Re: Not-A-Dr. Laura

[Bill Piacentini <billpi@ll.mit.edu>]

Garrett Wollman said:
>>> Dr. Laura Schlessinger is indeed a Doctor -- of Philosophy (i.e.,
>>> Ph.D.) -- but not of medicine or psychiatry or any other field which
>>> might be remotely relevant to what she does on the radio.
On Tue, 9 Jun 1998 03:44:26 +0000, Dan Strassberg countered: 
>> I think that's wrong, Garrett. As I understand it, she does have a PhD and
>> another degree in counseling.
At 11:57 PM 6/8/98 -0400, Garrett relented:
>Right.  The point being that the academic distinction which entitles
>her to call herself ``doctor'' is not related to the context in which
>she is using it.  Since such academic titles are not normally used in
>popular society (Of all the Ph.D.'s I know, not one styles him- or herself
>``Doctor'' except in very formulaic contexts such as voicemail and
>business cards.), I can only conclude that she styles herself that way
>in a deliberate attempt to deceive naive listeners.
Bill Piacentini responds:
Dr. Laura has her virtual "shingle" displayed as any professional should
while they are professionally performing a service to their clientele.
She is as qualified as any other Counselor out there as indicated by both
her "on air demeanor" and her hardcopy credentials:
A) BS, Biological Sciences, SUNY Stonybrook, Long Island, NY
B) MS, M Phil, Ph. D. (Physiology), Columbia University (College of
Physicians and Surgeons), NY
C) Post-Doctoral Certification in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling,
Human Relations Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
D) Licensed Marriage, Family and Child Counselor (MFCC), California,
formerly in private practice for 12 years
E) Past member of the Biological Sciences faculty of the University of
Southern California (5 years)
F) Past member of graduate Psychology faculty of Pepperdine University, LA
(8 years).
G) Taught at UCLA and UC Irvine Extension
I think nobody can quibble with the above credentials (or her demos(!)) ;<|)

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