How would anyone account for what's said in an unverifiable anecdote?
Well, for one thing, I don't know that she really had any unusual gaps in
her consciousness. I have only her testimony about it. Since her story
follows a pattern of therapist-induced false memories and multiple
personalities, her reports of past events may be distorted.
They might also be distorted by her own choosing. After all, the first
event she reports is that she begged off from her husband at a Las Vegas
casino, claiming that she wasn't feeling well and then was discovered by her
husband later on in a casino with an unexplained $2500 in her purse. Hmmm.
Well, you know what they say... "What happens in Las Vegas stays in Las
Vegas". Apparently this may go for inconvenient memories, too.
So suppose she managed to get her husband to buy the story that she was
suffering from some sort of temporary fugue state. Thereafter, whenever she
happened to need a convenient explanation after getting caught doing
something she wasn't supposed to be doing, she could fall back of the old
tried-and-true "lapse of memory" excuse. Maybe she even came to believe it
herself.
That's at least as plausible as her own version of what happened, if not far
more so. Which is more common, a full-blown fugue state or lying to one's
spouse when discovered in embarrassing circumstances?
I memtioned a pattern for therapist-induced memories. Here it is, described
by Dr Elizabeth Loftus in Scientific American:
http://faculty.washington.edu/eloftus/Articles/sciam.htm
And here's what the Royal College of Psychiatrists say in it's
Recommendation for Good Practices:
"Psychiatrists are advised to avoid engaging in any 'memory recovery
techniques' which are based upon the expectation of past sexual abuse of
which the patient has no memory. Such 'memory recovery techniques' may
include drug-mediated interviews, hypnosis, regression therapies, guided
imagery, 'body memories', literal dream interpretation and journaling. There
is no evidence that the use of consciousness-altering techniques, such as
drug-mediated interviews or hypnosis, can reveal or accurately elaborate
factual information about any past experiences including childhood sexual
abuse. Techniques of regression therapy including 'age regression' and
hypnotic regression are of unproven effectiveness.
Forceful or persuasive interviewing techniques are not acceptable in
psychiatric practice. Doctors should be aware that patients are susceptible
to subtle suggestions and reinforcements whether these communications are
intended or unintended."
Sounds to me like Dr. Baer is not following his profession's best practices,
eh?
There are similar guidelines from the American Psychiatric Association and
the American Psychological Association and many others.
The time line of her story fits very well with the late 80's early 90's fad
among psychotherapists for inducing "recovered memories" that prompted a
spate of lawsuits and official statements like the one I quoted above.
The misfortune of this case is that poor Karen never did wise up to the fact
that her psychiatrist did her more harm than good.
