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{{Short description|Nonprofit professional organization in the U.S.}}{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2012}}The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD) is a nonprofit professional organization of health professionals and individuals who are interested in advancing the scientific and societal understandings of trauma-based disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder, complex posttraumatic stress disorder, complex trauma, and the dissociative disorders.WEB, About the ISSTD,weblink January 4, 2018, International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, BOOK, 364, Reyes, G, Elhai JD & Ford JD, 2008, The Encyclopedia of Psychological Trauma, 978-0-470-38615-6, John Wiley & Sons, While serving as a platform for discussion and understanding of these topics, the ISSTD has also attracted attention and criticismWEB, 2019-03-05, Grey Faction's Letter to the American Psychological Association,weblink 2019-08-20, Grey Faction, WEB, False Memory Syndrome Foundation,weblink 2019-08-21, www.fmsfonline.org, regarding its promotion of controversial treatments and conspiracy theories, such as discreditedJOURNAL, Orne, Martin T., February 1972, Can a hypnotized subject be compelled to carry out otherwise unacceptable behavior? a discussion,weblink International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, en, 20, 2, 101–117, 10.1080/00207147208409281, 5060970, 0020-7144, theories of government mind control related to hypnosis and unsubstantiatedWEB, Investigator's Guide to Allegations of "Ritual" Child Abuse {{!, Office of Justice Programs |url=https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/investigators-guide-allegations-ritual-child-abuse |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=www.ojp.gov}}THESIS, Satanic abuse, false memories, weird beliefs and moral panics,weblink City University London, January 2014, doctoral, en, R. T., Waterhouse, BOOK, Nathan, Debbie, Satan's silence: ritual abuse and the making of a modern American witch hunt, Snedeker, Michael R., 1995, Basic Books, 978-0-465-07180-7, 2. [Dr.], New York, NY, claims of satanic ritual abuse.

Profile

In the 1980s, the ISSMP&D, the International Society for the Study of Multiple Personality and Dissociation, grouped clinicians and researchers primarily interested in Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). In 1995 the ISSMP&D was renamed the International Society for the Study of Dissociation (ISSD), and in 2006 the ISSD became the ISSTD, to better describe the society's focus.The ISSTD hosts annual conferences as well as regional conferences. It also offers different webinars, workshops, special interest groups (SIGs), training programs and online communities specific to subtopics related to the field of trauma and dissociation. Editors of the book Dissociation and the dissociative disorders: DSM-V and beyond describe the ISSTD as "the principal professional organization devoted to dissociation".Over the years, the ISSTD has published guidelines for the treatment of dissociative identity disorder in both adults and children{{sfn|Chu|2011|p=207-8}}WEB, ISSTD Treatment Guidelines for Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder,weblink January 21, 2012,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120106133622weblink">weblink January 6, 2012, dead, BOOK, Sandra, Wieland, Dissociation in Traumatized Children and Adolescents: Theory and Clinical Interventions, 2010, Taylor & Francis, 978-0-415-87749-7, xxiii, through its peer-reviewed Journal of Trauma & Dissociation (formerly Dissociation: Progress in the Dissociative Disorders),"MEMBERWIDE"> FIRST1 = J. F., 10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.1.102803.143925, Dissociative Disorders, Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 1, 227–253, 2005, 17716088, {{sfn|Hacking|1998|p=52}} published five times per year.WEB, Journal of Trauma & Dissociation,weblink January 20, 2012, ROSS > FIRST1 = C. A., Errors of Logic and Scholarship Concerning Dissociative Identity Disorder, 10.1080/10538710902743982, Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 18, 2, 221–231, 2009, 19306208, 41312090, These guidelines are often referenced in the field as a basic starting point for psychotherapy with highly dissociative clients,{{sfn|Chu|2011|p=207-8}}BOOK, Petrucelli, J, Knowing, not-knowing and sort-of-knowing: psychoanalysis and the experience of Uncertainty, 2010, Karnac Books Ltd, 978-1-85575-657-1, 83, {{sfn|Chu|2011|p=16-7}}BOOK, Luber, M, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Scripted Protocols Special Populations, 2009, Springer Pub. Co., 978-0-8261-2245-2, 357, BOOK, McWilliams, N, Psychoanalytic diagnosis: Understanding Personality Structure in the Clinical Process, 2011, Guilford Press, New York, 978-1-60918-494-0, 351, 2nd, though they have also elicited concern as potentially harmful due to their noted ability to induce belief in alter personalities and create false memories.JOURNAL, Piper, August, Merskey, Harold, September 2004, The Persistence of Folly: A Critical Examination of Dissociative Identity Disorder. Part I. The Excesses of an Improbable Concept,weblink The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, en, 49, 9, 592–600, 10.1177/070674370404900904, 15503730, 0706-7437, JOURNAL, Piper, August, Merskey, Harold, October 2004, The Persistence of Folly: Critical Examination of Dissociative Identity Disorder. Part II. The Defence and Decline of Multiple Personality or Dissociative Identity Disorder,weblink The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, en, 49, 10, 678–683, 10.1177/070674370404901005, 15560314, 0706-7437, JOURNAL, Lilienfeld, Scott O., March 2007, Psychological Treatments That Cause Harm,weblink Perspectives on Psychological Science, en, 2, 1, 53–70, 10.1111/j.1745-6916.2007.00029.x, 1745-6916, BOOK, Lilienfeld, Scott, Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology, Guilford Press, 2014, 9781462517893, 2nd, 126–130, The ISSMP&D's official journal, Dissociation: Progress in the Dissociative Disorders ceased operation after 39 issues (March 1988-December 1997), though its full-text contents have since been made available online.WEB, Dissociation:Progress in the Dissociative disorders,weblink ISSMP&D, 3 March 2013,

