Dean Tong: Elizabeth Smart a victim of Stockholm Syndrome

Forensic legal consultant Dean Tong concludes that kidnap victim Elizabeth Smart had fallen victim to Stockholm Syndrome. A nationally recognized legal consultant and author on child abuse, custody and abduction cases, Tong believes kidnappers waged a psychological battle against their young victim.

TAMPA, Fla. (PRWEB) March 21, 2003 - Kidnap victim Elizabeth Smart had fallen victim to Stockholm Syndrome, a phenomenon where a captive in a traumatic situation comes to sympathize with and even aid his or her captors, said Dean Tong, a nationally recognized legal consultant and author on child abuse, custody and abduction cases.

"Elizabeth Smart told police her name was Augustine Mitchell for a reason, and it was not because she had a natural affinity for her alleged captors," Tong said. "She had fallen into a psychological state much like a hypnotic spell where she came to believe her kidnappers were good people with altruistic motives."

Victims of Stockholm Syndrome oftentimes come to the aid of their captors, as was the case in a 1973 botched bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden, where hostages assisted armed gunmen. "Elizabeth Smart may look happy in photographs taken in recent days, but she will need much time to recover and heal psychologically," Tong said. "Elizabeth has much in common with battered women who oftentimes refuse to leave or press charges against their abusers because they believe their tormentors are good people."

"When Brian David Mitchell took Elizabeth Smart from her bedroom at knifepoint and did not kill her, she most likely felt gratitude," Tong said. "That small gesture of mercy may have been enough to create a bond between Elizabeth and Mitchell, and that bond meant that Mitchell did not have to threaten her in order to get her to stay with him when she heard search parties calling her name."

Tong said that Mitchell also used cult-like tactics to gain control of the then 14-year-old girl. "He took away her name and her identity. In giving Elizabeth the name of Augustine Mitchell and forcing her to wear a long flowing robe and veil, Brian David Mitchell forced her to take on a new identity," Tong said. "I believe, too, that we should not underestimate Elizabeth's intelligence. Her resilience and savvy are keen tools that helped her survive."

In the famed 1974 kidnapping case, Patricia Hearst came to sympathize with the Symbionese Liberation Army after they held her captive for several months. Hearst joined the SLA several months after her release, which psychologists hold to be an indication that she suffered from Stockholm Syndrome.

"People who come to sympathize with their captors cannot bounce back in a matter of minutes or hours," Tong said. "Elizabeth Smart will need several months and maybe even years to recover.

"She needs and deserves the best psychological care available."

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Contact:
Lea Conner, Conner Dudley Communications LLC, 1-877-604-6516, http://www.connerdudley.com
Dean Tong, forensic legal consultant, 1-800-854-0735