FMSF 2002 False Memory Syndrom

Families whose children have not yet returned, the majority of FMSF families, sometimes ask how realistic it is to expect the return of their alienated offspring after so

If you haven't made your annual contribution to the fundraising drive, please send your check

"I' m so sorry. I didn't understand the pain, distrust and confusion the lie would cause. And when I did, I was so scared and guilty I tried to hide from it." (FMSF Newsletter Nov 95) "It is very unusual for a retractor to just simply "return to the family ... the process of retraction is a very slo

Ernest R Hilgard Obituary Emest R. "Jack" Hilgard, FMSF Advisory Board member, highly acclaimed experimental psychologist,

Assessing the Validity of Amnesia in Dissociative Identity Disorder: A

FMS Foundation Newsletter JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2002 Vol. I I No. I

this authority from the America Psychiatric Association believes in exorcism? We're talking about exorcism here. Reporter: Do you believe in the presence of demons?

Wiesner: Yes, I do, personally. Reporter. And you think demons may be responsible for some people's afflictions?

Reporter. And you think demons may be responsible for some people's afflictions? Reporter: What do you base this on?

may be responsible for some people's afflictions? Reporter: What do you base this on? Wiesner: My personal faith. Notcertainly not my psychiatric training, because psychiatric training doesn't

Wiesner: My personal faith. Notcertainly not my psychiatric training, because psychiatric training doesn't Reporter: ...The American Psychiatric

not rehash the sexual abuse issue but seek to bring us together on the common ground we shared." {from family letter) It is tragic that so many professionals sat silently on the fence during the height of the recovered memory fad. It is inexcusable in 2002 that they do not now take active steps to a

There is scientific evidence that false memories can be created with techniques often used in therapy and that memories for events with great personal meaning can be

discusses some specific changes that have taken place. History will ultimately provide the answer, but we are very sure that the legal actions against negligent therapists will

When? Sat. October 5 and Sun. October 6, 2002 Why? A National Conference on

Abuse memories trigger The Hour - Norwalk CT, Feb 5, 1994 "It generally starts with focusing, clearing the mind

dictable from either the non-traumatic or the traumatic items. The authors According to a study by L.M. write: "These results suggest that disJones and colleagues, the number of

Fall-Winter 1999,649-705 abused. The rest seemed to belong to the Coerced-internalized category in which the person enters therapy with

Johnson, R.C., Edman, J.L. & Danko, G.P. Personality and Individual Differences

that the most powerful process in these trials was the devastating contrast between experts. The plaintiff's experts (e.g., Profs. Loftus, McHugh, Ofshe, Grove and others) were world

verdicts and settlements in the millions of dollars were obtained by science intensive litigation specialists suing

environment) and could even lead to a new area of legal malpractice claims. The demand for specialized education and knowledge created by Daubert.

"Because exactly what is meant by the tenns of 'repression' and 'dissociation' is far from clear, their use has become idiosyncratic, metaphoric, and arbitrary." Scientific Advisory Board of the FMS Foundation

that therapists might consider applying the management notions of "responsibility to" and "responsibility for" in their work. (p. 8) It is a fresh way to look at the responsibil~ ities of mental health professionals. If professionals followed the many points Feld has

When? Sat. October 5 and Sun. October 6, 2002 Why? A National Conference on Family Reconciliation

Who? Cosponsored by the FMS Foundation and tbe lllinois-Wisconsin False Memory Society What? Presentations will focus on Reconciliation. Speakers will include: Harold Lief,M.D., Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D., Paul McHugh, M.D.,

Landmark Decisions in the

Protest. Never give up. We are talking about the lives and minds of our children and friends, and they are worth Mark Pendergrast is the author of Vtcrim.Y of Memory, Uncommon Grow1ds

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

May/June 2002 Vol. 11 No. 3 The Making and Unmaking of

by Blake Eskin. W. W. Norton, Feb. 18, 2002. Hard cover. ISBN 0393948713. REVIEWER: Mark Pendergrast

Wilkomirski's inane prattle about preverbal memories, body memories, and visualization techniques. What is strange is that neither Eskin nor any other writers about the Wilkomirski mess seem to really get it. They refer

snipped pieces (perhaps without consciously doing so) from The Painted Bird, by Jerzy Kosinsky, and his extensive research into the Holocaust. Just

event itself. Did abuse occur or did it not? Professional organizations have stated that the only way to know the truth of an event is through external corroboration. Often an actual event can be corroborated. The second issue involves the claim of repression. How

Memory of Child Sexual Abuse: Comparison With a Childhood Interview Videotaped 11 Years Before," Child Maltreatment, Vo! 2 (2) 2. See FMSF Newsletter Vol 6 No. 8,

