I thought I would write just one more item following from the “I Can Do It®” seminars. I just had to comment on Doreen Virtue, the woman who runs seminars on how to talk to angels. And yes, there are apparently adults who are not in mental institutions (yet) who believe in this.
From Doreen’s bio:
As a child, Doreen was a natural clairvoyant, seeing and conversing with, what many people call, "invisible friends" (which are really angels and deceased loved ones).
No, they are really invisible friends. Most people get over it when they get older. People that don’t either are diagnosed schizophrenic or (apparently) get PhDs and become best selling authors.
Look what comes next: wow, an unverifiable anecdote:
…when an angel warned Doreen that her car was going to be stolen on that fateful July afternoon, Doreen ignored him. After all, her habit of arguing with and ignoring the angels was deeply ingrained by then. Despite this, the angel did not abandon Doreen in her most dire moment as she was parking, two armed men, intent on a car jacking, brandished weapons and physically accosted the unsuspecting Doreen. The voice spoke to her again it was loud, distinctly male and it instructed her to scream with all her might. This time she listened, she screamed, and her life was saved by passersby who became alarmed and sent her attackers running.
Well, I’m convinced. And just look at the number of books this woman has published. There is obviously money to be made by simply making up stupid crap for the credulous. Just look at this book description:
"Why do I always see the numbers 444 (or 111, 333, etc.) everywhere I go?" is one of the most frequently asked questions that Doreen Virtue receives at her worldwide workshops.
(Snip)
Angel Numbers provides an interpretation of more complex number sequences than was previously available in Healing with the Angels. This new book focuses on numbers such as 123, 337, 885, and so on.
Whether you’re seeing these numbers on license plates, telephone numbers, the clock, or other locations, they’re very real messages from the angels.
(My bold.)
It’s impossible to know where to start with this much stupid. But I think it’s fairly safe to say, if you ever meet anyone who actually believes in this stuff, don’t even bother trying to reason with them: they are way too far gone for that.
Just curious: can you figure out where she got her Ph.D.? Seems like an odd detail to leave out of a bio, even if you have appeared on Donny and Marie. I've Googled without finding anything; her husband, who's in a similar line of business, got his at Madison University, a distance-ed establishment (perhaps there's a reason why they're in the .com domain, not .edu?)
Posted by: | April 14, 2005 at 09:02 AM
Good question. I wondered that myself and, suspecting it might be a degree mill, I also did a brief search but with no luck. She sure seems proud of it, though: her name is rarely printed without "Dr." before or "PhD" after.
Posted by: Skeptico | April 14, 2005 at 10:13 AM
Two of my best friends have Doreen Virtue's Angel Cards and I nearly got them myself, I was so impressed by their supposed accuracy (and they are really beautiful) that I nearly bought them myself. Never got round to it and soon after I discovered Randi. So there is hope, but I think that my friends are really so deep into this that there is no talking to them about it.
Posted by: Rina Groeneveld | May 18, 2005 at 05:42 AM
From her bio:
Doreen, ..., was the founder and former director of WomanKind Psychiatric Hospital at Cumberland Hall Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee.
Did you realize that there is no Cumberland Hall Hospital in Nashville?
Posted by: Rachel | August 16, 2005 at 01:12 AM
I didn't know that - thanks. I'm doing another iten on Doreen soon - especially about her "PhD" - I'll look into this "Cumberland Hall Hospital" too.
Posted by: Skeptico | August 16, 2005 at 09:13 AM
About Dr Doreen
I did some research and found that WomanKind is project for helping women cope with abuse.
Yes they are located in Nashville.
You monkey brains need to search with google using a zip code.
As for her special abilites, hell if I know if she can say what color of panties I'm wearing.
Anyways, I like skeptics in general. Good to see people using their ability to decide truth from fiction.
Posted by: just passing by | September 01, 2005 at 03:18 AM
What I wonder is, what qualifies Doreen to be a "professional" spiritual teacher? Then from there what qualifies her to be a "professional" trainer of other "professional" spiritual teachers?
Last I checked we already had "professional" spiritual teachers, with a rigourous training program. Its usually called "seminary" when I hear about it, and it usually cranks out priests and pastors. These priests and pastors molest young kids, engage in extramarital affairs, marry people who will be divorced a year or two later so that he can afford a new PT Cruiser, and continuously talk about people needing to give to the church, or assassinate presidents of Venezuela. Granted not all of these "professional spiritual teachers" do these things but enough that it becomes pretty obvious that "professional" spiritual teachers aren't very professional, and have a weird definition of spiritual teaching.
I wonder if Yeshua went through a "professional" spiritual teacher course before giving the Sermon on the Mount. From the way our current "spiritual teachers" act, he must have. Must have had his Phds in Theology and Pastoral Studies prominently displayed so people could know he speaks with authority when he says "Blessed are the meek..."
