The False Memory Syndrome Foundation
An analysis of The False Memory Syndrome Foundation's dubious beginnings, dating all the way back to MK Ultra, and the role it has played in some of the most notorious criminal cases of our time.
By Scott Armstrong
The False Memory Syndrome Foundation (FMSFOnline.org), a now defunct non-profit organization founded in 1992, was born out of a need to cover up and discredit adults who were coming forward and reporting instances of childhood sexual abuse that they had experienced when they were younger. An analysis of the FMSF’s Scientific Advisory Board intersects with so many other fascinating areas of research, including the CIA’s MK-Ultra program and some of the most infamous sex-crime/murder cases of the last 35-years, including the Ghislaine Maxwell trial.
In December of 1992, Professor Jennifer Freyd, a tenured professor of psychology at the University of Oregon, had her parents over to her home for the holidays with her husband and two boys. The genesis of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation arguably happened 30 years prior to this, but it was during this visit that the FMSF was brought into existence
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Jennifer’s parents are both academics. Jennifer’s father, Peter Freyd, is a mathematician, and her mother, Pamela Freyd is a schoolteacher with an interest in childhood science education.
Jennifer had been attending therapy to help her process things in her past, which led to some extremely powerful recollections. After attending some therapy sessions, Jennifer’s younger sister Gwen revealed some shocking information that allowed Jennifer to view her childhood in a new light.
Gwen revealed that their father, Peter, had been sexually abused as a child. Jennifer began to re-contextualize a lot of things from her past that seemed a bit odd, now seeing these things as being the product of sexual abuse.
An article from The Cut entitled “The Memory War” does a fantastic analysis of the overall story of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation, however, it leaves a lot left unsaid, particularly in analyzing the key figures behind the FMSF, which we will do in this article. Here is an excerpt from that article describing the nature of Peter’s abuse as a child:
There were things about her father that Jennifer had previously written off as jokes or exaggerations: his repeated, prideful references to his onetime status as a “kept boy” of a prominent artist; how he always wanted to talk about Lolita; the pin-art impression of his penis that was displayed in the family’s living room. But after what Gwen said, Jennifer suddenly saw these things differently. What had once been a low-grade anxiety in the presence of her father became intolerable.
A 1994 article from Philadelphia Magazine (re-published by The Stacks Reader) by Stephen Fried goes into further detail about this idea of Peter being a “kept-boy”:
…Nine-year-old Peter had a sexual relationship with a well-known male artist in Providence, who even took him to Mexico for a summer... “He was a pedophile, I was a kept boy,” Peter says now. “I never repressed a thing. What happened is certainly abusive. I suspect I did not perceive it as abusive then. My relationship … stopped at a critical point when I detected sexual feelings in myself. And, from the age of 11 on, I was living very much the life of a typical 11-year-old. It was one of those things about me that was on the table from the beginning.”
Pamela and Peter Freyd first met when they were children. Peter’s father and Pamela’s mother were married to other people, however they began having an affair with each other when Peter was nine and Pamela was seven, around the same time as the sexual abuse Peter was experiencing. Peter and Pamela’s parents married each other a few years later when Peter was 14 and Pamela was 12, making them step-siblings. It is unclear when Peter and Pamela first became romantically involved, however they began dating each other in high school.
All of these facts culminated together one day for Jennifer while attending therapy and she had a sudden recall about alleged abuse that she had experienced as a child at the hands of her father. From “The Memory War”:
Jennifer has never publicly described what she says her father did to her; she sees no benefit in recounting the details. If pressed to give it a name, she says he molested her. In her earliest memory of it, she recognizes the bathroom in the house where the family lived when she was 3 years old; in her latest, she is a teenager, meaning the abuse would have spanned at least a decade. The memories didn’t arrive all at once but were staggered, resurfacing with special intensity after her parents came for their visit.
As the story goes, Jennifer tried to hold it together and maintain composure so that they could enjoy the holidays for the sake of the family during that December visit in 1992. However, shortly after her parent’s arrival, Jennifer became overwhelmed with a sense of panic and disclosed to her husband, JQ, that their children were not safe with her father, Peter, in the house. In the middle of the night, Jennifer, her husband and their two boys packed up and fled the house.
The next day, Jennifer asked her husband to call and ask that her parents to leave the house. Pamela and Peter were dumbfounded and did not understand the request. When pressed, JQ shouted out: “Jennifer says Peter molested her as a child, and we can’t have him around our children.”
Peter denied these assertions, however, it is reported that his overall response was very suspicious. There was no shock, no outrage, and it seemed like he had been prepared for this for a long time.
