Memories – True or False

02 Oct 2018 Leave a comment

by unlimitedpotentialhealingcenter in brainwashing, Ethics, false memory, Hypnosis, mind-control

(The topic of Memory is prescient because of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford who is accusing Brett Kavanaugh of sexual abuse 36 years ago. This article was originally written in 2000 and presented since at various hypnosis conferences including the National Guild of Hypnotists. I refer to a wave of lawsuits against therapists implanting false memories especially having to do with sexual abuse back in 1990’s and since. I do not cite later lawsuits beyond the date of publication. )

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What is A False Memory and False Memory Syndrome?

False Memory is not just a memory that is without factual base, because indeed it is normal for all of us have problems remembering with historical accuracy, especially of things that happened long ago. It is a false memory of such magnitude that grips the mind of the individual with an intensity that all other personality aspects and indeed the life revolve around it, and the quality of that life suffer enormously. It is an artificially created artifact created out of emotional distress.
As Psychiatrist Paul McHugh states, it is “built out of a personality of mental distress and a cultural idiom that the doctor agrees to and gives a new explanation to the life story that gives justification to the distress.” (Paul McHugh at the 1997 FMS Conference.) He further says that the emotionally disturbed comply with the role because it makes sense to their emotional turmoil. The more patients comply, the more medical authority believe in it, the more medical attention it gets, the more groups support compliance of the social trend. It is “a social trend driven by politics, religious and philosophical ideas that drive it along.”

What is generally called the False Memory Syndrome generally refers to individuals believing with great fervency that they were sexually abused, satanically ritually abused, or abducted by aliens, without any factual evidence that it occurred, and in the face of contrary evidence that it did not occur. Like members of a cult, the mistaken beliefs of a person suffering from False Memory Syndrome are difficult to dissuade. Believers tend to seek out those who confirm their beliefs, and to cut off contact with those who disagree.
A false memory dictates the individual’s identity.
It causes havoc in a person’s life creating nightmares, loss of sleep, indigestion, loss of concentration, breakdown of families and other relationships. It tends to dominate every waking minute of the day. And the more the person dwells upon it, or goes to support groups for other ‘survivors’, or finds others who support them in their mistaken beliefs, the worse the person gets, sometimes to the point of becoming institutionalized and unemployable, and the more their relationships deteriorate. Indeed, any ability of the individual to cope, solve problems, and deal effectively with life severely suffers.
To the degree that therapists aid in creating or maintaining false memories of any kind that cause suffering to their clients or to the family and others effected by that false memory, that therapist is liable.
Those with False Memory Syndrome appear to suffer more and dwell on their past problems more than survivors of true, documented abuse, i.e. the Holocaust or other victims such as Cambodian survivors of the Khmer Rouge atrocities, do. (Victims of Memory, page 522-523) They do not obsessively talk about the painful past even to strangers. Instead, they focus on moving on with their lives, and they seem to laugh more than 12-step groups. True incest survivors keep their experiences as private, and have no desire to think about or relive such memories.
While some people might think that traumatic experiences are responsible for all their problems in life, studies of the impact of child sexual abuse reviewed by sociologists, Linda Williams and David Finkelhor “overall indicate that early abusive trauma and adult functioning have no simple relationship.” (Victims of Memory, page 524.)
Legal Considerations:
Question: “What did the judge say to the therapist dressed in a three-piece business suit?” Answer: “Would the defendant please rise?” (Page 95, Hypnosis and False Memories. How False Memories are Created by Ronald L. Stephens, published by Ziotech.)

During the 1980’s-1990’s, recovered memory therapists urged their clients to sue their parents and others of sexual abuse. However, by the late 1990’s, those accused and the therapists of the accusers were being brought into court. One organization, the False Memory Foundation, is now arguing in Amicus Briefs that the severe injury to patients from scientifically unproven methods, i.e., of memory retrieval, merit malpractice suits. They also argue that therapists employing methods of recovered memory which lead to criminal allegations have a duty to the accused individual. The methods they dispute in memory retrieval are hypnosis, guided imagery, journaling, dream work, body work, & drugs such as sodium Pentathal.