By the same token, he must have had a limo take him into the desert for 40 days, where he sat in a 5 star hotel resisting the temptations of Satan.
And when it became time to go to Golgotha, he charged $2111 for people to watch, and was flown in on a first class plane ticket. The plane landed nearby and Pontius Pilate himself rolled out the red carpet.
It's true some people do need a "guru" until they are ready to lead themselves. A "true" guru would tell them when it is time to make their own way. A "false prophet" will constantly want their student licking heels. Doreen is a New Age Pharisee.
Posted by: Name Name | October 03, 2005 at 08:17 PM
Actually there is a cumberland hall hospital in nashville. I was a patient there. It is a total piece of shit place and might have been shut down or renamed
Posted by: Wes | November 08, 2005 at 01:56 PM
Ask Doreen Virtue herself on her private chatboard for Professional Teachers. The password is -- All Is Well. You just have to pretend to be a PSTP student. That's what we do.
Posted by: IQ | December 14, 2005 at 12:44 PM
Good comments. I have a friend who keeps sending me some Angelic essences to "open up" on an "angelic realm".
Who could possibly comment on this stuff please? I am just curios has anybody used it? to what effect :-)))?
Posted by: Cos | December 29, 2005 at 10:19 PM
Well, Cos, it sounds pretty gosh-darn silly what you're friends sending. If it's intended to be a medical remedy, we don't need to have tried it. That's what controlled double-blind clinical trials are for. Does your friend have any references?
Posted by: BronzeDog | December 30, 2005 at 05:56 AM
Well, my ex-girlfriend is a 100% enthusiast of Doreen Virtue's angelic dross to such a point that she even thinks that angels "answered her requests" and made us meet each other. It's as if I had no idea of what I am actually doing but just am a zombied puppet being pulled up and down by the strings by her heavenly friends. In fact, we have already split up but she keeps sending me this 40% alcohol stuff to "open me up" again. Not that I have ever bothered opening a bottle though.
She also said she had flown over to Sydney a few years ago to attend Doreen's seminars (although she had no job at that time). Since then it's become a total obsession - angels and tarot cards everywhere around her house, she admits "seeing ghousts", getting instant messages out of nowhere that instruct her what to do (including a not so old one "shut up!"). She works part-time as an "Angel reader", but has also got involved with witchcraft, reiki, kinesiology, kinergetics and what not... which made me think: Oh my God, either she's got some pre-schizophrenic condition or just so heavily delusioned. Not very sensible to live with anyway...
This is not to say however that she is an overt clinical case - she's got a good sense of humour, reliable friend and excells in her nursing studies.
I really liked the book "Omens of Millenium" by Harold Bloom (professor of Humanities at Yale) and his chapter on modern angelology, but it didn't answer my questions on the psychological profile of these self-proclaimed practitioners.
I just wonder what on Earth makes some people remove themselves from reality and become so deeply involved with all this glitzy New Age madness while still be able to hold a job, study, etc?
PS. She had been a passionate Catholic until her first marriage sank.
Posted by: Costa | December 30, 2005 at 04:31 PM
I just wonder what on Earth makes some people remove themselves from reality and become so deeply involved...
PS. She had been a passionate Catholic until her first marriage sank.
Sounds like you may have found one possible answer to your own question: Convenience.
Posted by: BronzeDog | January 01, 2006 at 11:01 PM
Hi,
perhaps, yet that's not what I think. I would like to find out more on what sort of psychological make-up it actually takes to tap in these more than weird beliefs. I have no doubts that people like Doreen & her hubby do not believe at all in what they preach but just have turned some well-known common human mythologies into a very lucrative multi-million dollar business. I would personally think that the psychoanalitic theory and Neurotheology could give a much better clue as to what actually motivates the credulous to pay thousands to learn all this rubbish.
Doreen's cards and books are very big sellers in Australia, nearly every bookshop would have them on display. I happened to open one and couldn't bring myself to read through a few lines. Girlie's chicken shit stuff.
I wonder if anyone has personally attended her seminars or had any first-hand experience with her cards and still managed to get back in to normalcy afterwards?
Or, once the brains go mushy that much, there is really no way back? :-)))
Thanks
PS. Here in Australia we have a pale copycat version of Doreen's whose name is Lucy Cavendish. She is the editor-in-chief of Witchcraft magazine, a "real witch" but also uses the same "chanelling techniques" and stuff. Her "Beginner's guide to Wicca" is a quite similar mix of marshmellow crap for the historically-illiterate and just as unreadable.
Posted by: Cos | January 02, 2006 at 11:24 PM
I probably should have put a smiley face or something after my post. I just found those two bits of your post went together so well. :)
Anyway, one of my suspicions is the perception of having special knowledge (regardless of the truth of that perception) gives people a feeling of control. Human beings survive by understanding, so our brains reward us for understanding. False understanding gives the same reward, but doesn't provide the benefit.
