I’m exhausted after a long day, and about to try for some sleep. And I really can’t write more at the moment about the the bigger context this came up in connection to.

I’m sticking this behind a cut, because it might be disturbing for people who have had similarly bad experiences.

But, a few things occurred to me about the ‘80s-’90s repressed memory therapy fad specifically. Some of it might also be relevant to other psych things which can turn abusive. Especially involving kids and other people with very little power, credibility, or rights are involved. (My personal experience there, yeah.)

I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it in these terms before, but the big thing that occurred to me tonight? Too much of this looks like exorcism just barely disguised in secular progressive pseudoscientific clothing–but enough for insurance to pay for it.

Any resistance? It’s probably not even coming from the victim at all. Even if it were? Don’t listen to them. Their memories, thoughts, feelings, and perceptions can’t be trusted under the influence of demons. They can’t be trusted to know what their own best interest is, much less act toward that. Intervention is crucial, and ASAP, before their soul is further corrupted or even totally lost to Darkness. Even if they can’t see right now that it’s for their own good, you’re really doing them a favor.

Any signs of increasing distress from your chosen intervention? Likely a good sign that the demons are putting up a struggle. Better keep pressing harder, to weaken them. Again, any protests are not the victim talking, and are best ignored for their own good even if they were.

The situation will look worse before it gets better, but we must all have faith that these demons will be overcome by righteous power. If something happens to the afflicted person? Not enough faith, and/or they weren’t strong and dedicated enough to the fight. It probably would have happened sooner without your help.

I was going to say more, including about dire predictions and getting people who care afraid not to go along or even express many doubts, no matter what happens. But, I’ve pretty much run out of steam for now. Don’t know how good a job I even did of wrapping words around this comparison, but hopefully you get the drift.

Too many people are primed to think in these kinds of terms, without necessarily seeing the ideological connections there. (Very much like the whole Grand Battle Against $DISEASE narrative, yes.)

And it frequently takes disturbingly little to justify denying people’s agency if it can be cast as For Their Own Good, and/or that they’re being influenced by hostile forces.

Most of the ones perpetuating this stuff really do think they’re doing the Right Thing, out of the best motives to help. That doesn’t make it right. It does make it more disturbing and dangerous, in some ways. (And we’re right back around to the self-image of “goodness” malarkey, as it can relate to abuse on a more systemic level…)

I also keep coming back to the fact that if you promote just plain exorcism as a treatment for autism–as one too-relevant example–that (very rightly) will not go over so well outside of some fringes. Most people would likely agree that you should be held accountable for harming children with that wacky blatantly abusive bullshit. And that the parents subjecting their kids to this share some culpability there.

Slap a more socially acceptable (pseudo)scientific mask on the same basic ideas, though, and suddenly it looks less scary to pretty much everyone but the people subjected to that treatment. Very possibly covered by insurance, as I said before.

(Personally, my parents losing their jobs with “good” insurance was what got the worst of the psych abuse stopped. Sucked for dealing with actual medical problems, but I still have to think it was worth it. What prompted that approach? Mostly badly misinterpreted autistic stuff, plus some actual overlaid PTSD from causes that went totally unaddressed. They were essentially trying to fix autism through exorcising the Imaginary Abuse Demons, while directly layering on more trauma and encouraging more emotional abuse at home. As the short version.)

That particular therapeutic garbage may have thankfully gone mostly out of fashion. But, there is still some equally terrible stuff with wide social acceptance.