Tampa FL Hypnotist Arrested for Posing as a Doctor

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


Read the full story:

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

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Please do not publish my email address as I wish to keep my name out of this mess.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.

 

 

Are We Being Too Hard On Scott Sandland?

We received an email today in defense of Scott Sandland, the proprietor behind the HypnoThoughts website. I'd like to share it with our readers and see what you think. We would love your replies. If we decide to publish it, your privacy is assured.

This particular reader, whose privacy we will keep, suggests that Sandland is a good guy, who does not condone the use of fake credentials.  We disagree. Sandland continues to associate with several persons, on both his blog site as well as his HypnoThoughts Live! conference, who falsely claim to have doctorates, including Roy Hunter, Nancy Barwick, Roger Moore, Anne Spencer, Bob Otto, Melissa Tiers, Marla Brucker, William Mitchell, and Shelley Stockwell. If these individuals are truly as good as their word, they would not need to pretend (aka scam other to believe) that they have earned a doctorate.

Here's the email. What do you think?

Hi,

  I'd like to start by saying thank you for creating this site.  I've been in the field for about ten years and can't stand the fake degrees that people promote.  A couple years ago I considered doing something similar to your site, but never followed through.  I don't think I would have put in the research you have.   I hope more people will reconsider their claims because of this movement.

So here is my constructive criticism.  Your posts about Scott Sandland seem personally motivated and seem like a distraction from the good work you are doing.  I re-read his email to you that seems to have upset you, and found it interesting.  He may disagree with your priorities and tactics, but he certainly agrees with and supported your goal.  he even said he was excited about the idea of your site and was dissapointed when he read it.  Disapointed means he wants it to work!  I know hypnothoughts allows people to put their phoney credentials after their name, but that site has slammed conrad adams and alexander regal and a few other people you've mentioned on your blog.

I met Scott two years ago at a conference and was impressed.  He's sincere in his commitment to helping the profession of hypnosis and is willing to take a pay cut to help hypnotists learn.  He's not a fraud like the other people on your site.  He's never received, given, sold, or claimed to have a PHD.  The man seems honest and congruent to me (and I can spot a bull shitter).

So I did a little homework.  His name is not on Alpha University's site.  I don't know when or why or how it was removed, but it isn't there.  I couldn't find the quotes you grabbed from his website either, I didn't do a deep search though.  And let's be honest, that's pretty nit-picking compared to these other people.  I noticed he doesn't use credentials on the site for the hypnothoughts conference and the instructors at his school have legitimate PHDs (except for Roy Hunter, who I think teaches with a psychologist or something like that).  Actually, the school was so impressive that after looking into it I'm now thinking about taking the neurology class.

what he's doing may not be the way you would do it, but he's solving a lot more problems than he causes.  he's not a fraud.   I wonder if you resented his email and have been going after him -more than anyone else on this site- as retaliation for his email or something like that.  Of all the people to focus on, you've picked a person who is actually on your side.

I don't think I'm out of line in saying all this.  My goal is the same as yours.  I want you to keep naming and shaming the people who lie and deceive others about their credentials.  when you slip in the comments about scott it comes across as personal and out of place.  Please don't be distracted away from the liars.  There's plenty more for you to expose.

thanks for taking the time to read this,

Thank you for your support!

We wanted to take a moment to thank you for your support. There is clearly a silent majority of people who, like us, believe that using fake credentials does nothing more than undermine the hypnosis, wellness, alternative healing professions. If the scammers had any idea how many emails we receive daily showing their support, and how fast this blog is catching on all over the world, they would be shocked. Some may even recant their fake degrees, and some have. Yet, some still continue to press forward with their sham (see Roy Hunter).

We are also grateful for the support of those who wish to publicly acknowledge our blog, such as http://www.tranceforms.co.uk/fakedoctorates.php, who wrote:

People Who Have Fake Doctorates Blog

I love this blog, and you should you too if you think that it's wrong to claim to be something you're not. It's all so they can look more ‘professional’ and, therefore, important, but the bottom line is that they are scamming the public. There's too many liars, thieves, charlatans and scumbags about in our lives as it is to have those that offer ‘trust’ to be a part of it too. They should be ashamed of themselves but many argue about it with the blogger! Disgusting. Go take a look for yourself: http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.uk

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.

Hypnotist renounces fake PhD from Alpha University

Another well-known hypnotist and teacher of hypnosis from the UK, has renounced his scam PhD he supposedly earned from "Alpha University," thanks to our blog.

Of course, he does so kicking and screaming.

