Evidence that Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder or MPD) is caused by Childhood Trauma

Conclusive evidence that Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly called Multiple Personality Disorder or MPD) is caused by extensive childhood trauma and not iatrogenically (resulting from the activity of physicians) or socially. Individual identities have been shown to have clear physiological differences. These are only a few of the many studies available in professional journals and research books.

Child Abuse Wiki – Dissociative Identity Disorder

Dissociative identity disorder (formerly called Multiple Personality Disorder or MPD) is defined in the DSM-IV-TR as the presence of two or more personality states or distinct identities that repeatedly take control of one’s behavior. The patient has an inability to recall personal information. The extent of this lack of recall is too great to be explained by normal forgetfulness. The disorder cannot be due to the direct physical effects of a general medical condition or substance.

DID entails a failure to integrate certain aspects of memory, consciousness and identity. Patients experience frequent gaps in their memory for their personal history, past and present. Patients with DID report having severe physical and sexual abuse, especially during childhood. The reports of patients with DID are often validated by objective evidence.

Causes

The causes of dissociative identity disorder are theoretically linked with the interaction of overwhelming stress, traumatic antecedents, insufficient childhood nurturing, and an innate ability to dissociate memories or experiences from consciousness. Prolonged child abuse is frequently a factor, with a very high percentage of patients reporting documented abuse often confirmed by objective evidence. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders states that patients with DID often report having a history of severe physical and sexual abuse. The reports of patients suffering from DID are “often confirmed by objective evidence,” and the DSM notes that the abusers in those situations may be inclined to “deny or distort” these acts. Research has consistently shown that DID is characterized by reports of extensive childhood trauma, usually child abuse. Dissociation is recognized as a symptomatic presentation in response to psychological trauma, extreme emotional stress, and in association with emotional dysregulation and borderline personality disorder. A study of 12 murderers established the connection between early severe abuse and DID. A recent psychobiological study shows that dissociative identity disorder (DID) sufferers’ “origins of their ailment stem more likely from trauma” than sociogenic or iatrogenic origins.

There is strong evidence that DID is not a culture bound phenomenon. Dissociative disorders have been found in more than a dozen countries. DID has been found in China and Turkey.

Physiological Evidence

Physiological evidence has provided additional evidence to back the existence of DID. One review of the literature found “physiologic and ocular differences across alter personalities.” Additional studies have been found showing optical differences in DID cases. One study found that “eight of the nine MPD subjects consistently manifested physiologically distinct alter personality states.” Other reviews have found additional physiological differences. Brain mapping has also found physiological differences in alternate personalities. A variety of psychiatric rating scales found that multiple personality is strongly related to childhood trauma rather than to an underlying electrophysiological dysfunction. Dissociative identity disorder patients have been found to have smaller hippocampal and amygdalar volumes than healthy subjects.  The involvement of the orbitalfrontal cortex has been proposed in the development of DID, suggesting a possible neurodevelopmental mechanism that would be responsible for the development of “multiple representations of self.” More recent research presents psychobiological evidence indicating actual physical alter states not found in controls.
with permission from http://childabusewiki.org/index.php?title=Dissociative_Identity_Disorder

Research Evidence showing a connection between Dissociative Identity Disorder and Trauma

Objective Documentation of Child Abuse and Dissociation in 12 Murderers With Dissociative Identity Disorder
“Signs and symptoms of dissociative identity disorder in childhood and adulthood were corroborated independently and from several sources in all 12 cases; objective evidence of severe abuse was obtained in 11 cases. The subjects had amnesia for most of the abuse and underreported it. Marked changes in writing style and/or signatures were documented in 10 cases. CONCLUSIONS: This study establishes, once and for all, the linkage between early severe abuse and dissociative identity disorder.”
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/ajp.154.12.1703

Multiple personality disorder in The Netherlands: a clinical investigation of 71 patients.
The presenting characteristics of the patients showed a striking resemblance to those in several large North American series. Patients had spent an average of 8.2 years in the mental health system prior to correct diagnosis. Patients presented with many different symptoms and frequently received other psychiatric or neurological diagnoses. A history of childhood physical and/or sexual abuse was reported by 94.4% of the subjects, and 80.6% met criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder.
Patients with multiple personality disorder have a stable set of core symptoms throughout North America as well as in Europe.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8434668?dopt=Abstract

Abuse histories in 102 cases of multiple personality disorder.
The authors interviewed 102 individuals with clinical diagnoses of multiple personality disorder at four centres using the Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule. The patients reported high rates of childhood trauma: 90.2% had been sexually abused, 82.4% physically abused, and 95.1% subjected to one or both forms of child abuse. Over 50% of subjects reported initial physical and sexual abuse before age five. The average duration of both types of abuse was ten years, and numerous different perpetrators were identified. Subjects were equally likely to be physically abused by their mothers or fathers. Sexual abusers were more often male than female, but a substantial amount of sexual abuse was perpetrated by mothers, female relatives, and other females. Multiple personality disorder appears to be a response to chronic trauma originating during a vulnerable period in childhood.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2044042?dopt=Abstract

Evidence Against Iatrogenic and Sociocognitive Models of Dissociative Identity Disorder

Evidence against the iatrogenesis of multiple personality disorder
The authors present data which argue against the iatrogenesis of multiple personality disorder (MPD). Twenty-two cases reported by one Canadian psychiatrist, 23 cases reported by a second Canadian psychiatrist, 48 cases seen by 44 American psychiatrists specializing in MPD, and 44 cases seen by 40 Canadian general psychiatrists without a special interest in MPD are compared. The Canadian general psychiatrists had seen an average of 2.2 cases of MPD, while the Americans had seen an average of 160. There were no differences between these groups on the diagnostic criteria, for MPD or the number of personalities identified. Specialists in MPD are not influencing their patients to create an increased number of personalities or to endorse more diagnostic criteria. Exposure to hypnosis does not appear to influence the phenomenology of MPD.
https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/handle/1794/1424

