Read the full story:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/odessa-woman-practicing-as-hypnotherapist-was-unlicensed-police-say/1089104
Showing posts with label phd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label phd. Show all posts
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
Tampa FL Hypnotist Arrested for Posing as a Doctor
Read the full story:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/odessa-woman-practicing-as-hypnotherapist-was-unlicensed-police-say/1089104
Friday, 8 March 2013
Roy Hunter Still Going At It With His Fake PhD
Despite being aware of our blog, Roy Hunter is still going at it by scamming others with his fake Ph.D -and with the help of Scott Sandland's HypnoThoughts blog at that. Just recently, Roy Hunter advertised a training in our beautiful home of Reykjavik where he qualifies himself as "Roy Hunter, Ph.D." Where did he advertise this? On HypnoThoughts, of course. Yes, there you have the so-called [un]"ethical" Scott Sandland and the so-called [un]"ethical" Hypnosis Practitioner Training Institute, once again supporting this no-degree scammer.
"Train with the master himself," he writes. Yes, he is the master -of degree scams.
We have previously highlighted Roy Hunters indiscretions here at http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2012/11/roy-hunter-phd-fraud-scam-artist.html.
We find it a unique opportunity to highlight Roy Hunter's scam while he is here in Iceland. We are considering picketing and alerting the media to this shammery.
Sunday, 30 December 2012
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
Friday, 21 December 2012
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.
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.
Monday, 26 November 2012
Marianne Zaugg, Los Angeles, Pasadena, California CA - FAKE Doctorate! - UPDATED
We affirm that Marianna Zaugg has not earned a doctorate and is fraudulently purporting to have earned a doctorate.
Jill Semonin, Barberton, OH - FAKE PhD!
Just for fun, we visited the University of Metaphysical Sciences website at http://www.umsonline.org. Here are the "requirements" for a PhD:
How quaint. Becoming a doctor is easy! You write a paper and wait 6-8 weeks. Sign me up! Heck, you can earn a second doctorate just as easily!
The University of Metaphysical Sciences claims to be accredited by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and the American Alternative Medical Association. RED FLAGS!
None of the accrediting "agencies" are accredited or acknowledged by the United States Department of Education (See http://www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Agencies.aspx)
Lastly, Semonin claims to have earned a "Bachelor's equivalent" from Liberty University. Sorry, Ms. Semonin, you either earn the bachelors or you don't. It looks like Semonin has ABSOLUTELY NO DEGREES.
Stick with the Karaoke job, Jill. Because your day-time doctoral qualifications have been BUSTED!
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:
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.
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.
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
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
IntegrityMembers 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.
-----------------------------
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
Sunday, 25 November 2012
Fake Qualifications, PhDs and Hypnotherapy (From 23NLPeople Blog)
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
I would love to read your comments in the section below.
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
I would love to read your comments in the section below.
Saturday, 24 November 2012
Huntington Pacific University - A Degree Mill
A search of the internet found a page for "Huntington Pacific University" at http://c3e3.com/hpu/.
Here is a website, designed by an amateur. Take away the suffix "hpu" http://c3e3.com and you will find a very cryptic page with a number of broken links titled, "Spiral On Dudes!" Here, somebody named Spiralona claims to be the host of "Sacred Originality Televison." Ok, so this is getting weird. A whois search for c3e3.com yielded an address of at 809 N Branciforte Ave in Santa Cruz, California. Apparantly, it's a very nice house with about $400K. Not what I would call a University.
Anyway, going back to the original link of http://c3e3.com/hpu/, Huntington Pacific University claims to be accredited by the World Associations of Universities and Colleges. A Google search yielded a defunct website at http://www.waucinternationalaccreditation.com/
Wikipedia says this organization is not recognized by the United States Department of Education. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Association_of_Universities_and_Colleges
but was created by a lady named Maxine Asher, directer of the unaccredited American World University. At one point, Maxine offered a New Year's special on all of her degrees, for only $1000. So here's what happened, Maxine created a bogus school that nobody would accredit. So she created her own accrediting agency. Now she's probably making a few bucks from other unaccredited "universities" for the privilage of being accredited (by a non-recognized organization). But hey, they are accredited -WHO CARES RIGHT? Whatever.
We affirm that since "Huntington Pacific University" and the "World Associations of Universities and Colleges" are not recognized, legitimate entities. Any person who claims to have earned a degree from here is CONNING YOU.
