Tampa FL Hypnotist Arrested for Posing as a Doctor

"Sandra Rovhana had all the makings of a doctor. She's well-spoken, intelligent and armed with framed certificates from various institutes. She even has a quiet, calming voice and a remarkable capacity to listen intently. But, she's not a doctor. She doesn't even have a degree."


Read the full story:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/odessa-woman-practicing-as-hypnotherapist-was-unlicensed-police-say/1089104

Mary Sidhwani of Ellicott City, Maryland = FAKE DOCTORATE

Mary Sidhwani is another non-doctors proclaiming, at every possible opportunity, that she holds a doctorate. Our first red flag was that she claims to have earned a "Masters in Clinical Hypnotherapy." Readers of this blog know well and clear that there is no such degree anywhere in the world. Yes, there are many degree mills who will sell you a piece of paper that reads "Masters in Clinical Hypnotherapy." However, it's worth as much as the paper that it's written on.

Next, Mary Sidhwani claims to be a psychotherapist. We researched this with the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists at https://mdbnc.dhmh.md.gov/pctVerification/

As we suspected, there is nobody by the name of Sidhwani anywhere in Maryland licensed to work as a psychotherapist.

Finally, in every web search pertaining to Mary Sidhwani, where she claims to have earned a Doctorate in Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy, she completely (and conveniently) omits the name of the institution from where she supposedly earned said degree.

Degree Mills and Accreditation Mills

"Diploma mill credentials devalue the legitimate degrees earned by millions of individuals through hard work, persistence and achievement." --U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Maine

Ralph Allocco, Hicksville & Bethpage, NY - Fake Doctorate Alert!

Ralph Allocco of the CHt Hypnosis Center and owner of C & B Archery, both in Hicksville, NY is the next hypno-PhD scam artist to grace our blog. Ralph holds nothing more than a high school diploma. He claims to be an instructor at "Alpha University," a known degree mill (see http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2012/12/alpha-university-degree-mill.html). Ralph is a proud member of the equally unethical organization, the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association/International Association of Counselors and Therapists -the hybrid organization owned by Robert Otto where fake PhD's run rampant (read our many other blogs).

He advertises with a firm called Jewish Marketing Solutions.

Funny how the Jewish Directory, JewishYellow.com advises people to beware of scams and frauds, yet they allow this one to advertise just below the warning:

Ralph also lists Bethpage, NY as a home city.

Coming soon! Jennifer Eve Alexander of Duncan, BC Canada

Jennifer Eve Alexander of the Full Circle Hypnosis Training College and Results Therapy International, in Vancouver, BC, Canada claims to have earned a PhD in Behavioral Sciences from the degree mill known as "Alpha University." See http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2012/12/alpha-university-degree-mill.html. She likes to write the word "Dr." everywhere she can. Know everybody knows the truth.

Barry Seedman, Sedona, Arizona and New York, FAKE Doctorate,

We found this guy after we busted Wayson Lee for falsely purporting to have a doctorate from the degree mill known as Albert University (See http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2012/11/wayson-lee-washington-dc-fake-doctorate.html).

This chump claims to be the "leading hypnotherapy instructor in the United States." That's about as accurate as his "PhD."

He claims to hold a PhD in Clinical Hypnotherapy from American State University. Folks who follow our blog know to look at our degree mill resource guide here: http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2012/11/known-diploma-mills-resource-guide.html

A very interesting blog post that another blogger wrote about Seedman:

Today, I saw a tiny ad in the back of Natural Health magazine for "Albert University", offering doctoral degrees in hypnotherapy and "alternative healing".
The President of this fine institution, "Dr." Barry Seedman, "earned" his degree from American State U, one of the worst diploma mills, and one of the very few to be shut down by Hawaii authorities.
"Dr." Seedman modestly reports that he has won "almost every major award in his field", and goes on to list awards by a bunch of organizations I've never heard of, but no awards from any of the legitimate hypnotherapy groups. Big surprise.
The school offers mail-order Ph.D degrees, which are described as "Technical degrees, similar to Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Chiropractic, and not academic degrees". (!)
Apparently, for the hypnotherapy degree, one submits one's trance inductions on a cassette tape for review. And it's a little frightening that they offer courses that clearly fall in the realm of things that only a licensed psychotherapist should be doing. Not cool.
Oh... and there's almost a full page of accreditation apologia -- the standard stuff, probably ripped from ASU 's site. The school claims to be accredited by the probably nonexistent and almost certainly fraudulent Government Accrediting Association of Delaware.
And when you download the PDF application to the school, we find that it's campus is (surprise!) a PMB address which turns out to also belong to "JW Doan Hypnotherapy."
(That's a new one... a combination Mailboxes Etc and hypnotherapy service...)
However, you are supposed to send your application and $500 fee to the "Eastern office" which, conveniently, is in New York, where "Dr." Seedman lives.
I was hoping that this was one of those well-meaning but clueless holistic folks, but I don't think so. The $6000 fee, and very misleading statements on the value of the degree and the fraudulent accreditation make it pretty clear that the guy is out to scam people.
The amazing thing is that anyone is actually dumb enough to sign up for a program like this. 


