Michael Sheehan, Fake Master's Degree in Clinical Hypnotherapy, Kent UK

We've been focusing a lot on folks who have falsely claimed to have earned legitimate doctorates. However, we would also like to cast light on those who falsely claim to hold Master's Degrees.

Today we have Michael Sheehan of HypnoSpirit located in South East, Kent UK  (hypnospirit.co.uk and hypnospirit.org), of claims to hold a Master's of Science in Clinical Hypnotherapy. Of course, he doesn't state from where he earned it, nor does it matter since there are NO legitimate, accredited master's degree program in clinical hypnotherapy anywhere in the world.

PhD-Fraud Roy Hunter Speaks Out On Fake PhD and Alpha University

Today, Roy Hunter, a PhD fraud who we previously exposed, wrote an open letter on Scott Sandland's HypnoThoughts.com. Our response will be coming soon.....
                                                             
 From Roy Hunter:
----------------------

For several months now the debates have continued over whether or not to use any degrees other than those originating from a regionally accredited university. While it is a fact that some alleged degrees can be purchased without being earned, that does not make all degrees fake just because they come from lesser known institutions that may not have “regional” accreditation.

Here Roy insinuates that his so-called degree granting "institution," Alpha University (or what we call a MILL), is one of those lesser known institutions.

Contrary to personal accusations from several people posted both publicly and sent privately, I acted in good faith regarding the two PhD’s awarded to me. There was no intent whatsoever to “deceive” or use a fraudulent degree. I did what several professionals told me was both legal and ethical.

If he truly believes that his fake PhD's are legitimate, then he is an idiot. Otherwise, one must presume that he is scamming the consumer into believing that he holds a legitimate doctorate. Idiot or scam artist? You decide before you give him or his publisher your money.

However, before getting back to the topic of degrees, I wish to address two specific issues that concern me greatly:

First, several critics of so-called fake degrees have attacked my character and imputed dishonorable motives. In my opinion their caustic comments appear to try to discredit me and my work, and/or discourage people from buying my books; and some comments may constitute libel.

We are not discrediting Roy's work, ROY is discrediting Roy's work. It's not libel if it's true and we can support our facts with additional facts. Roy's argument that "several professionals told me was both legal and ethical" doesn't carry any weight, particularly in an industry overshadowed by fraudsters with fake credentials.

While I believe their personal attacks are not worthy of individual responses from me, several colleagues whom I respect suggested that I post this response for the benefit of people who are new to Hypnothoughts and not familiar with my work.

Some critics have also stated that writing books does not mean you know much, indirectly referring to me. While that may be true for some people, numerous hypnosis instructors around the world recommend my books to their students because they believe my books contain valuable information. If those who judge me so harshly walked just one month in my shoes, they might have at least a little respect for my work.

Roy attempts to divert the argument to his books. The fact remains that we are here to discuss his illegitimate degree.

Second, when hypnotists attack other hypnosis professionals rather than debating issues, it destroys unity and creates division and confusion. Over the years I’ve seen a few caustic critics drive good people away from other internet hypnosis forums. That is starting to happen here, as several of my friends no longer post on hypnothoughts because of the flame wars. We need to put a stop to that. Take your caustic criticism to the Wild, Wild West group, which I hope is in the “safe” zone without Google access.

Sure Roy. You would love more than anything to not be called out on your fake PhDs. The best thing for hypnotists to do is EXACTLY what they are already doing, which is to make it absolutely clear to you and others like you, that you are the ones who destroy unity within the profession. Your fake degrees are an abomination and hurt the entire industry.

A personal attack is NOT appropriate just because the caustic criticism is sugar coated with “kind regards” and sprinkled with a few more polite words. A flaming critic looks bad in the eyes of most of the readers rather than the person the critic attacks. It is both rude and unprofessional, so PLEASE stop the personal attacks if you wish to post on any public forum.

Roy would love to not be attacked over his fake degree. We will never stop from exposing the fraud that you are.