Controversies

Starting in the 1980s, controversies involving the ISSTD and surrounding repressed memory and the possible connections between child abuse, traumatic events, memory and dissociation arose.Some mental health professionals who used hypnosis and other memory recovery techniques now known to contribute to the creation of false memoriesBOOK, Remembering trauma, McNally, Richard J., 2005, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 0674018028, 318399251, found their patients lodging bizarre accusations - including of satanic ritual abuse,WEB,weblink Dangerous Therapy: The Story of Patricia Burgus and Multiple Personality Disorder, Hanson, Cynthia, Chicago magazine, en, 2019-08-21, sacrificial murder,BOOK, Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend, Victor, Jeffrey, Open Court Publishing Company, 1993, 978-0812691924, Chicago, Illinois, 52–53,weblink and cannibalismNEWS,weblink The people who believe that Satanists might eat your baby, Thompson, Damian, Daily Telegraph, 2002-03-22, 2019-08-21, en-GB, 0307-1235, - against their parents, family members and prominent community members. This era is now considered a moral panic, colloquially referred to as the "Satanic Panic."

Fringe beliefs and conference topics

The ISSTD has promoted multiple different discredited conspiracy theories including satanic ritual abuse and government mind control programming.From 1984 to 1987, conferences included fringe topics such as cult-created alter personalities,Braun, B. G. (Ed.) (1984). Proceedings of the First International Conference on Multiple Personality/Dissociative States. Department of Psychiatry, Rush University. Chicago, Illinois. an alleged case of stigmata in an MPD patient, and discussions of alleged occult practices.Braun, B. G. (Ed.) (1986). Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Multiple Personality/Dissociative States. Department of Psychiatry, Rush University. Chicago, Illinois.In 1988, one of the ISSMP&D founders Bennett Braun presented a workshop in Chicago at an ISSMP&D conference linking the diagnosis of multiple personality disorder (now dissociative identity disorder) to abuse at the hands of devil-worshiping cults. Claims have been made that his presentation included notions of widespread Satanic cults, internally organized with a structure similar to communist cells, with local regional, distinct, national and international councils. These claims also included details that the cults were transgenerational family traditions that had been conducted in secret for at least 2000 years.WEB, Noll, Richard, December 6, 2013, When Psychiatry Battled The Devil,weblink January 2, 2021, Braun has challenged these claims, alleging that they rely on remarks which misrepresent his actual statements made at the conference.JOURNAL, Braun, Bennet, 2014, Speak, Memory,weblink Psychiatric Times, 3 October 2022, Another presentation at the 1988 conference aimed to verify alleged historical accounts of Satanic cults engaging in cannibalism and human sacrifice.Hill, S., & Goodwin, J. (1989). Satanism: Similarities between patient accounts and pre-Inquisition historical sources. Dissociation: Progress in the Dissociative Disorders, 2(1), 39-44.In 1989, ISSMP&D's annual conference included presentations on Manchurian candidates, a discredited conspiracy concerning alleged trained assassins trained to perform via hypnotic cue, multiple personality in toddlers, and performing exorcisms.Braun, B. G. (Ed.) (1989). Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Multiple Personality/Dissociative States. Department of Psychiatry, Rush University. Chicago, Illinois.From 1993 onward,International Society for the Study of Dissociation. (1994). 1994 Annual Conference Guide. conferences featured topicsWEB, ISSD's 16th International Fall Conference – Audiotape Ordering Form,weblink usurped,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20010814032225weblink">weblink 14 August 2001, International Society for the Study of Dissociation, WEB, Program Details - Monday,weblink usurped,weblink 12 August 2002, issd.org, concerned with increasing forensic and legal scrutiny into the field's practice concerning the creation of false memories and use of clinical hypnosis. Despite growing skepticism and a lengthy investigative report published by the FBI in 1992 refuting claims of widespread, organized Satanic cults, presentations on fringe topics such as satanic ritual abuse continued into the late 2000s including topics such as demonic alter personalities.International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. (n.d.). "ISSTD 27th Annual Conference – Final Program." isst-d.org. Original unavailable. Archived weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20101124053945weblink">here. Conference presentations included science denial in the form of a presentation addressing false memory as a "myth".WEB, ISSTD 29th Annual International Conference,weblink usurped,weblink 30 July 2012, 2024-03-16, issd.org, In 2008, the ISSTD developed a special interest group, the Ritual Abuse and Mind Control Special Interest Group (RAMCOA SIG).International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. (n.d.). "ISSTD Special Interest Groups–Ritual Abuse Mind Control Organized Abuse." isst-d.org. Original unavailable. Archived weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20181021233745weblink">here. The group would become the largest and most active special interest group of the ISSTD.International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. (n.d.). "RAMCOA SIG." isst-d.org. Original unavailable. Archived weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20190506225605weblink">here. ISSTD cofounder, Richard Kluft, wrote in 2014, "Satanic elements remain problematic realities in many situations. I remain troubled about the matter of transgenerational satanic cults."WEB, 2014-03-19, Speak, Memory,weblink Psychiatric Times, Approaching the 2020s, presentations continued to include conspiratorial topics, such as "key dates" and "occult holidays" (including Halloween and Christmas) purported to inspire ritual abuse perpetrated by Satanic cults. 2023 president Michael Salter delivered a presentationSachs, A. & Salter, M. (2019, March 29). Organized Abuse: Criminology, Traumatic Impact, and Implications for Treatment [Conference Presentation]. ISSTD Annual Conference. New York City, NY, United States. that included the promotion of the debunked conspiracy theory that there were tunnels found under McMartin Preschool, in reference to the McMartin preschool trial.