Iatrogenic DID-An Evaluation of the Scientific Evidence: D. Brown, E. Frischholz & A. Scheflin” from The fall-winter 1999 issue of “The Journal of Psychiatry & Law – “Conclusions…At present the scientific evidence is insufficient and inadequate to support plaintiffs’ complaints that suggestive influences allegedly operative in psychotherapy can create a major psychiatric disorder like MPD per se…there is virtually no support for the unique contribution of hypnosis to the alleged iatrogenic creation of MPD in appropriately controlled research.….alter shaping is not to be confused with alter creation.” p. 624

The sociocognitive model of dissociative identity disorder: A reexamination of the evidence.
According to the sociocognitive model of dissociative identity disorder (DID; formerly, multiple personality disorder), DID is not a valid psychiatric disorder of posttraumatic origin; rather, it is a creation of psychotherapy and the media….No reason exists to doubt the connection between DID and childhood trauma. Treatment recommendations that follow from the sociocognitive model may be harmful because they involve ignoring the posttraumatic symptomatology of persons with DID.
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2001-00574-006

Dissociative identity disorder is a real condition, and it’s not quite as rare as you might imagine.  https://psychcentral.com/disorders/dissociative-identity-disorder

Separating Fact from Fiction: An Empirical Examination of Six Myths About Dissociative Identity Disorder  Bethany L. Brand, PhD, Vedat Sar, MD, Pam Stavropoulos, PhD, Christa Krüger, MB BCh, MMed (Psych), MD, Marilyn Korzekwa, MD, Alfonso Martínez-Taboas, PhD, and Warwick Middleton, MB BS, FRANZCP, MD  –  Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2016 Jul; 24(4): 257–270.  Published online 2016 Jul 8. doi: 10.1097/HRP.0000000000000100  PMCID: PMC4959824   PMID: 27384396

Abstract:  Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a complex, posttraumatic, developmental disorder for which we now, after four decades of research, have an authoritative research base, but a number of misconceptualizations and myths about the disorder remain, compromising both patient care and research. This article examines the empirical literature pertaining to recurrently expressed beliefs regarding DID: (1) belief that DID is a fad, (2) belief that DID is primarily diagnosed in North America by DID experts who overdiagnose the disorder, (3) belief that DID is rare, (4) belief that DID is an iatrogenic, rather than trauma-based, disorder, (5) belief that DID is the same entity as borderline personality disorder, and (6) belief that DID treatment is harmful to patients. The absence of research to substantiate these beliefs, as well as the existence of a body of research that refutes them, confirms their mythical status. Clinicians who accept these myths as facts are unlikely to carefully assess for dissociation. Accurate diagnoses are critical for appropriate treatment planning.  “DID is a legitimate and distinct psychiatric disorder that is recognizable worldwide and can be reliably identified in multiple settings by appropriately trained researchers and clinicians. The research shows that DID is a trauma-based disorder that generally responds well to treatment consistent with DID treatment guidelines.”  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4959824/

Fact or Factitious? A Psychobiological Study of Authentic and Simulated Dissocative Identity States
The findings are at odds with the idea that differences among different types of dissociative identity states in DID can be explained by high fantasy proneness, motivated role-enactment, and suggestion. They indicate that DID does not have a sociocultural (e.g., iatrogenic) origin. For the first time, it is shown using brain imaging that neither high nor low fantasy prone healthy women, who enacted two different types of dissociative identity states, were able to substantially simulate these identity states in psychobiological terms. These results do  not support the idea of a sociogenic origin for DID.”
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0039279

The clinical phenomenology of multiple personality disorder: review of 100 recent cases F W Putnam, E K Silberman, L Barban, R M Post    J Clin Psychiatry . 1986 Jun;47(6):285-93.  PMID: 3711025  Abstract :  The clinical syndrome of multiple personality disorder (MPD) is an unusual dissociative condition that has been poorly characterized. In an attempt to better delineate the clinical phenomenology of MPD, 100 recent cases were collected on a 386-item questionnaire completed by clinicians involved in the treatment of MPD patients. This study documents the existence of a clinical syndrome characterized by a core of depressive and dissociative symptoms and a childhood history of significant trauma, primarily child abuse.   https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3711025/

Physiological Evidence Showing Physical Differences Between Dissociative Identity Disorder Identity States
Multiple personality disorder. A clinical investigation of 50 cases.
To study the clinical phenomenology of multiple personality, 50 consecutive patients with DSM-III multiple personality disorder were assessed using clinical history, psychiatric interview, neurological examination, electroencephalogram, MMPI, intelligence testing, and a variety of psychiatric rating scales. Results revealed that patients with multiple personality are usually women who present with depression, suicide attempts, repeated amnesic episodes, and a history of childhood trauma, particularly sexual abuse. Also common were headaches, hysterical conversion, and sexual dysfunction. Intellectual level varied from borderline to superior. The MMPI reflected underlying character pathology in addition to depression and dissociation. Significant neurological or electroencephalographical abnormalities were infrequent. These data suggest that the etiology of multiple personality is strongly related to childhood trauma rather than to an underlying electrophysiological dysfunction.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3418321

