News Items
Contents:
Remembering things that never happened
Culture Lab, New Scientist Blog 19th January 2012 - Alasdair Hopwood, artist in residence at the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths, University of London held a lecture about his archive for false memories. Read about it here
Falsely accused of murder and rape, yet the state owes me no duty of care
Jim Fairlie asks why responsible agencies owe no legal duty of care to those affected by their actions. - The Online Scottish Review 11th Jan 2012
Michael Le Vell will not face charges over child sex allegations
The Guardian 1st Jan 2012 - Insufficient evidence to charge Coronation Street actor. who was arrested in September on suspicion of an historic sexual assault.
The Times (Subscription viewing only) 31st Dec 2011 Although routine in police investigations in the United States, the machines, until now, have never been embraced in the same way by British forces, A wider uptake of the tests in forces across the country is expected. The tests will be conducted by accredited practitioners in a scientific environment. They will form part of the investigatory process and will not be solely relied upon. The Ministry of Justice is expected to decide next year whether to impose routine lie detector tests on convicted sexual offenders as a condition of their parole. Although the technology behind these tests has improved over the years studies show that the polygraph error rate in detecting wrong answers is about 10 per cent. Currently a person can be subjected to the tests only if they volunteer and evidence elicited during the examination is not admissible in court.Suspects to face police lie detector for first time. Pilot Scheme puts test into prosecution process
Carole's Story
The Observer Magazine 11th Dec 2011 - When Carole Myers was found dead at 41, she left a statement saying she suffered Satanic child abuse at the hands of her parents. But did she? Will Storr investigates.
Satanic abuse claims 'doomed our girl'
(View by subscription) The Sunday Times, 12th June 2011 by Daniel Foggo exposes the story of how doctors nurtured horrific beliefs of satanic abuse in their patient, Carole. When asked about this case, Dr Fleur Fisher said that Carole had 'no knowledge' of any ritual abuse when she first saw her. 'Very often people who have had difficult experiences repress them, then they suddenly begin to come back in dreams or flashbacks', she said.
'Cowboys' hamper use of hypnotherapy to treat NHS patients
Independent, 6th June 2011 by Jeremy Laurence, Health Editor reveals the story of 'Anna' whose hypnotherapist steered her over a series of session to name a relative who had sexually abused her. Referrals to properly trained hypnotherapists could save the NHS a great deal of money. Dr Peter Naish explains the need for someone seeking treatment to choose a hypnotist qualified in medicine or psychology and trained under the auspices of the British Society of Clinical and Academic Hypnosis.
The Duchess of York: Finding Sarah - or just funding her?
The Telegraph, 8th June 2011 The Duchess of York has accused her parents of cruelty in her childhood. Cassandra Jardine examines the minefield of recovered memory syndrome.
Science Weekly - Memory on Trial
Professor Chris French and Professor Tim Valentine, 29th Nov 2010, from the psychology department at Goldsmiths University of London look at how the failings of human memory can lead to gross miscarriages of justice. Listen to Science Weekly Podcast on Miscarriage of Memory and a new climate science exhibition.
False Memories of sexual abuse lead to terrible miscarriages of justice
Guardian Online, Thu 25th Nov 2010. Columnist Chris French talks about the new book Miscarriage of Memory, published by the BFMS.
Twin re-wrote Childhood Memory Loss
Guardian Online, Saturday 26th June 2010. A story of how one twin reminded the other of their childhood after a motorbike accident left the first twin with no memory. Or click here to listen A podcast from the BBC Website, October 2010.
Meredith Maran - Did my father really abuse me?
Guardian Online, Saturday 9th October 2010.