A Perfect Symmetry? A Study of

Seventh Edition ( 1999) Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Diagnosis and Psychiatry, page 682

A person's recollection and belief by the patient of an event that did not actually occur. In FALSE MEMORY SYNDROME persons erroneously believe that they sustained an emotional or physical (e.g., sexual) trau*

by Laura Davis. HarperCollins, 2002. ISBN: 0-06-019762-5.$24.95. 342 pages Reviewed by Mark Pendergrast A shorter version of this article appeared

tionships are more precious and inti- one hour to rule against a 48-year-old mate after an estrangement than they man who claimed his father had were before, but they don't get that abused him. Quincy Fattier Jr. had way without a lot of hard work," Davis sued his father claiming that he had writes.

Richardson have done an outstanding job of placing the particular facts in this case within the context of the recovered memory phenomenon and

(May/June 2002) I wrote about the responsibility of therapists. This essay attempts to couple "Responsibility" with "Relationship" and to delineate what should be expected from a relationship with a therapist.

_$ 100 or more Patron

Legal Update from Wenatchee Harold I. Lief, M.D. is a psychiauist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania and is a Founding Fellow of the American College of Psychoanalysts. He

of our conceml3J and included an article by Kenneth It's been a hot summer in many ways. The appointment Lanning. Replies to our letter show a range of belief on the

1955 Locust Street, Philadelphia. PA 19103·5766. 215·940·1040. Fax 215·940·1042. to shut down our conference by urging eo-sponsors, collaborators, and others to withdraw support and not to attend." It seems that we were naive to think that the topic of ritual abuse had been resolv

Dear Organization Director: The _Organization is listed a.~ a Co·Sponsor of the 7th International Conference on Family Violence to be held in San Diego in September 2002. Everyone is against family violence. Unfortunately, this program includes two sessions on Ritual Abuse

2002. Everyone is against family violence. Unfortunately, this program includes two sessions on Ritual Abuse (SRA). (I) There is absolutely no evidence for any organized ritual abuse conspiracy as these sessions state and their presence undermines the credibility of the conference. There is tremendo

August Piper, Jr. and Members of the FMSF Scientific Advisory Board. Letters and infomwtion: Our Readers. FMS Foundation N&wsleffer September/October 2002 Vol. 11 No. 5

FMS Foundation N&wsleffer September/October 2002 Vol. 11 No. 5 Nursery Teachers Regain Reputations in England

"It isn't so much that I feel that some people, despite how I have been vindicated, will never quite trust me around children. It is that I can never, ever

these with a control group of 520 individuals. They then did a follow-up from 1989 to 1995 to see whether Childhood Victimization and indeed the victims of childhood abuse

Clancy, S.A., McNally, R., Schacter, D.L., Lenzenweger, M.F., Pitman, R. Journal of Abnonnal Psychology Vol 111(3) August 2002, p 455-461 In a previous study, Clancy et al.

those who believe that Jesus is revealing their memories directly to them through Theophostic counseling. It is

City Possessed: The Christchurch Civic Creche Case By Lynley Hood

"We have won the concept battle but not the clinical war," noted Dr. Paul McHugh in his keynote address to

Bulleffn Board ................................................................ 14 The next Issue will be JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 1955 Locust Street. Philadelphia. PA 19103-5766,215-940-1040, Fox 215-940-1042.

as a study in repressed memories. deal more information on ritual abuse Violence" in San Diego, California on September 25, 2002. Because several She said that she had been abused by would be available if it were not for the of the presenters spoke at both ses- her grandfather in ritual settings. se

be entering the theater of the absurd, it type of abuse. organizer] said the fact that investiOne characteristic of the ritual is the only logical explanation for the gators can find no evidence of ritual

Reprinted from the BFMS Newsletter Vol. l 0 ( J ), October, 2002 "From Rumor to Reason" is a rolling series of professional conferences in North America examining the

Vol. l 0 ( J ), October, 2002 "From Rumor to Reason" is a rolling series of professional conferences in North America examining the reliability of evidence in child sexual

17, 2002. Rep. Susan Myrick, R-North Carolina, will introduce the Candace Newmaker Resolution of 2002 before the U.S. House of Representatives today. The discussion is scheduled to

the an insightful article examining the background of some major child abuse scares in Great Britain. lt adds to the growing body of knowledge about how hysterical events happened.

Tennessee Psychologist

may recall the case of Rabe et al. vs Con~:don in 1991 in which two adult daughters sued their Oak Ridge scientist father of sexual abuse. Local newspapers featured stories and pictures of investigators examining property for physical evidence of other wrongdoings. No evidence of anything was ever

November/December 2002 Vol. 11 No. 6