Here is a website, designed by an amateur. Take away the suffix "hpu" http://c3e3.com and you will find a very cryptic page with a number of broken links titled, "Spiral On Dudes!" Here, somebody named Spiralona claims to be the host of "Sacred Originality Televison." Ok, so this is getting weird. A whois search for c3e3.com yielded an address of at 809 N Branciforte Ave in Santa Cruz, California. Apparantly, it's a very nice house with about $400K. Not what I would call a University.
Anyway, going back to the original link of http://c3e3.com/hpu/, Huntington Pacific University claims to be accredited by the World Associations of Universities and Colleges. A Google search yielded a defunct website at http://www.waucinternationalaccreditation.com/
Wikipedia says this organization is not recognized by the United States Department of Education. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Association_of_Universities_and_Colleges
but was created by a lady named Maxine Asher, directer of the unaccredited American World University. At one point, Maxine offered a New Year's special on all of her degrees, for only $1000. So here's what happened, Maxine created a bogus school that nobody would accredit. So she created her own accrediting agency. Now she's probably making a few bucks from other unaccredited "universities" for the privilage of being accredited (by a non-recognized organization). But hey, they are accredited -WHO CARES RIGHT? Whatever.
We affirm that since "Huntington Pacific University" and the "World Associations of Universities and Colleges" are not recognized, legitimate entities. Any person who claims to have earned a degree from here is CONNING YOU.
Barry Neale, Fake PhD, Essex UK
Looking closer at Calamus University, the Whois description of the website owner lists the address as 27 Old Gloucester Street in GB, which is a remailer so that a person could appear to have a prestigious address.
According to Calamus' website, their accreditation reads, "
Calamus Extension College Ltd. certificates and diplomas are private UK qualifications. The college is independently fully accredited by the International Association for Distance Learning, a private, non-governmental accrediting body that specifically accredits distance learning colleges.
Calamus Extension College Ltd. certificate and diploma qualifications are not under any British national or governmental qualifications accreditation framework. In the UK, it is legal to issue certificates and diplomas in many fields without government authority or approval and there are very many UK private sector schools that do so especially in the areas of complementary therapies, personal development, business training and vocational skills.
So now we know they are not accredited. But let's look further at the the International Association of Distance Learning. Our research yields that absolutely no government entity in the world recognizes this organization to accredit any degree.
In other locations, we found that Barry Neale claimed to have earned his doctorate through Huntington Pacific University (see our page on Huntington Pacific University), the American Institute of Hypnotherapy, another degree mill that hands out unaccredited "degrees," and the American Pacific University, also an unaccredited degree mill (see http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/Education_Degree_Scams_Unaccreddited.php).
As such, we conclude that Barry Neale is a FRAUD and purchased his so-called "PhD" from a degree mill.
Friday, 23 November 2012
"Dr." Keli Henault - PhD FRAUD from Austin, TX
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)
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.
We continue to affirm that Keli Joi Henault is a scam artist purporting to hold a doctorate who, in fact, DOES NOT.
Friday, 9 November 2012
Cal Banyan & Rev. Giles - Advocates speaking out against Fake PhDs
I caught an interesting article posted in 2008 by Cal Banyan, when he referred to Rev. Scott Giles' article entitled, "Shooting Yourself in the Foot Part #1: Real v. Fake Credentials." Banyan wrote:
Bravo Rev. C. Scot Giles, DNGH! In case you don’t know who Rev. Giles is, he writes for the National Guild of Hypnotists, Journal of Hypnotism, which just arrived in my mailbox today. I loved his latest article, Shooting Yourself in the Foot Part #1: Real v. Fake Credentials. In this article, he talks about such things as “The Mail-Order Degree“, “The Internet Ordination” and “The Silly Title“.
My favorite part was about fake hypnosis degrees. I just can’t stand it when someone comes up to me and tells me that they have a “PhD” or other kind of “doctorate” in hypnosis! I don’t know about every country in the world, but I do know that there is no such thing in the USA.
