"The world does not for a moment forget the feminist roots of the memory recovery movement... Feminist therapy theory is one among many strategies for advancing the feminist goals of radical social change." (Laura S. Brown, Ph.D. ABPP).
"Families were destroyed, lives were shattered... communities were ripped apart, and innocent people were imprisoned." (Donald Michael Kraig).
"So many families were destroyed by this." (Elizabeth Loftus)
"We've done one better than George Orwell’s "1984." We don't just prosecute for "thought" crimes. We prosecute based on the thoughts of someone else.”
In the 1990's, feminists were behind the emergence of a new and untested type of therapy: memory recovery therapy.
They (falsely) claimed research tied to memory recovery therapy was revealing a secret mechanism of "patriarchal control".Notice the sharp drop from 1994, when the feminist memory therapists started being challenged by empirical scientists.
Feminism infused this research: "Our feminist values both inform and shape our interpretation of memory recovery therapy." ( Professor of Psychology and Women's Studies at James Madison University ).
Using hypnosis, a powerful method that anesthetizes mental resistance and enhances suggestibility, poorly trained therapists hypnotized their patients and then suggested what they should remember.
Predictably, "memory recovery therapy" mostly generated visualizations of abuse by men.
"In treatment the mostly female patients were hypnotized. They were suggestively guided to produce visualizations of abuse, visions they had never remembered before. These included childhood rape, being tortured with knives and electricity, being hung on hooks, witnessing animal sacrifices while at preschool, cannibalism of other children, and satanic rituals in graveyards. A key characteristic in each of these cases was zero confirming evidence." (Eric L. Nelson in his book the Judicial War on Men)
Subsequently, these false memories of rape and abuse were turned into civil and criminal accusations.
Women who underwent "memory recovery therapy" would make false accusations of rape, incest, child abuse and violence in civil and criminal cases. Some accused individuals were convicted and incarcerated and only later exonerated.
Empirical scientists began questioning the accuracy of these "memories," predictably sparking furious backlash from feminists.
Then as now feminists demanded accusing females be automatically believed (Believe All Women, even if the memories have been planted via hypnosis). This lead to the destruction of many innocent lives. Both the victims of memory recovery therapy (the women) and those they falsely accused (the men) were harmed. So were families, friends, churches and hometowns.
In the late 1990's and early 2000's lawyers began suing therapists, practice groups and hospitals who performed "memory recovery therapy." The lawsuits were successful. The memory recovery industry was shut down fairly quickly:
"Courts have increasingly found repressed memory testimony to be unreliable and therefore inadmissible... State agencies have also become involved, bringing criminal fraud charges and de-licensing proceedings against some therapists who have engaged in repressed memory therapy." (Anita Lipton)
Never forgive, never forget: feminists have never been held accountable for the key role they played in creating the false memory fiasco.
Words from memory therapy survivors:
"I doubted the memories constantly. The therapists would say that everyone doubts the memories--they [the memories] were constantly reinforced [by the therapists]."
"Weekly I had a threat from my therapist that if I questioned my memories, if I went "into denial," then I would be sent to a state hospital and I wouldn't get better."
"I was very depressed while I was in therapy. Within two weeks of leaving therapy I realized that my memories were false, and I denounced them. As soon as I did the nightmares and the paranoia disappeared."
"My therapist told me "This must have happened to you because you have the symptoms. Therefore, if you can't remember the abuse, we may need to increase your dosage or change drugs."
"It's horrible brainwashing--you're paranoid of everything. Any problems which I was having in my life were interpreted by my therapists as signs of childhood sexual abuse. I got to the point where I couldn't tell real from unreal."