Bad Memories

Talking with Pamela Freyd of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation.

by J.F. Pirro

Fifteen years ago, Pamela and Peter Freyd (rhymes with tried) became embroiled in a bizarre, bitter and public family dispute. When an adult daughter, Jennifer Freyd, Ph.D., now a psychology professor at the University of Oregon, began claiming Peter sexually abused her as a child, and that Pamela was living in denial, the parents went public. First, Pamela wrote an anonymous first-person account of the accusations, then in full disclosure, aggressively launched the Philadelphia-based False Memory Syndrome Foundation (FMSF), turning the tables on the therapist they say deceptively evoked Jennifer's repressed memories. The Freyd's family situation remains unresolved. With hindsight and as FMSF's executive director, Pamela speaks out on behalf of accused parents in advance of a forthcoming book destined to either heal or reopen old wounds.

City Paper: What is FMS?

Pamela Freyd: The term was introduced with the formation of the foundation (in 1992). Dr. John F. Kihlstrom, professor of psychology at the University of California in San Francisco, suggests it's a condition in which a person's identity and interpersonal relationships are centered around a memory of traumatic experience, which is objectively false but one in which the person strongly believes.

CP: How all-consuming can false memories be?

PF: The cruel chain of illogic is forged through memory-enhancing techniques (hypnosis, truth serums, guided imagery, participation in survivor groups, etc.), and if no memories bubble to the surface, therapists stir the pot more vigorously.

CP: The issues surrounding false memories of incest are at least as old as Sigmund Freud, whom the FMSF bashes. What do you make of the overt irony in the spellings of your names?

PF: Sometimes I try to type "Freud" and it comes out with a "y" in it, but I was never a fan. He wasn't very flattering to women, and some of his ideas seemed absurd to me even as I was growing up.

CP: How do you defend claims, even from within your own family, that the foundation provides a hiding place for abusers?

PF: This is a worrisome criticism because the foundation has always said that every accusation of sexual abuse should be taken seriously and investigated carefully. Any parent who contacts the foundation is inviting an investigation.

CP: What's the status of your daughter's claims?

PF: There was never a legal case, but sadly there's also been no resolution. I suspect the public nature of our family tragedy exacerbated the problem.

CP: Why stay at this? Isn't it painful?

PF: I'm very tired of hearing that there are still therapists who destroy families because they're unaware of the risks in memory excavation techniques.

CP: The forthcoming book, tentatively titled A Scandal in Memory, is a memoir by Paul McHugh, M.D., former chair in psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Medical School and a founding member of your FMSF Scientific Advisory Board. Why not write your own book?

PF: The editorials in the (FMSF) newsletter are expressions of my thoughts. In addition, a book with Paul's name and fame will have a far greater impact, wider audience and more credibility. I have every confidence that the perspective and details we treasure will be taken into account.

CP: Ten years ago, Columbia Journalism Review called FMSF a "strange and little-understood organization." Are you still?

PF: It seems people either hate or like the foundation, but the foundation has catalyzed societal change. "False Memory Syndrome" has become a part of everyday language. It's been a topic of lawsuits, documentaries, news reports, talk shows, soap operas, books, continuing education seminars, professional conferences, general psychology textbooks and almanacs. The Library of Congress has entered it as a subject classification.

CP: Did you and Peter (a mathematician and professor at the University of Pennsylvania), ever see therapists, or did you denounce that approach from the start?

PF: My husband and I visited half a dozen or more therapists when this first exploded in our lives. However, becoming active by trying to make sense of what was going on helped us. Therapists aren't necessarily out to destroy people and their families, but being well-meaning isn't an excuse for bad therapy.

CP: What does the future hold for the foundation?

PF: An unstated goal has always been to go out of business. Each year as our [membership] numbers drop [from more than 3,000 in 1997 to 950 now], we come closer to that goal. Unfortunately, we still get calls from families recently accused —and yes, still with accusations of satanic rituals —but the numbers of new families are droplets compared to the flood that existed in the early 1990s. That's encouraging.

(j_pirro@citypaper.net)

For more information on FMSF, call 215-940-1040 or visit www.FMSFonline.org.