SYBIL

SYBIL

Will two new releases of SYBIL include the documented information that completely changes the story? SYBIL is a movie (based on the 1973 book with the same name) about an early, alleged case of "multiple-personality disorder" (MPD). It has since been exposed as the product of undue suggestion by her therapist, Dr. Cornelia Wilbur.

Pre-release articles represent SYBIL as a "true story." CBS announced that it would broadcast a remake of SYBIL in the spring of 2006. A 30th anniversary DVD of the original movie will be released in July 2006.

SYBIL played a substantial role in this cultural and psychiatric tsunami, later known as the "false" or "recovered" memory debate. SYBIL was the first major book/movie to tie "MPD" to child abuse. Before Sybil was published, there were fewer than 50 reported cases of MPD worldwide. By 1994, over 40,000 cases had been reported. In spite of professional skepticism about the diagnosis, there is a danger of unleashing another tsunami unless the truth is told.

What did cause "Sybil's" "MPD"? Evidence from four trustworthy sources led to an answer: "Sybil's" "memories" of an abusive childhood were the result of unduly suggestive techniques employed by her therapist during a span of eleven years (2,354 sessions). Follow the links below to learn more.

Letter to CBS. January 30, 2006. FMS Foundation.

Rieber, R.W. (1999). (No longer available online) Hypnosis, false memory and multiple personality: A trinity of affinity. History of Psychiatry, 3-11. This article includes quotes from discussions between SYBIL author Flora Schreiber and psychiatrist, Dr. Cornelia Wilbur.

Spiegel, Herbert, and Mikkel Borch-Jacobsen. (1997, April 24) Sybil - The Making of a Disease: An Interview with Dr. Herbert Spiegel, New York Review of Books, 44 (7) Dr. Spiegel also treated "Sybil" but he did not find "multiple personality disorder".

Multiple Personality (DID): A controversial diagnosis. FMS Foundation website.

Piper, A., Merskey, H. (2004, November). The persistence of folly (1): A critical examination of dissociative identity disorder. Part 1. The excesses of an improbable concept. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 49(9). 592-600.

Piper, A., Merskey, H. (2004, October). The persistence of folly (2): A critical examination of dissociative identity disorder. Part 2. The defence and decline of multiple personality or dissociative identity disorder. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 49(10). 678-683.