Sybil's personas not real; Reuters: Tapes Raise New Doubts About 'Sybil' Personalities

A.P.: Sybil's personas not real; Reuters: Tapes Raise New Doubts About 'Sybil' Personalities (broken link removed)

This was in the papers the other day, but I'll include it here for those of you who missed it. An Associated Press news story reports that "A psychologist says tape recordings that lay forgotten in his desk for 25 years show the popular story of Sybil, the woman with 16 personalities, is bogus. In a bestselling 1973 book, later made into a movie, Sybil was portrayed as developing alternate personalities who did things without her knowledge. The account blames the problem on abuse Sybil suffered as a child and says she overcame it with therapy. The newfound tapes suggest these personalities were actually created during therapy through suggestions to a highly pliable young woman, says psychologist Robert Rieber of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York." The first link is to the San Jose Mercury News. The second link is to the Reuters version on the New York Times site.