=http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/2323-new-phony-albert-university.html

Janice Smylie, Calgary, AB, Canada - FAKE Doctorate!

Janice Smylie of A Brighter Choice, Inc. in Calgary, AB, Canada purports to have earned a PhD. Yet, she conveniently refuses to say where her degree is from. In fact, she doesn't even claim to have earned undergraduate or master's degrees. We found her on LinkedIn, and she wrote that her studies were in Canada, USA, and England -hardly what one would consider a doctoral education. Looks like her high school drama club did her some good, because she had to be a pretty good actress for pulling off a fake PhD for so long.

We affirm that Janice Smylie is falsely purporting to have earned a doctoral degree.

She is a member of the National Guild of Hypnotists and the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners.

A word from our sponsors

Our blog was recently mentioned on 23NLPeople.com, and it was said that many people, especially on the hypnosis forum "www.hypnothoughts.com" did not support our work, providing threats of litigation and so forth. Very simply, these individuals feel threatened. They feel threatened because they, or their friends, falsely claim to have earned a doctorate or master's degree. Some are showboating (aka brown-nosing) to win the admiration of some well-known hypnotists and/or business partners who are doing the scamming. The argument that "so and so is highly respected" doesn't explain or give anybody the right to enhance their credibility by citing false academic credentials. If they are indeed THAT good, they wouldn't need to.

Actually, we have received scores of emails from people who want to high-five us. There is a silent majority who agree with our mission and who are observing the actions and rants of those who are guilty, and also observing those who are nay-saying us. To you, we raise our glasses and toast you.

A question remains -are these individuals simply misinformed and mere victims of these diploma mills? Or are these people maliciously trying to dupe potential customers and students. In other words, are these people truly idiots who think they can earn a degree by not properly attending school or are they pure-bread scam artists? Our answer is, "does it matter?" No it does not. If you are one of these people, we urge you to STOP USING YOUR FAKE CREDENTIALS no matter how real you think they are. Otherwise we will continue to expose you. Don't think you're immune if you're hiding in Micronesia. We are receiving tips from well-meaning individuals daily. You will eventually appear on this site.

While it appears that we are focusing on the hypnosis profession, this wasn't intentionally the case when we first created this forum. It was our intention to call out those in any profession who falsely claim credentials that they haven't properly and rightfully earned. However, it seems as though the hypnosis profession is rampant with such individuals. As such, when one knows how to identify these perpetrators, it quite simple to know who they are.

There something to be said about these so-called ethical organizations such as the National Guild of Hypnotists and the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association/International Association of Counselors and Therapists hybrid (the NGH is supposedly non-profit [at least according to the IRS] where Dwight Damon has been the president for decades (who actually elected him president, nobody will ever know as no dues-paying member can recall an actual election). On another note, has anybody actually witnessed Dwight Damon hypnotize ANYBODY?) and the IMDHA and IACT are private businesses both owned by Robert Otto). There are several other hypnosis "organizations" but these are two/three of the largest.

These organizations have Codes of Ethics which many hypnotists proudly boast that they adhere to, giving their clientele some sort of confidence. However, it is clear that none of these organizations actually care about or enforce these codes and many involved in these organization's hierarchies are guilty of using fictitious degrees. They are merely lip-service. If these Codes of Ethics meant anything, the fraudulent use of fictitious degrees would cease to exist. However, the last thing any of these organizations want to do is eliminate a source of dues. Let's examine the Codes of Ethics of these organizations:

National Guild of Hypnotists

E. Credentials: Members shall always be honest about the nature of their titles and degrees when referring to them to the general public, the media, and within the confines of our profession.

International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association

Integrity
Members seek to promote integrity in the teaching and practice of hypnosis. In these activities members are honest, fair and respectable of others. To the extent feasible, members attempt to clarify for relevant parties the roles they are performing and to the function appropriately in accordance with those roles. Members rely on scientific or professionally derived knowledge when making professional judgments or when engaging in professional endeavors.

International Association of Counselors and Therapists

Section A4 reads, "4. The member neither claims nor implies professional qualifications exceeding those possessed by them and is responsible for correcting any misrepresentations of these qualifications by others."

