by Hanna M. Jagow

Created on: January 11, 2010   Last Updated: January 12, 2010

Does ritual abuse exist, or is it a notion proposed by movie makers and the mentally ill?  This topic is reluctantly discussed by both those who have experienced it and those who have tried to help them.  There are several reasons for this seeming cloud of "secrecy."  Ritual abusers work very hard to conceal their activities any way they can.

My own experience with this phenomenon is limited to one adult  client whose story was so distressing it resulted in my own vicarious traumatization.  Completing intake documentation was so wrenching that I skipped all other requirements at work  to complete it, as if shutting the cover on this chart could contain evil.  When I explained my absence to my supervisor, she called it "time well spent."

The abuse began in early childhood.  The family, especially the father, presided over rituals rivaling violent movie scenes, requiring his children to witness acts that most of us see only in Hollywood productions.  In order to confuse impressions the children received, they were shown alternating Disney and horror movies on an almost daily basis, three or four at a time.

I can unequivocally attest to the fact that my client was sane, highly intelligent, and not hallucinating.  There was no sign of mental illness or personality disorder, only a courageous person surviving under extremely trying circumstances.  Perhaps many who are not as ably functioning as this person do earn those other labels, and sink through the cracks designed to hide them.  This could be another reason perpetrators feel safe to continue their activity-none of us want to know, or we assume survivors are unbalanced.

One can only surmise that hypnotism of some sort was also used.  It appeared mental suggestions had been planted, continuing throughout life even into adulthood.  When interacting in the community, my client would see the father dressed in some outfit appropriate to the setting.  Or in another car when driving just about anywhere.  Or in a parked car, such as in the grocery parking lot.  In short, this person's brain had been altered so that even though absent, the father's image was constantly present in the world. 

It is no wonder that people who have experienced this kind of terror are quietly unwilling to talk about it.  They carry the same kind of internal hell, commonly called Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, familiar to those who have been in

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