On his Facebook page, he wrote:

IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ FULLY!

I hereby fully renounce the 'Doctorate in Philosophy in Behavioural Sciences' that I announced a few months ago.

This was NOT a 'bought degree'. On the contrary, I had submitted in excess of 200,000 words to what I had been led to believe was a private but bona fide university in Louisiana for their PhD programme. I was assured that the submission would be externally validated by California University and everything seemed genuine. The papers I subsequently received looked authentic, were complete in every detail, and included degree certification from both universities, transcripts, course details, evaluation reports and everything else you would expect.

Only a dimwit would think they can submit a "paper," regardless of how many words, and receive a valid doctorate. In a typical academic doctoral program, there are years of course work in your field and in also research methodology prior to even proposing a research paper. Once a paper is proposed, then it has to be approved by a committee, researched, submitted, and defended.

However, the recent attacks on my integrity and honesty led to me spending many hours investigating the situation. Smoke screens abound but I eventually discovered that the issuing university...

why don't you just say Alpha University?

...in Louisiana is a correspondence address (either that or it's a small office shared by several independent companies), the 'California University' is NOT the same place as the University of California (in fact, it's another correspondence address, albeit in 'University Tower, Campus Drive') and the 'validation office' appears to be a daycare centre for children. Therefore, in my opinion, this 'degree' is completely without value or credibility and I have returned all the papers to the issuing address.

I am now left with a feeling that I need to set the record straight. I do NOT hold a PhD. (My 'MCGI' from City & Guilds is the genuine article, however).

In my defence, I will say that there were many good reasons for me to accept the validity of this PhD programme, though they are not for discussion on a public forum.

Ignorantia juris non excusat.

Fight back! Post our blog everywhere!

We received word that some of the sleaze bag degree frauds identified here are trying hard to bury our blog by lowering our Google rankings. Please help us fight back by posting our blog URL: http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/  everywhere you can.

It's simple. Use Google and find similar sites (fake academic credentials aren't just limited to the hypnosis profession). In the comments section, post our URL. Be sure to include something relevant so it doesn't come across as spammy.

We realize that many of you are concerned about your identities. Simply go to Gmail and create an entirely unique email account for yourself. It's that simple.

Happy posting!

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

9000 Blog Views and an email from Random Hypnotist

To date, we've had almost 9,000 page views. That means 9,000 more people know who is scamming the world with fake doctorates than before we started the blog.

We received an email today from Random Hypnotist in Washington:



To answer this naysayer's questions, we are going after anybody that uses fake doctorates or endorses the practice of it. Scott Sandland allows his HypnoThoughts.com to run rampant with individuals who boast fake doctorate. AND -he is profiting from HypnoThoughts Live, a conference featuring so-called expert presenters who tout fake doctorates. These "experts" are conning this public into believing they have such credentials. He also deleted a thread on his HypnoThoughts that was serving to expose these individuals. Scott Sandland has also posted a number of testimonials from so-called (fake) doctorates as well as poorly conducted research articles these so-called (fake doctorates). He is also on the "board" of a known doctorate degree mill. He promotes the practice using fake doctorates. Plain and simple. He is equally as guilty. Once he banishes the use of fake doctorates in his professional dealing and trainings, we will retract our comments about him. Until then, the world must know that these individuals, who they are paying to teach them something, are fraudulently purporting to hold academic qualifications which they do not have.

You said yourself that Scott Sandland could have earned a PhD for free from "Alpha University." Your testament to the well-known fact that the degree mill practically gives away such "degrees" does not help the case, especially since Sandland is supposedly a "board member."

Let's see how serious Sandland is about building ethics and integrity in this hypnosis field. I challenge you, Scott Sandland of HypnoThoughts.com, to immediately stop the perpetuation of any false academic credential on your site or training sessions.

Let's talk about Richard Nongard. His boasting a PhD "on less than 5 of his many, many products" does not make it better for him. It's actually more than 5, but do we really need to count? If he is such an expert, then why must he lie about holding a PhD? We are aware that he is, indeed, a state licensed mental health practitioner. That is not our concern. Our concern is that he boasts having an illegitimate PhD. There are other state licensed mental health practitioners who we have exposed. See http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2012/11/dr-keli-henault-phd-fraud-from-austin-tx.html.

"He doesn't need to help hypnotists to earn a living." Well, that's not exactly true. His marketing of numerous products geared towards hypnotists on subliminalscience.com and to psychotherapists and other professionals on fastceus.com would make a reasonable observer think differently.