Posted by: BronzeDog | January 03, 2006 at 08:33 AM
Good point.
But what about gender issue? Just check out any of these psychic shams and you'll find 90% of their audiences are women (http://www.consciousone.com/c1promo/doreenVirtueHealingAngels.html).
I feel that Doreen is pretty good at bringing up some basic mythological issues which are deep-rooted in a feminine psyche and that appeal so much to an "off-the-street" understanding. At the same time, "doing readings" i.e. mentally re-living (re-enacting) common mythologies with the help of her "magic" cards would also have a strong therapeutic effect because it enables the "reader" (and the patient) to sort out for themselves certain psychological issues related to the cards' images (meanings).
Posted by: Cos | January 03, 2006 at 10:58 PM
PS. As far as Doreen Virtue’s Ph.D goes, I searched the net too but still haven't got the faintiest idea when and where she got it, nor what it was on.
But, strictly speaking, it'd be probably irrelevant: to have these OH-MY-GOD-HOW-BIG LEETERS displayed so ostensibly on every single of her CDs, books and Oracle Cards basically equals to using this traditionally highly regarded post-graduate training reward just to assure the credulous that Ph.D means she’s not talking crap and so keep all this lucrative multi-million $$$ international sham rolling..
I suspect though that her “Ph.D” thesis would have been quite similar to the one of my remote acquaintances’ over here, who is, to my mind, is just another ‘big-letters-after-my-name” junk-degree digger.
Make sure you are sitting well and firmly in your chair before you go here: http://members.westnet.com.au/web/johnsteer/wapn/ziggy's_phd.htm
(I have no doubt whatsoever that the “issues” under her Ph.D investigation will surely bring Science, Academia and the whole community well and truly to the edge of Post-Modern Doctorate Philosophy!)
Posted by: Cos | January 04, 2006 at 10:26 PM
I am afraid last time it didn't come out properly
http://members.westnet.
com.au/web/johnsteer/wapn/ziggy's_phd.htm
Posted by: Cos | January 04, 2006 at 10:30 PM
Multi million dollar business is right. Doren Vurtue lives in a 10 million dollar home in Laguna Beach. Her home address is on the Internet.
31981 COAST HWY
LAGUNA BEACH, CA 92651
Posted by: Meg | January 09, 2006 at 11:04 PM
Goodness me! Sounds like her invisible friends have channelled her the Lotto winning numbers quite a few times, haven't they?..
Here is the www address of Doreen's lame copycat version in Australia - Lucy Cavendish, "psychic & real witch". She doesn't seem to be as sophisticated (no "Ph.D" business either) as her US multi-million $$$ smartly advertised original, yet she has no shortage of single women hell-bent on becoming "psychic & real witches". Just look at what she charges...
http://www.lucycavendish.com/home/home.html
Posted by: Cos | January 10, 2006 at 05:28 PM
"Virtue, who has a doctorate in counseling psychology from California Coast University, told me on the phone recently, "In my opinion, Haley Joel Osment epitomizes what an Indigo Child is." Source: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/122/story_12252_1.html
California Coast University was regarded as a diploma mill but was later accredited and recognized by the US Dept. of Ed. - but not their doctorate program, which was dropped.
Posted by: Anon | January 19, 2006 at 12:59 AM
Anon:
I emailed Doreen asking about her PhD and a member of “The Angel Therapy® Inc Staff” emailed me back with:
Is Chapman University anything to do with California Coast University?
Posted by: Skeptico | January 19, 2006 at 04:45 PM
Doreen Virtue Ph.D advertises herself as a a "clairvoyant Doctor of Psychology" or even as a "spiritual Doctor of Psychology". What would that mean??? That one can also be a clairvoyant Doctor of Dentistry or a spiritual Doctor of Computer Science?
Does anybody know what her Doctoral thesis was on please?
Posted by: Cos | January 19, 2006 at 09:18 PM
I was told:
I did intend to investigate this further. If anyone has any more information on Doreen’s PhD I’d be interested to hear it.
Posted by: Skeptico | January 19, 2006 at 09:48 PM
Looks like Chapman University doesn't offer a doctoral program in psychology or anything closely related. Source: http://www2.chapman.edu/ac/programslisting.asp
Posted by: anon | January 21, 2006 at 01:01 AM
Hubbie's college, Madison University, is listed as unapproved by the state of Mississippi.
Source: http://www.ihl.state.ms.us/Academic_Affairs1/MCCANonApprovedEntitiesList2005.pdf
Posted by: anon | January 22, 2006 at 07:35 PM
Angel Therapy, Angel Therapy Practitioner, and Doreen Virtue are trademarked worldwide as registered terms.
(http://www.angeltherapy.com/about_at.php)
PS: as registered cons.
Posted by: Cos | January 22, 2006 at 08:23 PM
Sketico, wanna call and see if they will verify that Doreen Virtue had founded and directed a "Womankind" psychiatric program at this hospital at some point in the past? (It's certainly conceivable.)