As one can see, ethics, integrity, and the whole shabang are clearly outlined in these organization's Codes of Ethics. YET....the preponderance of fake academic credentials is overwhelming. These organizations are also, supposedly, preparing for the day when hypnosis is regulated be mandating CEUs and the such. Unfortunately, they aren't preparing well enough because, as long as there are individuals who are committing fraud by boasting fake academic credentials, nobody will ever respect the profession as a whole.

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Taken from http://www.23nlpeople.com/blog/2012/11/fake-qualifications-phds-and-hypnotherapy.htm

On my Brass Bollocks training where I open the doors to the business end of my work and show exactly how and what I did and do now to run a successful business I repeatedly expound a simple principle:
"Humility will save you from humiliation."
It shouldn't be a difficult concept but in the world of personal development where everyone is chasing a high status in the industry, it is a very rare thing indeed.
I believe that I can accurately predict how quick a new practitioner will fail and return to their day job.  The quickest failure will follow a single use of a single word. "Us"
On the practitioner's contact page they write, "Contact Us" instead of "Contact Me" - this is true as a predictor of failure where there is a solo practitioner, rather than a group or two practitioners on the site.
Why do they write "Contact Us"?  Well, because he or she is trying to appear more than they actually are.
Their very first point of contact with their customer is built on a simple little deception, a lie.  Not exactly the best start, don't you think?
And the reason their business will fail?  Because they are deceiving themselves as to the true nature of their business and they will continue to build on this lie as they ever inflate their ego and bolster a false identity.
A fairly common extension of this lie is the use of false and fake qualifications and certifications.  The fake PHD is just one example.
Another tragically common example is the endless creation of self serving "Regulation Boards" "Associations", "Societies", Institutes" and so forth all in an attempt to affording status and prestige, when in fact they are just merely a brief invention to "endorse" their own practice and courses.
What this does is contaminate the marketplace so much that the public no longer know what is a genuine society (i.e. it actually has members, a charter, etc) and what is just a webpage on the 'net purporting to be such.  Actually, I think so many hypnotherapists are utterly ignorant and in their quest for status don't ever bother checking these things out themselves.  They just send off a cheque, receive a certificate and that is that - they are a member, have a logo and so on, and so they perpetuate the lie and the falsehood.
I managed to terminate the totally fake and illegal "British Board of NLP" operation 2 years ago by threatening to bring a criminal action against its "chairman" unless he removed all traces of the website and notified his "members" of such.  Yet, if you google it today, you will still find people claiming to be members of "The British Board of NLP", displaying a logo and claiming status as a result.  It worries me when supposed experts in mental health display such crass stupidity. And I do think this is stupidity rather than a deliberate fraud.
And here's the funny thing - they display these logos, memberships and false qualifications so that we...err...trust them.
It's worth mentioning here that a few years ago the original "chairman" of the "British Board of NLP" sent me a legal letter threatening me with litigation for libel unless I immediately ceased my public statements about their shenanigans. I couldn't help but wonder how interesting it would be to see them actually try to prove in court that the 'British Board of NLP' actually existed.  It didn't and never did, so it was impossible for me to libel it. I never heard anything further from them until "it" (actually, this was just the domain name for the website and company name, which wasn't actually "The British Board of NLP") changed hands and the nonsense started up all over again.
I've recently challenged people about the use of fake PHDs on a hypnosis forum and interestingly received a collective outrage from forum members suggesting that to do so was somehow unsporting and that I was.  Needless to say the usual threats of litigation followed and expressions of outrage followed.
You can read the reactions here: http://www.hypnothoughts.com/forum/topics/doctor-or-phd-in-hypnotherapy-how-valid
A recent anonymous blog (http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.co.uk) has taken to "outing" the hypnotherapists who claim to have PhDs when they allegedly don't have any such thing. Whilst I cannot claim to know the validity of the claims that are made on this blog, I thoroughly applaud the sentiment.
The hypnotherapy community appear outraged because apparently such a blog is unprofessional and brings the profession into disrepute.  Well, I have news for them - so is lying about one's qualification in order to con clients out of their money.
My inbox is starting to receive emails from outraged individuals who think I am the one posting the Fake PhD blog and telling me to cease and desist.  I'm not anything to do with the blog of course, I first saw this blog when a link to it was posted on the Hypnothoughts forum.
Here's the link to the BBC program about such nonsense that was aired in 2009 to which I was a main contributor behind the scenes and make a fleeting appearance. https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=176394112754

Wayson Lee, Washington DC, FAKE Doctorate! UPDATED!

