Monday, I wrote about the strange story of Richard Noll’s article, When Psychiatry Battled the Devil, in the Psychiatric Times [the unforgotten unremembered…]. In that article, Richard, a psychologist and historian at DeSales University, reminded us of a largely forgotten story. In the period from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s, there was an epidemic of children in day-care and adult patients alleging that they had been sexually abused in rituals performed by Satanic Cults, rituals that involved sacrificing of babies, drinking blood, and a panoply of other heinous acts. This was no isolated incident but a nationwide phenomenon. There were supposedly Satanic Cults all over the place. Day-care workers went to prison over these allegations. Treatment units were opened. Some therapists became specialists. And then it was gone, and largely forgotten.
Richard’s article is fascinating, documenting the story and talking about the professionals who bought this whole thing, and how it even influenced the DSM-IIIR revision of Dissociative Disorders, and how it ended. His point was that several decades had passed, and it would be a good time to look into the whole crazy story in hopes of preventing a recurrence of the modern-day Salem Witch Trial atmosphere that surrounded the whole scene – and trying to understand what happened. His article was published in the Psychiatric Times on-line on December 6th. I read it around then, sent Richard a note, and bookmarked it for a later blog. When I went back to look for it, it was gone. The link took me to another article. Come to find out it was pulled on December 14th, with no explanation. When Richard inquired, he was told "Sorry" there were "liability" issues, maybe the story wasn’t appropriate," etc.
On further reflection and internal discussion, we have decided that we would like to repost your article. But before doing so, we’d also like to give some of those cited the opportunity to respond or provide comment – if they wish…
Richard responded to the Psychiatric Times saying that he would agree to a re·posting if they apologized to their readers, posted a response from Drs. Kluft or Braun or both, and let him respond to what they have to say. His article is on the Internet for posterity already. I think the Psychiatric Times needs to explain this little bit of foolishness. The PsychiatricNews is the official paper of the APA. The Psychiatric Times is an independent publication. They published Allen Frances’ criticisms of the DSM-5, and haven’t shied away from controversy in other matters – so this isn’t their usual M.O.
The dangers were imaginary, but the consequences were not.SlateBy Linda Rodriguez McRobbieJanuary 7, 2013
Among the atrocities that Frances and Dan Keller were supposed to have committed while running a day care center out of their Texas home: drowning and dismembering babies in front of the children; killing dogs and cats in front of the children; transporting the children to Mexico to be sexually abused by soldiers in the Mexican army; dressing as pumpkins and shooting children in the arms and legs; putting the children into a pool with sharks that ate babies; putting blood in the children’s Kool-Aid; cutting the arm or a finger off a gorilla at a local park; and exhuming bodies at a cemetery, forcing children to carry the bones. It was frankly unbelievable — except that people, most importantly, a Texas jury, did believe the Kellers had committed at least some of these acts. In 1992, the Kellers were convicted of aggravated sexual assault on a child and each sentenced to 48 years in prison. The investigation into their supposed crimes took slightly more than a year, the trial only six days…
I was doing unpaid youth work with my church and another group at the time and people were walking around looking at each other in an effort to catch someone doing something. Rules were put in place about background checks and never allowing an adult to speak with a child alone, even if in view of other adults, that exist today.
One group I worked with now may have more adults on an outing than children as they have two adults for every child and two extra adults in case a child needs to be taken home.
These situations do change the way we a society operate, some good, some not so good.
Steve Lucas
I could not believe it at the time, and unfortunately I can believe that people in high places want to sweep it under the rug, still, after all these years. As an institution, psychiatry isn’t gaining a lot of trust these days. The way the “it” of psychiatry treats children, I think a good rule of thumb for most parents would be to only consider taking their child to see one when they and all other avenues have been exhausted.
The statement, “Children don’t lie” is so preposterous on its face that I have to wonder if these child “experts” remember being children at all. And R.A.D. children definitely lie about all kinds of abuse. I’ve known a lot of adults who don’t know how to speak to child(ren) in plain language that the child can understand; and have seen quite a few mothers who “know” their child like no one else because of their biological bond, while not having a clue about what their child is going through because they simply project onto their child what they want the child to be and don’t even connect with the child. Children whose parents are living vicariously through them are often dreadfully lonely.
It also seems like the institutions of psychology and psychiatry ignore their own history, and blame parents, for instance, for being such pushovers with their children instead of saying “no” and maintaining boundaries and restrictions. Well if I ain’t a purple possum, who told parents that saying “no” to children would destroy their creativity? Uh huh. What they demonstrated was that they didn’t understand children, parental responsibilities, the differences between children and adults, nor did they understand creativity. I was in art school at the time. The reasons why were given assignments to, for instance, make a sculpture with a 5 x 8 piece of plywood, was that creativity isn’t pulling something random and kicky out of your butt and flapping around mindlessly and acting impulsively– it’s all about work and intelligence. Lots of work. Deliberate work. Intelligent critique of your work.
Also, I always thought that Gloria Steinham was an intellectual lightweight and mostly just a pretty mascot for white, middle-class feminism*, the fact that she, as a “feminist” joined in a literal witch hunt to prosecute child care workers was surprising upon discovery, but not at all unbelievable.
* Being a Playboy Bunny couldn’t be more unrepresentative of sexual exploitation for women who work in the sex industries.