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.
[2] Some mental health professionals who used hypnosis and other memory recovery techniques now known to contribute to the creation of false memories[28] found their patients lodging bizarre accusations - including of satanic ritual abuse,[29] sacrificial murder,[30] and cannibalism[31] - against their parents, family members and prominent community members.
[6] The ISSTD has promoted[6] multiple different discredited conspiracy theories including satanic ritual abuse and government mind control programming.
[35] Another presentation at the 1988 conference aimed to verify alleged historical accounts of Satanic cults engaging in cannibalism and human sacrifice.
[44] In the same year, Michael Salter, who later became chair of the RAMCOA SIG in 2018,[45] presented a conference paper in which he inaccurately asserted that there were tunnels discovered beneath McMartin Preschool, a claim that echoed debunked allegations from the 1980s.
Braun's medical license was temporarily suspended by Illinois state officials in 1999[50] and he was expelled from the American Psychiatric Association in March 2000.
[52] 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.
[53][54] 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.
The statement referenced social media posts authored by the removed Board member and addresses them as allegedly false.
[3] 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."
[64] 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.
[2][11][65][66] 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)