False Memory Syndrome Foundation - Vol 14 No 04 - 2005 julyaug

Magazine Overview

The False Memory Syndrome Foundation Newsletter, Volume 14, Number 4, dated July/August 2005, is a 8-page publication from the USA, written in English. The cover headline announces the finding of Robin Mewes after 15 years of being missing, and the issue delves into the controversial topic of recovered memories and their impact.

Robin Mewes Found After 15 Years

The newsletter begins with the positive news of Robin Mewes being found safe and sound after disappearing in 1990. A therapist had convinced her that her family was part of an intergenerational satanic cult, leading to her flight. Her parents, Bob and Mary Mewes, had never stopped searching for her. The article details how Robin changed her identity, earned a master's degree, and married. It notes that Deborah Jean Rudolph, the counselor who influenced Robin, disappeared and that mental health counselors were not regulated in Illinois until after Robin's disappearance. Rudolph later changed her name to Shizeege and faced accusations of falsely accusing a family of abuse.

Statement on Recovered Memories

A significant portion of the newsletter is dedicated to a statement signed by approximately 50 individual scientists and clinicians. This statement asserts that there is no convincing empirical evidence for the theory that trauma survivors truly repress and then later recover memories of traumatic events. They argue that extreme distress may impair encoding of memory but does not cause amnesia, and that traumatic events are typically remembered well, with emotional arousal enhancing memory. The statement criticizes the "recovered memory" theory for causing incalculable harm to the fields of psychology and psychiatry, the credibility of mental health professionals, affected individuals, and society.

Legal Battles and the Taus v. Loftus Case

The newsletter discusses the legal implications of recovered memories, specifically mentioning the lawsuit filed against Elizabeth Loftus, Mel Guyer, and others in 2002 (Taus v. Loftus). This case stemmed from an investigation into the 1997 "Jane Doe" case study, which was claimed to prove that people could repress and recover memories of abuse. Loftus and Guyer's investigation reached a different conclusion, but an ethical complaint against Loftus at the University of Washington delayed their publication. The article notes that "Jane Doe" filed a lawsuit, and while many charges were dismissed by a California Appeals Court, the California Supreme Court agreed to review the case, impacting issues of privacy for research subjects.

Influence of Alice Miller and Inner Healing

The newsletter explores the influence of psychoanalyst Alice Miller, author of "The Drama of the Gifted Child," on the spread of ideas related to the False Memory Syndrome (FMS) phenomenon. Miller's work is characterized as equating to 'all children are abused by their parents.' The article also discusses the "inner healing" movement, which gained popularity in Christian circles in the mid-seventies. Martin and Deidre Bobgan, authors of a critique of Ruth Carter Stapleton's book "The Gift of Inner Healing," express concern about the psychological ideas involved, such as psychic determinism, repression, and catharsis, and the use of imagination, visualization, and hypnotic suggestion in inner healing.

Theophostic Prayer Ministry and Psychological Counseling

The newsletter warns about the combination of psychological counseling and inner healing, particularly "Theophostic Prayer Ministry," describing it as a methodology of regressive therapy, inner healing, and false memories. It suggests that this approach can deceive Christians by linking present problems to past hurts that need to be healed through reliving the past with a visualized Jesus figure.

"When Asked, Molested Children Usually Disclose"

This section reviews a research paper by London, Bruck, Ceci, and Shuman that examines how children disclose child sexual abuse. The authors note that the "Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome" (CSAAS), proposed by Roland Summit, is influential but lacks strong empirical evidence. Their review of studies indicates that children typically disclose abuse during interviews, and there is little evidence to suggest that denials or recantations are typical when children are directly asked about abuse. They also state that suggestive interviewing strategies offer no advantage and that CSAAS testimony is not reliable for assessing allegations of CSA.

Government Study on Mental Illness

A brief mention is made of a government survey indicating that half of Americans will develop mental illness during their lives, prompting debate about the distinction between mental illness and ordinary emotional struggles.

How to Believe the Unbelievable (Excerpt from Mark Pendergrast's "Victims of Memory")

This excerpt from Mark Pendergrast's book discusses the role of drugs in increasing the likelihood of illusory incest memories. It highlights how sedatives can lead to false accusations and mentions the use of "truth serum" techniques in the past. The text explains that barbiturates do not enhance memory but rather increase suggestibility and can produce confabulations. The section also touches upon the conviction of a psychiatrist for injecting a patient with "truth serum" to uncover repressed memories.

Cognitive Dissonance and Group Contagion

This section, continuing from the excerpt, explains Leon Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance, where individuals experience internal conflict when their beliefs are challenged and are pressured to resolve this by choosing a side. It applies this theory to the "Incest Survivor Movement," suggesting that the social reinforcement within such groups makes it easier for individuals to adopt new beliefs, even implausible ones, to avoid isolation. The text references Solomon Asch's experiments on conformity and Festinger's story about a sect that believed alien "Guardians" would save them from a flood, illustrating how people rationalize and reinforce beliefs even when evidence contradicts them.