CUMBERLAND HALL PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL
804 YOUNGS LN (615) 228-4848
NASHVILLE, TN 37207
Source: http://www.hellonashville.com/YP/c_SUBSTANCEABUSEOUTPATIENTC.Cfm
Posted by: anon | January 22, 2006 at 08:47 PM
I don't see any "Womankind" health organization in Tennessee, and certainly no "Womankind Psychiatric Hospital" in Nashville, after doing an online search. That doesn't mean it never existed; maybe it never did or maybe it was short-lived.
Only thing close is a "Womankind" health center mentioned on a list as a primary care facility, not psychiatric.
The person above who called people here "monkey brains" for not finding it should provide his/her source.
Cumberland Hall Psych. Hosp seems to have changed its name to "FHC Nashville." There was a lawsuit against them posted online.
Posted by: anon | January 23, 2006 at 11:47 AM
From the California Coast University website, insofar as the Accreditation issue, they speak of the Distance Education and Training Council as being their accreditation source, and give a brief history, which you've glanced over and given short shrift here.
"I noticed that CCU no longer offers Doctoral Degree programs. What happened?
The University was awarded Accreditation with the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC.org). This accrediting agency's authority does not currently extend through the doctoral level. Therefore CCU discontinued accepting any new applications toward doctoral degrees. Student who may have already been enrolled in a doctoral degree will be allowed to complete (teach-out) that program.
Does CCU plan to offer doctoral degrees?
At the California Coast University Website, it also states, insofar as the accreditation process via DETC (Distance Education and Training Council, a branch of the American Council on Education--and admittedly a not-as-renowned but still-respected educational evaluation entity):
"The University's Accrediting Agency does
not currently accredit colleges or universities through the doctoral level. We are hopeful that the situation will change in the near future and that the Association will be granted approval from the Dept. of Education to expand its scope. At that time, the University will make application to again offer doctoral degree programs."
That is to say, NO school ANYWHERE has a DOCTORAL program accredited by DETC. That is left to American Council on Education and larger Dept. of Ed. Since Cal Coast is Distance Ed primarily or in large portion, they aren't accredited by anyone but DETC. Only wher a school offers some residential study, do they have potential to be accredited by ACE. Meanwhile, I believe the larger quote above explains as well as anything what happened to Virtue--and probably to some others. They go doctorates, and probably did academic-quality work to get them, but found there is not yet a regular accrediting agency for doctorates achieved via distance study.
Then, you've been unable to pin down where there is a hoax about her having been a counselor in a psychiatric hospital in Nashville--even though the name associated with her there, does seem to have existed, though a program name is murky.
So--shoot me: how does ANY of that make her a fraud? Sure she's made money, and plies to right-brain dominant people, rather than the "practical" types that have brought us modern conveniences and global warming. Shoot me again--how is that worse than being a "traditional" Catholic, or something, as someone ceased being above?
Posted by: Maxs | March 04, 2006 at 09:20 PM
"and probably did academic-quality work to get them,"
BIG assumption there. That's why the option to get accreditation by a recognized agency exists, to give us an idea about the quality of the education. A distance earned PhD? Sounds suspect, in general.
I thought Doreen Virtue's organization wrote back to someone here and they said she got her degree from Chapman. So which is it?
Posted by: guest | March 10, 2006 at 05:48 PM
Here is an interesting article about indigo children and DV is included.
http://www.dallasobserver.com/Issues/2006-03-09/news/feature_1.html
I think John Gray, Men are from Mars etc. has a "phd" from California Coast etc
http://www.marsvenus.com/
Posted by: Mark Jensen | March 12, 2006 at 10:01 AM
No, Gray got his bogus PhD from Columbia Pacific.
Posted by: anon | March 13, 2006 at 08:56 PM
I am blown away at how hard you people are struggling to dissect facts. Hate, just for the sake of it. Who is the real monster?
Posted by: Zoro | April 02, 2006 at 01:06 PM
I am blown away at how hard you people are struggling to misrepresent what us skeptics actually doing. Hate of the quest for truth, just for the sake of it. Who is the real monster?
Hey, that rhetorical technique works, Skeptico. One completely empty post reversed.
Posted by: BronzeDog | April 02, 2006 at 02:00 PM
I too have been trying to find out something about the groups she is associated with, since they have seriously affected my daughter. It has been almost impossible to locate any real info on her or her group. Very few accredited Universities can grant doctoral degrees. Even the Cal State Univ doctoral program must granted through the UC system. There appears to be a shadow bogus group out there that claims the right to do this, but to me, so far, they appear to be nothing but a sham.
Posted by: bobl | April 07, 2006 at 03:42 PM
Weeellll, if it looks like shit, and it smells like shit...