Misconduct by founders and presidents

In 1994, past ISSTD president George Greaves' license was revoked by the state of Georgia for engaging in sexual intercourse with patients, sexual contact with his patients while they were under hypnosis, and numerous other ethical violations.WEB, Verification,weblink 2021-10-14, verify.sos.ga.gov, In 1995, ISSTD's founder and former president, Bennett Braun, was sued by a former patient who claimed that Braun had falsely convinced her that she'd engaged in Satanic rituals, cannibalism, and infanticide. The patient received a $10.6 million settlement. Braun's medical license was temporarily suspended by Illinois state officials in 1999NEWS, Laycock, Joseph, Satanic Temple Protests Pseudoscientific Therapies for Satanic Abuse and Witchcraft,weblink 6 April 2016, Religion Dispatches, and he was expelled from the American Psychiatric Association in March 2000.JOURNAL, 2001-01-01, Lawsuit Raises Questions About APA Liability Insurance Program,weblink Psychiatric Times, Psychiatric Times Vol 18 No 1, en, 18, In 2004, another former patient of Braun's, Elizabeth Gale, filed a lawsuit against Braun and Roberta Sachs, another ISSTD founder, alleging that they and their colleagues convinced Gale "that her family indoctrinated her as a child so she would make babies for sacrifice in a satanic cult." The settlement in the malpractice suit amounted to $7.5 million.WEB,weblink Psychiatric patient tells of ordeal in treatment, Dardick, Hal, February 13, 2004, chicagotribune.com, en-US, 2019-08-20, Former ISSTD president Colin Ross has also been accused by former patients of implanting false memories, including of satanic ritual abuse. Roma Hart accused Ross of convincing her, among other things, that she was forcibly impregnated by aliens and later gave birth to a half-alien, half-human hybrid.WEB,weblink Dr. Colin A. Ross: Psychiatry, the Supernatural, and Malpractice Most Foul, Mesner, Douglas, 2010-02-08, Process, 2019-08-20, BOOK,weblink Evidence Against Dr. Colin A. Ross, vol. 1, George Bergen, Another former patient, Martha Ann Tyo, sued Ross and others in 1998, alleging that the defendants' methods led her to believe her family was part of an "extended, transgenerational satanic cult."WEB,weblink Martha Ann Tyo vs Ross - memory.abuse, sites.google.com, 2019-08-21, dead,weblink 2016-12-07, In January 2021, former ISSTD president and cofounder Bennett Braun's license was revokedState of Montana Board of Medical Examiners (January 22, 2021). Final Order in the Matter of Bennett Braun weblink an additional time by the state of Montana in addition to the previous revocation from the state of Illinois. The decision of the state of Montana to license Braun elicited legal actionWEB, Dunlap, Susan, 2019-05-29, Butte woman allegedly harmed by Butte psychiatrist wins legal step against state,weblink 2024-03-09, Montana Standard, en, and criticism.WEB, Anez, Bob, 2003-10-15, Psychiatrist gets Montana medical license,weblink 2024-03-09, The Missoulian, en, In April 2023, the ISSTD issued a statement addressing the removal of a member of the Board of Directors.WEB, 