With the onset of high priced lawsuits against therapists on charges of implanting false memories with the consequent mental anguish and breakup of families, it is crucial and prudent that all therapists and hypnotherapists be advised.
Court Settlements Against Therapists for False Memory:
$2.4 Million Out-of Court Settlement in Cool v. Legion Insurance Co., Kenneth C, Olson, et al, Wisconsin, 1997. “Nadeen Cool sued her former psychiatrist for malpractice alleging he induced false memories through hypnosis, was negligent in diagnosing multiple personality disorder, and engaged in dangerous treatment including an exorcism and prescribing drugs that caused her to hallucinate.” (“Legal Corner”. page 8. FMS Foundation Newsletter, April 1997. (“Legal Corner”. page 8. FMS Foundation Newsletter, April 1997.)
$100,000 Out of Court Settlement Paynter v, Septon, Circuit Court, Multnomah Co., Oregon, February 1997:
Former patient Amy Paynter alleged against her therapist, unlicensed social worker Jennifer Septer, ‘failure to recognize and control transference and counter-transference, failure to conduct a reasonable investigation of the facts, and failure to obtain informed consent to use various suggestive techniques, including journaling, dream work, inner child work, verbal suggestion and group therapy…negligently and falsely diagnosed that she had repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse by family members… despite… that she had no memory of such abuse before seeking treatment. Paynter was also falsely diagnosed as having sexually abused her own infant son and other children and was told to report this supposed abuse to her employer, which resulted in an immediate layoff from her job. (“Legal Corner”. page 9. FMS Foundation Newsletter, April 1997)
South Dakota woman, Marine Berry, suing her former therapists and hospital staff for false memories of sexual and physical abuse. Two Pennsylvania therapists will not be allowed to practice therapy for at least a year for using “harmful and dangerous methods” in their therapy practice. New Hampshire Supreme Court, Hungerford v. Jones, No. 97-657, May 6, 1998. Court is considering whether a mental health care provides owes a legal duty to the father of an adult patient to diagnose and treat the patient with requisite skill and competence of the profession when the diagnosis is that the father sexually abused or assaulted the patient, and whether said provider owes a duty to act with reasonable care to avoid foreseeable harm to the father of an adult patient resulting from treatment or other action taken in relation to mental health conditions arising from said diagnosis.
Legal Decisions on Accepting Repressed Memory Evidence:
Many courts are now failing to admit repressed memory evidence saying that it is quite controversial, the methods of extracting such memories also questionable, the memories lacking verifiable and objective evidence warranting the discovery rule. They are requiring the substantiation of recovered memories before being admissible. (See FMS Foundation Newsletter, 12/98, pages 12-14 for others) State of New Hampshire v. Hungerford, 7/1/1 997. Engstrom v. Engstrom, 6/18/97. Hunter v. Brown, 11/10/97.
Kelly v. Marcantonio, 678 A.2d 873, Rhode Island Supreme Court, 7/11/96.
The court instructed judges to hold a evidentiary hearing to determine if recovered memories is “sufficiently relevant, reliable, and scientifically and/or medically established.”
Texas Supreme Court, S.V. v. R.V., No 94-0856, 3/14/96.
North Carolina Court Excludes “Repressed Memory” Testimony, October 20, 1998 in Barrett v. Hyldburg, Superior Court, Buncombe Co., NC, No. 94 CVS 793. “The emotional content of an image, the confidence a person has in that image, or the consistency of a story do not prove the existence or reliability of a repressed memory.”
FMS Foundation Newsletter, 12/98, vol. 7 no, 10. “Certainly a person can have a strong emotional reaction to a nightmare, even though no one contends that the dream reflected a factual event. Moreover, paranoids are convinced of the truth of their conspiracy theories and act in accordance with their suspicions. Indeed, a common feature of paranoia is a consistency and durability in the belief of a perceived persecution. The fact that plaintiff firmly believes and emotionally reacts To a perceived memory does not prove the existence of such repressed memory, nor does it show she reliability reported the events she supposedly recalled by plaintiff… the durability of the plaintiffs alleged memory, one of the internal corroborating factors identified by Dr. Whitfield, may be the result of support plaintiff has received from others following her report of sexual abuse… The court finds and concludes chat the so-called “internal corroborative ” evidence does not have sufficient scientific reliability to establish either the validity of the phenomenon of repressed memory or the accuracy of alleged recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse.”
North Carolina superior Court Judge Stanford L. Steelman, Jr. in above case.