Posted by: Rockstar Ryan | April 07, 2006 at 04:54 PM
Bob, can you share more detail? I didn't know that Doreen Virtue even had a group, I thought she just trains "angel therpists" and writes books. How is she affecting your daughter in a way that is troubling to you?
Posted by: Anon | April 08, 2006 at 02:55 PM
I am angered by such people as Doreen Virtue who make millions by feeding the already deluded with more bullshit. Does she really have a respectable degree??? Just goes to show that you can still be a psycho regardless of your academic pursuits. It shoudl be revealed to all that she is either a conniving fraud or seriously deluded. I doubt the latter - I think she knows exactly what she is doing.
Posted by: anon | April 13, 2006 at 01:50 AM
she knows exactly what she's doing.
Posted by: reader | April 17, 2006 at 04:22 PM
just for thoughts, I particpated in some discussion via angel therapy website and some other affiliated sites. At one point the discussion revolved around the dangers in misuse of occult objects such as the ouija board. With so many reports of psychological damage done to so many kids through its use, I suggested it would be no harm to design a board with parametres, using angels as a form of psychological protection.
It was all sort of tongue in cheek and I recommended someone patent it quick, it would sure be a money spinner.
Some very short months later and Virtue releases her "angel guidance board".
Lots of money to be made in angels I guess. Only sorry I didn't patent the idea at the time.
Posted by: reader | April 17, 2006 at 04:29 PM
I have been a psychic medium for over 17 yrs. I know that many of you are skeptical about this sort of thing and I understand. I don't give readings, but I do help those to recognize and development their psychic intuitive abilities. Through my channels and intuition I have learned that Doreen Virture is fraud. I feel that in the beginning of her business she was real, but as she went on, she was then corrupted through money. I have read various bios of her and some sound very fake as to what a psychic is. My psychic mentors in the past have taught me never to read books on spirituality, but to channel my guides for all the information that I needed to know.
My father had a Ph.D. in psychology and various degrees in other medical fields. He also had a degree in parasychology in which he used to help the government conduct research on the paranormal. Though all of his research was classified, he did tell us to be very careful as to who we got involved with. He wasn't a pcychic, but a psychologist. He could read people just by talking to them, like how a psychic could.
I am a psychic medium. I have done accurate readings, and I have experienced many things with other people. I am not here to push what I believe in your face. We psychics are to remain with an open mind, meaning that we listen to everything that you say. We try to understand everything that you say. Then we try to form our beliefs and opinions through what we have heard. Isn't this what everyone does on a psychological level? Try to understand what the other is saying? I believe it is called listening assertively. Most people that I talk to who listen to Doreen Virture are are not capable of this type of listening, only selective listening. Which tells me that their is some sort of brainwashing occuring. This is why I thought that I would conduct some channels on Doreen Virture.
Posted by: Solitude | April 17, 2006 at 05:36 PM
to soltitude
many of the methods (products) expounded and sold by celebrity mediums/psychics/spiritualists entail deep forms of meditation to attain insight and develop our intuition.
It should also be noted particular meditations induce a theta state, where brain activity slows almost to the point of sleep, but not quite. It is the same state hypnosis uses to retrieve information or place suggestion, as it rests directly on the threshold of our subconscious mind.
Theta is an ideal state for super-learning, re-programming your mind, dream recall, and self-hypnosis.
This is perhaps why so many of the participants in such groups are so susceptible, they absorb every word from the guru's mouth's religiously and continue to purchase their products on a regular basis.
It is not disimilar to brainwashing and all seems very dodgy to me.
I'm of a spiritual nature myself although not of the corporate kind.
Posted by: reader | April 17, 2006 at 06:44 PM
Actually, IIRC, meditation is supposed to induce alpha-waves, which pretty much just mean a general awareness and/or lack of visual stimuli.
As for suggestion, yeah, especially considering that many of the people who do that sort of thing have already opened themselves to social suggestions, rather than logical evaluation.
But onto Solitude:
He could read people just by talking to them, like how a psychic could.
Sounds like cold reading.
I have done accurate readings, and I have experienced many things with other people.
I'm curious how you measured your accuracy, and under what conditions.
We psychics are to remain with an open mind, meaning that we listen to everything that you say.
Unfortunately, in my experience, the opposite is generally true: Most psychics and their believers are completely closed-minded. They won't even consider the possibility of being wrong.
Posted by: BronzeDog | April 18, 2006 at 04:50 AM
re theta states:
http://www.brainsync.com/4states.asp
"To enter the Theta state try Deep Meditation, Sacred Ground, Guided Meditation, Deep Learning, or Deep Insight."
Posted by: reader | April 18, 2006 at 08:43 AM
To Bronzedog,
Everyone lives their own life and learns their own lessons. Your life is your own goal. You were brought up in ways that are different from everyone else. We are all an individualand should be treated like one.