Psychobiological characteristics of dissociative identity disorder: a symptom provocation study.
Dissociative identity disorder (DID) patients function as two or more identities or dissociative identity states (DIS), categorized as ‘neutral identity states’ (NIS) and ‘traumatic identity states’ (TIS). NIS inhibit access to traumatic memories thereby enabling daily life functioning. TIS have access and responses to these memories. We tested whether these DIS show different psychobiological reactions to trauma-related memory.
RESULTS:
Psychobiological differences were found for the different DIS. Subjective and cardiovascular reactions revealed significant main and interactions effects. Regional cerebral blood flow data revealed different neural networks to be associated with different processing of the neutral and trauma-related memory script by NIS and TIS.
CONCLUSIONS:
Patients with DID encompass at least two different DIS. These identities involve different subjective reactions, cardiovascular responses and cerebral activation patterns to a trauma-related memory script.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17008145

One Brain, Two Selves
Our findings reveal the existence of different regional cerebral blood flow patterns for different senses of self. We present evidence for the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and the posterior associative cortices to have an integral role in conscious experience.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14683715

Research Articles and Books about Dissociative Identity Disorder and MPD

Overcoming Multiple Personality Disorder By Anne Underwood
Multiple personality disorder is a perplexing phenomenon to outside observers, believed to be brought on by persistent childhood abuse. What is it like living with MPD? And how does a sufferer function, with so many alternate personalities—or “alters”—some of them adults and some children? NEWSWEEK’s Anne Underwood spoke with Karen Overhill—a former sufferer and the subject of a new book, “Switching Time,” by Dr. Richard Baer.
http://www.newsweek.com/overcoming-multiple-personality-disorder-103403

Multiple personality and dissociation, 1791-1992: a complete bibliography
https://books.google.com/books/about/Multiple_Personality_Dissociation_1791_1.html?id=LmqRAAAACAAJ

The official journal of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), published between 1988 and 1997
https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/handle/1794/1129

Forensic Aspects of Dissociative Identity Disorder
This ground-breaking book examines the role of crime in the lives of people with Dissociative Identity Disorder, formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder, a condition which appears to be caused by prolonged trauma in infancy and childhood. This trauma may be linked with crimes committed against them, crimes they have witnessed, and crimes they have committed under duress.
https://www.karnacbooks.com/product/forensic-aspects-of-dissociative-identity-disorder/25876/

Trauma And Dissociation in a Cross-cultural Perspective: Not Just a North American Phenomenon
An international look at the similarities and differences of long-lasting trauma – Trauma and Dissociation in a Cross-Cultural Perspective examines the psychological, sociological, political, economic, and cultural aspects of trauma and its consequences on people around the world. Dispelling the myth that trauma-related dissociative disorders are a North American phenomenon, this unique book travels through more than a dozen countries to analyze the effects of long-lasting traumatization-both natural and man-made-on adults and children.  http://www.amazon.com/Trauma-Dissociation-Cross-cultural-Perspective-Phenomenon/dp/0789034077

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Trauma_and_Dissociation_in_a_Cross_Cultu/3o_INBmLmeEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Trauma+And+Dissociation+in+a+Cross-cultural+Perspective:+Not+Just+a+North+American+Phenomenon&printsec=frontcover

Sybil in Her Own Words  Patrick Suraci Psychologist
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patrick-suraci/post_2699_b_1152241.html

Sybil and Multiple Personality Disorder
http://sybilandmpd.blogspot.com/

Review of “Sybil in her own words”
http://sybilandmpd.blogspot.com/2011/11/review-of-sybil-in-her-own-words-by.html

Twenty-Two Faces – Inside the Extraordinary Life of Jenny Hill and Her Twenty-Two Multiple Personalities Judy Byington
http://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/articles/twenty-two-faces-inside-the-extraordinary-life-of-jenny-hill-and-her-twenty-two-multiple-personalities-judy-byington-msw-lcsw/

Open Letter to Dr. Phil From Jenny Hill
http://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/articles/open-letter-to-dr-phil-from-jenny-hill/

Basic Information on DID
Basic Information on Dissociative Identity Disorder with sections on Basic Information on DID from the DSM-IV-TR, The History of DID/MPD, Diagnosing DID, Responses to those that state that DID is iatrogenic or a social construct,  MPD/DID connection to severe abuse, Recent information and DID resources,
Physiological studies showing differences between DID patients and non-DID patients
https://ritualabuse.us/research/did/basic-information-on-didmpd/

Research and Information on Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly called Multiple Personality Disorder) http://ritualabuse.us/research/did/

Disinformation and DID: the Politics of Memory – Brian Moss, MA, MFT
Information on the False Memory Syndrome, Mind Control, Dissociative Identity Disorder, The Media, Ritual Abuse, The Nazis and Programming.
http://ritualabuse.us/research/did/disinformation-and-did-the-politics-of-memory/

Secret Weapons – Two Sisters’ Terrifying True Story of Sex, Spies and Sabotage by Cheryl and Lynn Hersha with Dale Griffis, Ph D. and Ted Schwartz. New Horizon Press ISBN 0-88282-196-2 Is a well-documented, verifiable account of not one, but two childrens’ long untold stories of being CHILD subjects of Project MKUltra. Quotes from the book: “By the time Cheryl Hersha came to the facility, knowledge of multiple personality was so complete that doctors understood how the mind separated into distinct ego states,each unaware of the other. First, the person traumatized had to be both extremely intelligent and under the age of seven, two conditions not yet understood though remaining consistent as factors. The trauma was almost always of a sexual nature…” p. 52 “The government researchers,aware of the information in the professional journals, decided to reverse the process (of healing from hysteric dissociation). They decided to use selective trauma on healthy children to create personalities capable of committing acts desired for national security and defense.” p. 53 – 54 

Scientific Evidence Presented at International Conference on Child Abuse

 

Scientific Evidence Presented at International Conference on Child Abuse

 

Dr. Ellen Lacter, Dr. Laurie Matthew OBE, Neil Brick and Wendy Hoffman

 

EASTHAMPTON, Mass.

