'Incest Craze' of the 1990's caused by culturally biased therapists

national | miscellaneous | news report Monday April 15, 2002 06:20 by Pamela Freyd, Ph. D. - The False Memory Syndrome Foundation Mail at FMSFOnline dot org 1955 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 19103-5766 1-800 568-8882

The "Incest Craze" in family therapy in the 1990's may have been caused by therapists who were projecting their cultural/religious biases onto their clients, thus affecting the viability of their treatment paradigms

Everyone involved in family therapy or who had ever watched or listened to the highly popular syndicated show, "Love Line" remembers the "Sexual Abuse" craze that ran through theraputic circles in the 1990's. At that time and under those conditions anyone who expressed any kind of alternative sexuality, including homosexuality, was assumed to have been abused by a family member as a child. On the "Love Line" show in particular it became a sort of joke, with Adam Corolla proclaiming "Who Molested Ya?" every time he encountered a female who preferred multiple partner sex over monogamus relationships.

We now know that this is not true. The work that our foundation continues to do soundly debunks the idea that so many people were molested as children. While it certainly happens from time to time, the true number of these cases is actually quite small. What seems to have happened is that every time a therapist with a cultural bias against alternative sexuality ran into a patient, especially a female patient, who expressed themselves sexually in an open manner, there was a tendency for them to use questionable methods to "bring out" abuse memories in order to "explain" their sexual preference. This reminds me uncomfortably of the days when homosexuality was labelled a disease, and the medical model was applied to its treatment in hopes of bringing about a "cure". In point of fact, almost none of these people had actually been abused at all, except by therapists who perhaps did not understand that their own biased perceptions were affecting their treatment paradigm.

While no one at the False Memory Syndrome Foundation advocates unsafe sex, we also feel that the way in which an individual expresses their sexuality is nobodys buisness except their own as long as no one is being harmed. Multiple partner sex, sometimes known as polyamoury, when combined with awareness of and precaution against sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy can be a very fulfilling lifestyle for those who choose to practice it.

To see more of our work, please visit our website at FMSFOnline.org or feel free to call us at (215) 940-1040 or our toll-free 800 number 1-800 568-8882 Our fax number is (215) 940-1042 and our address is 1955 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA. 19103-5766
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Pamela Freyd, Ph.D. Executive Director, False Memory Syndrome Foundation