I don’t mean to make people who have these fake degrees angry at me, but I just have to tell them that you are doing EVERYONE a HUGE disservice by promoting yourself and your service by holding out these fake degrees in hypnotism, hypnosis and hypnotherapy.First of all, as Rev. Giles will tell you, these degrees, even if they take some work to get, do not rise to the level of study required to achieve a real academic degree. These fake hypnosis degrees are not recognized by any organization who would grant a real degree. In most cases you will find that these “degree granting” organizations will say that they ARE accredited. But with a bit more research, you will find that they created the organization that is accrediting them! Essentially, this means that they have accredited themselves. This is bad for the hypnotist who will be found out eventually. It is bad for the profession because when hypnotists are discovered to have false credentials, it makes everyone in the profession look bad. It is bad for our clients, because they are being misled to select a hypnotist based on false credentials. I have known people with these false degrees who could not hypnotize anyone! Nor could they carry on a intelligent conversation on the topic of hypnosis, hypnotherapy or hypnotism. I personally think these fake degrees should be outlawed. Bravo Rev. Giles for writing your article, and thank you NGH for printing it!
This is wonderful testimony about the dangers of hypnotists bearing false credentials. There is one problem, however, in that both Banyan and Giles are leaders of the National Guild of Hypnotists, an organization who tends to turn their heads at fake credentials. Simply review this blog to see a number of NGH members who lie about the credentials. I applaud Banyan and Giles, but they have the influence to make such changes at the NGH and, well, obviously nothing has changed since 2008.
To read the entire article, go to: http://www.calbanyan.com/archives/2008/03/05/rev-giles-on-real-v-fake-credentials/
Bravo Rev. C. Scot Giles, DNGH! In case you don’t know who Rev. Giles is, he writes for the National Guild of Hypnotists, Journal of Hypnotism, which just arrived in my mailbox today. I loved his latest article, Shooting Yourself in the Foot Part #1: Real v. Fake Credentials. In this article, he talks about such things as “The Mail-Order Degree“, “The Internet Ordination” and “The Silly Title“.
My favorite part was about fake hypnosis degrees. I just can’t stand it when someone comes up to me and tells me that they have a “PhD” or other kind of “doctorate” in hypnosis! I don’t know about every country in the world, but I do know that there is no such thing in the USA.
I don’t mean to make people who have these fake degrees angry at me, but I just have to tell them that you are doing EVERYONE a HUGE disservice by promoting yourself and your service by holding out these fake degrees in hypnotism, hypnosis and hypnotherapy.First of all, as Rev. Giles will tell you, these degrees, even if they take some work to get, do not rise to the level of study required to achieve a real academic degree. These fake hypnosis degrees are not recognized by any organization who would grant a real degree. In most cases you will find that these “degree granting” organizations will say that they ARE accredited. But with a bit more research, you will find that they created the organization that is accrediting them! Essentially, this means that they have accredited themselves. This is bad for the hypnotist who will be found out eventually. It is bad for the profession because when hypnotists are discovered to have false credentials, it makes everyone in the profession look bad. It is bad for our clients, because they are being misled to select a hypnotist based on false credentials. I have known people with these false degrees who could not hypnotize anyone! Nor could they carry on a intelligent conversation on the topic of hypnosis, hypnotherapy or hypnotism. I personally think these fake degrees should be outlawed. Bravo Rev. Giles for writing your article, and thank you NGH for printing it!
This is wonderful testimony about the dangers of hypnotists bearing false credentials. There is one problem, however, in that both Banyan and Giles are leaders of the National Guild of Hypnotists, an organization who tends to turn their heads at fake credentials. Simply review this blog to see a number of NGH members who lie about the credentials. I applaud Banyan and Giles, but they have the influence to make such changes at the NGH and, well, obviously nothing has changed since 2008.
To read the entire article, go to: http://www.calbanyan.com/archives/2008/03/05/rev-giles-on-real-v-fake-credentials/
Monday, 13 August 2012
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. Tuesday, 1 May 2012
Larry Volz - FAKE DOCTORATE
Breyer State University is a known degree mill (See here http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2012/11/known-diploma-mills-resource-guide.html) He is the self-proclaimed dean of a self-proclaimed American Institute of Clinical Hypnosis.
Update: April 17, 2013, a former client who was ripped off of more than $2000 from Volz reaches out to us. See http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2013/04/former-client-of-dr-larry-volz-speaks.html
Update: On July 21, 2012, this PhD scam artist responded on his blog site.
