Fake PhD Blog

Having checked this once upon a time, there is no such thing as a degree in Hypnotherapy from an accredited university in the US. It may be possible to get some sort of cert that's legitimate but not a degree.

 

I disagree. It doesn't require a license to sit and listen to peoples' problems. It doesn't require a license to offer advice on how to overcome them. This is the basis for life coaching.

It does require a license to diagnose mental disorders. It does require a license to implement treatment plans to treat mental illness and disorders.

That might seem like a fine line. And there are certainly people who straddle that line. But you cannot say so broadly that the two professions really butt up against one another.

Hypnotherapy is not something that the law reserves exclusively for use by psychologists. It's true that some psychologists use hypnosis. But that doesn't mean that it belongs to psychologists or that it should belong to the broader field of psychology.

My wife's chiropractor offers nutrition counseling. This is something that is specifically allowed within the scope of his license. But New York also recognizes registered nutritionists and dieticians (it's the same license but New York combines both titles under it) who can offer the same service. Another example would be how some states allow lawyers to serve as notaries without taking an exam. Or some states allow physicians to practice acupuncture without going through a licensure qualifying acupuncture training.

Professionals, licensed and otherwise, have for years tacked on additional services which they allegedly have some insight to by virtue of their education and training. That doesn't mean that they are actually more qualified than someone else to do it.

If you go to a competent psychologist and ask for help quitting smoking you are going to get treatment, likely through psychotherapy. If you go to a hypnotist you're going to basically get an hour of what amounts to little more than a guided meditation. I'm not saying this to defend hypnotherapy. I'm saying this to defend psychology from having hypnotherapy even tangentially associated with it.

 

The Union "exposure" is comically wrong.

The person in question seems to be an early NLP practitioner. NLP is not hypnotherapy, but not a mainstream psychology either. For someone like Richard McHugh, getting a doctorate in Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences makes complete sense. He really couldn't get anything any more legitimate (although being licensed as a Psychologist would help in credibility department. Debatable). So as far as I can see, his credentials are not even a little questionable. It is weird for an anti-fake crusader to focus on such a thin case - it's not like there is a shortage of real phoneys in um-psychology domain. What's going on?

 

Garp has a theory that Dr. McHugh with the (accredited, legitimate) Union PhD (link to federal government site: U.S. Department of Education Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs) might be the fellow's (or lady's) actual target, being the first and all. A follow up theory might be that the whole site is merely a vehicle to take a shot at Dr. McHugh, the balance of the fake PhDs being mere pretense to make things look legitimate, disinterested and not a personal attack on Dr. McHugh. If this is so, why? Personal vendetta? professional jealousy? failed business dealing? disgruntled ex? No telling.

That was pure unadulterated speculation, but as you point out, going after someone with a legitimate, fully accredited degree from an institution that is pretty darned good and was originally set up over five decades ago by the likes of liberal arts colleges such as Bard and Antioch as well as Hofstra University, is bizarre and does lead to such speculation.