No anonymity Law
Letters to the Editor, The Times, Tuesday 20 Jul 2010 (comment on previous article underneath)
Anonymity in rape trials is essential
Letters to the Editor, The Times, Monday 19 Jul 2010
Obituary - Jill Parker
(Only subscribers to The Times can track this link)
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Jill Parker, Chair of the BFMS Board of Trustees, who died peacefully on 11th March 2010. She meant a lot to us in BFMS and we shall miss her immensely because she was with us almost from the beginning. We enjoyed her kind hospitality for many trustees' meetings in London and for that splendid reflection day at Minster Lovell. She had a gentle way of leading us which was very appropriate and all backed up by genuine, deep understanding and compassion coming from her professional background as a General Practitioner and her personal values. We admired her courage and cheerfulness and remember that she really put herself out on our behalf in the Refuge issue when she resigned as one of their trustees when challenged over her work with the BFMS. As I understand it, her garden which my wife and I visited nearly two years ago, was an expression of her spirituality for she said, “I keep my soul in my gumboots”.
Rev’d John Young
BFMS Trustee
16th March 2010
Psychotherapy rebels consider rebranding to avoid state regulation
Sarah Boseley. The Guardian On-Line May 2010.
Self help books can 'convince women that they were victims of child sex abuse'
Kate Devlin. Daily Telegraph 8 Apr 2010.
BFMS's Position from Madeline Greenhalgh
The Church Times 2 Apr 2010
British False Memory Society's Letter - comment by Lucy Huntington
The Church Times 26 Mar 2010
Memories of abuse to be reappriased
Bill Bowder, The Church Times 19 Mar 2010
Jo Woodiwiss writes, Why do women identify themselves as victims of childhood sexual abuse?
Guardian On-Line 12 March 2010.
A suitable case for libel?
Chris French - Guardian On-Line 31st March 2010.
Churches Misled on Child Protection. The Scientific and Professional Advisory Board to BFMS writes to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams,
to correct the misinformation provided by their child protection advisors to the Safeguarding Adviser for the Church of England and Methodist Church, the Reverend Pearl Luxon.
Church must accept reality of false memories of childhood sexual abuse
The notion that therapists can help people to 'recover' memories of sexual abuse causes serious harm to patients and their families, writes psychologist Chris French.
Call for church to renounce book aimed at victims of child sexual abuse
Scientists specialising in false memory syndrome have written to the archbishop ofCanterbury criticising The Courage to Heal, which they describe as 'misleading' and 'potentially harmful'.
Consultation on the Statutory Regulation of Psychotherapists and Counsellors - The Health Professions Council
(HPC) has launched a consultation and invite professionals and the public to contribute by 16th October 2009. To download copies of the consultation please see the HPC Website.
Dear Tanya: Is psychotherapy to blame for our daughter’s lack of contact? We don’t understand why our daughter has distanced herself from her family
(Only subscribers to The Times can track this link)
The Times, 21 July 2009
Professor Chris French
BFMS Advisory Board member, has a new regular column on the Guardian Online science pages. His next topic will discuss false memories and the work of the BFMS and will be appearing on Tuesday, 7th April. Please feel free to leave your comments on the blog site.
Hysteria in Four Acts
Article by Paul McHugh in Commentary Magazine.com, December 2008
Mother loses libel battle over 'Ugly' lawyer's misery memoir
Only subscribers to The Times can track this link)
The Times, 2 December 2008
Mother denies judge's abuse claim
BBC News, 18 November 2008
Weird ... or what? Why do people have paranormal experiences?
The Guardian, 14 October 2008
Is your mind playing tricks on you?
The Guardian, 16 September 2008
False child abuse claims to be kept on file
The Daily Telegraph, 13 September 2008
Study shows how false memories rerun 7/7 film that never existed
The Guardian, 10 September 2008
Experts able to plant false memories in minds
The Herald 29th August 2008
Family torn apart by child abuse slur
The Sunday Mercury, 22 July 2008
Can you regulate psychotherapy?
(Only subscribers to The Times can track this item)
The Times, 15 July 2008
New research sparks fears over paedophile convictions
The Sunday Mercury, 14 July 2008 plus letters published in response - 20 July 2008
You can't trust a witness's memory, experts tell courts
(Only subscribers to The Times can track this link)
The Times, 11 July 2008
Courts do not rely on a person’s memory alone
(Only subscribers to The Times can track this link)
The Times, 11 July 2008
CBS remake of "Sybil"
Press release from Pamela Freyd, FMSF in America to TV Movie Reviewer - 5 June 2008
Memory, make-believe and the courts - what's the mischief?