Psychics are suposed to be guides not fortune tellers. We are here to help others understand the life that they have in the best way that we can. My readings aren't always accurate and the person I might be reading may not always agree with me. When this happens I don't try to beat truths into their head because they have their own truths that they live by.
""I have done accurate readings, and I have experienced many things with other people.
I'm curious how you measured your accuracy, and under what conditions.""
As a psychic medium I have all the four clairs, but in this case I will mention one according to my accuracy:
Claircognizance - translates to "clear knowingness" which is also refered to as the intuition. When I have said something to myself like, "I am a person." I feel a weighed down anchor feeling in the gut area of my body. "The Gut Feeling". This is 1 of the things that I base my accuracy on. The other is confirmation. I like to confirm what I am feeling.
I feel that I haven't answered this question completely. If you could emphasize on it alittle more.
"We psychics are to remain with an open mind, meaning that we listen to everything that you say."
Please allow me to rewrite this sentence.
"I am to remain with an open mind, meaning that I will listening to everything you have to say."
In my development workshops I teach people about their spiritual guides. I let them know that they have 1 primary guide and this guide should be their main one. This one guide is the one with whom they look to the majority of the time. This one guide will help them solve their problems mainly. This one guide is themself. When in absolute frustration they should look to other sources, whatever that might be. It could be their other guides, angles, God, or another person. Whatever they feel comfortable with. Being psychic isn't just about dwelving in the spiritual world, predicting the future, but about being yourself.
The problem that I see with celebrity psychics is its like they are trying to form a new religion that can control ones mind.
Posted by: Solitude | April 18, 2006 at 03:52 PM
"The problem that I see with celebrity psychics is its like they are trying to form a new religion that can control ones mind."
I agree, it all seems no different to any other religious dogma at this stage.
Someone should give them a good arse kicking :)
Posted by: reader | April 18, 2006 at 05:05 PM
I wanted to reply to the comment above, whoever said there is no Cumberland Hall hospital in Nashville does not have all the facts. I was a patient at Cumberland Hall from 1987-1988 and it did exist--it was on Youngs Lane. The Hospital has since closed down.
Posted by: David Williams | April 18, 2006 at 08:45 PM
Clarification on accuracy tests: I'm curious if you've done any sort of tests where you've tried to measure number of successes versus failures. If you have, I'd like to know the conditions you performed under. For example, was the communication two-way? Did you have to see the person you were reading?
Intuition can be a powerful but mundane ability, and sometimes just looking at a person allows someone to pull some Sherlock Holmes act. Of course, some people aren't even aware they're doing it.
Just to note: I'm not a contrarian who thinks all psychics are knowing frauds. I think most non-celebrity psychics are probably people mistaking their good intuition for magic.
Posted by: BronzeDog | April 19, 2006 at 05:51 AM
As I said in my earlier posts above, my former girlfriend was psychic so I had a good chance of observing her “in action”. All I can say is for all her endless talk about her abilities and charging patients for readings, the only person who does need a good amount of counselling is her self. The fact that she always failed so miserably in her own life, her inability to form long-lasting relationships (every time she was ditched by her next boyfriend not wanting to live with a crank), let alone her inability to maintain a clean house and perform housewife duties, etc, etc.
I understand that claiming to be psychic gives so many desperate women a sense of empowerment in real life where they have none.
I also understand that no amount of evidence to the contrary will change them since magical thinking is such an integral part of women’s collective unconsciousness as their sexual power and dominance over men, the power of being young and beautiful.
It should not come as a surprise though that once these Nature-given female powers are gone thorough age-related or social role changes, the place is quickly filled by a new quest for “spirituality”, ”shamanic healings”, “psychic abilities” and so forth.
It matters not what kind of self-delusion gives a person a sense of empowerment, what does matter is their increased ability to better cope with new powerlessness-related situation in their life.
Doreen Virtue, through her past involvement with women in crisis programs, knows this only to well. Her "PhD" is just a good marketing tool that gives more credibility to all her crap.
Posted by: Cos (Tasmania) | April 19, 2006 at 05:29 PM
"I wanted to reply to the comment above, whoever said there is no Cumberland Hall hospital in Nashville does not have all the facts."
We're way ahead of you, David. We already established here that Cumberland Psychiatric Hospital did exist at one point in time, and the address/phone number is even posted, above. They changed their name to "FTC" at some point in time. I tried to call them a couple of times, but no answer.
Besides the PhD question, the question remains whether or not Doreen Virtue was ever "founder and former director of WomanKind Psychiatric Hospital at Cumberland Hall Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee," as her website says.
Posted by: anon | April 22, 2006 at 07:53 PM
her group is atp's Angel Therapy Practitioners on www.angeltherapy.com
also, look at her reviews on her current book Angels and Goddessess on www.amazon.com. seems the queen is being thrown from the thrown.
Posted by: coco | April 24, 2006 at 04:11 PM
I believe coco meant "thrown from the throne." Pun gets about a... 6.1.
