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 Forwarded here by George Hero (1:396/17.27)
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From: pjf@saul.cis.upenn.edu (Peter Freyd)
Subject: press release
The following is a press release about an upcoming program on the
documentary series FRONTLINE:
DIVIDED MEMORIES PBS airdate: 
       Tuesday, April 4,  9 p.m., 120 minutes
       Tuesday, April 11, 9 p.m., 120 minutes
        Today, a raging debate over the validity of repressed memory
about sexual abuse divides the therapeutic community, the women's
movement, and thousands of accusers and accused.  "Divided Memories,"
a special two-part FRONTLINE airing Tuesday, April 4, and Tuesday,
April 11, at 9 p.m., on PBS (check local listings), examines the
complicated issue of repressed memory.  The program asks tough
questions about what we know about memory and the way it works and
takes a serious look at what we know about how therapists access this
provocative information in order to help their patients.
        "Divided Memories" producer Ofra Bikel is no stranger to
controversy.  Among her many programs for FRONTLINE are "Innocence
Lost" and its sequel, "Innocence Lost: The Verdict," an examination of
allegations of child sexual abuse at a day-care center in Edenton,
North Carolina, and the trials that resulted, and "Public Hearing,
Private Pain: Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill."  In preparation for
"Divided Memories," Bikel spent a year investigating the theory of
repressed memory, talking with families divided by these memories,
with their therapists and psychiatrists, and with law enforcement
agencies.
        Part 1 traces the hunt for memories through interviews with
people who were molested as children and had forgotten, and others who
say they remember being molested.  For those who remember, are their
memories real?  What insight do the different therapists and memory
researchers offer?  The program also examines the therapies used to
help patients remember, including age-regression therapy, past-life
therapy, and hypnosis.  When memories of sexual abuse emerge through
these techniques, how are they to be interpreted?  Is there any
agreement between the differing factions on the issue which is
politely called the "memory debate"?
        Part 2 looks at the effects that remembered abuse has had on
the families involved--the accusers and the accused.  Among the many
stories told in "Divided Memories":
        --Jane Sanders was molested as a child and didn't remember.
Years later when she was struggling with problems in her life, her
mother told her about the abuse.
        --Maura Kane went to a women's meeting and emerged convinced;
she was abused.It took her three years to figure out that she wasn't.
In that time, she had nightmares of abuse, suffered a severe bout of
depression, and accused her father of molesting her.
        --Kate Rose sought treatment for a troubling sadness and there
uncovered repressed memories of sexual and satanic ritual abuse by her
parents and her grandparents.  Rose has been diagnosed with multiple
personality disorder and claims that her twenty-seven personalities
helped her cope with painful childhood experiences.
        Are these memories based in truth or not?  It's a fascinating
and complex question that continues to puzzle the experts.
--- PPoint 1.92
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