False Memory Syndrome Foundation
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The False Memory Syndrome Foundation (FMSF) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1992[1] by Pamela and Peter Freyd, after being accused by their adult daughter Jennifer Freyd of sexual abuse when she was a child by her father.[2] The FMSF describes its purpose as the examination of the concept of false memory syndrome and recovered memory therapy and advocacy on behalf of individuals believed to be falsely accused of child sexual abuse[3] with a focus on preventing future incidents, helping individuals and reconciling families affected by FMS, publicizing information about FMS, sponsoring research on it and attempting to discover methods to distinguish a true or false allegation of abuse.[4] This initial group was composed of academics and professionals and the organization sought out researchers in the fields of memory and clinical practice to form its advisory board. The goal of the FMSF expanded to become more than an advocacy organization, also attempting to address the issues of memory that seemed to have caused the behavioral changes in their now-adult children.[5]
The FMSF originated the terms 'false memory syndrome' and 'recovered memory therapy' to describe, respectively, what they believe is the orientation of patients towards confabulations created by inappropriate psychotherapy, and the methods through which these confabulations are created.[6] Neither term is acknowledged by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,[7] but they are included in public advisory guidelines relating to mental health.[8][9] The FMSF has been accused of misrepresenting the science of memory, protecting child abusers and encouraging a societal denial of the existence of child sexual abuse.[2][3][10]
Background
In 1990 Jennifer Freyd, with the support of her grandmother and uncle, privately accused her father of sexually abusing her throughout her teenage years after allegedly recovering memories that surfaced after treatment by a therapist for issues unrelated to sexual abuse. Peter Freyd, Jennifer's father, denied that he had sexually abused his daughter. According to Philadelphia Magazine, Peter Freyd said that someone in the Freyd household would have been aware of the alleged abuse, because the Freyd's dog would have barked due to the commotion elicited by his alleged abuse.[11]
In 1991, Pamela Freyd published an anonymous first-person account of the accusation in a journal that focused on false accusations of child sexual abuse.[12] The article was reproduced and circulated widely, including to Jennifer Freyd's department at the University of Oregon. Jennifer Freyd later stated that there were numerous inaccuracies in the article, including the circumstances of the original memories of abuse and the portrayal of her personal life. The FMSF was formed one year later by Pamela and Peter Freyd, with the support and encouragement of therapists Hollida Wakefield and Ralph Underwager. Initially the early membership and advisory board of the FMSF consisted of parents who had been accused of sexually abusing their now-adult children when they were younger, but it rapidly expanded to include professionals with expertise in the area of memory.[2]
The founders of the FMS Foundation had been concerned that alleged recovered memories were being reported after the use of controversial therapy techniques that including hypnosis, relaxation exercises, guided imagery, drug-mediated interviews, body memories, literal dream interpretation and journaling. It is the position of the FMSF that there is no scientific evidence that the use of consciousness-altering techniques such as these can reveal or accurately elaborate factual information about previously forgotten past experiences, including sexual abuse.[13]
According to the FMS Foundation, "The controversy is not about whether children are abused. Child abuse is a serious social problem that requires our attention. Neither is the controversy about whether people may not remember past abuse. There are many reasons why people may not remember something: childhood amnesia, physical trauma, drugs or the natural decay of stored information. The controversy is about the accuracy of claims of recovered "repressed" memories of abuse. The consequences profoundly affect the law, the way therapy is practiced, families and people's lives."[14]
Members of the FMS Foundation Scientific Advisory Board now include a number of members of the National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine: Aaron T. Beck, Rochel Gelman, Lila Gleitman, Ernest Hilgard (deceased), Philip S. Holzman, Elizabeth Loftus, Paul R. McHugh and Ulric Neisser. The Scientific Advisory Board includes both clinicians and researchers. The FMS Foundation is funded by contributions and has no ties to any commercial ventures.