 

SMART newsletters is presenting their 24th child and ritual abuse conference on August 14 and 15th 2021.

Since 1995, SMART Newsletters has presented high quality, factual information about organized abuse.  https://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/

 

Dr. Laurie Matthew OBE - Ritual Abuse in the UK

Her presentation will focus on the challenges, experiences and perspectives of ritual abuse survivors in the UK and parts of Europe over the past 30 years and explore the current situation in the UK. Laurie Matthew has over 40 years experience of directly supporting abuse survivors. Her recently published research has included participatory research with adult ritual abuse. https://www.rans.org.uk/

 

Dr. Ellen Lacter - One Hundred Children: A Parable for Healing from Dissociation-savvy Mind Control

She has written a parable with 15 fictionalized examples to help both identities who navigate daily life and more dissociated programmed identities to reflect on their programming and to exercise more conscious control over all of the abuser manipulations that they endured. Ellen Lacter has expertise in the treatment of dissociative disorders and severe trauma and has many publications on these subjects. www.endritualabuse.org

 

Developing a Mind of your Own – A Question and Answer Format

Facilitators: Wendy Hoffman and Neil Brick

Mind control is overwhelming by design. This is an opportunity to ask questions about what is difficult for you.

 

Neil Brick - Mind Control and How to Stop it

This presentation will explain how mind control and different suggestive techniques work in a variety of individual and public settings. Ways to expose and prevent mind control will be discussed.  Neil Brick is a survivor of ritual abuse and mind control. His work continues to educate the public about child abuse, trauma and ritual abuse crimes. http://neilbrick.com

 

Wendy Hoffman – Self Esteem

Programming turns you away from your true self. Programmers and even satanic families do everything they can to make their victims feel bad about themselves, debasing them in every way possible. Wendy Hoffman endured various forms of secret mind control. She wants to help and support other survivors in their quests for freedom. https://ritualabuse.us/smart/wendy-hoffman/

 

Child and Ritual Abuse Resources

 

Proof That Ritual Abuse Exists

https://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/

 

Ritual Abuse and Child Abuse References

https://ritualabuse.us/ritualabuse/studies/satanic-ritual-abuse-evidence-with-information-on-the-mcmartin-preschool-case/

 

Research and Information on Dissociative Identity Disorder

https://ritualabuse.us/research/did/

Memory disturbances and dissociative amnesia in Holocaust survivors

The excerpts below are from this website.
http://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/scholarly-resources/holocaust/

The following articles provide compelling scientific evidence in support of the phenomena of dissociation and recovered memory in Holocaust survivors. In addition to supporting the phenomenon in general, these articles also counter the argument that recovered memory is (a) no more than a recent cultural “fad” and (b) specific to false accusers of sexual abuse.

DeWind, E. (1968). The confrontation with death. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 49, 302-305. Excerpt: “Most former inmates of Nazi concentration camps could not remember anything of the first days of imprisonment because perception of reality was so overwhelming that it would lead to a mental chaos which implies a certain death.”

Durlacher, G. L. (1991). De zoektocht [The search]. Amsterdam: Meulenhoff.
Dutch sociologist Durlacher, a survivor of Birkenau, describes his search for and meetings with another 20 child survivors from this camp. Excerpt: “Misha…looks helplessly at me and admits hesitantly that the period in the camps is wiped out from his brain….With each question regarding the period between December 12, 1942 till May 7, 1945, he admits while feeling embarrassed that he cannot remember anything."

Jaffe, R. (1968). Dissociative phenomena in former concentration camp inmates. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 49(2), 310-312.
Case descriptions include amnesia for traumatic events and subsequent twilight states in which events would be relived without conscious awareness. Excerpt: “The dissociative phenomena described here turn out not to be rare, once one is on the look out for them.”

Keilson, H. (1992). Sequential traumatization in children. Jerusalem: The Magnes Press. Amnesia in Jewish Dutch child survivors for the traumatic separation from their parents.

Krell, R. (1993). Child survivors of the Holocaust: Strategies of adaptation. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 38, 384-389.
Excerpt: “The most pervasive preoccupation of child survivors is the continuing struggle with memory, whether there is too much or too little."

Krystal, H., & Danieli, Y. (1994, Fall). Holocaust survivor studies in the context of PTSD. PTSD Research Quarterly, 5(4), 1-5.

Kuch, K., & Cox, B. J. (1992). Symptoms of PTSD in 124 survivors of the Holocaust. American Journal of Psychiatry, 149, 337-340.
Psychogenic amnesia was found in 3.2% of the totals sample, in 3.8 of the general concentration camp survivors, and in 10% of tattooed survivors of Auschwitz. 17.7% (N=22) of the total sample had received psychotherapy. The tattooed survivors had a higher number of PTSD symptoms overall.

Lagnado, L. M., & Dekel, S. C. (1991). Children of the flames: Dr. Josef Mengele and the untold story of the twins of Auschwitz. New York: William and Morrow & Co.
Excerpt: “A few of the twins insisted that they had no memories of Auschwitz whatsoever.”

Laub, D., & Auerhahn, N. C. (1989). Failed empathy—A central theme in the survivor’s Holocaust experience. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 6(4), 377-400.
Excerpt: “Holocaust survivors remember their experiences through a prism of fragmentation and usually recount them only in fragments.”

