Sybil Exposed By Jenna Laposki Eve White Cornelia Wilbur Parents: - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Sybil Exposed

By Jenna Laposki

Eve White

Cornelia Wilbur

• Parents: Arthur and Bertie Burwell
• Two brothers Oliver and Richard
• Was raised in a purely scientific family
• All the children were home schooled until the middle school

level.

• Connie had a strong desire to be a doctor even at a very young

age

• Her parents strongly rejected this desire. They cited a need for

a college education but not for medical school.

Entering a Mans World

• Attended Williams Smith College for women until her

sophomore year when she transferred to the University of Michigan.

• Connie was seeking an environment that was more

academically challenging.

• Graduated in 1930 with a bachelor of science degree.
• Was hired as a chemical librarian and got her first taste of

fame when she discovered a “cure” for athletes foot.

Furthering Education

• Humiliated after the failed foot cure, Arthur pushed Connie to

get married instead of returning to school.

• Married Henry Wilbur in 1934
• In 1934 Connie returned to Michigan University for medical

school only to drop out due to Graves’ disease.

• When she returned to school Connie chose psychiatry as her

specialty.

Psychiatry

• Worked in a hospital in Omaha treating the mentally ill,

Specializing in hysteria.

• Dr. Robert Dieterle, a psychoanalyst, became a mentor for

Connie and got her a job at Fair Oaks Kalamazoo.

• Connie began using shock treatments, barbiturates, and

lobotomies to treat patients

• Her techniques were filmed and shown to medical schools all

around the country.

• 1945 Connie has her first appointment with Shirley Mason,

who would later be known as Sybil.

Shirley Mason’s Childhood

• Born in January 1923
• Her parents: Walter Mason & Mattie Atkinson
• Active members with the Seventh-Day Adventism
• Shirley loved to fantasize and make up stories, something that

was not allowed in the Seventh-Day.

• Became a sickly child in sixth grade
• Taken to Dr. Flores and diagnosed with anemia and extreme

loneliness

College

• Attended Mankato State Teachers College in Minnesota to

become an art teacher.

• Took a great interest in Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis
• Anxiety and health declined.
• Diagnosed with hysteria and it was suggested she go see Dr.

Wilbur

A Mutual Attraction

• Connie met with Shirley once a month for five months.
• Both patient and doctor were fascinated with each other
• As a diagnosed hysteric, Connie wanted to use Pentothal

(Truth serum) to help Shirley. This went against Adventism

• Transference and countertransference developed between

them

• Sessions came to an end when Connie lost her job and moved

away.

• Nine years would pass until they saw each other again.

Shirley in the Time Apart

• Became a graduate student at Columbia University for

teaching.

• Shirley was thriving in this time apart.
• Got a job as an art therapist for the mentally ill. She started to

mirror the behaviors of the patients and soon feel ill again.

• Moved to Detroit and became a teacher. She did well at her

job but she was physically and mentally fragile.

Therapy

• The relationship picked up right were it left off.
• Sessions started off with Shirley talking about how her life was

going while and what had happened in the last nine years.

• Was prescribed a cocktail of different medications to help with

her ailments. Many were habit forming drugs.

• Suddenly during an appointment Shirley started describing to

Connie about blanks in her memory

• Ten days later Shirley showed up for her appointment but

claimed her name was Peggy.

The Personalities

• There were 16 different personalities identified during

Shirley’s life time.

• These personalities only came out around people who knew
• f her condition.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vANyDFgjZU

Repressed Memories

• Shirley was given Pentothal to uncover more about the

personalities and repressed memories

• Was asked leading questions and focused on childhood

trauma and Shirley’s mother.

• Connie “uncovered” childhood abuse from Mattie
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRBZ0Kjisl4

Addiction

• Shirley quickly became addicted to Pentothal
• Once medication was withheld from her she stopped splitting

into different personalities

• Shirley wrote Connie a letter saying she made it all up
• Connie said that this was a defensive maneuver by one of the

multiples and Shirley should continue therapy

Sybil

• Longing to make a name for herself again, Connie contacted

an author Flora Schreiber to write the story of Shirley and her multiples.

• After meeting Shirley Flora was on board for writing her story.
• Shirley’s name had to be changed to protect her identity and

together Connie and Shirley came up with Sybil

• The stipulation of writing the book was that there had to be a

happy ending.

• Flora wanted the personalities to have more depth to them in

the book and did interviews in Shirley’s hometown.

Publication

• Sybil went on sale on May 22, 1973
• It became a best seller.
• Shirley was no longer in treatment and was enjoying life as an

art teacher.

• Connie was traveling promoting the book on TV and radio

while teaching at Lexington.

• Received fan mail from people going through the same thing.
• Sparked a made for TV movie deal, T-shirts, and board games.
• The fame while great at first, would be the demise of Shirley

Life after Sybil

• Connie died at the age of 83 in April of 1992 from a fatal heart

attack

• Shirley died at the age of 75 on February 26, 1998

Life after Sybil

• In 1980 Multiple personalities became an official psychiatric

diagnosis in the DSM

• Epidemic of accusations during the 1980’s about repressed

memories of abuse

• False Memory Syndrome Foundation
• Sybil Exposed: Debbie Nathan

Questions

• Do you think there would have been a different outcome for

Shirley had she seen a male psychiatrist over Connie? If so what do you think would have been different?

Questions

• Do you believe that Multiple Personality Disorder or

Dissociative Identity Disorder as its know today is real? Why or why not?

Questions

• Why was there such a sudden influx of patients with MPD

after the release of Sybil?