The Contexts of Insanity

This part of the excerpt discusses how social influence and the belief in massive repression of sexual abuse memories have led to an "epidemic of Survivors." It describes how therapists can play into a client's fears, finding "evidence" for repressed memories through dreams, flashbacks, and body memories. The process of memory rehearsal and the use of written declarations are highlighted as reinforcement tools. The text also mentions therapists using "videotaped disclosure" to make recovered memories seem real, and notes that while overwhelming emotion and detailed accounts are cited as reasons for belief in recovered memories, they do not guarantee accuracy.

Rosenhan Experiment and Diagnostic Labels

The section references D L. Rosenhan's classic experiment, "On Being Sane in Insane Places," where pseudopatients were admitted to psychiatric hospitals and were diagnosed with schizophrenia in remission. This experiment demonstrated how diagnostic labels profoundly color others' perceptions and behavior, and how once labeled, it is difficult to overcome the tag. The text suggests that in the context of recovered memory cases, individuals might be diagnosed with multiple personalities if they entered a dissociative disorders unit.

Legal Corner: Statute of Limitations in Child-Molestation Cases

This section details the Missouri Court of Appeals' ruling in the case of Powel v. Chaminade College Preparatory, Inc. The court ruled that the statute of limitations begins when a person remembers repressed memories, conflicting with a previous decision. The case involved Michael Powel, who claimed to have repressed memories of abuse for 25 years. The court's decision is expected to affect numerous other cases involving repressed memory claims.

Criminal Conviction in Florida Based on Recovered Memories

This brief report describes the conviction of Billy Banks Sr. in Florida for sexually molesting two girls in the 1960s, based solely on their recovered memories. The defense attorney noted that one accuser had undergone intensive drug addiction counseling and had back problems and depression.

Statutes of Limitations and Sex Abuse Cases

This section discusses the ongoing efforts in several states, including California, to extend statutes of limitations for sex abuse cases. It highlights arguments for extending the limitations, such as victims being too fearful or ashamed to come forward, and the concept of repressed memories. Opponents argue that statutes of limitations provide a check against false allegations and encourage timely investigations. The article mentions a California bill (SB 261) that would stop the requirement for independent corroborating evidence until a victim is 30.

Book of Interest: The Day Care Ritual Abuse Moral Panic

A brief review of Mary de Young's book "The Day Care Ritual Abuse Moral Panic" is included. The book analyzes the social stresses that fueled the moral panic surrounding day care ritual abuse in the 1980s, noting its similarity to older morality plays about innocent children and demonic threats.

Practical Joke Brings Forth Abuse Memories

This short article recounts a case where a dentist's assistant recovered memories of being sexually assaulted as a teen after seeing a picture of herself with fake boar's tusks, leading to a lawsuit and a settlement.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The newsletter consistently promotes a skeptical view of recovered memories, emphasizing the lack of scientific evidence for repression and recovery. It highlights the potential for harm caused by certain therapeutic practices and the legal ramifications of the recovered memory movement. The FMSF appears to advocate for a more cautious and evidence-based approach to memory and trauma, often critiquing therapies that encourage the creation or retrieval of potentially false memories. The editorial stance is critical of the "Incest Survivor Movement" and similar phenomena, viewing them as influenced by social pressures and psychological theories that may not be scientifically sound.

The FMS Foundation Newsletter, Volume 14, Number 4, published in July/August 2005, focuses on the complex issue of false memories, particularly concerning Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA).

A Trip Down False Memory Lane: My experiences with making and then disavowing satanic ritual abuse (SRA) claims

Mary Katherine Powers recounts her personal journey in 2005, beginning in 1992 when she was hospitalized and diagnosed with Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) after a hypnosis evaluation. She initially believed hypnosis had uncovered hidden alters and, after reading books like "Through Divided Minds" and attending therapy and SRA support groups, became convinced she was a survivor of ritual abuse. Her beliefs included being taken to Black Masses, being a breeder for sacrificed babies, being married to Satan, and being ritually abused and tortured.

Powers deeply reflects on why she adopted these beliefs, identifying several contributing factors:

1. A long history of depression (since age 8), leading to alienation and attraction to gloomy subjects.
2. Bullying by girls at school, creating unhappy memories of being treated badly.
3. Loneliness, making it easier to imagine being tortured than face being ignored.
4. A belief that hypnosis is a direct path to memory recovery, reinforced by reading SRA survivor accounts and attending support groups.
5. The belief that if she felt it, it must be true.
6. A desire for attention and being special through surviving a "hidden holocaust."
7. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), causing mood downturns in the fall, which she initially attributed to cult activity.
8. Confusion of church rituals with satanic rituals.