In response to these allegations, Pamela and Peter Freyd marshalled all of their resources in the academic community and formed the False Memory Syndrome Foundation. They attested that Peter was innocent of these charges and that this claim by Jennifer is simply a product of a “ false memory” and therapeutic malpractice. The idea of “False Memory Syndrome” was born.
What is False Memory Syndrome?
False Memory Syndrome (FMS) is not an official diagnosis and can not be found anywhere in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). FMS was popularized by Dr. John F. Kihlstrom, a Professor of Psychology at Yale University, which he defines as:
"a condition in which a person's identity and interpersonal relationships are centered around a memory of traumatic experience which is objectively false but in which the person strongly believes. Note that the syndrome is not characterized by false memories as such. We all have memories that are inaccurate. Rather, the syndrome may be diagnosed when the memory is so deeply ingrained that it orients the individual's entire personality and lifestyle, in turn disrupting all sorts of other adaptive behavior. The analogy to personality disorder is intentional. False Memory Syndrome is especially destructive because the person assiduously avoids confrontation with any evidence that might challenge the memory. Thus it takes on a life of its own, encapsulated and resistant to correction. The person may become so focused on memory that he or she may be effectively distracted from coping with the real problems in his or her life."
The claim is that FMS is associated with therapeutic malpractice, that these false memories are actually planted in people’s minds by their therapist in a malicious way. It has been used for years to discredit victims of sexual abuse and has been used as a scapegoat and a legal defense for some of the most notable sex-abuse and murder cases in history, including Ted Bundy, O.J. Simpson, Harvey Weinstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
FMSF Goes Under
It would take an entire book to fully unravel the tale that is the False Memory Syndrome Foundation. This article is meant to help give an overview of some key points for further research. Some books have already been written, if you want to dive deeper:
The FMSF officially closed down on December 31, 2019. Their website is still up and all of their archives, including decades worth of newsletters and information, is still available to the public. Their website is a massive source of information that should certainly be looked at further. At the bottom of their homepage is their statement regarding the shuttering of the organization:
After 27 years, the FMS Foundation dissolved on December 31, 2019. During the past quarter century, a large body of scientific research and legal opinions on the topics of the accuracy and reliability of memory and recovered memories has been created. People with concerns about false memories can communicate with others electronically. The need for the FMS Foundation diminished dramatically over the years. The FMSF website and Archives will continue to be available.
FMSF SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD
The FMSF was able to gain a lot of influence in academic and judicial circles by amassing a team of highly accredited and influential academics, scientists, psychologists and researchers. We will go into some analysis of the more notable ones below, but here are some less well known but highly influential doctors and scientists:
Aaron Temkin Beck, M.D. (Deceased)- Psychiatrist and Professor of Psychiatry at University of Pennsylvania. He is regarded as the father of Cognitive Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
Rochel Gelman, Ph.D (Deceased) - Professor at Rutgers University, pioneer in the field of “Cognitive Development”.
Ernest Hilgard, Ph.D. (Deceased) - Psychologist and Professor at Stanford University, former president of the American Psychological Association (APA). Famous for his research into hypnosis in the 1950’s.
There are dozens of other members, which can be found on their website.
The following are much more well known historical figures that have served, at various times, on the FMSF’s Scientific Advisory Board.
Dr. Louis Jolyon “Jolly” West
Dr. Louis Jolyon West, also known as “Dr. Jolly”, was listed as a member of the FMSF’s Scientific Advisory Board on July 1, 1995. Dr. West has a fascinating background, intersecting in one way or another with some of the most prolific characters in American history.
From 1969-1989, Dr. West served as the Chair of Psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles(UCLA) and the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. He completed his residency at Cornell University and served as the Chairman of Psychiatry at the University of Oklahoma.
According to an article in The Intercept entitled “Inside The Archive of an LSD Researcher with Ties to the CIA’s MK Ultra Mind Control Project”:
According to newly surfaced papers from West’s archives, the psychiatrist had some of the clearest, most nefarious ties of any scientist to the CIA’s Project MKUltra.
Here is a link to Dr. West’s archives from UCLA
Here are links to the release of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from the CIA:
Dr. West’s prolific ties to historical figures began in 1964 when Dr. West was sent to evaluate Jack Ruby in his jail cell, the man who killed Lee Harvey Oswald in front of the world. West was sent to determine Ruby’s mental state at the time of the assassination. West determined that Ruby was mentally ill and showed signs of paranoia. From West’s examination report (detailed in the FOIA document):
At this time Mr. Ruby is obviously psychotic. He is completely pre- occupied with his delusions of persecution of the Jews on his account. He feels hopeless, worthless, and guilty because he is to blame for the mass -murders of his own people. The experiences of last night, are not only grossly delusion- but include auditory and visual hallucinations as well. His emotions are abnorr. feelings of anxiety, depression, guilt, suspiciousness and despair are express* in various proportions. Often the affect Is inappropriate to the ideas accoropsn; them.
