Derek Draper clarifies his qualifications and promotes his ignorance
Posted by gimpy on March 20, 2009
Derek Draper, former Labour spindoctor and psychotherapist of uncertain qualification, has been offering paeans to psychotherapy in the popular press from The Guardian to The Daily Mail. The inspiration for Draper’s public statements of praise seems to be the imminent publication of his new book “Life Support: A Survival Guide for the Modern Soul“. While there is a small correction of his qualifications in the media and on his personal blog there are other problems that negatively affect further his professional credibility.
The educational correction comes in his profile in this recent Guardian appearance:
Derek Draper gained an MA in psychology after three years full-time training at the Wright Institute, Berkeley, California
This of course differs somewhat from previous profiles where Draper was claiming a Clinical Psychology MA in/at Berkeley, California*. Should you think that Draper’s educational honesty in one media profile signals a more transparent approach in others then this Observer article may surprise as it contains a rather misleading claim.
His work on curing depression won a Mind award.
Draper has no academic publications. He does not work on curing depression in any academic or research sense. He did not win a Mind award for curing depression. He won the ‘BT MIND journalist of the year‘ award in 2007 in conjunction with his co-author, Cecilia d’Felice, a genuine Clinical Psychologist, for the workbook, Break Free From Depression – which he sells for £4 on his website.
It is interesting to note that although Draper now seems to present his credentials somewhat more accurately in the media he has failed to do so on his professional website, where he is still claiming an MA in Clinical Psychology despite being informed, several times, that this is not true. Derek Draper’s continued misrepresentation of his professional credentials on his website is of greater concern than the continued confusion in the press over his achievements. It is one thing to allow journalists to repeat inaccuracies, it is quite another to openly permit them on a professional website. Derek Draper will enter a practitioner/patient relationship based on trust with people who have been misled by his inaccurate presentation of his qualifications. Not only that, they will pay him money, money he will earn by the wilful and wrong misrepresentation of credentials.
But the concerns with Draper are not just about his contempt for professional responsibility and his displays of personal dishonesty, a recent Daily Mail article where Draper expresses his views on gender differences led Dr Petra Boynton, who has a PhD in Psychology, to highlight a few confusions in Draper’s understanding of the scientific literature, to add to his ignorance of nutrition, and raise serious concerns about his competence as a practitioner.
[I]f Mr Draper truly had read the literature in this area he’d know even the very concepts of ‘natural’ and ‘gender’ within such debates has been questioned and perhaps wouldn’t use the terms in such a cavalier manner.
Being critical about Mr Draper’s ability to understand evidence is only one part of this problem. The other part is much more worrying and a lot more sinister.
Mr Draper is a psychotherapist who publishes self help books. Couples often look to these when having problems within their relationship, and frequently relationship difficulties are related to the division of labour within the home.
Research suggests that where gender roles are unequal and where women do more of the unpaid work in the home, resentment, arguments and psychosexual problems can often follow.
[...]
If Mr Draper truly operates a gender divided approach within his own home, believes this are natural and can be supported by science, and thinks we should all live this way, then what hope is there for a client whose husband refuses to help her with the ‘household chores’? Would Mr Draper recommend she learns to see this as part of the natural order and accept her position? Is this in keeping with current good practice in psychotherapy?
By way of contrast between the attitudes of Dr Boynton and Derek Draper to media inaccuracies, Dr Boynton felt it nececessary to blog to correct inaccurate media reports of a story where she was asked for an opinion and included this passage critical of the media presentation of her credentials.
I’m a Social Psychologist and I work in health care. But that doesn’t make me a ‘medical expert’. I never used that term when talking to the journalist and carefully pointed out that while I may research and teach medics (as well as non medics) I am not a clinician. As someone who frequently takes issue with those who claim qualifications they don’t have I’m always dismayed to see myself misquoted like this. Mostly because I know those reading it (particularly my employers) may be less than sympathetic at what they might see as me passing myself off as something I am not.
Derek Draper threatened to sue me when I challenged, correctly, his qualifications as presented by the media.
As well as being ignorant of the literature in research areas on which he gives opinions to journalists Draper displays an ignorance of historical individuals he cites in support of his arguments, as shown in this quote from the Daily Mail piece:
Men are competitive and goal-orientated (think Horatio Nelson), while women are nurturing and consensual (think Florence Nightingale)
Florence Nightingale was a remarkable and brilliant woman, she took on the unsanitary conditions in the male dominated army establishment to improve hygeine in hospitals during the Crimean War, she helped found and develop the modern nursing profession, she was a gifted statistician and the first woman to be awarded membership of the Royal Statistical Society as well as making important contributions to developing ways of conveying complex statistical information to civil servants and MPs. She is also considered an early feminist and spoke out against the idea that women should be over-feminised and thought of as helpless. Nurturing and consensual she was not.