2023-10-12, A Statement From the ISSTD Board Addressing a Recent Board Change and Claims on Social Media – ISSTD News,weblink 2024-03-01,weblink October 12, 2023, The statement alleged a "serious and undeclared conflict of interest" which presented a "direct risk". The statement referenced social media posts authored by the removed Board member and addresses them as allegedly false. In response, claims made on social media by the member accuse the ISSTD of alleged bullying, ostracization within the organization, and making accusations of an alleged "psyop" run by the removed member of the Board.WEB, Faction, Grey, 2023-11-27, The ISSTD's Death Spiral: Paranoia and Disarray Under 2023 President Michael Salter,weblink 2024-03-01, Grey Faction, en-US,

Organizational and structural issues

In 1990, the ISSTD annual conference featured a panel on the topic of skepticism of satanic ritual abuse. Panelists who presented skeptical viewpoints claimed that they were accused of being secret Satanists by ISSTD members. One panelist, a founding ISSTD member alleged there was a "shouting match" and that he was physically intimidated.Middleton, Warwick. (23 May 2019). "An Interview with Frank Putnam, Part II." ISSTD News. Retrieved on 2023-01-22. Around 1992, a task force was set up within the organization to "negotiate peace between cult-believers and cult-skeptics". However, despite the formation of this task force, scheduled meetings aimed at fostering peace talks failed to materialize.{{sfn|Hacking|1998|p=117}}After years of controversy, between 1993 and 1998, the ISSTD entered what 1999 president Peter Barach called a "crisis". Between 1993 and 1998 approximately half of the membership population ceased affiliation with the organization. In 1998, the society's journal, Dissociation, ceased publication. By 1999 staff were laid off.BOOK, Acocella, Joan Ross.,weblink Creating hysteria : women and multiple personality disorder, 1999, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 0-7879-4794-6, 1st, San Francisco, 7, 41256113, In October 2020, the ISSTD Board of Directors issued a letter to membership informing them that the special interest group formerly known as RAMCOA SIG (Ritual Abuse, Mind Control and Organized Abuse Special Interest Group) had been renamed due to "stricter rules for the provision of Continuing Education (CE) and Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits", largely due to growing concerns about the organization's presentations which included sensationalized and controversial statements regarding "mind control." The new name for this group is "Organized and Extreme Abuse SIG".WEB, December 14, 2020, Turmoil after mental health organization rebrands conspiracist group to preserve accreditation,weblink January 6, 2021, In December 2020, internal documents and forum posts from the ISSTD were posted online by The Satanic Temple (TST) which has publicly criticized the organization. TST spokesperson and cofounder Lucien Greaves commented on TST's motivations behind the release, stating the ISSTD represented a "clear and present threat to mental health consumers".