Roy Hunter. If he's really that good, why must he boast a fake doctorate? Particularly from the very same degree mill, Alpha University, that wanted to give Scott Sandland a free doctorate?

We didn't ignore Jonathan Royle. And Wendy Friesen didn't claim to have earned a PhD, nor does our research find that she helps to perpetuate the practice of such.

Of course, each of these people who are called out has the opportunity to respond on this site. The comments sections are left open for this very reason. To date, there has not been a single response from any of the accused. We believe this is testimony to the accuracy of our information.

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.

Melissa Tiers, New York, NY - FAKE DOCTORATE AND BACHELORS

Melissa Tiers of The Center for Integrative Hypnosis in New York City is committing degree fraud as she purports to have earned a Doctorate in Clinical Hypnotherapy and Alternative Healing through Albert University. She also claims to have earned a B.S. degree in Metaphysics from the American Institute of Holistic Theology.

Melissa Tiers is a member and instructor for the so-called ethical (NOT!) National Guild of Hypnotists and the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association.

Albert University and the American Institute of Holistic Theology are new ones for us. So we decided to investigate.

We initially searched our own resource for degree mills at http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2012/11/known-diploma-mills-resource-guide.html and found that, yes indeed, Albert University is a known degree mill. On DegreeMill.com, the administrator wrote:

"A New Phony! Albert University 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.
See http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/2323-new-phony-albert-university.html

We then turned our attention to the undergraduate degree she boasts. While one's undergraduate education goes beyond the scope of this blog, we will sometimes take a look at it if something seems out of place, particularly since the term "metaphysics" is used. We couldn't find much of anything regarding the American Institute of Holistic Theology. We looked on their website at http://www.aiht.edu and found that not only do they not have any kind of accreditation, they boldly announce that they chose "not to seek traditional accreditation" -semantics for "we wouldn't get it if we applied for it."

Therefore we affirm that Melissa Tiers of New York, NY has NO ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS WHATSOEVER.

Anne Spencer, Royal Oak, MI, FAKE PhD - UPDATED!

Anne Spencer of the Infinity Institute Hypnosis Training School in Royal Oak, MI, is the founder of the allegedly "ethical" hypnosis organization, the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association is yet another degree fraud. Anne claims to have earned a PhD and has numerous, too many to count, references about "Dr. Anne Spencer, PhD" all over the web. Our research shows that she participated master's level coursework in education at Marygrove College, but, very conveniently, there are no references to where she may have earned her PhD or in what field. She was even inducted into the National Guild of Hypnotist's highest order, the Order of Braid. So much for an ethical organization.

We took the following blurb off of Roger Moore's site, who readers will recognize as another PhD Fraud (See http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2012/11/roger-moore-fake-phd.html). These fraudsters love to stick together.

Response to Scott Sandland of HypnoThoughts

Scott Sandland, founder of the massive Ning-based HypnoThoughts blog community, sent us an email today declaring his disdain for our approach in exposing the degree scammers. He wrote:

Dear Scott Sandland,

None of us here at PhD Scammers care that your removed the "fake PhD" thread from your blog. We were exposing these fakes long before the thread and will continue to do so long after it's gone.

You write, "I'm a big fan of accountability and raising standards." That's a BS statement if I ever heard one, considering your own site is rampant with individuals using false credentials and you have done absolutely nothing to counter it. Thus, you are about as guilty as them because you allow it to go on. But your site is self-serving, isn't it? In providing an outlet for new and prospective people interested in hypnosis so that you can sell your product, training, and enhance your own credibility and exposure. Brilliant concept. So why alienate the frauds that contribute to your community? They only bring your more exposure. Unwitting individuals think that Dr. So and So is an expert and, thus, you have a community of experts (with phony doctorates). Too bad for the few that really have honest to goodness doctoral degrees.

Not to mention, that you have made many professional connections with those purporting to have (fake) doctorates, and you are using their name and title to enhance your own credibility, including the testimonial on your biography from Roger Moore, PhD who alleges holding a PhD in Clinical Hypnosis:

And Anne Spencer's testimonial and articles (which would NEVER be published in a scholarly publication), who is elusive about where she earned her PhD and in what field, but consistently refers to herself as Anne Spencer, PhD:

 and

 

Shame on you, Scott Sandland. You are supposed to be a shining star but you truly are just as guilty as them. Thank you, by the way, for the referrals. We'll be looking at Roger Moore and Anne Spencer on our blog shortly.

Recently, you suggested a discussion about it. A meager discussion won't fix the problem. They have been given an opportunity to redeem themselves and not a single one has taken advantage of this. They would rather go on and take their chances with their phony credentials.