Inside Time, May 2008
I see a tall,dark stranger...from trading standards
(Only subscribers to The Times can track this link)
The Times, 23 May 2008
When claims are false, lives can be destroyed
(Only subscribers to The Times can track this link)
The Times, 20 December 2007
Dangerous Convictions
Inside Time, December 2007
Second Opinion
Private Eye, 23 November - 6 December 2007
Disciplinary Notice - Mrs Janet Sinclair
The Psychologist, December 2007
Lies of Little Miss Misery
Daily Mail, 1 November 2007
Brain Stains and Brain Stains: In Sheri's Words
Scientific American, October 2007
Woman wins memory therapy pay-out
The Press Association, 20 October 2007
Talking therapy roll-out gets thumbs-up
Community Care, 18 October 2007
Psychobabble is ruining thousands of minds
The Observer, 4 February 2007
Click any of the following for news items from that year
2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 - 2002 - 2001 - 2000 - 1999
Woman wins memory therapy pay-out
A woman who falsely accused her father of rape after undergoing a discredited form of psychotherapy has won a £20,000 payout from health bosses.
Katrina Fairlie, 37, sued NHS Tayside claiming that the 'recovered memory' treatment that triggered the accusations ruined her and her family's lives.
Ms Fairlie, daughter of former deputy leader of the Scottish National Party Jim Fairlie, underwent the therapy after being referred to Perth's Murray Royal Hospital in 1994.
See also: Woman who falsely accused her father of rape reveals 'doctors hijacked my mind', £20,000 payout for woman who falsely accused her father of rape after 'recovered memory' therapy and Settlement for bogus abuse woman
Talking therapy roll-out gets thumbs-up
Mental health charities welcomed a government pledge yesterday to roll out talking therapy services across England to treat depression and anxiety.
Health secretary Alan Johnson committed to increasing NHS spending on psychological therapies to £170m by 2010-11, meaning an extra 900,000 people will be treated over the next three years and all GPs eventually will be able to offer the service.
This constitutes a massive increase on current pilot funding on talking therapies: £3.7m over two years for the two major pilots in Doncaster and Newham, east London, which were launched last year, and £2m in total annually for 11 further pilots launched this year.
A survey of over 15,000 community mental health service users published last month by the Healthcare Commission found that over one-third of people who wanted talking treatments did not receive them.
This is despite guidance issued in 2004 by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence calling for people to be offered talking therapies for common mental health problems, given their effectiveness.
A coalition of five mental health charities - the Mental Health Foundation, Mind, Rethink, the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health and YoungMinds - which is campaigning for the guidance to be implemnted said yesterday's announcement was a "welcome boost".
Mental Health Foundation chief executive Andrew McCulloch said: "We hope this will result in the extension of psychological therapies to people of all ages, especially older people, young people and to ethnic minority groups, who are often harder to reach and less likely to be offered talking therapy treatments by their GPs."
Psychobabble is ruining thousands of minds
The Observer, 4 February 2007
Your report, 'Crackdown on therapists who abuse vulnerable', (News, last week) will have been welcomed by the thousands who have had their lives wrecked by poor quality therapy and counselling.
We at the British False Memory Society deal every week with people who have been falsely accused of historical sexual abuse. More often than not, the accusation is made by a now-adult child against his or her parent, often following prolonged counselling sessions. In our experience, too many therapists are all ready to conclude that a person's problems have arisen because they were abused as a child. Once this theory is suggested, it can be easy for a vulnerable individual to be suggestible to the idea that these events happened and, with the guidance of the therapist, recall 'repressed memories', which can cause irreparable damage.
The therapy industry has had years to get its house in order. Now hundreds of families are looking to the government finally to bring evidenced-based practice to the thousands of vulnerable people seeking help.
Madeline Greenhalgh
Director
Matt Smith
External Communications Manager
British False Memory Society
Wiltshire
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