Dr. West was also brought in to examine Sirhan Sirhan, the man convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. He was the assigned psychologist from the state to attend to Sirhan Sirhan while awaiting trial.
Dr. West was also came to the defense of Patty Hearst, an heiress to the Hearst family (William Randolph Hearst) turned bank robber, who was suspected of being the victim of “mind-control” after being abducted and influenced to commit crimes on behalf of her captors. West’s expert opinion was that Hearst had, in fact, been the victim of “brainwashing”.
Dr. West then was called in to evaluate convicted Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh. Terry Nichols (the other man convicted in connection with the OKC bombing) had a brother named James Nichols who published a book called Freedom’s End stating essentially that Dr. West had been brought in to once again steer the investigation and to control McVeigh himself.
It is also alleged that Dr. West’s clinic in the Haight-Ashbury district in the 1960’s was frequented by Charles Manson and that the two had some interaction, however, there is little evidence to support this.
Dr. Jolly also received notoriety for causing the death of an adult Elephant named Tusko after giving it a dose of LSD during an experiment. Tusko began going into convulsions within minutes of receiving the LSD. Dr. Jolly and his team rushed to render aid to the elephant, however Tusko died about 1 hour and 40 minutes after being dosed.
All told, it is very interesting how one of the most prolific MK-Ultra doctors in history, with proven ties to LSD and mind-control experimentation, has so many coincidental overlaps with all of the most noteworthy cases of suspected “Manchurian Candidates”.
Martin Orne
Martin Orne was a Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. He, too, has deep ties to the CIA’s MK-Ultra program. Orne was a pioneer and one of the leading researchers in the area of hypnosis.
An article from The ABC News in Australia (not to be confused with ABC News) details some of Orne’s backstory:
The Vienna-born American psychologist had worked in magic shows as a teenager and developed a keen interest in hypnosis.
He had continued to research it throughout his career and, according to author John D. Marks, Professor Orne's rigorous scientific approach made him attractive to the CIA.
In the late 1970s, when researching his book The Search for the Manchurian Candidate, which exposed the details of the MK-Ultra program, Mr Marks interviewed Professor Orne, who revealed he was regularly consulted by the CIA. According to Mr Marks, Professor Orne knew about the program and also received funding to support his research on hypnotism.
"He was their man on the outside — their specialist who they would go to for ideas about hypnosis," Mr Marks says.
Even The Harvard Crimson, Harvard’s own internal publication, openly discusses Orne’s ties to CIA funded projects (published in 1978):
ANOTHER FACET OF Harvard's relationship, past and present, with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) emerged last week as Dr. Martin T. Orne '48, the director of a Medical School hypnosis research project in the early '60s, outlined how his group unwittingly received $30,000 from the CIA. Last week's disclosure of Orne as the "unidentified researcher" mentioned in a University statement on CIA funding of Harvard projects raises several questions, centering not so much on the hypnosis research--which does not seem to be controversial--as on the University's decision to honor Orne's request to remain unidentified.
It is fascinating, but not surprising, how all of these MK-Ultra doctors became aligned with The False Memory Syndrome Foundation.
Paul McHugh
Paul McHugh is a Psychiatrist who currently holds the position of University Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He has been in the public spotlight many times over the years, primarily for his opposition to transgender sex-reassignment surgeries and argues that people who seek this sort of treatment need to be handled as if they are mentally ill. He has taken this position since the 1970s and needless to say, has been involved in a lot of controversy over the issue.
During the formation of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation, McHugh was on a panel that was tasked with evaluating sex-abuse allegations against Catholic Priests, and his position was that a lot of these cases were the result of “False Memories”. His position on the panel was controversial. From the New York Times:
In the early 1990's, Dr. McHugh was among those in psychiatry who argued that memories of sexual abuse recovered by adults were almost always false, a byproduct of poor practice by psychotherapists, who often elicited the memories through hypnosis or other techniques, failed to look for evidence corroborating the abuse and encouraged patients to press charges against the supposed abusers…
…he added that in the few cases in which accusations of sexual abuse by priests were based on recovered memories, especially those recovered in psychotherapy, the authorities needed to investigate carefully.