This leads to my final concern about Draper – like Florence Nightingale he wants to influence the provision of healthcare. Among his media appearance he is quick to offer his opinions on the role of various therapies on the NHS. He has even shared these opinions in articles written for MPs. Unlike Florence Nightingale, Draper does not appear to understand what he is talking about. Instead his approach uses inaccurate reports of his qualifications, misrepresented research and historical ignorance. I suspect Draper is listened to because of his involvement with the Labour establishment supporting blog, LabourList, his personal relationship with senior politicians and his presenter wife. He is certainly not listened to because of his professional competence.
[BPSDB]
softestpawn said
Do you think he actually has any influence, or is he just one of these people who are loud in the press but largely ignored by the medical industry along with the crystal-huggers and aromatherapists?
gimpy said
I don’t think he has much influence or any with the medical profession, but he does with policy makers, especially as he is the editor of the establishment Labour List. I doubt that proper Clinicla Psychologists are inclined to listen to his opinions with any degree of seriousness but he moves in the same social circles as politicians looking for a quick media friendly solution. I worry that it is they who will listen to him.
Bardirect said
Is it possible that he was awarded an MA in Psychology having never taken (or passed) any formal examination in the subject? It is unclear if the Wright Institute doctoral program involves assessment until the fourth year thesis submission and we know he never got that far.
That he was also reported to be pursuing a further MA in Psycholanalytic Studies would seem an odd course if he had a grounding in Clinical Psychology, since he would have understood that there is a poor evidence base for the efficacy of psycholanalysis compared to other interventions.
But then as Dr Boynton points out he appears not to act in a way which is consistent with an evidence based (or reflective)approach.
gimpy said
Bardirect, any credible doctoral programme will have assessment built in to it. Often in the form of dissertations, presentations and mini-thesis in the early years rather than the type of exam typical of undergraduates. We know for certain that Mr Draper undertook supervised training in psychoanalysis and this qualifies him to practice under the auspices of the BACP in Britain. I also suspect that Mr Draper has more qualifications than many fellow BACP members. As I argued in an earlier post, this makes it all the more remarkable that he chose to misrepresent his qualifications – there was really no advantage to doing so.
Bardirect said
I agree and their site states that “All academic coursework relates to this practice base through the Case Conference/Professional Development Seminar Sequence, which spans the three years of academic residency” although there is no suggestion of formal examinations or dissertations until the 4th year, but we really do not know how far he got in the doctoral program despite spending his 3 years there. He may have repeated one or more years.
The current curriculum at http://www.wi.edu/program_curriculum.html, shows a heavy emphasis on research methods and statistics, in the second year, competency in which is presumably intended to provide the grounding in scientific assessment of evidence, and an evidence based approach which Dr Boynton would appear to suggest are lacking in his pronouncements.
A full time MA would usually represent only a single years study.
There are further oddities about Draper’s situation. He recently championed CBT at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1162512/Is-Cognitive-Behavioural-Therapy-really-answer-Britains-depression-epidemic.html but never responded to Oliver James critique of CBT or his support of Ryle’s Cognitive Analytic Therapy when you might have expected him to do so – if he knew what it was. If his training was in psychoanalysis where did his supposed competency in CBT come from? Interestingly the Mail set out that it was important to check that the therapist was registered with the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)which Draper does not claim.
Perhaps his involvement in the article was simply that Draper has, whatever his qualification, become a “rent a quote” in all matters psychological – although in his case it appears to be rant a quote.
Robin said
I dont know how you have time to go the the bathroom Gimpy
gimpy said
If you’re not here to fit my catheter or say anything relevant then go away.
Bardirect said
According to Guido at http://www.order-order.com/2009/03/what-the-bbc-wouldnt-let-guido-broadcast/ Draper was asked to leave and refused an MA.
He needs to show his certificate.
gimpy said
Interesting, but the Wright institute have confirmed that he was awarded an MA. So regardless of the circumstances surrounding its award we have to assume that Draper is entitled to use MA Psychology as a qualification and use that in any application to join a professional body. Of course he his using MA Clinical Psychology on his professional website which is very misleading.
Green Shoots said
Having watched the ‘battle of the bloggers’ on the Daily Politics today, from a psychotherapeutic perspective, and I have more qualifications in this area than he does, I would suggest that Draper is a right tool. His manner is slovenly and shows little respect for himself never mind anyone else. Yet, at the same time this self-serving, arrogant bastard claims he knows everything about everything. He constantly interupted everyone else on the show, continued talking long after everyone else had finished and proposed the most fantastical comments throughout.