We need more unity even though we may have diversified opinions. We can agree to disagree on certain issues and debate them without attacking the person. My goals ever since starting my practice in 1983 have been: first, to help empower my clients;

How can you empower your clients when you misrepresent your qualifications before they even walk in your door? Do you get a thrill out of being called, "Dr. Hunter?"

second, to help improve the quality of our profession;

Again, you have done nothing but denigrate the profession with your bogus credentials.

third, to create more unity even when we have differing opinions; and fourth, to help build bridges with mainstream healthcare.

What does Roy know about building bridges with mainstream healthcare? Mainstream healthcare, consisting of doctors with legitimate doctorates, will never build bridges with hypnotists that wave their bogus doctorates.

Back to the debates over degrees: Rather than engaging in the endless debates over the use of degrees and their impact on building bridges, I am currently not using either one of my two PhD’s on my marketing materials…nor on most pages of my website. However, I currently have no intention of renouncing either one of my PhD’s.

Note that Roy wrote "either one of my two PhDs." As can be seen by the possessiveness in his statement, Roy STILL can't get over the fact that his doctorates are fake.  And he has no intention of renouncing either one of his PhDs. Clearly, Roy wants to dig his feet into the ground and wave his fake PhDs like a flag. Yet, argues that he is trying to help the profession. Can anybody see the logic in that?

Further, Roy is deceiving his readers even more when he wrote, "I am currently not using either one of my two PhDs on my marketing materials...nor on MOST pages of my website." We beg to differ. Roy's most current marketing ad for Iceland clearly shows "Roy Hunter, Ph.D."

Several years ago an attorney told me it was appropriate for me to use the degree conferred by St. John’s University, the college founded by the late Arthur Winkler that was accredited by a theological accrediting agency.

St. John's University is not an accredited university. See our research here http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2012/11/roy-hunter-phd-fraud-scam-artist.html
He should ask that attorney for a refund. 

More recently, I received the following information from Dr. Conrad Adams from Alpha University regarding its legitimacy and accreditation:

"Dr." Conrad Adams is another degree fraud. See our research on this scam artist here: http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2012/11/conrad-adams-phd-fraud-and-diploma-mill.html

* * * * * * *
Facts: Alpha University:

1. is a private not for profit professional membership education institute registered in Nevada and Louisiana.
2. offers adults the opportunity to finalize their formal education.
3. adheres to guidelines and standards as set forth by the U. S. Department of Education stated in 8 CFR 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(D). We are going to print the entire code for you here shortly.
4. offers its courses using a hybrid system for learning (online, correspondence, classroom combined). So?
5. is accredited by the National Accreditation for Colleges and Schools and has been since September 11, 2009. The NACS is a fake agency. See http://www.ripoffreport.com/business-consulting/national-accreditati/national-accreditation-for-col-a3e05.htm
6. degrees have been examined, evaluate and verified by California University Foreign Credentials Evaluation and determined to be equivalent to degrees awarded by regionally accredited universities and colleges in the USA. Another scam outfit. See http://www.degreeinfo.com/accreditation-discussions-ra-detc-state-approval-unaccredited-schools/27628-california-university-foreign-credentials-evaluation-issues-degrees.html

* * * * * * *
We direct your attention to our research on this degree mill. See http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2012/12/alpha-university-degree-mill.html

Before jumping to conclusions, please consider the facts. I know that I am not the only person to have lost respect for several flamers on hypnothoughts. You know who you are, and if you ever want my respect, you will have to earn it through better behavior.

Let each of us find that part of ourselves that wants to help others and improve our profession by improving ourselves rather than trying to put other people down. Think twice, or even thrice before hitting the “Add reply” button.

Roy Hunter

Attorney for Travis Fox speaks out

We heard today from an alleged attorney for Travis Fox, the celebrity we ousted for falsely purporting to hold a doctorate yet, alleges to hold a doctorate in just about all of his marketing endeavors. This is what he wrote:

Gentlemen:

 

Please be advised that this office represents Dr. Travis Fox in connection with the untruthful and slanderous e-mails and your blog that you have created about Dr. Fox and his credentials.

 

In addition to the foregoing, you have put up a picture of Dr. Fox which you are not permitted to do without his written permission.  This picture must be immediately taken down and never used again.  If you do not cease and desist from using Dr. Fox's picture, then all appropriate legal action will be taken against you for a permanent injunction as well as an action for monetary damages.