Laub, D., & Auerhahn, N. C. (1993). Knowing and not knowing massive psychic trauma: Forms of traumatic memory. American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 74, 287-302.
Excerpt: “Erecting barriers against knowing is often the first response to such trauma. Women in Nazi concentration camps dealt with difficult interrogation by the Gestapo by derealization, by asserting ‘I did not go through it. Somebody else went through the experience.’....Unintegrable memories endure as a split-off part, a cleavage in the ego...When the balance is such that the ego cannot deal with the experience, fragmentation occurs....Simply put, therapy with those impacted by trauma involves, in part, the reinstatement of the relationship between event, memory and personality.”

Marks, J. (1995). The hidden children: The secret survivors of the Holocaust. Toronto: Bantam Books.
Excerpt: “So much of my childhood between the ages of four and nine is blank….It’s almost as if my life was smashed into little pieces….The trouble is, when I try to remember, I come up with so little. This ability to forget was probably my way of surviving emotionally as a child.”

Mazor, A., Ganpel, Y., Enright, R. D., & Ornstein, R. (1990, January). Holocaust survivors: Coping with posttraumatic memories in childhood and 40 years later. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 3(1), 11-14.

Modai, I. (1994). Forgetting childhood: A defense mechanism against psychosis in a Holocaust survivor. In T. L. Brink (Ed.), Holocaust survivors’ mental health. New York: Haworth Press.
In a debate about uncovering painful memories of the Holocaust, Modai’s case is of a 58 year old woman who is unable to remember her childhood.

Moskovitz, S., & Krell, R. (1990). Child survivors of the Holocaust: Psychological adaptations to survival. Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Services, 27(2), 81-91.
Excerpt: “Whatever the memories, much is repressed as too fearful for recall, or suppressed by well-meaning caretakers wishing the child to forget.”

Musaph, H. (1993). Het post-concentratiekampsyndroom [The post-concentration camp syndrome]. Maandblad Geestelijke volksgezondheid [Dutch Journal of Mental Health], 28(5), 207-217.
Amnesia exists for certain Holocaust experiences, while other experiences are extremely well remembered.

Niederland, W. G. (1968). Clinical observations on the “survivor syndrome.” International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 49, 313-315.
Discusses memory disturbances such as amnesia and hypermnesia.

Stein, A. (1994). Hidden children: Forgotten survivors of the Holocaust. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books.
Excerpt: “Over the years I have been trying to re-experience those feelings, but they kept eluding me. I was cut off from most of my memories, and from relieving the anxiety of that time….I remember nothing about the time I spent with those people…not a face, not a voice, not a piece of furniture.”

van Ravesteijn, L. (1976). Gelaagdheid van herinneringen [Layering of memories]. Tijdschrift boor Psychotherapie, 5(1), 195-205.

Wagenaar, W. A., & Groeneweg, J. (1990). The memory of concentration camp survivors. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 4, 77-87.

Abstract: This study is concerned with the question whether extremely emotional experiences, such as being the victim of Nazi concentration camps, leave traces in memory that cannot be extinguished. Relevant data were obtained from testimony by 78 witnesses in a case against Marinus De Rijke, who was accused of Nazi crimes in Camp Erika in The Netherlands. The testimonies were collected in the periods 1943–1947 and 1984–1987. A comparison between these two periods reveals the amount of forgetting that occurred in 40 years. Results show that camp experiences were generally well-remembered, although specific but essential details were forgotten. Among these were forgetting being maltreated, forgetting names and appearance of the torturers, and forgetting being a witness to murder. Apparently intensity of experiences is not a sufficient safeguard against forgetting."

Wilson, J., Harel, Z., & Kahana, B. (1988). Human adaptation to extreme stress: From the Holocaust to Vietnam. New York: Plenum Press.

Yehuda, R., Elkin, A., Binder-Brynes, K., Kahana, B., Southwick, S. M., Schmeidler, J., & Giller, E. R., Jr. (1996, July). Dissociation in aging Holocaust survivors. American Journal of Psychiatry, 153(7), 935-940.

Yehuda, R., Schmeidler, J., Siever, L. J., Binder-Brynes, K., & Elkin, A. (1997). Individual differences in posttraumatic stress disorder symptom profiles in Holocaust survivors in concentration camps or in hiding. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 10, 453-465.
46% of 100 survivors report amnesia on PTSD measures.

http://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/scholarly-resources/holocaust/

Memory disturbances and dissociative amnesia in Holocaust survivors

The following articles provide compelling scientific evidence in support of the phenomena of dissociation and recovered memory in Holocaust survivors. In addition to supporting the phenomenon in general, these articles also counter the argument that recovered memory is (a) no more than a recent cultural “fad” and (b) specific to false accusers of sexual abuse.

DeWind, E. (1968). The confrontation with death. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 49, 302-305.
Excerpt: “Most former inmates of Nazi concentration camps could not remember anything of the first days of imprisonment because perception of reality was so overwhelming that it would lead to a mental chaos which implies a certain death.”....

Yehuda, R., Schmeidler, J., Siever, L. J., Binder-Brynes, K., & Elkin, A. (1997). Individual differences in posttraumatic stress disorder symptom profiles in Holocaust survivors in concentration camps or in hiding. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 10, 453-465.
46% of 100 survivors report amnesia on PTSD measures.....

Jaffe, R. (1968). Dissociative phenomena in former concentration camp inmates. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 49(2), 310-312.
Case descriptions include amnesia for traumatic events and subsequent twilight states in which events would be relived without conscious awareness. Excerpt: “The dissociative phenomena described here turn out not to be rare, once one is on the look out for them.”
http://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/scholarly-resources/holocaust/

Recovered Memories

Recovered Memories

copied with permission

Recovered memories have been defined as the phenomenon of partially or fully losing parts of memories of traumatic events, and then later recovering part or all of the memories into conscious awareness. They have also been defined as the recollections of memories that are believed to have been unavailable for a certain period of time[1]. There is very strong scientific evidence that recovered memories exist.[2] This has been shown in many scientific studies. The content of recovered memories have fairly high corroboration rates.