Response to libel against
Larry Volz PhD
[It's not libel if the information I provided to the public about you is true]
[We are not in Maryland]
People Who Have Fake Doctorates: Larry Volz - PhD Scammer
andLarry Volz Scam
andcharlottsville, doc, doctor, hypnotherapist, hypnotist, larry voltz, larry volz, phd,richmond, scam, va, virginia
This person apparently seems quite threatened by myself and several of the individuals below that she also listed in her blog. The first of us were all within an easy driving range of her practice and she could certainly lose business to any one of us. I am assuming that is why she libeled us and can only think she is ashamed of her behavior and that is why she did it anonymously.[We are not threatened by individuals who falsify their academic credentials. We are providing a service to the public and warning them about scam artists like yourself a claim to have fake credentials]
She made a couple of comments that I will specifically respond to:
1 - Breyer state university is not accredited by the USDE and therefore the degrees it offers are invalid
2 - That because my degree is unaccredited I "cannot help anyone."
3 - That using the word "transpersonal" makes someone a "sham"
As to the first: It wasn't long ago that degrees in chiropractic were not accredited and the American Medical Association actually had a policy where doctors were supposed to tell their patients to stay away from chiropractors because they were dangerous. Eventually the chiropractors came together and created a class action lawsuit against the AMA and won. The AMA had to reverse it's policies and now chiropractors are a respected part of our health care system as they should be.
She said it herself that there are no accredited hypnotherapy degrees in America. That is true. If there was, I would have taken an accredited course of study. But since the U.S. department of Education is a very political organization and in my opinion often behind the times, I had to make do with the best education I could in my field of study. I took classes, passed exams and wrote a dissertation to get a non-tradtional PhD in clinical hypnosis because I believe in hypnosis as a powerful healing modality and the U.S. educational system and traditional schools have failed me.
For that matter, they have failed a lot of people in a lot of disciplines. Many people are turning to complimentary forms of healing and accredited programs are unavailable for most. For instance, naturopathy, homeopathy, ayurveda are all disciplines that are not regulated by or accredited by the USDE - however many people have found a lot of help through these modalities. In the case of Ayurveda, for thousands of years. And for that reason independent schools will offer a PhD in Clinical Hypnosis, or a doctorate in Ayurveda or a doctorate in naturopathy, etc.
[You still haven't responded to my truthful allegation that Breyer State University, a known degree mill, gave you a non-accredited degree. In fact, it is a degree mill. You are not a chiropractor and attempting to say that the U.S. Department of Education is a political organization and that traditional schools have failed you as an excuse to lie to people in order to win their business should be criminal. Who have proved nothing other than reaffirmed that your "degree" is a sham.]
"Larry Volz, PhD Scam?"
Far from being a PhD scam, these are grassroots efforts towards creating a better standard of education for those of us who have lost faith in the system. Which brings me to number 2...[Falsifying one's academic credentials is not a grassroots effort. Simply go to a real college, earn a real doctorate, and then you can call yourself one.]
This individual has claimed that because my PhD is not "real" I cannot help anyone. For this I refer you to www.hypnosis.ac. Here I have put quite a few testimonials of people who have quit smoking, lost weight, ended fears and phobias, reduced pain and achieved other goals. There are also several television excerpts from TV news shows who had me hypnotize people in front of them and did follow-up to make sure it worked. It did - as you can watch and see for yourselves.
[You scammed a lot of people into thinking you are a doctor. The process of hypnosis is easy and anybody can do it. But lying about your academic credentials is not helping anybody other than your own pocket.]
I have lots of additional testimonials in client folders that I simply haven't had time to post because I am busy being a therapist, an entertainer and a father. I think the dozens already up there are proof enough for any rational person to show that far from being a fraud, there is clear and present evidence that what I do works and my efforts are a benefit to my clients and my community.
[So? You still lied about having earned a doctorate. That's called a fraud.]
Here is my challenge: TO THE PERSON WHO ACCUSED ME OF BEING A FRAUD - I CHALLENGE YOU TO COME OUT AND PUBLICLY POST ABOUT YOUR PRACTICE AND OFFER SOME TESTIMONIALS FROM YOUR CLIENTS TO SHOW YOU ARE EVEN CLOSE TO AS EFFECTIVE OR UP-FRONT ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN AND CANNOT ACHIEVE FOR THEM.
In fact, I will go one step further: I CHALLENGE YOU TO AN IMPARTIAL, THIRD-PARTY MODERATED COMPARISON OF YOUR INTERVENTION TECHNIQUES AND MY OWN AND SEE WHOSE CLIENTS ARE MORE SATISFIED WITH THEIR THERAPISTS' RESULTS!
