Customer Reviews

Making Monsters: False Memories, Psychotherapy, And Sexual Hysteria

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book made me think about the power of therapy and the power of therapists. While Ofshe focuses the book on repressed memory and multiple personality disorder (MPD), he makes a clear argument about the many possible negative effects on clients/patients who enage in therapy with unqualified clinicians (or those who have lost sight of the reality & practice of ethical therapy, Dr. B. Braun). I do not believe everything that the authors have written in this book; however, their attempt to scrutinize and understand a very controversial phenomenon is commendable. They obviously did extensive research and present a good argument, but their biases are clear. There are many good reasons to read this book... to understand biases of authors, clinicians, the controversy of repressed memory and MPD, and the possible negative consequences of working with unqualified therapists. Our society stereotypes and belittles people with mental illnesses, as well as the many people who treat them. Yet, there are many successes found in the field of psychotherapy. Just don't look to this book for a positive respresentation of psychology professionals. This book highlights a current controversy in the mental health world. While it may appear to attempt to demean all therapy, don't let it. Read this book as critically as Ofshe wrote it and remember it is NOT about all therapy, therapists, or mental health professionals. And take note: empower yourself if you are a client and if you are a therapist, remember your ultimate responsibility is to your clients' well-being and mental health -- 1st rule: Do No Harm.

What is called "psychotherapy" has been under fire these days, at long last. "Disorders" such as "Multiple Personality Disorder" and its variations have been questioned even by the profession who created them; the tendency, from the movements of the '60s, I suppose, to make victims of those who claim that status, based not on evidence but on "recovered memories" and one of its more devestating, if not comical manifestions "Satanic Ritual Abuse" (SRA) have been challenged. This book offers a fine, well-researched challenge.

The victimology phenomenon has been a media gold mine. Someone finds that--usually she--had been sexually abused by dad, bro', or Uncle Bert--something she found out with the "help" of her "therapist"--and goes to the TV news. The mere abuse grows as does the celebrity and the income of the alleged victim, into unspeakable horrors. But, for something so uncanny and bizarre, for shame, no evidence is available! That doesn't impede overzealous prosecutors and courts from filling yet another jail cell indefinitely.

I guess what amazes me is that some people don't see through the rubbish that has ruined families, sent countless innocent people to jail terms, and sent some overzealous police (who should be locked up!) on wild goose chases, wasting the public's--yes YOUR--money to do so.

This book exposes much of that, finally.

It does have its amusing portions, like the revelation that the author of "Michelle Remembers" and the alleged victim whose story is the content of the book, good Christians, I'm sure, left their spouses after doing the "research" that led to the book and lived happily ever after. Another couple of families down the drain in the search for celebrity.

Then there's the other best sellers written by people with no psychological expertise or training, just their hearts in the right place. Yeah...

But by and large the book should frighten the reader, and incite him or her to do something about it.

For anyone interested in the "recoverd memory" movement, this is a must read. It is well-researched and hard-hitting. It approaches the field with a critical eye, and highlights the damage uncritical acceptance can bring. The stories of families torn apart are heart-breaking, and the stories of therapists engaging in fanciful conspiracy theories are chilling.

My review can't do this book justice. You'd do best to simply buy it and read Ofshe/Watter's case for yourself. This book is not an attack on the terrible crime of sexual abuse, but on the methodology used to verify the accuracy of SOME of these claims -- generally, those resulting from repressed memory restoration.

The authors offer actual evidence to show how: 1. Even normal memories are highly unreliable and malleable. 2. Therapists lead the patient, imposing their own sexual abuse storyline over the patient's feelings and experiences. 3. There is no proven mechanism by how, specifically, sexual abuse trauma would be forgotten -- and not even leave a gap! -- while other extreme trauma (including violence) would be remembered. 4. Many therapists have no concrete evidence for the veracity of their claims, and leaders in the movement actively ignore evidence contrary to their "theories" and therapies. ("If I had to wait for science to catch up, there'd be no way I could practice this!" asserts one movement leader.) 5. Many people who go through this therapy are in worse shape than they were before therapy.

This book is not speculative. Instead, it deals concretely with the claims of memory restoration therapists, evaluates their methodology and mindset and therepeutic practices, and gives credit where it is due, if necessary. Ofshe and Watters have come to see much of this sort of therapy as destructive and dishonest, rather than as validated through standard scientific practice -- possibly a response to the social devaluation of women.

