Nov
28
2011
One only needs to examine the work of Freud to see the origins of the recovered memory debate.
In 1896, Freud wrote of a pattern of sexual abuse of women in eighteen consecutive cases.
Robert Dewey quotes Freud in his “Introduction to Psychology”:
“The event of which the subject has retained an unconscious memory is a precocious [unusually early] experience of sexual relations with actual excitement of the genitals,
Continue Reading »
Nov
20
2011
How do you spell relief? D-I-S-C-L-O-S-U-R-E
Therapists and clients alike understand the relief provided by the disclosure of sad, angry, fearful memories. Therapy is a place where people should feel safe enough to disclose anything they choose, significant or insignificant.
In dysfunctional families or organizations, people are often exposed to behavior which shocks
Continue Reading »
Nov
19
2011
The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for triggering the “fight, flight, or freeze” reaction in human beings.
Continue Reading »
Nov
14
2011
People in power routinely stay in power through intimidation, bribery, threats, and other malignant methods.
In one of the most alarming pieces of evidence in the allegations of sexual abuse against Jerry Sandusky, we are learning a boy stepped forward, Victim 6, and accused Sandusky of taking a shower with him nude with another boy.
Continue Reading »
Nov
13
2011
Examining the religious right wing activism defending catholic clergy sex abusers and the response of the church, it’s pretty easy to understand why Joe Paterno didn’t do anything to protect the children being raped by Jerry Sandusky.
He’s Joe Paterno and probably feels entitled to do whatever he wants, just like Bill Donohue, Bishop Finn of Kansas City, the catholic pope, and the entire catholic church hierarchy.
Bill Donohue, Executive Director of Catholic League Center for Religious and Civil Rights,
Continue Reading »
Apr
20
2011
A key question in the recovered memory debate is whether it’s possible for someone to forget traumatic abuse and then remember it later, sometimes decades later.
If you want to move ahead and study some of the research validating this forgetting and remembering process, go to the following websites:
Continue Reading »
Apr
18
2011
For those who may be interested in reading each specific law enacted at the Council of Elvira, I am reprinting them on this post.
You can also read them here.
Why are they significant?
These canon laws enacted in the 4th Century clearly document the major concerns, perhaps preoccupation, of early Catholic church leaders with pedophilia, adultery, sexual misconduct of bishops and clergy, and the sexual life of early Christians.
Continue Reading »
Apr
18
2011
I know it may be hard to believe the Catholic church leaders were already preoccupied with sex in the early 4th Century, but they were.
Keep in mind, 306AD was 1,706 years ago. So, for over 1,700 years, the Catholic church and their decision makers have been aware, concerned, and trying to manage the damage caused by the sexual violations of their bishops and clerics.
What kind of sex?
Here is a summary of the types of sexual behaviors the Council of Elvira addressed and tried to control:
- Sexual abuse of children, adolescents and adults by bishops, priests, and other clergy
Continue Reading »
Apr
15
2011
Recovered memories refers to the phenomenon of human beings forgetting aspects of their personal history, especially related to abuse experiences, then remembering it later, often decades later.
Psychotherapists meeting in the safety of the clinical room have often been witness to the lighting up of a person’s memory circuits when they begin to remember some earlier abuse experience.
It’s a powerful moment for both client and therapist.
A client may become reflective, tuned inward to sensations, images, emotions, then look
Continue Reading »
Jan
20
2011
The numbers of children abused in America each year are staggering.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services estimates 879,000 children were victims of child maltreatment in 2000. Of this total, 63% of the children were neglected, 19% were physically abused, 10% were sexually abused and 8% were psychologically abused.
I think we all have to agree it’s easier to ignore or deny the estimate that 87,900 children may be sexually abused in our country each year.
How do we wrap our minds around these very high numbers of children abused and neglected?
Continue Reading »