My view is that a period of convalescence maybe in order. His inane ramblings suggested a somewhat traumatised personna, elicited no doubt from his obsessive, if not flagrant (definitely not fragrant), following of the NewLabour Cult. The scowl, the unshaved beard, the slumping back in the chair – all reminiscent of a mispent youth. This man definitely needs assistance
gimpy said
Green Shoots, fun as it may be to poke fun at and speculate as to the cause of Draper’s personal demeanour it’s really irrelevant compared to the more serious issues of his professional conduct.
Green Shoots said
I’ll tell you what then Gimpy
Why don’t you just go off and assess his professional conduct. From what I have seen today he has no worthy conduct that I can ascribe as professional. He is arrogant, insufferably vain, despicable and obnoxious – all the ingredients for a New Stassi salesman. But maybe you beg to differ.
notspock said
I’m very pleased to see such a measured and objective response.
Back to a general point – there are many psycho(logy|therapy) books out there that do damage relationships. I know someone who’s mother in law comes out with extremely odd theories that put him down and that she asserts with absolute certainty (she reads such books).
Even if the book is written responsibly, its possible for the reader to misinterpret the book to their own preconceived ideas. It would only be by reading the book, and getting very detailed and pedantic about it, that one could get closer to the truth. Thats obviously not the way forward in a personal relationship.
On the other hand, I did hear that Mr. Draper appeared on TV making some rather strange assertions about men being jealous of breastfeeding babies.
PS: Actually Mr. Draper was a very dull teenager. He actually wasted his youth on politics.
gimpy said
Green Shoots, the concerns of this blog are mainly the misbehaviours of alternative practitioners. The adjectives your choose to apply to Draper have no bearing on his professional conduct as far as any of us know, his dishonesty and exaggeration does.
If Draper wishes to use his credentials as a psychotherapist to add weight to his opinions then he must make sure that his credentials are accurate and his opinions factual.
Warhelmet said
Gimpy – my mother in law believes that certain types of beard are indicative of untrustworthiness. And similarly, I believe that dancing ability in a man is a sign of, actually, I don’t know what exactly, but I know that I don’t like it. Oh, I can dance, but I choose not to because of the dangerous implications of dancing.
Asking a psychotherapists to keep their opinions factual is an impossibility. Psychotherapy is NOT science. As a consumer of mental health services, I can vouch for that. Psychotherapies work with subjective models of the mind. This is even more the case for the more interventionist psychotherapies. They require an overweening belief in the correctness of their model(s) of mind.
Whilst it is unreasonable to suggest that a therapist should be clean as the driven snow or without their own internal struggles with their psyche, Draper does do all sorts of strange things that I, as a consumer of mental health services, would steer clear of. Number one on the list is the media whoring – narcissium is not a good trait in a mental health professional. Being less than frank about qualifications comes a very close second. Narcissium again.
gimpy said
Warhelmet, thanks for the comment. Perhaps you are right in that psychotherapy is more art than science but my criticisms of Draper have tended to focus on his willingness to leap wildly outside the bounds of his professional competence (the stuff on nutrition and his ignorance of Florence Nightingale) and the CV issues. These alone suggest the man is more than happy to bullshit in public, which is worrying when you consider that trust is a important part of any therapist/client relationship.
Bardirect said
I’m not going to buy his book which has been reduced to £4.01 on Amazon but it can be previewed by their “Look insude” facility. As early as page 4 he starts talking about himself – referring to “studying for my MA in psychology in America.”
His repeated claim (on the back cover) to be a “prominent” and “award-winning psychotherapist” does seem to imply that he has been given an award because of his rather therapeutic techniques than his MIND award.
Jaywalker said
Warhelmet said:
“Whilst it is unreasonable to suggest that a therapist should be clean as the driven snow or without their own internal struggles with their psyche, Draper does do all sorts of strange things that I, as a consumer of mental health services, would steer clear of.”
Gimpy said:
“… which is worrying when you consider that trust is a important part of any therapist/client relationship.”
I am also a consumer of mental health services and echo everything Warhelmet said (except about the beards and the dancing).
In addition to the sexist comments, we have this:
this:
“Damian McBride, one of the prime minister’s closest advisers, quit over his exchange with the Labour blogger Derek Draper, in which the two discussed setting up a website to publish scurrilous allegations about opponents. The idea was still being actively discussed until a fortnight ago, the Observer has learned.”
So I am hopping with rage that someone as devious, juvenile and despicable as to (allegedly) conspire to defame – and inevitably emotionally harm – other people should be allowed to practice as a psychotherapist. If true, this demonstrates that the man is not fit to be treating the vulnerable. How does one complain to BACP?
Dr Petra Boynton I Blog I Smears, STIs and manipulating other people’s mental health problems – is this acceptable behaviour from a psychotherapist? said
[...] My concern is about Mr Draper’s fitness to practice as a psychotherapist. I have previously raised concerns about Mr Draper’s skills following his apparent endorsement of gender inequality within the home. Others, particularly blogger Gimpy, have also questioned Mr Draper’s qualifications. [...]