O  A  R  M  H  P

August 2002

        Dave Hunter from Illinois is a going concern. He is like a steam roller, plowing ahead through muck and mire trying to stop this horrible therapy called Recovered Memory Therapy-RMT. He is either planning a workshop, writing his newsletter, - IMPACT-, making brochures, or trying to get legislation passed to help stop RMT, to name of few of his many activities. I have sent copies of his newsletter from time to time. Many of you subscribe to it already. If you do not receive it, and would like to, you may call or e-mail Dave. This month I am sending you a copy of his May 02 ((IMPACT)) He has written a book review of Laura Davis's new book I THOUGHT WE'D NEVER SPEAK AGAIN. You will remember Ms Davis as being the co-author of that hated book, COURAGE TO HEAL. Dave's comment are very interesting.            ~Carole

I live at 2511 Bedford Drive, Champaign, IL 61820 and can be reached at 888-663-2191 toll free, or D9it@aol.com by email, and will share with you anything which I have, including my home when you are in Champaign.-David P. Hunter

Theophostic Counseling

Theophostic Counseling (TPM; a.k.a. TheoPhostic Counseling, Theophostic Ministry) shares most of its fundamental beliefs with recovered memory therapy (RMT). Its promoters believe that:

· Memories of traumatic events, particularly those of childhood sexual abuse, are often repressed at the time of the incident.

· These memories are accurately stored in a part of the brain that is not readily accessible by the adult's conscious brain.

· Repressed memories of childhood abuse cause emotional problems in adults.

· Repressed memories can be accurately recovered via therapy or counseling.

· Recovered memories are accurate recollections of real events.

TPM thus can thus be reasonably considered to be a form of RMT.

However, TPM includes some concepts that are not part of traditional RMT. TPM promoters believe that:

· Associated with each of these traumatic memories is a false belief -- a lie. It is the lie, more than the abuse memories themselves, that causes distress in adulthood.

· Satan, or one of his demons, continually tries to exploit these lies by causing the individual adult to engage in sinful behaviors, causing feelings of guilt.

· During a TPM counseling session, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit can enter the mind of a born-again Christian and cause the lies to be over-written and corrected -- much like a virus is removed from an computer disk.

· It is possible that a demon has actually entered the client's mind, masquerading as Jesus or the Holy Spirit. The therapist must verify the identity of the indwelling spirit before proceeding.

· Once the lies in the person's early memory have been corrected, the linkage to today's emotional problems and sinful practices is broken. Satan can not tempt a person to sin as easily as he could before the TPM sessions. The person is healed.

During the pre-scientific eras, sinful behavior, mental illness and physical illness was often attributed to indwelling evil spirits (a.k.a. diabolical spirits, demons, unclean spirits, devils, etc). These beliefs were universally held in Palestine during the 1^st and 2^nd centuries CE when the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) were written. Conservative Protestants believe that the entire Bible is the Word of God and inerrant -- without error. Thus, they accept that the biblical accounts about spirit possession as literally true. They believe that individuals can be also possessed in the present day. They believe that an ever-present Satan, his demons, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit can enter a person's mind and effect changes in the individual's thinking, for evil or for good.

TPM supporters and secular therapists are poles apart on mental health issues. Demonic possession, Satanic seduction, hearing the voice of Jesus, and seeing his image during therapy are normal parts of TPM therapy. The mainline mental health movement abandoned the possibility of spirit possession many generations ago.

This web site's policy on counseling methods:

It is not normally the policy of this web site to recommend for or against a specific counseling method. However, we make an exception for  therapies which have been shown to be experimental, unproven, and dangerous to clients. One such counseling method Recovered Memory Therapy (RMT). RMT has had a very low cure rate, a history of creating false memories, and a horrendous record of destroying the mental health of tens of thousands of clients and their families of origin. We feel that it would be irresponsible for us if we did not recommend that everyone avoid RMT at all costs.  Since RMT forms an integral part of Theophostic Counseling, we also recommend that everyone steer clear of TPM as well -- at least until its safety has been established.

Potential dangers of TPM:

To our knowledge, no independent study of the efficiency and safety of TPM has yet been conducted. No review of TPM has appeared in any peer-reviewed journal. We urge extreme caution.

Over the past two decades, many psychologists, psychiatrists, other therapists and counselors have developed new forms of therapy that were not grounded on a solid theoretical foundation. These therapies typically grew rapidly in popularity, reached a plateau of acceptance, and then went into decline. The cycle typically takes 15 to 20 years. Past examples of these psychological fads have include Recovered Memory Therapy, Multiple Personality Disorder, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Reparative Therapy (to attempt to change the client's sexual orientation), Satanic Ritual Abuse, implanting memories of abuse in young children’s minds, and UFO abuse oriented therapy. The current therapy-du-jour appears to be Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

The public has no protection against these potentially dangerous and ineffective therapies.

· The FDA in the U.S. carefully monitors new medications for safety, effectiveness, and side effects. But there is no comparable government agency which prevents the widespread use of experimental therapies until after their safety and efficiency have been established.

· Professional mental health associations have acted irresponsibly and have largely failed to regulate the activities of their own members.

We urge the reader avoid becoming involved in experimental therapies such as TPM. During the 1980s and 1990s, RMT seriously harmed many tens of thousands of its victims, drove some to suicide, and disrupted tens of thousands of families of origin. We suspect that TPM has the same potential, if it becomes widely used.