Contents
* 1 Scientific evidence
* 2 Corroboration rates
* 3 References
* 4 Bibliography
* 5 External Links

Scientific evidence

There are many studies that have proven that the recovered memories of traumatic events exist. Brown, Scheflin and Hammond found 43 studies that showed recovered memories for traumatic events[3]. The Recovered Memory Project has collected 101 corroborated cases of recovered memories[4]. Hopper's research shows that amnesia for childhood sexual abuse is "beyond dispute." He states that "at least 10% of people sexually abused in childhood will have periods of complete amnesia for their abuse, followed by experiences of delayed recall" [5] In one study of women with previously documented histories of sexual abuse, 38% of the women did not remember the abuse that had happened 17 years before.[6] Most recovered memories either precede therapy or the use of memory recovery techniques[7]. One studied showed that five out of 19 women with histories of familial sexual abuse either forgot specific details or had "blank periods" for these memories[8]. Another study showed that "40% reported a period of forgetting some or all of the abuse"[9]. Herman and Harvey's study showed that 16% of abuse survivors had "complete amnesia followed by delayed recall"[10]. Corwin's individual case study provides evidence of the existence of recovered memories on videotape[11].

Other researchers state:

Research has shown that traumatized individuals respond by using a variety of psychological mechanisms. One of the most common means of dealing with the pain is to try and push it out of awareness. Some label the phenomenon of the process whereby the mind avoids conscious acknowledgment of traumatic experiences as dissociative amnesia. Others use terms such as repression, dissociative state, traumatic amnesia, psychogenic shock, or motivated forgetting. Semantics aside, there is near-universal scientific acceptance of the fact that the mind is capable of avoiding conscious recall of traumatic experiences.[12]

A body of empirical evidence indicates that it is common for abused children to reach adulthood without conscious awareness of the trauma[13]
Corroboration rates

Many studies show high corroboration rates for recovered memories of traumatic events. These rates vary from 50 - 75%[14], 64%[13], 77%[15], 50%[16], 75%[17] 68%[18] 47%[9], and 70% [19]. One study showed amnesia in 12 murderers, with "objective evidence of severe abuse...obtained in 11 cases"[20]. There are also additional studies showing the corroboration of recovered memories[21][22][23][24].

References

1. What about Recovered Memories? Jennifer J. Freyd, University of Oregon http://dynamic.uoregon.edu/~jjf/whatabout.html
2. Research discussing corroboration and accuracy of recovered memories: An Annotated Bibliography by Lynn Crook http://dynamic.uoregon.edu/~jjf/suggestedrefs.html
3. Brown, Scheflin, & Whitfield. (1999). Recovered Memories: The Current Weight of the Evidence in Science and in the Courts Journal of Psychiatry & Law, 27, 5-156. "Brown, Scheflin and Hammond reviewed 43 studies relevant to the subject of traumatic memory and found that every study that examined the question of dissociative amnesia in traumatized populations demonstrated that a substantial minority partially or completely forget the traumatic event experienced, and later recover memories of the event. By 1999, over 68 studies had been published that document dissociative amnesia after childhood sexual abuse. In fact, no study that has looked for evidence of traumatic or dissociative amnesia after child sexual abuse has failed to find it." http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/1/tm/prev.html
4. The Recovered Memory Project http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Taubman_Center/Recovmem/index.html
5. Recovered Memories of Sexual Abuse - Scientific Research & Scholarly Resources by Jim Hopper "Amnesia for childhood sexual abuse is a condition. The existence of this condition is beyond dispute. Repression is merely one explanation - often a confusing and misleading one - for what causes the condition of amnesia. At least 10% of people sexually abused in childhood will have periods of complete amnesia for their abuse, followed by experiences of delayed recall." http://www.jimhopper.com/memory/
6. Williams LM (1994). Recall of childhood trauma: a prospective study of women's memories of child sexual abuse. J Consult Clin Psychol 62: 1167–76. PMID 7860814. "One hundred twenty-nine women with previously documented histories of sexual victimization in childhood were interviewed and asked detailed questions about their abuse histories to answer the question "Do people actually forget traumatic events such as child sexual abuse, and if so, how common is such forgetting?" A large proportion of the women (38%) did not recall the abuse that had been reported 17 years earlier." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7860814
7. Andrews, B., Brewin, C., Ochera, J., Morton, J., Bekerian, D., Davies, G., and Mollon, P. (1999). Characteristics, context and consequences of memory recovery among adults in therapy. Brit J Psychiatry 175:141-146. "Of a total of 690 clients, therapists reported that 65% recalled child sexual abuse and 35% recalled other traumas, 32% started recovering memories before entering therapy. According to therapists' accounts, among the 236 detailed client cases, very few appeared improbable and corroboration was reported in 41%. Most (78%) of the clients' initial recovered memories either preceded therapy or preceded the use of memory recovery techniques used by the respondents. Techniques seemed to be used more to help the clients to elaborate the memories than to facilitate their initial recovery. Clients with whom techniques had been used before the first reported memory recovery were no less likely to have found corroborating evidence than clients with whom no techniques had been used before memory recovery."
8. Bagley, C. (1995). The prevalence and mental health sequels of child sexual abuse in community sample of women aged 18 to 27. Child sexual abuse and mental health in adolescents and adults. Aldershot: Avebury. "Study of women 18-24 years who had been removed from home 10 years previously by social services due to intrafamilial sexual abuse. Of the 19 women for whom there was evidence of serious sexual abuse, 14 remembered events corresponding to their records. Two remembered that abuse had taken place but could recall no specific details, and three had no memory. Two of the last three described long blank periods for the memory of childhood corresponding to the age when abuse had taken place.
9. Feldman-Summers, S., & Pope, K. S. (1994). The experience of forgetting childhood abuse: A national survey of psychologists. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62, 636-639. "A national sample of psychologists were asked whether they had been abused as children and, if so, whether they had ever forgotten some or all of the abuse. Almost a quarter of the sample (23.9%) reported childhood abuse, and of those, approximately 40% reported a period of forgetting some or all of the abuse....Of those abused, 40% did not remember at some time. 47% had corroboration. 56% said psychotherapy aided in recall. Differences between those who first recalled abuse in therapy and those who recalled it elsewhere were not significant.
10. Herman, J. L., & Harvey, M. R. (1997). Adult memories of childhood trauma: A naturalistic clinical study. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 10, 557-571. "Roughly half (53%) said they had never forgotten the traumatic events. Two smaller groups described a mixture of continuous and delayed recall (17%) or a period of complete amnesia followed by delayed recall (16%). Patients with and without delayed recall did not differ significantly in the proportions reporting corroboration of their memories from other sources."
11. Corwin, D.; Olafson E. (1997). Videotaped Discovery of a Reportedly Unrecallable Memory of Child Sexual Abuse:Comparison with a Childhood Interview Videotaped 11 Years Before Child Maltreatment 2 (2): 91–112. doi:10.1177/1077559597002002001 http://cmx.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/2/2/91
12. The Leadership Council - Trauma and Memory http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/1/tm/tm.html
13. "True" and "False" Child Sexual Abuse Memories and Casey's Phenomenological View of Remembering Joanne M. Hall, Lori L. Kondora - American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 48, No. 10, 1339-1359 (2005) DOI: 10.1177/0002764205277012 "Research shows that 64% of adult women childhood sexual abuse survivors had some degree of amnesia regarding the trauma; but in the majority of cases, corroboration was available to verify that abuse had occurred (Herman & Schatzow, 1987). Of 129 women with recorded histories of childhood sexual abuse, 38% did not recall the abuse that had been clearly verified and documented decades earlier. This lack of recall was especially likely among those abused at younger ages and among those whose perpetrators were known by them at the time of the abuse (L.Williams, 1994). In fact, a body of empirical evidence indicates that it is common for abused children to reach adulthood without conscious awareness of the trauma (Briere, 1992; Herman, 1992; Schetky, 1990; van der Kolk et al., 1996)." http://abs.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/48/10/1339?ijkey=ciZjJlFifgYIY&keytype=ref&siteid=spabs
14. Corroboration of Child Abuse Memories "Studies vary in frequency. Between 31 and 64 percent of abuse survivors in six major studies reported that they forgot "some of the abuse." Numbers reporting severe amnesia ranged from under 12% to 59%....Studies report 50-75% of abuse survivors corroborating the facts of their abuse through an outside source." http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/abuse/a/cooroborate.htm
15. van der Kolk, BA & R Fisler (1995), "Dissociation and the fragmentary nature of traumatic memories: Overview and exploratory study", J Traumatic Stress 8: 505–25 "a systematic exploratory study of 46 subjects with PTSD which indicates that traumatic memories are retrieved, at least initially, in the form of dissociated mental imprints of sensory and affective elements of the traumatic experience: as visual, olfactory, affective, auditory and kinesthetic experiences. Over time, subjects reported the gradual emergence of a personal narrative that some believe can be properly referred to as "explicit memory"....Of the 35 subjects with childhood trauma, 15 (43%) had suffered significant, or total amnesia for their trauma at some time of their lives. Twenty seven of the 35 subjects with childhood trauma (77%) reported confirmation of their childhood trauma." http://www.trauma-pages.com/a/vanderk2.php
16. "Recovered memories of abuse among therapy patients: A national survey." Pope, Kenneth S.; Tabachnick, Barbara G. Independent practice, Norwalk, CT, US Ethics & Behavior 1995 Vol 5(3) 237-248 "about 50% of the patients who claimed to have recovered the memories had found external validation, a percentage that coincides with that obtained in the Feldman-Summers & Pope, 1994 study"
17. Herman, J L.; Schatzow E (1987). Recovery and verification of memories of childhood sexual trauma. Psychoanalytic Psychol 4. "Three out of four patients were able to validate their memories by obtaining corroborating evidence from other sources" http://www.pep-web.org/document.php?id=ppsy.004.0001a
18. Kluft, RP (1995). The confirmation and disconfirmation of memories of abuse in Dissociative Identity Disorder patients: A naturalistic study. Dissociation 8: 253-8. "Nineteen, or 56%, had instances of the confirmation of recalled abuses. Ten of the 19, or 53%, had always recalled the abuses that were confirmed. However, 13 of the 19, or 68%, obtained documentation of events that were recovered in the course of therapy, usually with the use of hypnosis. Three patients, or 9%, had instances in which the inaccuracy of their recollection could be demonstrated." https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/1155/Dis_8_4_9_ocr.pdf?sequence=1
19. Westerhof, Y., Woertman, L. Van der Hart, O., & Nijenhuis, E.R.S. (2000). Forgetting child abuse: Feldman-Summers and Pope's (1994) study replicated among Dutch psychologists. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 7, 220-229. "In a replication of Feldman-Summers and Pope's (1994) national survey of American psychologists on ‘forgetting' childhood abuse, a Dutch sample of 500 members of the Netherlands Institute of Psychologists (NIP) were asked if they had been abused as children and, if so, whether they had ever forgotten some or all of the abuse for some significant period of time. As compared to the 23.9% in the original study, 13.3% reported childhood abuse. Of that subgroup, 39% (as compared to 40% in the original study) reported a period of forgetting some or all of the abuse for a period of time. Both sexual and non-sexual physical abuse were subject to forgetting, which in 70% of cases was reversed while being in therapy. Almost 70% of those who reported forgetting also reported corroboration of the abuse."
20. Lewis, D., Yeager, C., Swica, Y., Pincus, J. and Lewis, M. (1997). Objective documentation of child abuse and dissociation in 12 murderers with dissociative identity disorder. Am J Psychiatry, 154(12):1703-10. "Signs and symptoms of dissociative identity disorder in childhood and adulthood were corroborated independently and from several sources in all 12 cases; objective evidence of severe abuse was obtained in 11 cases. The subjects had amnesia for most of the abuse and underreported it. Marked changes in writing style and/or signatures were documented in 10 cases. CONCLUSIONS: This study establishes, once and for all, the linkage between early severe abuse and dissociative identity disorder."
21. Martinez-Taboas, A. (1996). Repressed memories: Some clinical data contributing toward its elucidation. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 50(2), 217-30. "the author presents two well documented and corroborated cases of dissociated or delayed memories of child sexual abuse in patients with a diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). The patients had absolutely no conscious memory of their childhood abusive experiences and in both cases the author obtained definite and clear cut independent corroboration of the realities of the abuse. The amnesia was documented and memories were recovered in the course of treatment."
22. Viederman M. (1995). The reconstruction of a repressed sexual molestation fifty years later. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 43(4): 1169-1219. Reconstruction of a previously completely repressed memory of sexual molestation. Six years following termination of analysis, the patient wrote a letter describing a confirmation of the event, now sixty years past, from the sole other survivor of the period who had knowledge of what had happened.
23. Bull, D. (1999). A verified case of recovered memories of sexual abuse. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 53(2), 221-224. "a 40-year-old woman with no history of mental illness and ten years of exemplary professional work, recovers memories of childhood sexual abuse by her father through a call from her youth pastor in whom she had confided as an adolescent."
24. Dahlenberg, C. (1996, Summer) Accuracy, timing and circumstances of disclosure in therapy of recovered and continuous memories of abuse. The Journal of Psychiatry and Law. "Seventeen patients who had recovered memories of abuse in therapy participated in a search for evidence confirming or refuting these memories. Memories of abuse were found to be equally accurate whether recovered or continuously remembered."

Bibliography

1. Brown, Scheflin and Hammond (D. Corydon), 1998, "Memory, Trauma Treatment, And the Law" W. W. Norton (0-393-70254-5)
2. Knopp, F. H. & Benson, A. R. (1996) A primer on the complexities of traumatic memory childhood sexual abuse; a psychobiological approach. Brandon, VT : Safer Society Press
3. Leavitt, Ph.D., F. Manufactured Memory, Altered Belief and Self Report Mirage: The Alleged False Memory of Jean Piaget. Child Abuse & Neglect, 1999, 23, No. 12, pp. 1221-1224. [1]
4. van der Kolk, B. A. (1994). The body keeps the score: Memory and the evolving psychobiology of post traumatic stress. http://www.trauma-pages.com/a/vanderk4.php
5. van der Kolk, B. A. & Fisler, R. (1995) Dissociation and the fragmentary nature of traumatic memories: Overview and exploratory study. http://www.trauma-pages.com/a/vanderk2.php
6. Whitfield M.D.,C. Memory and Abuse - Remembering and Healing the Effects of Trauma Health Communications, Inc 3201 SW 15th St, Deerfield Beach, FL.33442-8190.
7. Whitfield M.D.,C. Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity, 4, 2, 1997, Brunner/Mazel.Inc. c 1997, Traumatic Amnesia: The Evolution of Our Understanding From a Clinical and Legal Perspective
8. Whitfield M.D., C. Traumatic Amnesia: The Evolution of Our Understanding From A Clinical and Legal Perspective(Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity, 4(2), 3-34, 1997)
9. Whitfield M.D., C. Trauma and Memory: Clinical & legal understanding of traumatic amnesia (Chapter 12) in Burgess, Ann W. (ed): Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nursing. Appleton & Lange, Stamford, Ct., 1998, pp 171-186.
10. Widom, C. and Shepard, R. (1996). Accuracy of adult recollections of childhood victimization: Part 1. Psychological Assessment, 8(4), 412-421. "accuracy of adult recollections of childhood physical abuse was assessed. Two hour in-person interviews were conducted in young adulthood with 1,196 of the original 1,575 participants. Two measures (including the Conflict Tactics Scale) were used to assess histories of childhood physical abuse. Results indicate good discriminant validity and predictive efficiency of the self-report measures, despite substantial underreporting by physically abused respondents."
11. Widom, C. and Shepard, R. (1997). Accuracy of adult recollections of childhood victimization. Part 2. Childhood sexual abuse. Psychological Assessment 9: 34-46. "A prospective study in which abused and neglected children (court substantiated) [N=1,114] were matched with non-abused and neglected children and followed into adulthood. There was substantial underreporting of sexual abuse, when compared to court and medical records. Victimization recall was checked by comparing crimes disclosed in victimization surveys found in police records."

External Links

1. Recovered Memory Data http://ritualabuse.us/research/memory-fms/recovered-memory-data/
2. Recovered memory corroboration rates http://ritualabuse.us/research/memory-fms/recovered-memory-corroboration-rates/