Psychologist arrested for practicing without a license

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
A

auro

Full Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2008
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Here's a link to the news story: http://online.wsj.com/article/AP5a1163e607c44f639a2e22b1d26b4179.html

I'm not 100% sure if this is the same woman, but if so her practice site is still up: http://www.dramorarachelle.com/AboutMe.en.html listing her PhD in clinical psych and her "NYS psychology permit 2009" under the heading "license."

This raises an issue a troubling issue regarding the scope of practice post-PhD, but pre-licensure. In New York, the state board explicitly states in the Q&A:" If an applicant gets a limited permit, may the person open a private practice? No."

I've heard of someone trying to open a new practice as a post-doc in a similar way in NY and find this whole area troubling.
Members don't see this ad.
 
Despicable. I think its everyone's duty to make sure their colleagues are indeed qualified for the work they are doing.

Its almost definitely her, she is all over the internet. The website no longer lists a contact number in NY but has all the NYSPA positions.

Here is another connection for her site and NY practice.
http://www.centralreach.com/providers/profile/dr-amora-rachelle-phd-ma-29718/

She was even on Psychology Today at one point.
http://therapists.psychologytoday.c...lle_PhD,MA_East+Atlantic+Beach_New+York_49902

Here is a video
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=10162822n?tag=bnetdomain

Oh the internet is great. She also purty, I wonder if that deficited from her lack of credentials and penchant to cheat insurance companies.

Dr. Amora Rachelle is a fraud.
 
DynamicDidactic said:
Despicable. I think its everyone's duty to make sure their colleagues are indeed qualified for the work they are doing.

Its almost definitely her, she is all over the internet. The website no longer lists a contact number in NY but has all the NYSPA positions.

Here is another connection for her site and NY practice.
http://www.centralreach.com/providers/profile/dr-amora-rachelle-phd-ma-29718/

She was even on Psychology Today at one point.
http://therapists.psychologytoday.c...lle_PhD,MA_East+Atlantic+Beach_New+York_49902

Here is a video
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=10162822n?tag=bnetdomain

Oh the internet is great. She also purty, I wonder if that deficited from her lack of credentials and penchant to cheat insurance companies.

Dr. Amora Rachelle is a fraud.
Click to expand...

I'm glad she got caught. There is a lot of red flags in her profile. The use of your as you are is one. Listing Ph.D. and M.A. (whether clinical or not) smells like desperate self-padding.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I'm glad she got caught too, but if the occasional smalll grammar mistake is a red flag then I'd have to conclude that half the psychologists I know are frauds.

zzzz2 said:
I'm glad she got caught. There is a lot of red flags in her profile. The use of your as you are is one. Listing Ph.D. and M.A. (whether clinical or not) smells like desperate self-padding.
Click to expand...
 
Her publications are the best. All on a blog about dieting herbal mumbo jumbo.

It's easy to turn cannibal, and we should not if we can help it. That's why I decided to visit her website before I turned on her. What she does and what she promotes is reprehensible.

This is a classic example of the new-age bull^&%$ that is being wrapped in an integrative/spiritual/mindfulness package.
 
aequitasveritas said:
This is a classic example of the new-age bull^&%$ that is being wrapped in an integrative/spiritual/mindfulness package.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately many people who practice unsupported or poorly supported interventions are successful because their patients often do not know any better and/or the traditional avenues have not been successful. Fringe practice happens when people abandon (or bastardize) science.

ps. It is no surprise that nutraceuticals are involved, as they are the modern day version of Snake Oil.
 
FadedC said:
I'm glad she got caught too, but if the occasional smalll grammar mistake is a red flag then I'd have to conclude that half the psychologists I know are frauds.
Click to expand...

Sure, but her listing is rife with typos. "I am trainined in solution centered cognitive behavior therapy." Yikes.
 
Unfortunately I suspect that there may be people who are succesful because of the fact that they practice unsupported new age therapies. There will always be clients who reject science and want something "magical" and as long as they exist, there will be people who make a very good living by taking their money.

Therapist4Chnge said:
Unfortunately many people who practice unsupported or poorly supported interventions are successful because their patients often do not know any better and/or the traditional avenues have not been successful. Fringe practice happens when people abandon (or bastardize) science.

ps. It is no surprise that nutraceuticals are involved, as they are the modern day version of Snake Oil.
Click to expand...
 
