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Satanic Ritual Abuse: Principles of Treatment
In recent years the subject of satanic ritual abuse (SRA) has incited widespread controversy focused primarily on whether or not such abuse actually occurs. Much like child sexual abuse, SRA was initially dismissed as an isolated or even imaginary phenomenon. Although there is increasing evidence that ritual abuse does take place, clinicians working with individual patients cannot be sure whether they are dealing with fact or fantasy. Dr Colin Ross, an expert in the treatment of dissociative disorders, has encountered more than three hundred patients with memories of alleged satanic ritual abuse. In this book, he provides a well-documented discussion of the psychological, social, and historical aspects of SRA and presents principles and techniques for its clinical treatment.
Although Dr Ross has found no evidence of a widespread Satanic network he is open to the possibility that a certain percentage of his patients' memories may be entirely or partially historically accurate. In treatment, he recommends that the therapist adopt an attitude hovering between disbelief and credulous entrapment.
Dr Ross has encountered memories of SRA primarily among people who suffer from multiple personality disorders, and the principles of treatment he outlines here focus on such individuals. Treatment is described in terms of both general principles and specific techniques, with case examples. Ross's recommendation that the same interventions be used regardless of the percentage of memories that are historically accurate bridges the gap between those who adopt a `believer' stance and those who take a false-memory stance.
This is the most detailed and comprehensive account of SRA from a clinical perspective available to date. As reports of SRA continue to escalate, it will be a valuable resource for all practicing therapists and psychiatrists.
Although Dr Ross has found no evidence of a widespread Satanic network he is open to the possibility that a certain percentage of his patients' memories may be entirely or partially historically accurate. In treatment, he recommends that the therapist adopt an attitude hovering between disbelief and credulous entrapment.
Dr Ross has encountered memories of SRA primarily among people who suffer from multiple personality disorders, and the principles of treatment he outlines here focus on such individuals. Treatment is described in terms of both general principles and specific techniques, with case examples. Ross's recommendation that the same interventions be used regardless of the percentage of memories that are historically accurate bridges the gap between those who adopt a `believer' stance and those who take a false-memory stance.
This is the most detailed and comprehensive account of SRA from a clinical perspective available to date. As reports of SRA continue to escalate, it will be a valuable resource for all practicing therapists and psychiatrists.
228 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 20, 2021
What in the actual Eff is going on here? If I pick up a book entitled, "Satanic Ritual Abuse; Principles of Treatment" I expect the author holds some degree of acceptance, allowance, and basic belief in his patients. Not Colin A. Ross. He seems confident suggesting we all discredit and disavow SRA survivors, if they can't prove it. Yet he's worked with enough survivors to write a book about it. Who writes a book on a topic while admitting the whole way through his sources are liars? What does that make his book?
I quote from Colin A. Ross:
"It is my opinion that many of the Satanic ritual abuse memories described by patients I treat are confabulated and comprise things that never actually happened. I assume, for the sake of discussion, that 1o per cent of the content of such memories could be historically accurate and based on distorted recall of childhood participation in small Christian cults; small, isolated groups of Satanists; deviant elements of the Ku Klux Klan; pornography; or other forms of abuse that a child could misinterpret as Satanic."
"...while there is no evidence of a widespread secret network of Satanic ritual abuse, it is possible that a certain percentage of Satanic ritual abuse memories are historically accurate or contain accurate elements."
"As I said earlier, at least 10 per cent of the reported memories could be real..."
"These cults, if they exist...."
"Other media sources provide hints but no proof that actual Satanic ritual abuse may be occurring in the Western world today."
He goes on to recommend letting down some disbelief barriers as to better give treatment to the patient. After all, there is historic documentation of rituals and atrocities in the human history spectrum. But since we can't prove they exist in present day, just pacify the clients so you can treat them. They're not smart enough to sense you believe they're lying.
The author is hellbent on needing evidence and documentation. In the intro, he slants book writing as inferior to journal articles, which allows him to ignore all of the SRA memoirs out there, I wonder?
If his patient pours out a heartful of hurt about marriage infidelity, as you would expect in therapy, does he not believe anything the patient is saying without evidence? Does he say to his 10:00 AM appointment, "I'm sorry, middle aged man, do you have documented proof your marriage is on the rocks? No? Well, I can't trust anything you tell me with out evidence." What kind of psychiatry is this?
Elizabeth F. Loftus, who wrote the afterword for this book, is on the False Memory Syndrome Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board. Her research methods and credibility have been questioned by other experts.
This book and this author make me sick to my stomach. Let's practice effective mental health services by disregarding what our patients tell us about their memories of Satanic ritual abuse because we don't have proof.
I know I'm being emotional and harsh in this review. Maybe I'll come back later and make it gentler. In the meantime, I'm tired of victims being re-victimized by those in the position and authority to do better. There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of survivors telling their stories. They're not all lying, Colin.
Dorothy Parker has been credited with saying, "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force."
I am confidently applying that quote to Ross' rubbish.