Astrophysicist and astrobiologist Carl Sagan cited material from a 1995 issue of the FMS Newsletter in his critique of the recovered memory claims of UFO abductees and those purporting to be victims of Satanic ritual abuse in his last book, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, signalling his approval of the Foundation's work.[15]
The FMSF claimed 2000 members in 1993.[16]
Controversies
Criticisms
The FMSF has been described as reversing the gains made by feminists and victims in gaining acknowledgment of the incestuous sexual abuse of children.[17] The FMSF has also been criticized for describing itself as a scientific organization while undertaking partisan political and social activity.[2]
The claims made by the FMSF for the incidence and prevalence of false memories have been criticized for lacking any evidence, and disseminating inaccurate statistics about the alleged extent of the problem.[2] Despite claiming to offer scientific evidence for the existence of FMS, the FMSF has no criteria for one of the primary features of the proposed syndrome – how to determine whether the accusation is true or false. Most of the reports by the FMSF are anecdotal, and the studies cited to support the contention that false memories can be easily created are often based on experiments that bear little resemblance to memories of actual sexual abuse. In addition, though the FMSF claims false memories are due to dubious therapeutic practices, the organization presents no data to demonstrate these practices are widespread or form an organized treatment modality.[17][18] In contrast to the claims made by the FMSF, which are false memories of sexual abuse affect untold thousands, federal judge Patrick Schiltz, who defended Catholic dioceses against sexual-abuse lawsuits in more than 500 cases when in private practice, told the New York Times he felt that "fewer than 10" cases he litigated on behalf of Catholic dioceses were based on false accusations.[19] Within the anecdotes used by the FMSF to support their contention that faulty therapy causes false memories, some include examples of people who recovered their memories outside of therapy.[2]
Resignation of Ralph Underwager
In 1991, an interview with founding member of the FMSF Ralph Underwager was published in Paidika: The Journal of Paedophilia containing statements which were interpreted as supportive of paedophilia and the idea that it was actually a positive experience for some children.[20] In the interview, Underwager also said: "Paedophiles need to become more positive and make the claim that paedophilia is an acceptable expression of God's will for love and unity among human beings."[21] According to The Sunday Times of London, in the wake of his statements to Paidika, he said that "scientific evidence" demonstrated that 60% of women sexually abused as children reported that the sexual abuse had been good for them, and he maintained that the same could also apply to boys.[22] In the controversy that followed, Underwager resigned from the FMSF's scientific advisory board. Underwager later stated that the quotations in the Paidika article were taken out of context, used to discredit his ability to testify in courts and through guilt by association, damage the reputation of the FMSF.[23]
Notes
- ^ "About the False Memory Syndrome Foundation". False Memory Syndrome Foundation. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
- ^ a b c d e f Dallam, SJ (2001). "Crisis or Creation: A Systematic Examination of 'False Memory Syndrome'". Journal of Child Sexual Abuse. 9 (3/4). Haworth Press: 9–36. doi:10.1300/J070v09n03_02. PMID 17521989.
- ^ a b Olio, KA (2004). "The Truth About 'False Memory Syndrome'". In Cosgrove L; Caplan PJ (ed.). Bias in psychiatric diagnosis. Northvale, N.J: Jason Aronson. pp. 163–168. ISBN 0-7657-0001-8.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) - ^ Kinnear, KL (2007). Childhood sexual abuse: a reference handbook. ABC-CLIO. pp. 256–7. ISBN 1-85109-905-0.
- ^ "The FMSF Scientific and Professional Advisory Board – Profiles". False Memory Syndrome Foundation. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
- ^ McHugh, PR (2008). Try to remember: Psychiatry's clash over meaning, memory and mind. Dana Press. ISBN 1-932594-39-6.
- ^ Fink PJ; Whitfield Cl; Silberg JL (2001). Misinformation concerning child sexual abuse and adult survivors. New York: Haworth Maltreatment & Trauma Press. pp. 56. ISBN 0-7890-1901-9.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Adult Recovered Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse". Canadian Psychiatric Association. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
- ^ "Recovered Memory Therapy". Department of Human Services, State Government of Victoria. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
- ^ Whitfield, Charles L. (1995). Memory and abuse: remembering and healing the effects of trauma. HCI. pp. 5, 10, 73, 79. ISBN 1558743200.
- ^ Fried, Stephen (January 1, 1994). "War of Rememberance". No. Volume 85 Number 1. Philadelphia Magazine.
{{cite news}}:|issue=has extra text (help) - ^ Doe, J (1991). "How could this happen? Coping with a false accusation of incest and rape". Issues in Child Abuse Accusations. 3 (3): 154–165.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions – What therapy practices cause concern?". False Memory Syndrome Foundation. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
- ^ "Welcome To Memory and Reality: Website of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation FMS Foundation website". False Memory Syndrome Foundation. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
- ^ Sagan, Carl (1996). The Demon-Haunted world: Science as a Candle in the Dark. New York: Ballantine Books. p. 166. ISBN 0-345-40946-9.
- ^ Calof, DL (1993). "A Conversation With Pamela Freyd, Ph.D. Co-Founder And Executive Director, False Memory Syndrome Foundation, Inc". Treating Abuse Today. 3 (3).
- ^ a b Walker, JA (2005). Trauma cinema: documenting incest and the Holocaust. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 64–5. ISBN 0-520-24175-4.
- ^ Olio KA (2004). "The Truth About "False Memory Syndrome"". In Cosgrove L; Caplan PJ (ed.). Bias in psychiatric diagnosis. Northvale, N.J: Jason Aronson. pp. 163–8. ISBN 0-7657-0001-8.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) - ^ Dillon, Sam (August 31, 2002). "Doubt is Cast on Accuser of 2 Priests, Judge says". New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
- ^ Wakefield, H (1993). "Interview with Hollida Wakefield and Ralph Underwager". Paidika. 3 (1): 3–12.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Lightfoot, Liz (December 19, 1993). "Child abuse expert says paedophilia part of 'God's will'". The Sunday Times (London).
- ^ Lightfoot, Liz (September 19, 1993). "Child Abuse Expert Says Paedophillia Part of "God's will"". Sunday Times.
- ^ Underwager, R; Wakefield H (1994). "Misinterpretation of a Primary Prevention Effort". Issues in Child Abuse Accusations. 6 (2): 96–107.