History

In 1982, the steering committee for the founding of the ISSTD, at time of founding called the International Society for the Study of Multiple Personality (ISSMP), was organized by George Greaves.Kluft, Richard. (n.d.) "The Founding of the ISSD." Original unavailable. Archived. The organization gained traction from Myron Boor, Bennett Braun, David Caul, Jane Dubrow, George Greaves, Richard Kluft, Frank Putnam and Roberta Sachs, a group of physicians and psychologists present at the 1983 American Psychiatric Association conference.In 1984, the ISSMP's first annual conference was held. Conferences were originally co-sponsored by The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis. Conferences were originally co-sponsored by The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis. The US-based ISSTD was officially formed in 1984 under the name of the International Society for the Study of Multiple Personality and Dissociation but changed to the International Society for the Study of Dissociation in 1994 and then to its current name in November 2006.BOOK, xiii, Dell PF, O'Neil JA, 2009, Dissociation and the dissociative disorders: DSM-V and beyond, 978-0-415-95785-4, Taylor & Francis, BOOK, Blaney, PH, Millon T, 2008, Oxford Textbook of Psychopathology, 978-0-19-537421-6, 456, Oxford University Press, {{sfn|Chu|2011|p=14}}

Presidents

George B. Greaves (1983–1984)Bennett Braun (1984–1985)Richard Kluft (1985–1986)George B. Greaves (1986–1987)David Caul (1987–1988)Philip Coons (1988–1989)Walter C. Young (1989–1990)Catherine Fine (1990–1991)Richard Loewenstein (1991–1992)Moshe S. Torem (1992–1993)Colin A. Ross (1993–1994)Nancy L. Hornstein (1994–1995)Elizabeth S. Bowman (1995–1996)James A. Chu (1996–1997)Marlene E. Hunter (1997–1998)Peter M. Barach (1998–1999)John Curtis (1999–2000)Joy Silberg (2000–2001)Steven Frankel (2001–2002)Richard A. Chefetz (2002–2003)Steven Gold (2003–2004)Frances S. Waters (2004–2005)Eli Somer (2005–2006)Catherine Classen (2006–2007)Vedat Şar (2007–2008)Kathy Steele (2008–2009)Paul F. Dell (2010–2011)Thomas G. Carlton (2011–2012)Joan Turkus (2012–2013)Philip J. Kinsler (2013–2014) Lynette S. Danylchuk (2015) Warwick Middleton (2016) Martin Dorahy (2017)Kevin Connors (2018)Christine Forner (2019)Christa Krüger (2020)Rosita Cortizo (2021)Lisa Danylchuk (2022)Michael Salter (2023)Peter Maves (2024)

See also

• Moral panic
• Recovered memory therapy
• APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Methods of Persuasion and Control
• Dissociative disorders

References

Citations

{{Reflist|30em}}

Sources

• BOOK, Chu, James A.,weblink 2011, Rebuilding Shattered Lives, 978-0-470-76874-7, John Wiley & Sons,
• BOOK, Hacking, Ian, Ian Hacking, Rewriting the Soul: Multiple Personality and the Sciences of Memory, Rewriting the Soul: Multiple Personality and the Sciences of Memory, Princeton University Press, 1998, 0-691-05908-X,

External links

• {{Official websiteweblink}}
• Dissociation: Progress in the Dissociative Disorders archive at Scholars' Bank, University of Oregon
• The Bennett Braun Story

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