 

Your blog is totally untrue and is libelous.  You must cease and desist from using this blog and/or e-mail and must stop spreading untruths and lies regarding Dr. Fox.

 

We do not know where you allegedly obtained your information about Dr. Fox, but rest assured that he has his credentials and your libelous and slanderous statements about Dr. Fox will be met with the full force of the law should you continue.

 

In conclusion, we want your blog corrected or removed completely and you can no longer use Dr. Fox's picture in any way.  This is a violation of Dr.Fox's rights and is an invasion of his privacy.

 

You can respond to this e-mail as listed. 

 

 

Very truly yours,

 

 

Our response:

 

Dear Lawyer: 

 

We have done our research and Travis Fox does not hold an accredited doctorate. Therefore, our allegations are truthful and cannot be considered as slander. We ask you, Mr. Juris Doctor, how would you -or any judge on the bench who had completed a legitimate doctoral program, feel about somebody who fraudulently misrepresents themselves as a doctor? One certainly would presume that Travis Fox would receive no sympathy from these individuals.

Further, the image that we used is in the public domain in that it was readily accessible on Google. As members of the press, we have the right to use his image for public information and we are not gaining profit from it.

 

We'll make a deal with Travis Fox. If he can prove to us that he has earned a legitimate, accredited doctorate, then we will be more than happy to remove any reference to him from this blog. This would be much more cost-effective than hiring lawyers to fight a legal battle that he is likely to lose. Heck, we'll even apologize. Until then, we're not going anywhere.

Former Client of "DR." Larry Volz Speaks Out

A former client of the PhD-fraud Larry Volz reached out to us today. They lost over $2000 on this fraudster. They requested anonymity, so we took the liberty to mask their name and email address. Read on:

I just found your blog with information on "Dr." Larry Volz  I was a client of his when he ran the American Hypnosis Clinic.  His company offered a lifetime guarantee and then about a year after I paid for a program for drug addiction, he shut the company down and opened up a new one in the same city.  

I am infuriated with the scam he pulled .  I went to him specifically because he was listed as a Dr and not many other hypnotists are Doctors. I had no idea that he wasn't a real doctor.  I have done some research on this scam artist, which I should have done before I paid him over $2000, and found out that he does not even have a masters degree.  He took a couple of master's level courses but never completed the program.  His "Master's degree" is really a "Master's level hypnosis certification" that he got in a weekend.  

I am outraged.  I also have since found out that it is against the law in Virginia for him to offer substance abuse counseling if he isn't certified by the Virginia Board of Counseling. 

http://www.dhp.virginia.gov/counseling/counseling_laws_regs.htm

But it is still listed on his new companies website as a service he offers.  

http://www.larry-volz.com/abchypnosis/Drug%20Treatment.htm

He is even running his own diploma mill training other people to be scam hypnotists like him.

http://howtobeahypnotist.net/Larry_Volz.htm

He even does hypnosis and magic shows at "adult oriented" events.  http://wickedfaire.com/pleasures

"Doc Volz" is a real scumbag. He deserves to go to jail for the frauds that he is pulling on people who were vulnerable and needed help.

Please do not publish my email address as I wish to keep my name out of this mess. I feel stupid for not doing better research at the time. 

Thanks for the work you are doing with your blog.  I really appreciate you getting the word out and helping to alert others to the slime balls out there like Larry Volz.

 

 

Paul McKenna, DJ turned Hypnotist "Earned" Fake Doctorate

Taken from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-398025/Paul-McKenna-wins-court-battle-fraud-claims--price.html

Paul McKenna wins court battle over fraud claims - at a price

Paul McKenna has won his libel battle over a claim that he had bought a bogus degree. But his success could come at a price - with even the judge publicly wondering whether it was a pyrrhic victory.
The TV hypnotist faces picking up a big slice of a £1.5million legal bill while receiving damages that could be as low as £20,000. He was also counting the cost of being exposed as a victim of a scam which saw him work for an unaccredited doctorate.

