‘scientific paper or a scientific reference or a State of New Hampshire v. Walters 697 A.2d 916 (N.H.
scientific review article.’(Tr. 315). And it ‘does not, by itself, 1997) “[W]e conclude, as we did in Hungerford , that “ [t]he
establish the validity of a diagnostic entity.’(Tr. 431). In fact, indicia of reliability present in the particular memories in
as the United States Supreme Court recently acknowledged in [this] case do not rise to such a level that they overcome the
Clark, the DSM-IV itself cautions against the use of psychi- divisive state of the scientific debate on the issue.”
atric diagnoses in forensic settings due to the ‘significant risks
State of Rhode Island v. Quattrocchi, C.A. No. P92-3759
that diagnostic information will be misused or misunderstood.
(R.I. 1999) [on remand from the Rhode Island Supreme Court
These dangers arise because of the imperfect fit between the
681 A.2d 879 (R.I. 1999)] “The State has not met its burden
questions of ultimate concern to law and the information con-
of establishing that repressed recollection is reliable and
tained in a clinical diagnosis.’” (p. 2)
admissible as scientific evidence.”
The experts for the plaintiffwere Constance Dalenberg,
Ph.D. and James A. Chu, M.D. State of New Hampshire vs. Bourgelais, Docket No. 02-S-
2834, Judge T. Nadeau, April 4, 2005. “the State’s motion [to
The experts for the defendants were Harrison G. Pope,
use repressed memory evidence at trial] is denied… the court
10 .
FMS Foundation Newsletter WINTER 2010 Vol. 19 No. 1