I quote from Colin A. Ross:
"It is my opinion that many of the Satanic ritual abuse memories described by patients I treat are confabulated and comprise things that never actually happened. I assume, for the sake of discussion, that 1o per cent of the content of such memories could be historically accurate and based on distorted recall of childhood participation in small Christian cults; small, isolated groups of Satanists; deviant elements of the Ku Klux Klan; pornography; or other forms of abuse that a child could misinterpret as Satanic."
"...while there is no evidence of a widespread secret network of Satanic ritual abuse, it is possible that a certain percentage of Satanic ritual abuse memories are historically accurate or contain accurate elements."
"As I said earlier, at least 10 per cent of the reported memories could be real..."
"These cults, if they exist...."
"Other media sources provide hints but no proof that actual Satanic ritual abuse may be occurring in the Western world today."
He goes on to recommend letting down some disbelief barriers as to better give treatment to the patient. After all, there is historic documentation of rituals and atrocities in the human history spectrum. But since we can't prove they exist in present day, just pacify the clients so you can treat them. They're not smart enough to sense you believe they're lying.
The author is hellbent on needing evidence and documentation. In the intro, he slants book writing as inferior to journal articles, which allows him to ignore all of the SRA memoirs out there, I wonder?
If his patient pours out a heartful of hurt about marriage infidelity, as you would expect in therapy, does he not believe anything the patient is saying without evidence? Does he say to his 10:00 AM appointment, "I'm sorry, middle aged man, do you have documented proof your marriage is on the rocks? No? Well, I can't trust anything you tell me with out evidence." What kind of psychiatry is this?
Elizabeth F. Loftus, who wrote the afterword for this book, is on the False Memory Syndrome Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board. Her research methods and credibility have been questioned by other experts.
This book and this author make me sick to my stomach. Let's practice effective mental health services by disregarding what our patients tell us about their memories of Satanic ritual abuse because we don't have proof.
I know I'm being emotional and harsh in this review. Maybe I'll come back later and make it gentler. In the meantime, I'm tired of victims being re-victimized by those in the position and authority to do better. There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of survivors telling their stories. They're not all lying, Colin.
Dorothy Parker has been credited with saying, "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force."
I am confidently applying that quote to Ross' rubbish.
August 11, 2025
This writer’s constant reiteration of how there could only be a 10 percent truth to any of his victim statements gives me the creepers. I can barely read on before being told in the next sentence how satanic cults and SRA is a figment of anyone’s imagination because there is no actual evidence of anything documented. 10 percent!!! That’s like making a molehill out of a mountain. He also says that in real documented cases the reality of children missing and murdered yearly in the US is between 52 and 156. Will anyone believe that ???
While I’m invested to go reading on, I’m also realizing that if there was ever a bigger gaslighter than this writer, and /or if he was sent as a fact checker from these cults to disassociate everything as a conspiracy and an exaggeration of facts.
While I’m invested to go reading on, I’m also realizing that if there was ever a bigger gaslighter than this writer, and /or if he was sent as a fact checker from these cults to disassociate everything as a conspiracy and an exaggeration of facts.
September 14, 2022
What in the actual Eff is going on here? If I pick up a book entitled, "Satanic Ritual Abuse; Principles of Treatment" I expect the author holds some degree of acceptance, allowance, and basic belief in his patients. Not Colin A. Ross. He seems confident suggesting we all discredit and disavow SRA survivors, if they can't prove it. Yet he's worked with enough survivors to write a book about it. Who writes a book on a topic while admitting the whole way through his sources are liars? What does that make his book?
I quote from Colin A. Ross:
"It is my opinion that many of the Satanic ritual abuse memories described by patients I treat are confabulated and comprise things that never actually happened. I assume, for the sake of discussion, that 1o per cent of the content of such memories could be historically accurate and based on distorted recall of childhood participation in small Christian cults; small, isolated groups of Satanists; deviant elements of the Ku Klux Klan; pornography; or other forms of abuse that a child could misinterpret as Satanic."
"...while there is no evidence of a widespread secret network of Satanic ritual abuse, it is possible that a certain percentage of Satanic ritual abuse memories are historically accurate or contain accurate elements."
"As I said earlier, at least 10 per cent of the reported memories could be real..."
"These cults, if they exist...."
"Other media sources provide hints but no proof that actual Satanic ritual abuse may be occurring in the Western world today."
He goes on to recommend letting down some disbelief barriers as to better give treatment to the patient. After all, there is historic documentation of rituals and atrocities in the human history spectrum. But since we can't prove they exist in present day, just pacify the clients so you can treat them. They're not smart enough to sense you believe they're lying.
The author is hellbent on needing evidence and documentation. In the intro, he slants book writing as inferior to journal articles, which allows him to ignore all of the SRA memoirs out there, I wonder? Does he say to his 10:00 AM appointment, "I'm sorry, middle aged man, do you have documented proof your marriage is on the rocks? No? Well, I can't trust anything you tell me with out evidence." What kind of psychiatry is this?
Elizabeth F. Loftus, who wrote the afterword for this book, is on the False Memory Syndrome Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board. Her research methods and credibility have been questioned by other experts.