Mr Justice Eady said McKenna, 42, must bear some responsibility for a 'curious case ... (in which) both sides seem to have been determined to fight themselves to a standstill'. He added: 'What all this has achieved is open to question.'

McKenna - a former radio DJ who now runs a self-help empire with an annual turnover of £2.5million - had sued the Daily Mirror after columnist Victor Lewis-Smith accused him of boasting about having a PhD despite knowing it was fake.

The doctorate in hypnotherapy, which the TV star had gained from La Salle university in Louisiana in 1997, had been the subject of regular mocking by the Mirror, and Lewis-Smith in particular, McKenna said.

For six years he ignored the barbed comments which, he said, had made him 'a laughing stock'.
But, in October 2003, he decided enough was enough after Lewis-Smith wrote: 'I discovered that anyone could be fully doctored by Lasalle within months (no previous qualifications needed), just so long as they could answer the following question correctly, "Do you have 2,615 dollars, sir?".'
During the hearing, the High Court heard that La Salle was not officially accredited to award doctorate degrees.

Instead, it had been accredited by an organisation called the Council for Post-Secondary Christian Education - a bogus body set up by the La Salle's founder, Thomas Kirk, who later pleaded guilty to fraud.
None of this however was known to McKenna until after he got his PhD, the court was told. The hypnotist was simply one of La Salle's many 'innocent victims'.

What's more, rather than simply 'getting a degree in exchange for a cheque', McKenna had spent more than 500 hours on a 50,000 word thesis, later published in his best-selling book Change Your Life in Seven Days.

In his ruling, the judge openly questioned the value of the degree. However, he was adamant that McKenna had not tried to 'hoodwink' the court or the public when he referred to his PhD in his promotional material. He described the entertainer's performance in the witness box as 'determined, indignant, and manifestly proud of his work (whatever anybody else may think of it)'.  He concluded: 'Mr McKenna was not, in my judgment, dishonest and, for that matter, whatever one may think of the academic quality of the work, or of the degree granted by La Salle, it would not be accurate to describe it as "bogus".

'It was certainly not granted merely for money. The claimant is therefore entitled to succeed on liability.'

Lowly academic credentials

But any sense of triumph McKenna felt will be tempered by the ordeal of having had his lowly academic credentials pored over in public. Even the entertainer himself appeared doubtful as to whether the court action had enhanced his reputation.

He told Channel 4 News: 'Well, certainly, by bringing this to court - something I did not want to do - has actually put it on the radar. 'But I felt that I had no choice as I had to restore my reputation and protect the livelihood of those people that work for me. He (Lewis-Smith) did not show any signs of stopping saying these things.'

McKenna was born in Enfield, North London, the son of a builder and a home economics teacher. After leaving school with few qualifications, he began working as a DJ before joining Capital Radio in London in the mid-1980s.

His interest in hypnotism, however, soon took precedence. His television programmes, The Paranormal World of Paul McKenna and The Hypnotic World of Paul McKenna, regularly attracted 12million viewers, and he acquired a raft of celebrity clients such as Sophie Dahl, David Beckham and Tara Palmer-Tomkinson.

He now lives in West London with a fortune in excess of £ 10million and hosts weight-loss and corporate leadership seminars which sell for up to £7,000 a ticket.

Although now single, his former girlfriends include GMTV's Penny Smith, golfer Colin Montgomerie's ex-wife Eimear and former fiancÈe, Claire Staples, who now works as his manager.
The case cost McKenna an estimated £5million in lost earnings because poor ticket sales led to the cancellation of tour dates.

The Daily Mirror was ordered to pay costs estimated in excess of £1.5million. But Mr Justice Eady indicated that McKenna may have to pick up some of his own expenses if they are deemed to be unreasonable for the newspaper to cover.

Damages will be decided in October and are expected to be between £20,000 and £50,000.
The Mirror said: 'We are disappointed with today's judgment but given that the case has yet to conclude, it would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this stage.'

A Message From Richard Clark

We received a delightful email today from Richard Clark, who accused us of being "every bit as big a liar and fraud as anyone you write about."

