Lawrence Pazder

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Lawrence Pazder

Lawrence Pazder (April 30, 1936 – March 5, 2004) was a Canadian psychiatrist best known for his co-authorship of the book Michelle Remembers in 1980 with his patient and later wife Michelle Smith. The book is considered the first document to spark the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and 1990s in the United States and Canada, a period characterized by widespread fear of Satanic ritual abuse. Despite its significant impact, the book and Pazder's work have been widely discredited and criticized for lacking credible evidence and for contributing to mass hysteria.

Biography

Lawrence Pazder was born in 1936. He earned his medical degree from the University of Alberta in 1961 and later specialized in psychiatry. Pazder's career took a notable turn after he began treating Michelle Smith in 1973. Smith, who was suffering from depression, eventually started to recover memories of being involved in a Satanic cult that allegedly abused her in ritualistic ceremonies. Pazder and Smith spent over 600 hours in therapy sessions, during which Smith recounted her supposed memories of Satanic ritual abuse. These sessions formed the basis of their book, Michelle Remembers.

Following the publication of Michelle Remembers, Pazder gained significant media attention and became a sought-after expert on Satanic ritual abuse, despite the lack of corroborative evidence for the claims made in the book. He lectured extensively on the subject and was involved in several high-profile cases, although his expertise and the phenomenon of Satanic ritual abuse itself were later discredited by investigative reports and academic studies.

Pazder married Michelle Smith in 1980, shortly after the book was published. He continued to practice psychiatry and remained active in the field until his death in 2004.

Controversy and Impact

Michelle Remembers played a pivotal role in the Satanic Panic, a period during which there was widespread belief in the existence of a secretive and widespread Satanic cult that was abusing children. The book was criticized for its lack of verifiable evidence and was accused of being a work of fiction rather than a factual account. Investigations by journalists and scholars found no corroborative evidence to support the book's claims, and the story was debunked as a hoax.

Despite this, Pazder's work had a lasting impact on society and culture. It influenced law enforcement and social services, leading to investigations and prosecutions based on unfounded allegations of Satanic ritual abuse. The Satanic Panic contributed to the wrongful conviction of several individuals and had a detrimental effect on the lives of many families.

Legacy

Lawrence Pazder's legacy is a controversial one. While he was once considered a pioneering expert in the field of Satanic ritual abuse, his work is now largely viewed as a cautionary tale about the dangers of pseudoscience and the power of media to incite moral panic. The phenomenon of recovered memory therapy, particularly in the context of Satanic ritual abuse, has been discredited, and Pazder's contributions to psychiatry are overshadowed by the widespread harm caused by the Satanic Panic.

See Also

• Satanic Panic
• Recovered memory therapy
• Michelle Remembers
• Pseudoscience