ritual abuse book reviews, "false" memory, child abuse

Black, D. M. (Autumn 1995). "Treating Survivors of Satanist Abuse edited by Valerie Sinason". British Journal of Psychotherapy 12 (1): 119-131. Most of the book is written by therapists who have lived through a very real trauma themselves: that of slowly coming to believe that the appalling stories they are hearing may be literally true. Some therapists have further paralleled their patients' experience by meeting disbelief or dismissiveness in their professional colleagues. Far from an overeagerness to accept these stories, virtually every contributor describes initial extreme reluctance to believe them, only gradually overborne by the weight of the evidence....we also meet the courage and devotion of many impressive therapists, who have persevered and very often won through, and we are also, very practically, given a great deal of helpful and directly useful information: what to do and who to turn to if we think we may be faced with these issues. This book is not fun, but it is admirable and necessary. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119961579/abstract


Riley, E.A. (1992). "Breaking the circle of satanic ritual abuse: Recognizing and recovering from the hidden trauma.". Journal of Traumatic Stress 6 (3). Those of us who work with satanic ritual abuse (SRA) are grateful for any treatment oriented materials on the subject. There is so little available and a majority of those most experienced fail to speak frankly and openly for a variety of reasons. In this instance, since the author (not his real name) is both a survivor and a mental health professional, the expectations of insightful revelations are perhaps greater than they should be. He interviews a number of clinicians and quotes them liberally as to their own experience with SRA survivors. As a result, embedded throughout, are little gems of clinical technique and activity....In summary, the book is worth owning and is available in paperback from CompCare Publishers, 2415 Annapolis Lane, Minneapolis, Minn. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/112447634/abstract


What research paradigms have cognitive psychologists used to study "False memory," and what are the implications of these choices? Kathy Pezdek and Shirley Lama - Conscious Cogn 16:2-17. March 2007 PMID 16157490 Abstract - This research examines the methodologies employed by cognitive psychologists to study "false memory," and assesses if these methodologies are likely to facilitate scientific progress or perhaps constrain the conclusions reached. A PsycINFO search of the empirical publications in cognitive psychology was conducted through January, 2004, using the subject heading, "false memory." The search produced 198 articles. Although there is an apparent false memory research bandwagon in cognitive psychology, with increasing numbers of studies published on this topic over the past decade, few researchers (only 13.1% of the articles) have studied false memory as the term was originally intended-to specifically refer to planting memory for an entirely new event that was never experienced in an individual's lifetime. Cognitive psychologists interested in conducting research relevant to assessing the authenticity of memories for child sexual abuse should consider the generalizability of their research to the planting of entirely new events in memory.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WD0-4H39727-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=130f378beb717591ae8e40a7ef295eaf

A Review of Childhood Abuse, Health, and Pain-Related Problems: The Role of Psychiatric Disorders and Current Life Stress - Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, Volume 10, Issue 2 April 2009 , pages 170 - 188 Authors: Natalie Sachs-Ericsson ; Kiara Cromer; Annya Hernandez; Kathleen Kendall-Tackett Abstract: The current article reviews recent research demonstrating the relationship between childhood physical and sexual abuse and adult health problems. Adult survivors of childhood abuse have more health problems and more painful symptoms. We have found that psychiatric disorders account for some, but not all, of these symptoms, and that current life stress doubles the effect of childhood abuse on health problems. Possible etiologic factors in survivors' health problems include abuse-related alterations in brain functioning that can increase vulnerability to stress and decrease immune function. Adult survivors are also more likely to participate in risky behaviors that undermine health or to have cognitions and beliefs that amplify health problems. Psychiatric disorders, although not the primary cause of difficulties, do have a role in exacerbating health and pain-related problems. We conclude by outlining treatment recommendations for abuse survivors in health care settings. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a910032849~db=all~order=page