'Manipulative' therapist is accused of brainwashing countess's daughter, 27, into thinking she was abused as a child

Daily Mail, UK/July 7, 2016

By Martin Robinson

A 'manipulative' therapist has been accused in court of 'brainwashing' the daughters of rich families into thinking they were abused as children.

Anne Craig deliberately implanted false memories into the women's minds in order to 'drive a wedge' into their families, a judge was told.

Her therapy allegedly led to at least one woman - the 27-year-old daughter of an aristocratic family - to completely sever ties with her devastated parents.

The case reached the High Court as Amanda Cayzer - the Countess of Caledon and mother of the 27-year-old - sought evidence to back a civil case against Mrs Craig.

But Mrs Craig, who denies any wrongdoing, claims the allegations are part of a campaign of harassment against her.

Mrs Craig sat in the public gallery, with the aristocrat's daughter beside her, as her lawyers also spoke to object to the mother's application. She denies any wrongdoing.

The countess' barrister Mark Jones said a private investigator had uncovered a 'harrowing body of evidence' about the therapist's methods.

'My client's case is that the evidence she has obtained from investigations discloses a methodology whereby memories or events are falsely and deliberately implanted in the minds of impressionable, perhaps vulnerable, young women,' he said.

'Part of the intention of so doing is to sunder their natural relations of affection with their families.'

A dozen of Mrs Craig's former clients had been spoken to by the private investigator with many of them showing themselves fearful of the therapist, he said.

One woman - referred to as S - said she and others had been talked into believing their parents were guilty of 'horrendous' behaviour towards them.

'We were so brainwashed by her constant pressure, we ended up believing it,' she said in an interview.

'She took things that happened and twisted them until we saw ourselves as only victims.'

Another young woman said Mrs Craig had 'dictated' her every move, isolating her from family and friends.

The aristocrat's daughter, who cannot be named, had come to believe she was the victim of violence in childhood and not spoken to her family for years, the barrister said.

The methods described were not those used by a therapist who wanted to help young people with troubling personal issues, Mr Jones added.

'If true, it appears manipulative, controlling and deeply malign,' he told Mrs Justice Slade.

He added: 'If that's correct, the untrue allegations would be made wholly or in part with the intention of discrediting the family members said to have done the terrible things.'

The court heard Mrs Craig was arrested in 2014 and an investigation carried out, resulting in a decision last year by the CPS not to prosecute.

But Mr Jones said evidence gathered by the Met Police should now be handed over to help the countess prepare a civil case against Mrs Craig.

Although not a victim of a crime, she could herself be considered a victim because her family had been 'destroyed' by 'grievous and false allegations'.

'If it is a deliberate policy of Mrs Craig, as suggested in some of the material, to sever young people from normal family relations and their friends, or if that is an inevitable product of what she does, I say quite clearly my client is a victim of that process,' he said.

He added that the countess could now sue Mrs Craig for 'indirect harassment', but needs evidence from the police investigation if she is to put forward a case.

Lawyers for the Met are contesting the countess's application for access to the evidence.

Those speaking to police during investigations should feel safe in the knowledge that what they say will not be disclosed without a good reason, the Met says.

In a statement read out to the court, Mrs Craig said she was 'shocked and alarmed' by the 'untrue' allegations made against her.

She had never suggested to the daughter that she had been abused as a child, she said.

It was only through their sessions that the daughter had begun to open up about memories of violence in her childhood.

Her barrister Sara Mansoori QC added: 'Mrs Craig views this as part of a continuing campaign of harassment conducted against her by the claimant.

'The daughter started to see her for personal development sessions in 2010 and thereafter cut off ties with her family.

'What the claimant believes is that this is as a result of somehow Mrs Craig instilling false memories into her daughter.

'This is not true. It is based upon the supposition of the claimant, who feels aggrieved at the fact her daughter no longer wants to stay in contact with her.'

She continued: 'It is quite clear the claimant feels aggrieved at what has happened and is seeking to blame my client as a result.

'My client has explained - as has her daughter - that there is no justification for those fears.

'These are false allegations that have been made against her and repeatedly made against her.'

Mrs Justice Slade reserved her decision on whether the police should disclose their evidence until a later date.

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