1994-08-31 ae606 Can people really forget childhood abuse? Yes. A 1993 study by Linda Williams found that 38% of women whose sexual abuse was medically documented were unable to recall their abuse 20 years after it occurred. Why do some people never forget, while others do? It depends on the nature of the trauma. In 1991, psychiatrist Lenore Terr found that people retain full memory for single traumatic events, referred to as Type 1 trauma. Memory loss- including gaps for years -is associated with repeated abuse, called Type II trauma. Many researchers, such as Judith Herman and John Briere, have found that greater amnesia occurs when abuse begins earlier, lasts longer, is more violent, and involves multiple perpetrators. When exposed repeatedly to severe trauma, some people dissociate, that is they psychologically turn off or leave the scene of the crime at the time of the abuse. Dissociation is a way of coping with the unbearable trauma. This process also impedes memory. Finally. according to Bessel van der Kolk, a psychiatrist as Harvard, repeated exposure to severe trauma overwhelms the brain structures that are responsible for integrating sensation, perception & emotion in memory. As a result, memories for the various aspects of a traumatic event become fragmented and disconnected from each other, so the memory is not stored as a normal, complete whole. How are traumatic memories recovered? In times of increased stress, traumatic memories can return-not in words or memories as we commonly know them-but as overwhelming emotions, visual images, bodily sensations, or nightmares; in pieces, as fragmented as when they were originally processed. This explains why flashbacks or body memories occur without conscious, normal memory of the abuse and its full context. Traumatic memories can be triggered by a variety of stressful life events; reminders of the abuse, having a child, hearing about someone else`s abuse, a death, divorce or any other event that provides a bridge to the past. Can I trust my recovered memories? Bessel van der kolk suggests that the body memories and flashbacks can be trusted and that when they occur, are free from distortion. Although memory can be distorted over repeated telling, the central features stay the same. For example, research by Elizabeth Loftus, a cognitive psychychologist, indicates that misleading suggestions may result in people erroneously recalling the superficial details of an event, for example, whether the car involved in an accident was blue or green. There is no research, however to indicate that misleading suggestions, affect memory for the key features of an event, for example, whether a car accident happened. The False Memory Syndrome Foundation claims that the allegations of survivors with psychiatric histories should not be believed. Contrary to this, a 1993 review by Chris Brewin and his colleagues indicated that psychiatric history has no impact on the accuracy of individuals`s memories. What`s more, this review revealed that parent`s memories of family life were less accurate and more distorted than the memories of their adult children. Finally Judith Herman`s research found that 83% of 53 women in group therapy were able to obtain corroborating evidence for their recovered memories. In sum, you can trust your recovered memories. What is "False Memory Syndrome"? "False memory Syndrome" (FMS) is a medically unrecognized term for an alleged process by which people-usually well-educated women in their mid-20`s-supposedly enter therapy for one problem (e.g.insomnia) and, because of a therapists`s suggestion, leave therapy believing they were abused during childhood. The term "FMS" was coined by the FMS Foundation, an organization of some 6000 families whose children have accused them of child abuse. Harold Lief, of the FMS Foundation claims that 25% of recovered memories are false. He has also publicly admitted that he fabricated that statistic. In fact, a large body of research indicates that women and children are much more likely to minimize or even deny the abuse than to exaggerate or make up stories of abuse. Can therapists mislead their clients into believing they were abused? It`s highly unlikely. In one study, Campbell Perry of the FMS Foundation convinced 48% of the highly hypnotizable students that they had been awakened by a noise in the night. Because only 10- 15% of the population are hypnotizable, these figures imply that 5-7% of people might-under hypnosis-come to believe an innocuous suggestion. However, most therapists do not use hypnosis let alone try to implant false suggestions into their clients`s heads. Further, women don`t believe everting they hear, let alone false claims about their own lives, so this percentage is reduced further, to a fraction of a fraction. More importantly, there is absolutely no evidence that anyone could convince anybody that they had been sexually molested by someone whom they trusted and loved. Why is this debate happening? The FMS Foundation claims to be concerned about all the families being torn apart by false memories and justice issues. Societal research indicates, however that "traditional values" have nothing to do with the debate. Rather, it is people who oppose women's equality who believe that recover memories are false. What is more, these people are also likely to believe that "children secretly want to have sex with their parents". In effect, the notion of "false memory syndrome" is a thinly veiled backlash against the rights and well-being of women and children. It is a way to deny the reality of child abuse, just as Freud did 100 years ago. Why is this debate important? This debate is important because... *survivors of child abuse need and deserve encouragement, not revictimization *therapists must be able to help survivors without fearing a law suit from a survivor`s abuser. *the "FMS" Foundation is attempting to establish a legal defense to protect perpetrators of child sexual abuse What is FIBS? In response to the "FMS" campaign to discredit survivors of childhood sexual abuse, our group has coined a new "syndrome". False innocence belief syndrome. "FIBS" is characterized by extreme obsession and compulsive behaviour to prove one`s (false) innocence. It is most often displayed by perpetrators of childhood abuse, many of whom are middle-class, well-educated, older men, often in the position of trust and authority. FIBS provides the basis of our motto "Fibbibus Minimus", which refers to the efforts of the Recovered Memory Task Group to minimize abuser`s false claims of innocence. For more information Contact the Recovered Memory Task Group whose members include women who are survivors, counsellors, lawyers and behavioral scientists-available to speak to your group about the recovery process, FMS, memories and legal issues. Recovered Memory Task Group c/o Women`s Place 241 Bruyere, Ottawa (613)789-2155