In mid 2002, Justin Armstrong (pseudonym), who was then my therapist, wrote a psychological assessment of me at my request prior to his retiring as a counselor.
Mr. Armstrong says in the therapy assessment that I had never undergone hypnosis, which at that time was correct. I subsequently became a research subject of "alien abduction" researcher, Dr. David Jacobs, of Temple University, who conducted a series of hypnosis sessions with me to investigate my anomalous experiences.
Dr. Jacobs has the original complete and signed therapy assessment. To preserve my privacy and that of others involved, I have omitted some information from the copy reproduced here.
In June 2008, Mr. Armstrong wrote an additional statement confirming his 2002 psychological assessment of me. That statement is also presented here.
[NOTE: In 2006, Dr. Jacobs published a copy of Mr. Armstrong's original 2002 therapy assessment of me on his own website. Prior to doing so, he edited the statement and he Americanized the language and spelling. I have retained Dr. Jacobs' edits in regard to the Americanized language and spelling in the copy presented here. Therefore, I have also Americanized the language and spelling in Mr. Armstrong's additional 2008 statement.]
[Justin Armstrong]
[Therapy Practice]
I am a therapist in private practice in [location.] I obtained a [professional therapy qualification] from [educational establishment] in [year], and I am a member of [professional therapist's association.] I have been in private practice since [year.] I have also been employed as a therapist by a number of organizations, including [organization] and [organization.] Prior to becoming a therapist, I was a [previous profession.] I have also [other professional work done] which you might visit as a check on my credibility.
I have been seeing [Emma Woods] as a therapy client weekly, and in the last year twice weekly, for nearly ten years, during which time she has worked on issues related to various life events.
Over these years Emma has touched on a number of experiences occurring throughout her life that are not easily explainable, including the existence of unexplained scars.
A few years ago she read an article about the UFO phenomenon which listed indicators of UFO experiences, including unexplained scars. Emma had not previously seen the events as related to each other and had no idea that they might be related to UFO type experiences.
Many of the experiences have been very traumatic, and Emma has experienced a great deal of anxiety and fear. Paradoxically, though, the experiences have sometimes been pleasant and enjoyable.
With some of the experiences Emma relates, she describes being in a strange, soporific, dream-like state, and being unable to move, but she thinks that the experiences are real, and are not a dream.
Emma has many isolated fragments of memory, relating to these experiences, and sometimes feels that she is pushing against some sort of barrier when she tries to remember more about them. However, in regard to her normal everyday life and past, including her childhood, she has clear, detailed memories of events, and has no problem remembering things. What is unusual about her everyday memory is that she has good recall of events that occurred when she was very young, back to the age of one, and one memory of something that would have occurred when she was a few months old. A family member has been able to confirm that some of the events that Emma remembers from a very young age did in fact occur.
In early 2001 Emma began to feel that she wanted to look more closely at the experiences. She felt that on some level she was being pushed to do so.
In March 2001 Emma wrote a letter to Budd Hopkins, a well-known UFO researcher, detailing some of the experiences, in the hope that he might be able to provide information to assist in the exploration of the experiences. In July 2002 Emma spoke to him on the phone, and he sent her some material about the UFO phenomenon along with two questionnaire tests which she has filled out and will be returning to him.
[Paragraph omitted.]
In July 2002 I sent an email to David Jacobs, a well-known UFO researcher, detailing some of the experiences, and asking for information and advice in dealing with the case. Emma filled out a questionnaire from David Jacob's website which I sent as an attachment with the email. So far I have not received a response.
Emma has been approaching the experiences with an open mind, open to all possibilities, while keeping her feet on the ground. Both Emma and I are taking the view that, at the present time as a culture/society, we do not know what causes these types of experiences and science, at the present time, may be unable to explain them.
Emma does not believe that they are necessarily UFO type experiences but is currently exploring that possibility as the experiences follow a similar pattern to that associated with the documented UFO phenomenon.
This is a normal exploration of issues that are not easily explainable. Emma is psychologically normal, exhibits no personality disorders, thought disorders or mental illness.
I believe that Emma is telling the truth about her experiences, and she has been consistent in her relating of the experiences over a long period of time. She has never undergone hypnosis.
During Emma's childhood and adolescence she experienced [section omitted], frequent relocation and consequent insecurity. The healthy cognitive and affective internal working models considered a birthright for most were at risk. However, despite that, and maybe because of it, Emma has found a way of dealing with life in a positive and creative manner. She has developed good relationships with others. She has dealt with the many problems that would be expected in a pragmatic way by analysis of the issues and taking steps progressively to solve them. This is a process that has been in place all her life and continues in the therapy relationship.
Her life experience has left her with very strong problem solving skills.
Much time and effort in the therapy process has been devoted to examining childhood and adolescent experience for meaning, effect and context to gain new perspectives and understanding.
Additionally, a great deal of effort has been made during the therapy process to develop and maintain a secure and healthy attachment relationship. This has been an important reinforcement of her experiences of other healthy relationships she has developed in her life. This has included instances of conflict where a healthy outcome is normal when individuals value that relationship.
At various times during her life Emma has experienced periods of depression and at times has been suicidal, although recently and currently she no longer experiences suicidal ideation.
Emma's life circumstances are somewhat depressing through poor physical heath and consequent low income that means that there is very little left over for self-nurturing. Occasionally Emma feels depressed as a consequence but these periods of depression are short. Her inner strengths allow her to quickly overcome these periods of depression.
Emma often experiences low self-confidence and self-esteem and is shy with people she doesn't know well. However, at other times, when she believes strongly in something, she can be very self-confident and assertive.
Emma is a survivor. She has had a difficult life but this has served in the development of many useful characteristics won because of her considerable strengths. Nevertheless, from time to time events that touch on past painful events can result in periods where she is less able to cope. Emma recovers well, examines the cause and effect of the difficulties and learns from the experience.
As a consequence of her experiences and her extraordinary ability to learn from them she is a strong person. She is pragmatic, independent, open-minded, and true to herself, with a good sense of humor even in emotionally stressful times. She is principled, humanitarian, caring and considerate. She cares deeply about other people and has a strong sense of social justice. She loves animals and cares about environmental issues.
She is extremely intelligent. She has a strong capacity for independent and original thought while remaining firmly grounded in reality.
Emma's general functioning is perfectly normal. She is organized, tidy, budgets well on a very limited income so that bills are paid on time, and does not drink or abuse drugs.
[Justin Armstrong]
[signed]
Member [professional therapist's association]
Prior to retiring, I was a qualified therapist and a member of [professional therapist's association]. I was [Emma Woods'] therapist for ten years working on general life issues, during which she worked on issues relating to unexplained personal experiences. During this time I made no judgments as to the source of the experiences and came to realize there was very intriguing and unexplainable material revealed. I suggested that Emma write a history of her experiences and make an ongoing record of the experiences as they occurred.
In 2002, at Emma's request, I wrote a therapy assessment of her. I continue to stand by that assessment. Emma is psychologically normal, exhibits no personality disorders, thought disorders, or mental illness. I believe that she is being truthful in relating her experiences as she perceives them, although we both think that the experiences are not easily explained and may be beyond our current comprehension.
I retired at the end of 2002, but because I was intrigued by the data that Emma was gathering about her experiences I volunteered to provide ongoing comment about the data, methods of collection, and data management. For personal reasons unconnected with the situation, I stopped assisting her with her record at the end of 2006. We currently remain in touch through periodic phone conversations.
I am pleased that Emma is continuing with her record. I wish her all the best with it.
Signed: [signed] Date: June 24th, 2008
[Justin Armstrong]