Powers found the last two factors particularly significant and wonders if SAD is over-represented in those alleging ritual abuse, suggesting it could be a biological explanation for late fall depressions.

She further elaborates on the confusion between church and satanic rituals, citing three factors:

1. The mystery of rituals: As a child, she was mystified by Catholic Mass rituals, and this confusion may have extended to beliefs about ritual abuse.
2. Profound disillusionment with religion: Despite her parents' devout religiosity, her untreated depression led her to perceive them as malevolent. This disillusionment extended to the Catholic Church, especially its stance on women priests, causing her to stop attending church and view it as an oppressive force.
3. The harsh nature of Christianity: She notes that Christianity is based on human sacrifice (Jesus' death) and that the Eucharist involves symbolic cannibalism. She hypothesizes that ritual abuse allegations can serve as screen memories for experiences with religion, and that disillusionment with the Church can make mainstream religion appear evil.

Powers believes that allegations of ritual abuse become more logical when viewed through the lens of disillusionment with religion, and that SRA accusers are often from religious households who took religion seriously. She is interested in confirming her hypothesis that ritual abuse memories are screen memories for mainstream religious experiences, suggesting that addressing religious issues directly might prevent ritual abuse beliefs.

She concludes this section by stating that she disavowed her SRA beliefs and her belief in MPD in the mid-1990s, owing a debt to authors and researchers like Dr. Ian Hacking, Dr. August Piper, Dr. Michael Simpson, Michael Snedeker, and Debbie Nathan for helping her see how her life had gone off track.

Reader Letters

No Contact

A father writes that he has had no contact with his son since 1989, only hearing indirectly that he is alive.

A Kind of Returner

A mother shares that her daughter, alienated for nearly 20 years, has become a "kind of returner" without apologies. The daughter visited briefly in 1993 and 1998 but did not stay overnight and has not revealed her current whereabouts. The mother describes a close relationship with her daughter, who calls regularly and writes affectionate letters. The daughter has been ill for several years, which the mother attributes to the stress of recovered memories. The daughter no longer sees the therapists who initiated the recovered memories. The mother expresses hope for eventual reunion and forgiveness, despite personal hardships like her husband's cancer and her own massive surgery.

Guilt First, Then Real Desire

M.K.P. (likely Mary Katherine Powers) writes that the FMSF helped her reconcile with her family after cutting them off for four years. Initially motivated by guilt, her desire to reconnect has become genuine.

Coping: Where are you now?

This section announces an upcoming Illinois-Wisconsin FMS Society Fall Meeting on October 9, 2005, in Des Plaines, IL. The meeting, titled "Coping: Where are you now?", will feature speakers Pamela Freyd, Ph.D., and Janet Fetkewicz, M.A., from the FMS Foundation. The afternoon will include a general group discussion on coping strategies, with retractors serving as resource people. A cocktail hour and dinner will follow.

Do You Read German?

This section recommends an excellent two-part article about memory by Harald Welzer, originally published in Der Spiegel. The article discusses how people develop vivid visual recollections of events that never happened, citing examples like WWII Dresden bombing survivors recalling individual fighter attacks despite the impossibility of low-altitude flying due to the fire tornado, and Ronald Reagan including a scene from a 1944 movie in his war memories.

Resources and Information

The newsletter includes extensive lists of "Web Sites of Interest" and "Legal Web Sites of Interest," as well as recommended books on "Remembering Trauma," "Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology," and "Psychology Astray: Fallacies in Studies of 'Repressed Memory' and Childhood Trauma."

It also provides contact information for "Contacts & Meetings - United States" and "Contacts & Meetings - International," listing local FMS chapters and representatives across various states and countries.

FMS Foundation Information

Copyright information for 2005 is provided, along with the FMS Foundation's address, phone, fax, email, and website. Pamela Freyd, Ph.D., is listed as the Executive Director. The Scientific and Professional Advisory Board is also listed, comprising numerous doctors and authors in relevant fields.

An invitation is extended to send an email to [email protected] to receive electronic versions of the newsletter and notices. The newsletter is published six times a year and is mailed to anyone contributing at least $30.00, or available for free via email or on the website.

A section for "Your Contribution Will Help" solicits donations via Visa, Mastercard, or check/money order, with a minimum credit card donation of $25.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue are the unreliability of memory, the impact of therapeutic interventions on memory formation, the psychological and social factors contributing to false beliefs, and the importance of support networks for individuals dealing with these issues. The editorial stance of the FMS Foundation, as evidenced by the content, is to critically examine claims of repressed memories and SRA, highlight the phenomenon of false memory syndrome, and provide resources and support for individuals who have retracted such claims or are questioning their memories. The newsletter promotes a skeptical yet empathetic approach to these complex psychological phenomena.