''If you discover that the content is wild,'' Dr. McHugh said, ''like the person says the priest and they went to a Satanic cult, if you discover that the person has another serious mental illness that deranges them, and if you can't find any corroborating evidence of any sort, then those things should be weighed into account.''
Ralf Underwager
This is by far the most disturbing element of this story. Here is an excerpt from an analysis offered by The Delphi Centre in Australia:
The ‘Scientific and Professional Advisory Board’ of the FMSF was an eclectic group of professionals, including Ralf Underwager, a psychologist and Lutheran minister, and his wife Hollida Wakefield. Underwager was also a founding member of Victims of Child Abuse Laws, a support group for parents who claimed to be falsely accused by their adult children. He frequently appeared in courts around the world as an expert witness for the defense in cases of child sexual abuse. He is documented as stating in court and the media that “60% of women sexually abused in childhood reported that the experience was “good for them” (McMaugh, K. & Middleton, W., 2020).
Underwager was forced to resign from the Board of the FMSF Board when in 1993 he and his wife, Hollida Wakefield gave an interview to the Dutch pro-paedophilia magazine, Paidika: The Journal of Paedophilia. In this interview Underwager said, “Paedophiles can boldly and courageously affirm what they choose. They can say that what they want is to find the best way to love. I am also a theologian and as a theologian, I believe it is God’s will that there be closeness and intimacy, unity of the flesh, between people. A paedophile can say: ‘This closeness is possible for me within the choices that I’ve made.” His wife remained a member of the Board (McMaugh, K. & Middleton, W., 2020) .
Here is a link to the full transcript of this interview posted on another website called “The Awareness Center”. The original interview still exists out there on the Paidika website, but I do not recommend going to that site.
Elizabeth Loftus
Elizabeth Loftus is probably the most prolific member of the FMSF’s Scientific Advisory board. She makes her living as a “Memory Expert” testifying in defense of some of the most notorious people in history. She bases her claims on scientific studies that she conducted that are questionable and leave a lot of room for interpretation.
She has served as an expert witness for the defense in the following cases:
The McMartin Preschool Molestation Case (thank you 12ft.io for removing paywall!)
Elizabeth Loftus has created an industry around disparaging the witnesses in these cases and dismissing the claims of the victims involved. Even with the dissolution of the FMSF back in 2019, she is more popular than ever, discrediting the victims that were trafficked by Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein.
The False Memory Syndrome Foundation has gone away in terms of a public facing entity, however, it is clear that the ideology and pseudoscience that it spawned is still used by criminals and abusers to absolve themselves of guilt.
Of course human memory can be unreliable. Of course memories have a tendency to fade over time. However, we cannot assume that all claims of sexual assault and abuse are products of therapeutic malpractice or people recalling their past incorrectly.
Also, it is worth mentioning that The Last American Vagabond is way ahead of the curve, once again, covering the FMSF in an article that Ryan Cristián wrote back in 2019 entitled “Six Case Studies That Point To Massive Pedophilia Rings At The Highest Levels Of Power”:
The next case I will address is known as the McMartin Preschool abuse scandal. But before I delve into that, I need to address the False Memories Syndrome Foundation, FMSF. They are a prominent group promoting the idea that children who claim they have been abused in satanic rituals have either wild imaginations, or were prodded along by zealot psychologists. They have been tremendously successful in their mission. Recently a Reddit post promoting the false memory theory received over 2000 upvotes in r/TIL. Members of FMSF have been called to appear as expert witnesses in dozens of court cases. I have already established that there have been hundreds of different children reporting satanic abuse not only across the country, but in different continents as well. This alone should be enough to make the false memory theory very flimsy.
However, there is a lot more interesting information about the FMSF to discuss. A huge amount of members within the FMSF have not only been accused of pedophilia themselves, but are also a part of the military industrial complex. Peter J. Freyd founded the FMSF after being accused of sexual abuse by his daughter. David Dinges, a member of the scientific advisory board of the FMSF, was involved with Navy Intelligence. Harold Leif was involved with CIA mind control experiments. Paul McHugh has been a very vocal critic of Dissociative Identity Disorder and has worked at many military hospitals. Martin T. Orne was funded by MKULTRA Harvard Crimson. Ralph Underwager claimed it was ‘gods will’ when adults engage in sex with children. There are more suspicious members of the FMSF but I feel that this list suffices.
This topic could be expounded on ad infinitum, but hopefully this provides some starting points to look into this topic further.
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Great work, Scott, really seeing what makes you tlav material.