Posted by: BronzeDog | April 24, 2006 at 08:17 PM
The book reviews looked mostly positive, to me. I see no dethroning there, or dethrowning for that matter.
Posted by: anon | April 26, 2006 at 11:30 PM
Just scanned through this angeltherapy.com again...
Statement:
“The angels are with us as a gift from our Creator, and their aim is to establish peace on Earth, one person at a time. Working wing-in-hand with the angels, I believe that this goal is possible".
Seems that Doreen is very keen on promoting "peace on Earth" by all means, even "one person at a time". Good on ya, Doreen! Peace is really what so many nations need on this Earth right now, especially in places like Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Chad, Solomon Islands, Sumatra, Northern Pakistan, Afganistan, to name just a few...
But, lo and behold, click on EVENTS & COURSES, www.angeltherapy.com/events.php, and just skip through the sites where this "Peacekeeper" Ph.D has her "Angel Therapy Practitioner and Mediumship Mentorship Program courses" coming up for this year...
A bit surprising to see that none of those countries with their extremely suffering populations have made it on her list, isn't it?
Apparently, Doreen Virtue, Ph.D & Co holds a very strong view that "to establish peace on Earth, one person at a time" she'd rather be in places that are INDEED lying in ashes and ruins, like
- Las Vegas, NV - 5/5-5/7 2006
- Las Vegas, NV - 5/5 2006 (a very good start for any peace-keeping oragnization, to be sure!)
- Bristol, England - 5/13 2006
- Hamburg, Germany - 5/27- 5/28
- New York, NY - 6/3 2006 (SOLD OUT)
- Seattle, WA
- Vancouver, Canada
- Toronto, Canada
- Laguna Beach, CA
- Sunshine Coast, Australia - (there's little doubt that's where "Peace on Earth", "one person at a time" is most needed!)
- Sunshine Coast, Australia
- Orlando, FL
- Laguna Beach, CA ..
I am sure that "Working wing-in-hand with the angels" on Sunshine Coast in Australia charging $350-450 per a "peace-keeping session" is a much more pleasant girlie experience compared to the sand and dust-covered US men in GI uniforms who are "having fun" putting their lives on the line every day in a war-torn Iraq trying to save other human lives, or getting killed in ambushes in Afganistan, or enduring frozen limbs while taking part in humanitarian missions in an eartquake-devastated Northern Pakistan, etc. Do you think they charge $400 per 2-hour session?
I wonder why these guys, who are making every day their lives disposable for othersto survive, don't get any "angel therapy" from this "peacekeeper" Ph.D? Aren't they and those they are protecting, the ones who'd most benefit from it? Instead she's off on her "peacekeeping missions" to Las Vegas and Sunshine Coast...
Oh, yeah!
"Working wing-in-hand with the angels, I believe that this goal (establishing peace on Earth) is possible".
WHAT A LOT OF BULLSHIT!
Posted by: Costas | April 28, 2006 at 06:52 PM
How's about she goes to Africa and does something about the thousands of children dying per day of starvation?? Doesn't that matter?? Apparently not. Doreen takes a constant holiday and has the audacity to glorify it under the name of "peace mission." I don't believe in clairvoyants and I certainly don't respect any that charge that amount of money. If her mission is so goddam important then her angels should be leading her into places where some angels are needed. Without a Phd in psychology I feel pretty confident to say that Doreen Virtue must surely be a psychopath. I don't know how she sleeps at night taking advantage of the gullible.
Posted by: anon | April 29, 2006 at 06:40 PM
No way, man, Africa is no good for Doreen's psychic abilities! She would surely be upset seeing thousands dying of starvation, malaria and crime from her 5-star hotel in Sudan. Btw, anyone knows if there's any 5-Star hotels in Sudan with a limo car park, please?
Remember Bill Clinton in 1992? - “It's about… climate, stupid!”
Her winged friends seem to be much more fussy about good pay and weather conditions than anything else, just check this out:
Doreen is starting off in May in Las Vegas (beautiful spring weather, warm but yet not too hot). Then come England, Ireland, Germany (May being the best time for holidaying in N. Europe - already warm but not too hot like in July)..
NY and Seattle come in the first week of June - same deal: warm but not too hot, pleasant ocean breezes, close to sea..
Then Canada in September (Toronto & Vancouver: Indian Summer, still warm but summer heat is over, and again close to sea...)
October - Sunshine Coast of Australia! The thing is October over here is not fall as in the US but the middle of spring, with tropical flowers and palm trees in blossom, lots of going on on beaches.. in short, a very pleasant and spring-like weather. Again - warm but not too hot.
End October – Orlando, FL! Again - warm but not too hot… Her angels, although purportedly immaterial, can't stand any temperatures below beach-going ones, you see!
And, at last, to finish the "establishing peace on Earth" mission for 2006 – Laguna Beach, CA in November. Speaks for itself...
Can’t you see there's this interesting climatic and geographic pattern translated into a
Never-Ending Spring-time World Money-Making Tour? Er…, pardon, a “Wing-in-Hand Peacekeeping Mission”, right?
Now there's no way I would believe this Hoaxer with her shitty “Ph.D in psychology" who’s selling her hallucinatory chutzpah through thousands of bookstores, offering her sexual allure to TV audiences (Oprah, etc), etc, etc doesn't know what she's doing.
What I cannot fathom though is how hundreds of thousands could have blinded themselves to such a degree?
Posted by: CosTasman | May 01, 2006 at 07:26 PM
Live and let live - awful waste of energy all this giving out.....whatever makes people happy. Lifes too short.
Posted by: whatever | May 04, 2006 at 01:55 PM
The search for truth is a waste of energy? Happy-making lies (which often cost money in this business) are okay?
Posted by: BronzeDog | May 04, 2006 at 02:03 PM
My ex GF spent a few thousand on those seminars (Sydney) + an awful lot of energy and hope applying Doreen's teachings to her life.
Result: ziltch.
(Not for Doreen's bank account though)
Posted by: CosTasman | May 05, 2006 at 01:20 AM
Hi I just went to Doreen Virtue's seminar in NYC. I want to start off with saying I am very spiritual and have a deep faith in God. I have read many of Virtue's books and really enjoyed them. I have had some really hair, unexplainable occurrences in my life and her books gave me some of understanding to what was going on. However; I did find her seminar to really be fraudulent and it ended up making skin crawl. I was very disappointed. First of all she had 'actors' raising their hands. One of the men stood up and gave us a humungeous speel. One of ATP's handed him a kleenex off cue and then he had force himself to cry. My husband bursted out laughing. Second, her husband,(Steve Farmer) really tried to promote all the 'hayhouse' stuff and himself. He attempted several times to upstage Virtue. I do not think their marriage will last another year (remember you heard it here first) Thirdly, her ATP's walked around with this vacant look in their eyes like most cult members have; they really creeped me out. I would love to talk to someone that has done her longer seminars and maybe do some research on them. Everyone deserves to make a buck, but after what I saw and what I have read here. I can see how destructive and frightening these people are. I agree with solitude, I think Ms. Virtue probably does have some kind of gift (like everyone does) but she has misused it and is taking advantage of people to the point where they lose their money and their relationships.
Posted by: oliversgrrl | June 04, 2006 at 07:12 PM
...unexplainable...
Careful with that word: It's defeatist. Unexplained is better.
But it's good to hear that you saw through the act, oliversgrrl. It'd probably be good to write something with even more detail for others to see.
Knowing the warning signs, deception techniques, and so forth is good, but often a first-hand experience is more convincing.
Posted by: BronzeDog | June 04, 2006 at 08:48 PM
I will try not to be such a defeatist Bronzedog, maybe unexplained is a better term and I will take your sage advice to heart..I am in the process of making a moral decision right now about what I saw...I can't go into detail on the blog...
I read your website and it is very amusing...
Posted by: oliversgrrl | June 05, 2006 at 04:37 PM
Thanks. I try, and I am at my most serious when I'm joking. :)
Don't worry too much about the word use. It's one of those things that's been stealthily sneaking into inappropriate use. It'd probably make for a good "Doggerel" entry, though.
Posted by: BronzeDog | June 05, 2006 at 07:48 PM
Most importantly, does the woman believe in this stuff herself?? It is mind-boggling to think that a seemingly well-educated woman is one of the greatest con-artists in the world. Doreen talks of the importance of being an integrity but it ts doubtful that she is at all one herself. She must be one of the biggest liars on earth. A shrewd businesswoman indeed. I think it would be interesting to psychoanalyse this "doctor of psychology." She needs to be exposed for the fake she is once and for all.
Posted by: anon | June 23, 2006 at 08:22 PM
WTF?
Why has no one sued this bitch? Believe, me us angels have a lot better shit to pimp than the crap she's spewing.
Posted by: Uriel | June 23, 2006 at 09:50 PM
All I can say is it is better to spread peace to some people (even if they are more fortunate in thriving towns), than to spread peace to no one and just spend time here posting hate and criticism. :)
Posted by: Michelle | June 28, 2006 at 04:12 AM
Agreed for the most part, Michelle. Critcism is fine, but it has to be constructive criticism.
Too often, us skeptics get trolls complaining for us to "Get a life!" as if the pursuit of truth was not a worthwhile endeavor, and we should waste our lives in a fantasy world like everyone else.
Posted by: Bronze Dog | June 28, 2006 at 05:56 AM
A bit of a false dilemma there Michelle. There is a third option – constructive criticism pointing out things that are nonsense.
Posted by: Skeptico | June 28, 2006 at 10:28 AM