Thank you, Mr. Clark, for confirming that everybody we have written about is "a liar and a fraud." Richard Clark is a licensed counselor in California. Yes, people actually go to this chump for help with their own problems. Sounds like he needs some counseling for himself.

In case any of our readers don't know who Richard Clark is, he is also Scott Sandland's right hand man. He operates the California Mental Health Counseling Associates in San Pedro, CA. We have outed several people that Mr. Clark is associated with, particularly the fake PhD "liars and frauds" that will be presenting at the HypnoThoughts Live conference that he is throwing together with Scott Sandland. So we give thanks to Richard Clark for further confirming that what we said about the frauds is true.

You see, Richard Clarke happens to be the Chief Operating Officer and instructor for Scott Sandland's Hypnosis Practitioner Training Institute. He is also a moderator on Sandland's HypnoThoughts blog.

We find it interesting that Mr. Clarke would like us to out that Mr. Richard Bandler as a fraud. Since the Hypnosis Practitioner Training Institute offers a "course" on NLP, a widely used approach that Bandler is credited with co-founding. We presume that, since you consider a co-founder of NLP a fraud then perhaps your course, "Introduction to NLP," is also based on a sham principle. Thanks for the tip, Richard. We'll get right on that.

Richard Clark wanted to see if we are "all hot air" and dared us to post this. Well, we did. And our next post will be to oust Richard Bandler as a Doctor of PhD Fraud.

So we ask the question of Mr. Clark, what makes us "a liar and fraud?" By bringing to the spotlight all of the persons who falsely use unearned titles to enhance their credibility? Many of these people who are your personal friends and business associates? We understand your anger, but perhaps you should direct it at those frauds who denigrate your profession.

--------------------------
From Richard Clark, it's title was "Let's see if you are all hot air.":

Hena Husain - Sterling Heights, Michigan - PhD FAKE

Hena Husain of Balance4Life in Sterling Heights, MI claims to have earned a doctorate in Behavioral Science from Alpha University. Readers of this blog know that there is no such university (See http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2012/12/alpha-university-degree-mill.html). She cons others into thinking she has a doctorate and then trains them to become hypnotists for organizations such as the International Association of Counselors and Therapists and the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association (both owned by Bob Otto, who is another fake PhD scammer, See http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2012/12/robert-otto-owner-of-imdha-and-iact.html).

Husain is a proud member of these supposedly "ethical" organizations:

Clinical Care Network Professional Group 
Medical Office Managers Association 
National Guild of Hypnotists 
American Board of Hypnotherapy, IACT and IMDHA 
The Greater West Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce 
Local Business Network (LBN) 
The Pakistani Women's Association of Michigan

Wayson Lee, PhD Fraud, Strikes Back...Or Tries To

A while ago, we wrote about Wayson Lee from Washington, DC, who FALSELY claimed to have earned a PhD, a Doctor of Clinical Hypnosis. See http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2012/11/wayson-lee-washington-dc-fake-doctorate.html

He sent us a series of emails last night ranting about how he "never got a gig based on 'degree.'" And that doctors "suck" at their profession. Well, Mr. Wayson Lee, it is quite clear that, if your "abilities shine through" like you claim, then you would have no need to misrepresent your academic qualifications. You are NOT a doctor of anything. It is quite clear that you are lying about having a PhD in order to increase your own credibility.

We don't have the time to write about Wayson Lee's rants about Iceland, so we'll just publish his rant for you.

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.

Another UK-Based PhD Fraud Renounces Bogus Degree

The individual wrote to us today and stated:

"I have been informed that I appear on your blog as having a fake doctorate. It should be noted, that when I was awarded my DCH, the American Institute of Hypnotherapy enjoyed state approval from California which I believed to be adequate oversight for the qualification. My PhD was awarded under similar circumstances with the assurance that accreditation was being worked on, and whilst this organisation did gain accreditation, they had to drop their PhD programme as part of the accreditation agreement. I ceased using that qualification, some years before I ceased using the DCH."

There is a saying that goes something like: Ignorantia juris non excusat. In other words, ignorance of the law is no excuse. It's not rocket science to figure out that a degree program is not legitimate, so we will proceed with any such excuse as just that -an excuse.