[I challenge you to admit that you lied about your "doctorate." And I challenge you to go to college and get a real degree.]
This therapist won't rise to the challenge. That's because she cannot. Studies have shown that traditional counseling only succeeds one third of the time, one third see no difference and one third improve on their own.
33% effective. That's the best the U.S. Department of Education approved doctoral programs can offer you. Perhaps you can see where I couldn't care less about those programs. I have taken masters degree level coursework in psychology, behavioral counseling and rehabilitation counseling at both Radford University and Virginia Commonwealth University (both acredited) and universally what I hear is pessimism and frustration. I especially hear it from the students who work in the field.
[But you didn't even get a master's degree. How sad that you have to even post that you took masters coursework.]
By contrast, hypnotherapy works more than twice as often as traditional therapy (see statistics at www.hypnosis.ac) and studies have shown NO DIFFERENCE between licensed counselors and unlicensed. Your minister is as likely to be able to help you as your psychologist. And there is NO difference in effectiveness between a traditionally trained counselor who does hypnotherapy and someone who specializes in hypnotherapy.
[So, you still lied about having earned a doctorate. And, if you're practicing psychotherapy without a license, you may be held criminally responsible.]
That includes those of us with a "fake doctorate."
I can testify to that from my own experience as well as from the studies that have torn apart the traditional licensure system. I once ran The American Hypnosis Clinic which was a referral and quality control organization that worked with 195 different therapists from around the nation. After therapy was done we routinely interviewed the clients to see how they did. Not only did a traditional degree make NO difference in the client outcomes, WE HAD TO LET GO THREE TIMES AS MANY LICENSED COUNSELORS AS WE DID UNLICENSED![Blah, blah, blah. Everything you're posting now is just gibberish to evade the fact that you lied about having earned a doctorate.]
I see it the same way I see American Idol: How many PhD's in music theory win American Idol? No one cares how educated you are - they care if you can sing. If you have TALENT! Traditional schools can't measure talent and focus on memorization of a broad spectrum of theoretical ideas. Modern hypnotherapy schools focus on technique that bolster your natural talent. I learned some valuable things at Radford and VCU -- but I learned 100 times more PRACTICAL and EFFECTIVE things in my "fake" PhD.
[More gibberish.]
Thirdly, she states that anyone who uses the word "transpersonal" is a "sham." The word transpersonal refers to a spiritual/religious belief that some people will use in their therapeutic work. Anyone who globally calls individuals a sham because of their personal spiritual belief is disrespectful and ignorant.
[And more gibberish.]
So to this cowardly, ignorant and self-righteous individual who feels safe slandering all of us because to sue her would cost us around $40,000 (according to my lawyer):I don't respect your opinion and neither should anyone else because you lack the moral character or professional efficacy to prove you can do better. Your degree is nothing but a fragile hut to protect your dying ego. I suggest that, rather than attacking those who care enough to do what you cannot, you focus on improving your abilities to help others. Or at the very least, talk to our clients to learn the truth instead of seeing only what bolsters your sad self-esteem.
[And even more gibberish.]
And finally, this author made a joke about my being all "smoke and mirrors." The fact is that after my undergraduate degree I discovered I enjoyed entertaining people with magic and comedy stage hypnosis. When I took classes to become a stage hypnotist I discovered I could use my talents to help people heal as well - and that's when I went back for my doctorate. And despite uptight people who think it "undignified" to both entertain and work as a therapist I believe that we should be balanced in our lives. We should do things in life that give back to society AND do things that refill our own emotional batteries. For me, life is in balance when I can help others with hypnotherapy, I can spend time enjoying my children and when I can make people laugh. For that reason I proudly entertain with magic and comedy hypnosis and have even created a snake oil character to poke fun at the nay-sayers who are as ignorant as this detractor that prompted this response.
Call me a fraud if you like... but all of my successful clients and I will simply shake our heads at you and all the other counselors who have failed them to the point that they sought me out.
[Right, Larry. I've already heard from several of your former clients who want to sue you for fraud.]
Sincerely,
Larry Volz, PhD
"SCAM ARTIST", "FAKE PHD", "SCAMMER", "FAKE DOCTORATE", "SNAKE OIL SALESMAN" AND ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO CALL ME.
Saturday, 28 April 2012
Masud Ansari - FAKE DOCTORATE
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