Wayson Lee of Washington, DC, claims to have earned a Doctor of Clinical Hypnosis and even refers to himself as Doc Wayson. However, he fails to state where he earned his doctorate, and he further fails to mention that THERE IS NO SUCH DEGREE AS A DOCTOR OF CLINICAL HYPNOSIS.

Wayson Lee, you are a FRAUD.

***********************
 UPDATE

***********************

 
We received an email from this guy today. He wrote:

So he says that he's not claiming "PhD nor Doctor in Clinical Hypnotherapy." Right, we did a little bit of digging. His LinkedIn profile says he earned the Doctor of Clinical Hypnosis at Albert U. He's not claiming to have a Doctorate? Interesting how he puts himself in the company of Ormond McGill (who did not have a doctorate), Will Horton (who DOES have a legitimate doctorate), and Barry Seedman, who "earned" his degree from American State University, one of the worst diploma mills ever and one of the very few to be shut down by Hawaii authorities. Perhaps the only people that your name should be next to is Barry and Nan Seedman.

Interestingly, Albert University, where he claimed to have earned his Doctor of Clinical Hypnotherapy, is a degree mill owned by the same Barry Seedman who has absolutely no legitimate doctorate. See http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/2323-new-phony-albert-university.html

Of course, just to be sure about Albert University, check out the degree mill resource guide at http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2012/11/known-diploma-mills-resource-guide.html

Oddly, he goes on to say that he's an actor and a member of the Screen Actors Guild, as some sort of weird justification for promoting his fake doctorate.

Leticia Montiel, Santa Ana and Corona CA -FAKE DOCTORATE

Here's another addition to our list of douche bags who falsely claim to have doctorates. Leticia Montiel's bio reads:

"In 1991 after completing years of extensive research and rigorous academic requirements she became the first Latin-American woman to earn the prestigious Doctor of Hypnotherapy Degree from the renowned "American Institute of Hypnotherapy" The only educational body in the country to offer such prestigious title." 

How fancy, considering no such accredited degree exists. Unless you purchase it from a degree mill such as the American Institute of Hypnotherapy (which had since disappeared, by the way." Shame on you, Leticia, for shaming your Latin-American counterparts.

"Dr." Keli Henault - PhD FRAUD from Austin, TX

"Dr." Keli Henault, aka Kelli Henualt, aka Kelly Henault, aka Kel Henault, aka Keli Mathieu of Austin Hypnosis Healing Center and hypnotist "trainer" for the EXTREMELY ETHICAL (not) International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association, claims to have earned a PhD in Psychology. However, she fails to state from WHERE she earned this PhD.

Perhaps she is a sociopath, because she seems to believe she has earned a PhD and even goes so far as to mention in a newsgroup that she's "a geek with a PhD." (See below)

The above clue to her PhD scam, however, is that she had apparantly forgot to tell where she earned her PhD. Maybe the where doesn't matter? Certainly, if my brain were to be operated on, I would like to know whether my surgeon studied at Johns Hopkins University or the University of Nepal.

We affirm that Keli Henault is a scam artist purporting to have earned a PhD when she has not. (But you're always free to write and correct us, Keli.)

**********************************************

UPDATE

 **********************************************

So we emailed her with a simple question, "Please advise from where you earned your PhD." 

She provides two responses, without ever saying where her "PhD" is from and even includes a threat that she will have her "Brother [do] his hacking magic and tell me exactly the name and address of the computer that sent this email...and I will find out that way. Either way, I'm going to find out who you are because I don't appreciate your email and I suspect that you suffer from paranoid delusions."

Well, Not-A-Doctor Keli, your brother, Guido, can "hack" all he wants. It doesn't bother us. What IS bothersome is that you are ripping off hundreds of clients and students by giving them the false notion that you have earned a doctorate.

She includes, "I'm not sure where one gets a "fake" Ph.D. You either do all the work or you don't. You mean I could have gotten a Ph.D. without all that work?"

Yes, that is exactly what we mean. And we believe you know exactly what we mean as well.

Then she writes, "Well, you have a few options. 1. You can make an appointment for hypnotherapy and come into my office and then you'll see all my degrees."

That's actually only one option, Not-A-Doctor Keli. We do believe you have a piece of paper that you hang on your wall that says you have earned a doctorate, but we also believe that piece of paper is worth the cost of the paper because it is not a legitimate, accredited, properly earned doctorate. Perhaps you can take a photo of it with your smartphone, email it to me, and all this will go away (if it's legit)?

Finally, she wrote, "My educational experience is not top secret information, however, since you sent me this very rude email, call me and once you tell me who you are, I will tell you what school in the state of Virginia I received my doctorate degree in psychology."