However, we acknowledge that this individual has removed any reference to themself as a Dr. or PhD on their website. We also acknowledge that, thanks to years of cross-pollination on the internet, it will be difficult, if not cost-prohibitive or impossible, to eliminate such references from sites not under the individual's control.

Holding to our agreement, with have removed this individual from our blog.

Denis Brady - Ocala, Deland, Florida - Multiple Fake PhDs

Denis Brady, Dennis Brady, or D.A. Brady, of The National Board of Professional and Ethical Standards (yes, we were laughing as we wrote that since an unethical scam artist is the operator), claims to have earned a doctorate in Clinical Hypnotherapy. Readers of our blog know that no such degree exists. He is supposedly the proprietor of the Volusia Health Center in Deland, Florida. However, we can't find any such website.

He also claims to have earned a doctorate in Education and also in Business Administration. Wow, that's a lot of doctorates. Of course, he fails to state where his doctorates we earned. We believe they are just as legitimate as the Clinical Hypnotherapy doctorate.

John McGrail - Los Angeles, CA - Doctor of Fraud

John McGrail's webpage reads, "Dr. John McGrail is more than a clinical hypnotherapist." This is probably true, because he is also a clinical fraud. John McGrail claims to have earned a PhD in Clinical Hypnotherapy from Breyer State University. We know all too well the claims of people falsely purporting to have earned a doctorate from this degree mill (Larry Volz and Karen Schneider). See our page diploma mill resource page at http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2012/11/known-diploma-mills-resource-guide.html

McGrail's company is called, "A Better You, Inc." and is located in Los Angeles, California. He wrote that he received his hypnosis training at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute.

Hypnotist Convicted For Sexually Assaulting Client and Having Child Porn

In a shocking story which recently appeared in this news, Philip Sherwin, a hypnotist located in Leicester, UK, fondled a teenage client while she was hypnotized. While investigating the matter, hypnotists found over 44,000 images of child pornography on his computer. The judge who convicted Sherwin "slammed the apparent lack of regulation for hypnotherapists after hearing he had just a one-week course and a two-day seminar on the subject before setting up in practice."

Read the entire story here:
http://www.capitalbay.com/headline/294976-hypno-sicko-pervert-put-teenager-in-hypnotic-trance-then-filmed-himself-sexually-abusing-her.html

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.

Richard Nongard, PhD, Scottsdale, AZ - FAKE PhD

Richard Nongard of Scottsdale, AZ owns Subliminal Science, the "Hypnosis Superstore," Peachtree Professional Education, Inc., the NLP Certification Board, and the International Certification Board of Clinical Hypnotherapy (of which he claims to be a member in good standing -duh, it's his business).   This guy refers to himself as Richard Nongard, PhD but provides absolutely NO EVIDENCE that he has earned one. In fact, after "mistakenly" using the terms PhD on several products, he removed it altogether (except from his "Super Store." See below.).

In 2009, a reader on the Hypnothoughts Blog called Nongard out on this (see below). His response attempted to skirt the issue and he wrote that he only uses degrees when marketing to psychotherapy professionals. In other words, it appears that he is conning licensed medical professionals into believe that he holds the academic qualification of "Doctor," which he does not.

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.

Coming soon: Terri Lee Cooper, Edmonton Alberta, Canada

Terri Lee Cooper of Hypnosis For Life in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. Coming soon!

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

Robert Otto, Owner of IMDHA and IACT, FAKE PhD!

When we saw this guy was presenting at Scott Sandland's HypnoThoughts Live, we decided to take a closer look. Robert Otto, owner of the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association and the International Association of Counselors and Therapists....purports to have a FAKE PhD, in violation of his own Code of Ethics. This is a fantastic explanation of why all of these fake doctors are allowed to run rampant throughout the IMDHA and the IACT.

Liberal use of "Dr. Robert Otto" and "Robert Otto, PhD" without a single source to indicate from where or in what. How convenient, Bob.

What's the matter, Bob? Is there something lacking in your life that you have to make up for with a FAKE PhD? The voice of the IMDHA and the IACT, Ladies and Gentlemen.