This book and this author make me sick to my stomach. Let's practice effective mental health services by disregarding what our patients tell us about their memories of Satanic ritual abuse because we don't have proof.
I know I'm being emotional and harsh in this review. Maybe I'll come back later and make it gentler. In the meantime, I'm tired of victims being re-victimized by those in the position and authority to do better. There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of survivors telling their stories. They're not all lying, Colin.
Dorothy Parker has been credited with saying, "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force."
I am confidently applying that quote to Ross' rubbish.
I quote from Colin A. Ross:
"It is my opinion that many of the Satanic ritual abuse memories described by patients I treat are confabulated and comprise things that never actually happened. I assume, for the sake of discussion, that 1o per cent of the content of such memories could be historically accurate and based on distorted recall of childhood participation in small Christian cults; small, isolated groups of Satanists; deviant elements of the Ku Klux Klan; pornography; or other forms of abuse that a child could misinterpret as Satanic."
"...while there is no evidence of a widespread secret network of Satanic ritual abuse, it is possible that a certain percentage of Satanic ritual abuse memories are historically accurate or contain accurate elements."
"As I said earlier, at least 10 per cent of the reported memories could be real..."
"These cults, if they exist...."
"Other media sources provide hints but no proof that actual Satanic ritual abuse may be occurring in the Western world today."
He goes on to recommend letting down some disbelief barriers as to better give treatment to the patient. After all, there is historic documentation of rituals and atrocities in the human history spectrum. But since we can't prove they exist in present day, just pacify the clients so you can treat them. They're not smart enough to sense you believe they're lying.
The author is hellbent on needing evidence and documentation. In the intro, he slants book writing as inferior to journal articles, which allows him to ignore all of the SRA memoirs out there, I wonder? Does he say to his 10:00 AM appointment, "I'm sorry, middle aged man, do you have documented proof your marriage is on the rocks? No? Well, I can't trust anything you tell me with out evidence." What kind of psychiatry is this?
Elizabeth F. Loftus, who wrote the afterword for this book, is on the False Memory Syndrome Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board. Her research methods and credibility have been questioned by other experts.
This book and this author make me sick to my stomach. Let's practice effective mental health services by disregarding what our patients tell us about their memories of Satanic ritual abuse because we don't have proof.
I know I'm being emotional and harsh in this review. Maybe I'll come back later and make it gentler. In the meantime, I'm tired of victims being re-victimized by those in the position and authority to do better. There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of survivors telling their stories. They're not all lying, Colin.
Dorothy Parker has been credited with saying, "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force."
I am confidently applying that quote to Ross' rubbish.
September 9, 2023
The author treats victims of abuse who claim to be possessed and/or victims of ritual abuse. Okay. Then why claim in the second chapter that acting out as if demonically possessed in just suppression of your own evil tendencies? Is he saying that your weren’t abused? Or that their symptoms are self-inflicted?
The author also knows nothing of Christianity. He states that the sacrifice of Jesus was a substitute for killing satan? That is all kinds of backward. And he also claims that the “sacrificial lamb” was a substitute for goat sacrifice. He continues in this vein with the thoroughly debunked notions of Christianity hijacking pagan beliefs and concepts (see the History for Atheists podcast), then has the nerve to say “I’m not anti-Christian.”
From what I can see from the rest of this book it’s a rehashing of other people’s ideas.
And I hope his patients were at least comforted by his efforts, that’s the best they could hope for. MPD/DID is a personality disorder, it is not “splitting” of the personality. A person with this disorder doesn’t display another personality, they display other personality traits. There is no one “living inside of them”. If a patient tells you they hear other people, or pretend to be another person, they have schizophrenia or borderline personality disorder, respectively. This has been well established since the 1990’s, he should have been aware of this while writing this book.
Don’t even get me started on having Elizabeth Loftus writing the Afterword. She started an organization whose sole purpose was to cover up her friends p3d0philia. On top of testifying as an expert witness for Ghislaine Maxwell and Harvey Weinstein.
The author also knows nothing of Christianity. He states that the sacrifice of Jesus was a substitute for killing satan? That is all kinds of backward. And he also claims that the “sacrificial lamb” was a substitute for goat sacrifice. He continues in this vein with the thoroughly debunked notions of Christianity hijacking pagan beliefs and concepts (see the History for Atheists podcast), then has the nerve to say “I’m not anti-Christian.”
From what I can see from the rest of this book it’s a rehashing of other people’s ideas.
And I hope his patients were at least comforted by his efforts, that’s the best they could hope for. MPD/DID is a personality disorder, it is not “splitting” of the personality. A person with this disorder doesn’t display another personality, they display other personality traits. There is no one “living inside of them”. If a patient tells you they hear other people, or pretend to be another person, they have schizophrenia or borderline personality disorder, respectively. This has been well established since the 1990’s, he should have been aware of this while writing this book.
Don’t even get me started on having Elizabeth Loftus writing the Afterword. She started an organization whose sole purpose was to cover up her friends p3d0philia. On top of testifying as an expert witness for Ghislaine Maxwell and Harvey Weinstein.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews