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JOHN TAYLOR KENT, PH.D.Giving Psychology Away"Giving Psychology Away" is not a phrase I invented. Rather, "Giving Psychology Away" came from a letter to the editor years ago in an issue of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Monitor. That discourse continues to this day about "Giving Psychology Away" pro bono. That is, for free—without charge. Psychologists are urged to offer volunteer services to the public. Certainly such service is laudable, but the field of psychology has changed radically. When I was considering the field of law, attorneys were encouraged to give some of their services pro bono. Professionals from all fields were encouraged to give 10% of their time & services freely to the public—to those who could not otherwise afford their professional services. This was before government programs and non-profit organizations took over charity work. Prior to that, charity, true charity had been a larger part of American life. Sadly, we Americans have seen the demise of the American way of life and the demise of truth, freedom & justice for all. Certainly, we are not the nation we once were. There are several factors which preclude psychologists from giving away their services freely. First, income for psychologists has drastically declined over the past three decades while expenses associated with the professional practice of psychology have increased. Getting an education and obtaining licensure as a psychologist is both resource & time consuming. It costs money to become a psychologist and it takes time out of the labor force to earn degrees. When one does not work, one earns no income. Malpractice insurance for psychologists is affordable in comparison to other professions; nonetheless, a psychologist cannot obtain adequate insurance coverage for "defense of licensure." Psychologists cannot recoup attorney fees from the state licensure boards—even when a psychologist is able to prevail in superior court. Also, psychologists are barred from recouping legal fees from complainants who file complaints with malicious or even criminal intent! Defending one's psychology license against a complaint can break a person financially because psychology boards are willing to entertain any complaint no matter how frivolous or obviously malicious the intent of the complainant(s). Imagine bearing the burden of $275,000 or more in legal fees in order to merely be able to preserve your right to work. Mind you, this is commonplace all over our country. Sadly, state psychology licensure boards have become drunk with power and do not know where to draw reasonable lines in exercising their power. State licensure boards have adopted undue procedures which are designed to break any person who disagrees with the boards and, more importantly, in most states, once targeted it is not possible for a psychologist to get justice. Such was my fate.
State licensure boards have contributed greatly to the demise of psychology as a "Giving Psychology Away" is not merely a double entendre but a triple entendre: For one, "Giving Psychology Away" is providing the expertise I acquired while a psychologist freely to the public; hence, "The Dr. Kent Show" which aired originally out of Phoenix in 2008 on Intelligent Conservative Talk 960 AM KKNT and subsequently on KFNX News-Talk Radio 1100. Secondarily, "Giving Psychology Away" gives the public a view of the backstage of what goes on behind the scenes in the profession of psychology. Allow me to clarify: This gives the public an inside view of the profession of psychology and the strengths & weaknesses of the profession. Again, this was demonstrated candidly on my talk radio show, "The Dr. Kent Show." Finally, "Giving Psychology Away" is me, Dr. Kent giving up professional practice as a psychologist. Would you continue in this field under these circumstances or would you also be "Giving Psychology Away?" Another factor which precludes psychologists from giving away their services pro bono is the limits to free speech imposed politically by the power structure. While the term "psychologist" is a protected term and may only be used by those licensed by the state, I was a psychologist (past tense) and now I am retired. While one is licensed as a psychologist, one's First Amendment right of Free Speech is abridged, and in order to restore my right to Freedom of Speech, I have given up my licenses to practice as a psychologist. While this has been very hard for me because I love practicing psychology and I am quite good at it, it has been my lot in life to accept. And this I have done. While I was focused on the insults & injuries (heinous crimes) to others and to myself, it never dawned on me that my own health might be compromised by the stress & strain. Moreover, it was the constant grind by the Arizona Board of Psychologist Examiners (five complaints across 18 months not including the Board's final complaint, notice & action—see my blog, Dr. Kent's Blog) that I believe finally wore me out.
Nevertheless, I want to thank the Why do I need to thank the Board?
Quite simply, I am grateful because, had the Board of Psychologist Examiners for the That would mean I would not have the confidence to speak freely and to write truthfully about my observations, experiences and insights. I might not be able to bring forward my theories of change and challenges to the profession of psychology for years. I could not advocate for my school of thought, a new school of thought. My call to revive American psychology: "Positive Projective Psychology"
"Positive Projective Psychology" is my term, the phrase I coined delineating While I was being examined by another psychologist, he mentioned he liked conducting neuropsychological examinations—something for which we both were trained—and he equally liked doing therapy as it keeps him humble—because he had lost patients to suicide. At the time, I decided to withhold some information out of sensitivity:
Never have I had a client suicide while under my care; however, I am one of the few While I was practicing psychology inside the Arizona Department of Corrections (also known as ADOC or ADC or DOC), several of my patients were murdered! I also witnessed a series of crimes and cover ups including fraud & malfeasance at the State and federal levels. The State of Arizona was defrauded regularly by ADC's contract psychiatrists and by ADOC's employees. The United States Congress and the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Student Loan Repayment Program (LRP) were defrauded by my superiors at ADC. Perhaps I myself am guilty of one thing:
Doing the right thing But, I naïvely believed we were a people of values. I thought we valued human life, and when a life has been needlessly or wrongly lost, we stopped everything and investigated that loss of life fully. Wrong! We are a society of power. Power is politically held. And those in power are not held to the same standards as the rest of us. They live above & beyond the law. On July 20, 2004 shortly before he died, an inmate approached me and cautioned me about the impending "investigation" against me. That inmate presaged me of the conspiracy that was developing unknown to me as I worked in South Unit. My immediate supervisor, who was the supervising psychologist at the Arizona State Prison Complex–Florence, denied that inmate's allegations; on the contrary, she was the one orchestrating false allegations of "sexual harassment" against me. Her supervisor, who is also a psychologist, conspired with her to fabricate false charges against me. As the prevailing authority, her supervisor (wrongly) certified the finding of their fabricated charges against me and consequated me with 40 of Leave without Pay (LWOP)—which also effects my retirement negatively. Later, my superiors and the ADC Administration worked me relentlessly and purposely to burn me out in a slew of Level 5 maximum security settings—inside The Walls at Central Unit, CB-6, SMU I, SMU II and Death Row—and (wrongly) deprived me of my Hazard Duty Stipend. Ultimately, I was (wrongly) terminated from the Arizona Department of Corrections. My supervisor (a married female psychologist) at ADC who orchestrated false charges of "sexual harassment" against me was caught in the act of having sex with her inmate patient while she was Head of the Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP) at the private prison at Florence–West!
She still practices to this day unimpeded as a psychologist licensed by the Board of Be advised: she works providing psychological services for children. The superior who fired me from ADC was forced to resign from his position as Deputy Director of Program Services. Why? He was under investigation and resigned because he wanted to keep some of his benefits intact. Why was the Deputy Director of ADC Program Services under investigation? What had the ADC Deputy Director of Program Services done to deserve termination?
ADC's Deputy Director of Program Services had hired an "unqualified" individual to head In case you think sex or quid pro qou sexual harassment doesn't pay, that woman remains in that position at ADC . After committing adultery with a married man, one would think she would have been removed by ADC long ago. After all, adultery is a crime in the State of Arizona. I was warned by another psychologist with the Arizona Department of Corrections that "DOC can make the paperwork turn out anyway they want." Indeed they have. While ADC can cover up the crimes and control the paperwork, ADC does not control me. Neither does ADC control the internet. Nor does ADC control the radio air waves. I told my story on air live and published it within my blog, Dr Kent's Blog, which I invite you to peruse. You will find MP3's of The Dr. Kent Show "Giving Psychology Away" archived in my blog. In my blog, Dr Kent's Blog, one will find documentation & proof, evidence. I apologize to those who lost their loved ones because I was not strong enough to make my voice heard. But, believe me; I did everything I could to bring those charges forward. Cover up has occurred at all levels of government & law enforcement! By publishing this openly on the internet, I hope & pray the survivors may become aware of what has happened to them and their loved ones. I hope & pray the survivors may be able to file suit in court so they can be restored or at least compensated. For example, in one instance, two small children (wrongfully) lost their young father at the Arizona State Prison Complex–Lewis and need support. There are others. By publishing, I hope & pray our leaders and those in authority over us may be corrected, removed when necessary and incarcerated as required for the safe and orderly conduct of society, the prisons in Arizona, and the profession of psychology. Still, I did not get here on my own. Many helped me to get to where I am today. Indeed, the Arizona Board of Psychologists Examiners merits mention. Had the Board left me alone, I would have assumed the position I had accepted in October 2006 and moved out of Arizona in November. Then, in April I would have retired my Arizona Psychologist License Number 3339; thereafter, you would have never heard anything about these terrible crimes. Of all the members of the Arizona Board of Psychologists Examiners one deserves special acknowledgment: Were it not for psychologist Gary D. Lovejoy, Ph.D., circa December 2007 I might have accepted an active psychologist license and moved out of state to work. After that I would have allowed my Arizona Psychologist License to lapse; moreover, you would have never heard anything about these terrible crimes. However, since the Arizona Board of Psychologist Examiners in all its wisdom decided to harass me and repeatedly deprived me of the ability to support myself, I addressed a series of complaints to the Board in order that the Board might have all the facts so that the Board might (hopefully) act in wisdom. As a licensed psychologist I was required under the Board's Rules & Regulations to file such reports. Copies of those complaints are posted for your purview in my blog, Dr Kent's Blog. In short, had the Arizona Board of Psychologists Examiners allowed me to continue to work as a psychologist, I would never have been able to tell my story without risk to my psychologist licenses. Even when all the facts were in front of the Arizona Board of Psychologists Examiners, the Board either (unwittingly) refused to recognize how it had been used against me or the Board chose to behave (wittingly) maliciously towards me. You decide. At first, the Arizona Board of Psychologists Examiners was used unwittingly but later, as verified by the utterances of Board Chair Dr. Gary Lovejoy, the Board went after me viciously. I remember well Arizona Board of Psychologist Examiners Chairman Gary Lovejoy's comments directed to other members of his Board during the Board Hearing of April 4, 2008: "Let's see if we can't get Dr. Kent a little medication to shut him up." Yes, that is exactly the pejorative way most psychologists view their clients but more on that later in my blog . . . Yes, the Arizona Board of Psychologists Examiners knowingly helped cover up this series of appalling crimes. Now, under these conditions, would you choose to continue to practice as a psychologist or would you likewise be "Giving Psychology Away?" You are invited to peruse my blog, Dr Kent's Blog in which I am posting much of the documentation & evidence undergirding my story. Nonetheless, it remains a series of rich stories not yet fully told. You are also invited to read my books. My purpose in posting these accounts and evidence publically is so the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) may be motivated to investigate the murders of inmates (plural) inside the Arizona Department of Corrections. The FBI needs to investigate the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) for failure to perform its duties as required according to its charter and for dereliction of duty. The FBI needs to investigate the former Governor of Arizona because all roads lead to President Obama's incompetent Secretary of Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano
The first FBI Duty Officer declared on May 30, 2006, he was "taking this upstairs for Governor Napolitano used her office & power to cover up the entire matter at my expense in order to protect her lover & partner and her cabinet level appointee: the former Director of the Arizona Department of Corrections: Dora Schriro Moreover, the FBI needs to investigate the State of Arizona, its licensure boards and the Office of the Attorney General of Arizona for failure to perform their duties according to their charters, for dereliction of duty and possibly for organized criminal conspiracy under the RICO Act, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. There are many people I need to thank for coming to my assistance; however, many of them are professionals who remain in sensitive positions. Publically acknowledging them might prove detrimental to them: You know who you are and I thank you! One of my early lessons in psychotherapy was:
That is what I intend to do—fully. Accordingly, I am "Giving Psychology Away!"
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