The claims might seem outrageous, but they can alter or destroy somebody's life. A woman says she was kidnapped and impregnated by aliens, yet her child seems wholly human. A man says he was abused by a satanic cult as a child, but his body shows none of the scars that the abuse would have left. 

David Bloomberg is a skeptic who makes sure people hear the other side. A founder of the Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land (REALL) in Springfield, he wants people to question memories of abuse that are often "recovered" in therapy. 

In a presentation at Lincoln Library on June 27, Bloomberg gave an audience of about fifteen a primer on repressed memory. Bloomberg stressed he was not a psychologist but has followed the issue of repressed memory for years. 

Bloomberg formed REALL about a year and a half ago, and the group now has about forty-five members. Although REALL is not affiliated with any other skeptics' groups, it does have contact with them, he said. 

Recovered memories of events that might never have happened can wreck people's lives, especially when they deal with abuse, Bloomberg said. In one case in California, a man lost his job and his wife divorced him after their daughter claimed he was part of a satanic cult that abused her. A jury recently decided that the daughter's therapist acted improperly by suggesting memories in their sessions together. 

Even claims of childhood sexual abuse merit scrutiny, Bloomberg said. "It happens. We know it happens," he said of the abuse. "It does not happen in an the cases in which accusations are made." 

That statement is at the heart of what Bloomberg--a twenty-five-year-old employee of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency--and members of REALL stand for. 

While society takes the words of any politician with a grain of salt, Bloomberg said, "a lot of people don't take that everyday skepticism into extraordinary circumstances." 

When a person comes out of therapy claiming he or she was sexually abused as a child but had blacked out the memory, for instance, "all too often the accusation makes you [the accused] guilty," he said. 

Many people, Bloomberg said, have rejected critical thinking and embraced the repressed-memory theory of recent years without taking a closer look. 

Before trusting any accusation, a skeptic would look at the methodology used to "recover" that memory, he said. "My first reaction would be to find out who their therapist was," Bloomberg said. Some therapists whose patients' accusations were later shown to be false are unqualified or have little experience, he said. 

Skeptics also say that many therapists suggest repressed abuse could be a source of anxiety, nightmares, or some other problem. 

A good therapist should question the memories that come from therapy, Bloomberg added. 

According to a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Regulation, most therapists and psychologists must be licensed by the state. Consumers with a question about a therapist can call the department at 782-0458 to determine whether the therapist is licensed in Illinois and has ever been disciplined. The department provides other licensing information as well. 

Dr. Randy Georgemiller, past president of the Illinois Psychological Association, said patients should check to see whether their therapist is a member of state or national professional organizations. Some titles--such as "psychotherapist" and "art therapist"--require no licensing and are unregulated, he added. Georgemiller also noted that certain skills, such as hypnotherapy, require certification, so it's good to make sure a therapist has the proper credentials for that sort of treatment. 

Bloomberg cited a number of studies giving evidence that it is possible for people to "remember"  things that never happened. In one study, more than 500 preschool children were repeatedly asked over a period of time whether a certain nonexistent incident ever happened. Eventually, 58 percent responded that it did. 

While children are extremely impressionable, "false memory syndrome" is also documented in adults. One group of adults was hypnotized and told they were awakened by a car backfiring the previous night. When asked later, l0 percent said they remembered hearing the car backfire, and some would not change their stories even after they were told what had been done to them. 

 In short, reconstructing the past in therapy is often a creative and collaborative process, Bloomberg said. As a creative process, there need to be checks to ensure that only the truth comes out. Good therapists, he said, do not suggest or encourage memories of abuse. 

Bloomberg argues that false claims usually go in cycles. The first claims eventually lead to near hysteria. At the high point of the cycle, "virtually everyone is a potential suspect and nobody is beyond reproach," he said. 

But the issue of childhood sexual abuse presents skeptics with a larger problem. Sexual abuse is a highly charged, polarizing, and prominent social issue. It is also too prevalent to discount. 

Sexual assault, in all its forms, leaves deep emotional scars. But physical evidence--especially from abuse long past--rarely surfaces. "Evidence disappears," Bloomberg said. And the skeptic will question claims in which there is no corroborating evidence, even those that could be true. Bloomberg talked about obvious abuses of the therapist patient relationship, but in many cases the issue is-not so clear-cut.

Bloomberg seemed far more comfortable talking about ritual abuse and alien abductions, where a skeptic's point of view would run into less resistance, than about sexual abuse. But who really believes in alien abductions or Satanists? A lot of people, Bloomberg said. He monitors a number of alien abduction and satanic abuse computer bulletin boards and said a lot of people are making claims.