Note again that the authors' point is not to dis-empower women who have been honestly victimized. They want to empower women to not be victimized by egotistical (albeit sometimes well-meaning) therapists, and help them find solutions for their real problems, rather than these sometimes fabricated ones.

These authors have opened the dialogue on this brand of pseudo-therapy. The strength of their case will be shown or disproved as proponents of memory restoration therapy counter their evidence (if they can). They've certainly laid out an objective and documented argument, in any case.

"Making Monsters" is a book about a controversial subject - recovered memories. This was a favorite subject for psychoanalysts in the 80's, during the wave of "Satanic ritual abuse" crimes that were reported. That none of these alleged crimes were ever proven mattered little to those who believed in this new theory - many of them appearing on numerous talkshows, or writing trash books like "Michelle Remembers."

I believe there are a lot more people who have been victimized and traumatized by attention-hungry psychotherapists than by Satanic cultists. Like I said in the title of my review, this book is unfortunately very much needed. If this book has the impact on society it deserves, it will make itself obsolete.

I highly recommend this book as there can never be too many books on this topic to get the word out.

I have first hand experience on this subject. I was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, which had to do with marital problems. They were akin to the movie - The War of Roses, and I was just barely surviving. I went to a clinical psychologist for about 8 sessions. After about the 6th session, I noticed that she kept digging and digging for something specific, when nothing was there.

Out of the blue, she told me about a lady who had repressed her memory and that her father had raped her years ago. Personally, my Dad was the best and I could not understand why she was bringing this up.

Realizing that I was getting nowhere fast, I finally asked her if perhaps she could recommend a book. A broad, smile overcame her in which she was only too happy to recommend one. Judith Herman - Trauma and Recovery. I could barely skim through the feminist garbage but managed to skim and realized right away what my psychologist was up to. I even went to 2 more sessions to confirm my belief. She not only didn't address my problems, which was bad enough in itself, but was trying to allow me to fabricate a victim.

You have no idea how it is to be ill, asking for help, borderline suicidal and to have to go through this added torture. It would be like going to a physician 8 times for a cancer lump and the doctor relentlessly suggesting it's due to somtbody in your life, but you have to come up with a name.

My heart and prayers go out to women or anyone else in deep pain and having these doctors use these devious methods.

"Making Monsters" is a book about a controversial subject - recovered memories. This was a favorite subject for psychoanalysts in the 80's, during the wave of "Satanic ritual abuse" crimes that were reported. That none of these alleged crimes were ever proven mattered little to those who believed in this new theory - many of them appearing on numerous talkshows, or writing trash books (...)

I believe there are a lot more people who have been victimized and traumatized by attention-hungry psychotherapists than by Satanic cultists. Like I said in the title of my review, this book is unfortunately very much needed. If this book has the impact on society it deserves, it will make itself obsolete.

This book carefully describes the tragic mistakes of the psychotherapy business, along with the devastation and death visited on innocent families. It's hard to imagine that such horror stories could actually happen in 20th century America, but the book is heavily documented.

There is a growing literature on sex hysteria, difficult and painful to read, but necessary to counter the appeal of the popular mysticism following cocaine addict Freud's 1896 theory of "premature sexual trauma," based on all of 18 patients. The American Psychological Association has now splintered, with modern scientific/experimental psychologists forming the new Association for Psychological Science - to distance and distinguish itself from the mystical/clinical old guard in the APA.

I was so upset by reading this book that I wondered if there should be a law to NEVER allow any child to be entrusted to a "psychotherapist." Fortunately, there is now a group - the National Association for Consumer Protection in Mental Health Practices - that is lobbying to require that "therapists" inform patients that there is no scientific evidence for the value of "recovered memory therapy," and also to inform patients of the risks (side effects) of undergoing such "therapy."

If it were possible I would give this book 10 stars!

So, Heartland, false memories and manipulation by crusading therapists are baloney? So all the incredible stories that have been claimed by the supposed victims must be true? So there must be a huge national network of Satanists sacrificing thousands of babies and leaving not a single shred of physical evidence anywhere? Wow. Thanks for your deeply thought-out insight.

I can't say enough good about this book - Ofshe and Watters lay out the Recovered Memory theorists and they are down for the count!!