The court now contends that the  “Internal Corroboration” claimed by Charles Whitfield, M.D. to be “evidence of veracity” are not. In other words, the following DO NOT PROVE ACCURACY OF MEMORY :

  • plaintiffs credibility
  • abreaction or strong emotional reaction to the memory
  • the consistency of the story
  • the durability of the memory  


The court further ruled that self-reports alone are insufficient to prove the validity of the phenomenon of repression. Also that just because a diagnosis exists in the DSM-IV (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual used for classifying diagnosis) may indicate some degree of acceptance but not necessarily general acceptance in the relevant scientific community. The manual cannot be considered a scientific manual, either fully complete, or completely valid.

The court ruled that there is no general acceptance for the validity of repressed memory theory, nor a way to distinguish between true memories and false memories.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists has specifically advised against the practice of diagnosing childhood sexual abuse through a checklist of symptoms . “Repressed Memory” charges by Margaret Powel against schoolteacher Michael Gallagher were dropped & criminal charges against the accuser are now being considered.
Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/27/98 “Rape charges dropped against schoolteacher” Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided that repressed memory is an inappropriate basis for a rape charge.
Memory is perfect, but recall is not.
Memory may be retained (memory retention). Memory recall is being able to access that stored memory. These are not the same things. Both are affected by the meaningfulness of the material learned, “the more meaningful the experience, the greater the likelihood of retention and recall.” If the material is meaningful, the memory may be intact for life.
Memory is at best what we observe, experience or think of frequently. The more recent the event, the easier to remember. The more vivid, distinct, or extraordinary the event, observation, thought, experience, the easier it is to recall clearly. Memory is best for those things liked, next for those things disliked, and least for those things to which indifferent.
Recall is influenced by degree of attention given it at the time, ie. passing observation or careful scrutiny, volume of stimuli rapidity of experience of stimuli degree of fatigue at the time level of distraction environmental & psychological (cognitive-emotional context in which something was learned and later recalled state dependent learning & retrieval) “in either a hypo- or hyper- aroused state of consciousness is bound to that level of arousal… unless that level of arousal is reactivated, the individual will have only partial recall or even total amnesia for the original experience.” studies with alcohol, amphetamine and barbiturate induced states. State bound information is accessed also with associated symbol–image, melody, or taste. The more similar the context, the greater the recall.

Helmut Relinger (“Fabrication in Hypnosis”. Refer to for scientific studies quoted) believes that hypnosis is most effective in situations were

  1. person was traumatized and later amnesic;
  2. person tried to learn material in a highly stressful situation and was later unable to recall that information


Memory may change as a result of psychodynamic defense mechanisms within the personality, faulty reconstruction, interference, misassociations, imagination and suggestion.

There is also a tendency to fill in the blanks.
When asked to recall a poorly remembered event, the imagination fills in the gaps. This happens unconsciously.
We tend to recall what we think should have happened, what we wish had happened, or what we believe now from suggestions forgotten, happened.
Prejudice and sympathy influence recall.
“Unconscious bias is more dangerous than conscious bias. In every witness there is an empire of subconscious loyalties, like and dislikes, preferences and hatreds, some conscious, others unconscious, but all.., affecting what we perceive, how we perceive it, and … how we recall it…. It is not uncommon for an honest and sincere witness to confuse his recollection of what actually occurred with what he has persuaded himself to have happened ..imagination and suggestion co-operating will rewrite the perceptual truth until it is unrecognizable.” (page 274 Forensic Hypnosis)
Waking suggestions “are no less powerful than hypnotic suggestions.
In many instances they are actually stronger in that they usually operate below our level of conscious awareness, hence beyond conscious control. Suggestions from the press, acquaintances, and interviewing law enforcement officers or attorneys, can all acquire easily and inadvertently alter the person ‘s memory, which he may unknowingly incorporate as his own at a later date. Experienced trial lawyers are often masters of suggestion, even if unknowingly, and can subtly influence a jury as well as a witness.”
Creating Neurosis and Multiple Personalities:
It is possible to create neurosis through suggestion. Jean-Marie Charcot, a psychiatrist in Salpetriere, France during the 1870’s and 1880’s, could induce faints, neurosis, hysteria, and odd behavior through influence of his authority with patients, through “contagion” of suggestion from one patient to another, as well as through hypnosis. (Page 404-405, Victims of Memory)
After Charcot’s death in 1893, the phases of hysteria as taught by him, fell into disrepute. “without the master to induce them, the symptoms simply vanished.” Freud later studied for a few months with Charcot . It was a turning point for Freud, switching him from studying neuropathology to psychopathology.
McHugh, feels that it is possible to create multiple personalities. Here are some indirect suggestions that he feels elicits multiples:
“Have you ever felt like someone else?”
“Does this set of feelings have a name?”
“I would like to talk to that part of you that __________.”
These suggestions are routinely used in hypnosis through a process of parts therapy. Parts Therapy, which is an effective technique in dealing with internal conflict, says that laymen understand that there already exists different ‘parts’, ie. the part of them that wants to stop smoking, the part that doesn’t; the part of them that is an effective in one setting, and ineffectual in another. Parts therapists claim that the technique does not create pathological dissociation as they  always integrate ‘the parts’ before hypnotic arousal. And yet if a therapist is working with a highly suggestible subject, it is crucial to be especially careful of everything that you say.
Clinical Psychiatry Texts by Myers (spelling), Ross, Slater and others states that multiple personalities are always artificial productions, the product of the medical attention they arouse. “Never talk to alters, ” McHugh says. The moment that you do, you further entrenches them. Instead find a better way to change symbolic meaning that gives energy, hope, and an enhanced ability to cope.
McGurdy in the book War Neurosis said that nightmares of veterans were extrapolations of events rather than the events themselves.
Hypnotic Language Patterns Can Create False Memories:
Many people with your problem have experienced _________ (sexual/ ritualistic/ physical/physical) abuse.
Some experts believe that there is a correlation between__________ (eating disorders) and (sexual/etc.) abuse.
Many children of alcoholics have experienced ________(sexual) abuse.
Many times these problems stem from early childhood trauma. I wonder if you ever experienced abuse. And if you did, who was that? And where did it occur? And when might that have occurred? Take a moment to image that.
Using the same language pattern to create positive change:
Many people with your condition/ illness/ cancer recover and go on to enjoy many years of good health.
Many people with your problem have experienced temporary anxiety until they learn new coping skills.
Many times these problems stimulate greater growth, wisdom and compassion in a person.
Have you been aware of positive changes occurring in spite of or even because of what you are experiencing?
What is the difference here? One suggestion leads to look for the positive, and the other to a negative. One focuses on the past, and the other on the present moving into a positive future.
What are the basics of suggestion. suggestibility, & memory?
GUIDELINES FOR THERAPISTS:
1. Above all do no harm
2. Do some good
3. Physician heal thyself
4. CYA – cover your ass
The baseline barometer should be this: Is the client happier, more effective, more successful in his everyday life because of whatever therapy he engaged in? If he is, then that method was good for him. This does not assume that it would be good for everyone else, but might be useful to someone else.

 

Is the client less happy, less effective, less successful in his everyday life because of the therapy he engaged in? If so, then the therapist responsible may have to legally answer for such results.

Bibliography & Resources:

False Memory Syndrome Foundation, 3401 Market Street, Suite 130, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3315 (215)387-1865 or (800)568-8882/ FAX (215) 387-1917. Pamela Freyd, Ph.D., Executive Director. This organization publishes a newsletter listing recent court cases involving false memory. It can provide a recommended reading list. It has videos of prior conferences. It works towards education and changes in the laws to prevent recovered memory testimony. Especially recommended in the 1997 2-day conference videos include Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D., describing how to install false memories, and Paul McHugh, M.D., John Hopkins.

Victims of Memory. Incest Accusations and Shattered Lives by Mark Pendergrast. 1995. 549 pages. $24.95. Available for a discounted price of $20 through Unlimited Potential.

Hypnosis and False Memories. How False Memories are Created! by Ronald L. Stephens, Msc.D., C.Ht. Published by Ziotech International, 617 High Street, Freeport, PA. 1996.

Making Monsters. False Memories, Psychotherapy and Sexual Hysteria by Richard Ofshe and Ethan Watters. 1994.

Hypnosis. Questions and Answers by Bernie Zilbergeld, Ph.D., M. Gerald Edelstien, M.D., Daniel L. Araoz, Ed.D., editors. Published by W.W. Norton & Co., NY. 1986. See “Fabrication in Hypnosis” by Helmut Relinger, Ph.D.; “The Validity of Memories Retrieved in Hypnosis” by Martin T. Orne, M.D., Ph.D., “Past Lives Regression” by Campbell Ferry, Ph.D., Jean-Roch Laurence, Ph.D., Robert Nadon, M.A., and Louise Labelle, B.A., “Age Regression” by M. Gerald Edelstien, M.D.

Forensic Hypnosis. The Practical Application of Hypnosis in Criminal Investigations by Whitney S. Hibbard, M.A., and Raymond W. Worring, M.A., Published by Charles C. Thomas, 1981.