She also promoted detox dieting, which concerned me.
 
cara susanna said:
She also promoted detox dieting, which concerned me.
Click to expand...

I agree. But given that <5% of people are able to maintain weight loss after diets end, I'd regard anyone promoting intentional weight lo$$ with suspicion.
 
I googled a couple of stories and I can't make out if she just made it all up. Or if she had some training but not the appropriate kind. One story says she had a "limited license" that allowed her to practice under the supervision of a psychologist... anybody have more details?
 
Therapist4Chnge said:
Unfortunately many people who practice unsupported or poorly supported interventions are successful because their patients often do not know any better and/or the traditional avenues have not been successful. Fringe practice happens when people abandon (or bastardize) science.

ps. It is no surprise that nutraceuticals are involved, as they are the modern day version of Snake Oil.
Click to expand...

There is also a striking, albeit only personal observation, correlation between charisma and success of fringe practices, its similar to the correlation between charisma and ability to start a new-age religion or cult.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Photos in articles about both, and some articles about the recent story refer to the older one.
 
Last edited:
I dunno, even if this woman was committing fraud and hurting our profession, her ex-husband still sounds terrible and I can't really laugh at her for that.
 
cara susanna said:
I dunno, even if this woman was committing fraud and hurting our profession, her ex-husband still sounds terrible and I can't really laugh at her for that.
Click to expand...

I agree with that. I just meant to say that the article about her situation with her ex described her as a "respected psychologist," when she isn't one.
 
aequitasveritas said:
Her publications are the best. All on a blog about dieting herbal mumbo jumbo.

It's easy to turn cannibal, and we should not if we can help it. That's why I decided to visit her website before I turned on her. What she does and what she promotes is reprehensible.

This is a classic example of the new-age bull^&%$ that is being wrapped in an integrative/spiritual/mindfulness package.
Click to expand...

Isn't mindfulness pretty well supported at this point for reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. It seems it's direction psychology is going with the whole "third wave" schools like ACT and DBT.
 
Engali said:
Isn't mindfulness pretty well supported at this point for reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. It seems it's direction psychology is going with the whole "third wave" schools like ACT and DBT.
Click to expand...

DBT and ACT both contain elements of mindfulness interposed with elements of reality testing and behavior/cognition modification.

One could argue that mindfulness is a component of almost every successful therapy. Even token economy behavioral approaches require some form of intentional self-awareness, though pure behaviorists would question the existence of the covert behavior.
 
Last edited:
Mindfulness in itself is well-supported but not the whole "spirituality" umbrella. Some of that is good stuff, but some is junk.

She mentioned mindful eating in one article but it seemed like a secondary citation and the description was vague.

Btw, Jegg, mindfulness practice by itself has also been shown to be beneficial for various problems--not just mindfulness integrated into therapy.
 
cara susanna said:
Mindfulness in itself is well-supported but not the whole "spirituality" umbrella. Some of that is good stuff, but some is junk.

She mentioned mindful eating in one article but it seemed like a secondary citation and the description was vague.

Btw, Jegg, mindfulness practice by itself has also been shown to be beneficial for various problems--not just mindfulness integrated into therapy.
Click to expand...

Certainly not all of "spirituality", but elements of it seem to be integral to a lot of these practices. Steven Hayes of ACT gave a talk called "Sicene and Ancient Ideas of What it Means to Be Human Exploring Implicit Values of ACT" that's on YouTube. It's worth watching.
 
Sorry, your post didn't convey that to me. My bad :)
 
Yeah, that's what I got out of it. I was working on a paper all day though so my mind might have been fuzzy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

R. Matey
Is ADHD skills coaching just practicing CBT without a license?
Replies
8
Views
1K
R. Matey
R. Matey
asukaran
Psychologist licensure requirement in California
Replies
15
Views
1K
summerbabe
summerbabe
DynamicDidactic
American Psychologist article about (not needing) exposure
Replies
22
Views
602
DynamicDidactic
DynamicDidactic
oldschooliscool
VA Graduate Psychologist - what's it like?
Replies
28
Views
2K
PsyDuck90
P
Dre42
Psychologist Assistant for Rec Letter?
Replies
3
Views
580
Dre42
Dre42
Top