These individuals need to be exposed, if anything, for the wise potential client or student that decides to conduct some background research on their prospective fraud.

We will continue to reference HypnoThoughts, if need be, as long as there are individuals claiming to have (phony) doctorates and posting as experts. We believe that will be for a very long time.

David Newman, Jefferson City, Missouri -FAKE DOCTORATE

David Newman of Jefferson City, MO claims to have a D.Sc. (a Doctor of Science). However, he refuses to say from where. His LinkedIn page clearly claims master's and bachelor's degrees from Arizona State University (we can't attest to Heriot-Watt University, and frankly, we don't care). But the doctorate? Zip. Zilch. Nada.

However, on the website for the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, we see that he claims to have earned a Doctor of Science in Parapsychology from Bridgewater University in the UK where, for only $180, you too can be the proud owner of a Doctorate!

Bridgewater University, in addition to being a known degree mill (See http://fakedoctorate.blogspot.com/2012/11/known-diploma-mills-resource-guide.html), Wikipedia shows that Bridgewater University (in the UK) is associated with InstantDegrees.com.

InstantDegrees.com boasts INSTANT APPROVAL and NO COURSEWORK.

WOW! SIGN ME UP!

not.

Look at the FANTASTIC package they give you!

His website claims that his clients can expect miracles. Mirriam-Webster defines a miracle as "an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affair." We believe he's going to need a miracle to get himself out of this fake-doctorate hole.

Patricia Armour - FAKE DOCTORATE

Patricia M. Armour
PhD in Scam Artistry

Patricia M. Armour, whose practice is called Mind Spa Mentor Hypnosis in Owings Mills, MD is currently the biggest bullshit artist we have seen. She claims to hold an "alternative Doctorate in C.O.R.E. Counseling/Education from the Institute of Transformational Studies in Glouchester, MA."
There is no such degree program and an "Alternative Doctorate" is NOT A DEGREE.

She is a member of the Institute of Applied Natural Science, National Guild of Hypnotists, International Association of Counselors and Therapists, American Society of Alternative Therapists, American Academy of Ericksonian Hypnosis, Society of Neuro-Linguistic Practitioners (NLP), and National Federation of Neuro-Linguistic Psychology. Shame on any institution that would allow a member to represent them as a complete FRAUD.

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

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

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

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

Melissa Roth - Boulder, CO & Birmingham, AL FAKE PhD

Melissa J. Roth of the Colorado Hypnosis Center and the Alabama Hypnotherapy Center and Hypnosis Associates.

Now HERE'S a firecracker that attempts to justify her using a FAKE PhD by providing the argument that she has made contributions to the field of hypnosis. If you're THAT good, Melissa Roth, you wouldn't need to fake a degree. And providing "contributions" to a field isn't exactly how a person earns a degree, Melissa Roth. But you wouldn't know that, would you, since it appears that you have never spent a day in college.

She proclaims that she is "PROUD" of her act of fraud and is "PROUD" to be amongst the ranks of other fraudsters that we mentioned, including Terence Watts, and Roy Hunter. So go ahead and be proud, Melissa Roth, of the fact that you never earned a PhD yet you are telling the world that you did (and yes, you do advertise it. Look at the screen shot of your website and think again). In response to what you wrote below, who cares whether you started using PhD after your name after 10 years of practicing hypnosis or after 10 days? You never earned it and you are a fraud for using it.

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

UPDATE

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

We dug a little deeper into Ms. Roth's past. It appears that she goes back and forth between what doctorate she thinks she has actually earned.  We found on the site called Higher Self Communications, operated by another person who calls herself a doctor yet received it from the diploma mill called American Pacific University (that person is now in our sights, by the way...so many degree frauds, yet so little time!)

Anyway, a nice little testimonial provided by Melissa Roth refers to herself as Melissa Roth, DCH(c). Apparently she claimed to be a doctoral candidate at one time.

And another reference to Melissa Roth, DCH(c) at HypnosisOnline.com

 

 

And last by not the least, we find Melissa Roth, PhDc (we assume the "c" stands for candidate) at SportsHypnotists.com:

A word from our sponsors

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

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

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

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

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

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

National Guild of Hypnotists

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

International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association

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

International Association of Counselors and Therapists

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

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

 -----------------------------

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

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.

Wayson Lee, Washington DC, FAKE Doctorate! UPDATED!

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

Wayson Lee, you are a FRAUD.

***********************
 UPDATE

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

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

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

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

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

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