We sent you a polite email that asked one simple question,  "Please advise from where you earned your PhD." We simply ask that you tell us where you earned your PhD, a question which you conveniently refuse to answer. Why are you being so cryptic? Because your reputation is on the line and you KNOW that you have screwed yourself.

  

We continue to affirm that Keli Henault is a scam artist who falsely purports to have earned a doctorate. 

**********************************************

UPDATE

 **********************************************

We received more communication from Not-A-Doctor Keli. 

Now this fraud thinks we are somebody named John. Our apologies to John, if you're reading this. In any case, she continues to avoid stating the name of the institution from where she "earned" her "PhD." She also believes we are obsessed with her. We do have an obsession, Not-A-Doctor Keli, but it's not about you personally, it's about frauds who falsely claim to have earned a PhD.

She then follows up with more emails, and finally wrote the she received her PhD at the University of Melbourne. If you recall, she earlier wrote that she received her PhD in Virginia. So we asked:

Is that in Virginia?

But then she wrote that she earned a PhD at the University of Melbourne, in Melbourne AU. She's already burying herself in a pile of lies. Add to that, her Facebook page reads that she earned a PhD from the University of Melbourne in the UK. In case you don't know, that's neither Virginia or Australia.

We researched to see if Not-A-Doctor Keli had written a dissertation at the University of Melbourne. We checked with the University's library and we also checked ProQuest's Dissertation Database. There were no hits for anything written by Not-A-Doctor Keli, under any available current or previous name.

We continue to affirm that Keli Joi Henault is a scam artist purporting to hold a doctorate who, in fact, DOES NOT.  

Do You Know A PhD Scam Artist?

Do You Know A PhD Scam Artist?

Post their information here. Please include their name, location, what they claim, how it's a scam, etc. We do not accept responsibility for any information that is posted.

Joanne Selinske - Derwood, MD FAKE PhD

Joanne Selinske of the Soul Source, located in Derwood, MD and serves the neighborhoods of Olney, Rockville, and Gaithersburg in Montgomery County claims to have "completed a doctoral program in transpersonal counseling." Of course, she doesn't state from where. That's because this scam artist didn't earn an accredited PhD from anywhere and there are no accredited "transpersonal counseling" programs anywhere. Before blowing your money on a moron such as this, be sure to verify their credentials first.

Lisa Halpin - San Francisco PhD FRAUD

Lisa Halpin of San Francisco, CA is a very highly respected member of the National Guild of Hypnotists. She claims to have earned a PhD from the now-defunct American Hypnosis Institute of California. I guess the NGH doesn't abide by its own Code of Ethics because, if they did, this PhD-Fake wouldn't be practicing anything related to hypnosis. No doubt, she makes them a lot of money so I'm sure they "overlook" her pathological lie. The American Hypnosis Institute was a degree mill where, if you sent them money, they would send you a degree. What gives this charlatan the right to say she earned a degree? If her work was truly effective, she wouldn't have to hide behind a fake credential. 

"Dr." Mike Mandel - HypnoFake of Toronto, CA

Mike Mandel of Toronto, CA claims to hold a PhD in Clinical Hypnosis. Come on, Mike! Everybody knows that such a degree doesn't exist! Yet, you post YouTube videos about why you charge so much, because you are THAT good. Well, "doctor," if you are THAT good then you wouldn't have to create a bold-faced lie about your credentials. If you are THAT good, then you wouldn't have to create a FAKE doctoral degree. Yet, every time you say your name, you preface it with "Dr." Oh, and you are regarded as the "World's Greatest Hypnotist." By whom? Perhaps by the same people who conferred your non-existent PhD?

Christa Van Der Smissen = Van Der FAKE DOCTORATE

Christa K. Van Der Smissen of Exeter, NH, Londonderry, NH, and Andover, MA is yet another FAKE who claims to have a doctorate in clinical hypnotherapy but doesn't say from where. That's because NO SUCH DOCTORAL PROGRAM EXISTS. Yet, she blatantly refers to herself as Dr. Van Der Smissen every chance she gets. Her email address is listed as drchrista@drvandersmissen.com and her website is drvandersmissen.com. She just loves to call herself "doctor," doesn't she?

Masud Ansari - FAKE DOCTORATE

Masud Ansari claims to be the president of the Institute for Ethical and Clinical Hypnosis. A shame organization that is not very ethical, apparently, since he claims to hold a Doctorate from the American Institute of Hypnotherapy in Clinical Hypnotherapy, a known degree mill. Ansari claims to have earned awards from the National Guild of Hypnotists. He practices in Washington, DC.