Parents twitter post from recent D1 grad

[flippin out]

Why Michigan? Isn't she from Arizona?

Hmm...the meet she is a part of is in Michigan, so I guess I believed she was living there or had her practice through there. So I guess short answer is, I have no idea

 

[lostinfog]

Right now my daughter is so young college gym is unrealistic to me but if it were a reality or possibility I’d be extremely concerned as it seems there are very few ideal D1 environments. There was also a story on #gymnasticsalliance about another CGA gymnast who was L8 in the 2013-2014 timeframe who told her story of looking up to MLT even though she wasn’t part of her Elite group.

MLT gave her diet or meal plan to follow and between this, the injuries and other abusive coaches at the gym she fell into an eating disorder. So crazy that MLT told her eating a whole banana with her 1/2 cup of oatmeal was too much food.

 

[Flippin'A]

At this point I don't think I would allow my DD to see any "in house" medical professional. In a perfect world having a trainer or sports psychologist affiliated with the gym sounds convenient, but I think there's just too much risk for a conflict of interest between the gymnast's needs and the coach's wants or expectations. I would also be skeptical of any gym that tries to enforce gymnasts going to see any one particular doctor. It's one thing to recommend someone but it's entirely different to require it or limit a parent's options for second opinions.

 

[gymjunkie]

That's the other thing. She can't run around from state to state practicing psychology unless she has a license to practice for that state. So she should have been licensed in Ohio if she was working for Mary Lee Tracy and doing individual therapy sessions. She can do her general videos and online products etc, but to see individual kids in person as clients who were paying her for therapy sessions is different. I'll bet she wasn't licensed in all of the states she did therapy sessions in. It's pretty incredible what this sport has managed to get away with for years totally unchecked.

Actually you can do that. Most states allow non-licensed psychologists to practice a limited amount of hours in their state. Psychologists who do this actually protect their license in their base state, because their licensing board won't go after them for something they are doing in another state. The licensing board in the state where they are doing visitor work won't come after them because they are not licensed in their state.

 

[flippin out]

@gymjunkie that sounds so messed up!

 

[flippin out]

ok, according to what's discussed in this podcast (around min 23:00), she is not board certified

 

[LJL07]

ok, according to what's discussed in this podcast (around min 23:00), she is not board certified

If she‘s not licensed or board certified, then she is not truly a psychologist. I’m not even sure how she could call herself a counselor or therapist without being licensed as an LCSW or LPC. What a gross misrepresentation. While her program may have helped some people, it sounds like she is pretty unethical and colluded with abusive coaches for her own profit. Yuck.

@gymjunkie Licensed psychologists really can’t do that. You have to apply for a temporary permit to practice in a state outside of the one in which you are licensed. The state boards have been a bit more lenient with the practice of telehealth across state lines during COVID. But lenient means they will approve a temporary permit quickly. You can lose your license in your primary state for practicing in another state without permission from that state’s board.

 

[gymjunkie]

If she‘s not licensed or board certified, then she is not truly a psychologist. I’m not even sure how she could call herself a counselor or therapist without being licensed as an LCSW or LPC. What a gross misrepresentation. While her program may have helped some people, it sounds like she is pretty unethical and colluded with abusive coaches for her own profit. Yuck.

@gymjunkie Licensed psychologists really can’t do that. You have to apply for a temporary permit to practice in a state outside of the one in which you are licensed. The state boards have been a bit more lenient with the practice of telehealth across state lines during COVID. But lenient means they will approve a temporary permit quickly. You can lose your license in your primary state for practicing in another state without permission from that state’s board.

That must not be true in every state. In my state, an out of state licensed psychologist was brought before the board (because of a complaint filed by an individual) for practicing too many hours in their state. Without going into too many details, the board simply encouraged her to get licensed since she was working so many hours in our state and imposed no sanctions whatsoever. They also dismissed all of the additional complaints brought to their attention because "she wasn't licensed in their state." The individual then filed in the psychologist's state and also got nowhere because the violations occurred in another state.

 

[gymjunkie]

Aside from what has been discussed, I've never been impressed with the results of the psychologist we are speaking of. I have 2-3 psychologist I have referred kids to over the years for fear issues and their fear is resolved within months (using a combo of EMDR and hypnosis). These include kids who were stuck for years. The kids who see DA don't ever get better (the ones I've known), but their parents don't want to try someone local because they believe they've "been to the best" so why bother with a local doctor.

 

[flippin out]

Found this in a discussion elsewhere, reading all the tweets and sub-tweets was....well wow

“Here is a good discussion of some of the concerns about the work of this “sports psychologist” and how she is portraying herself:”

 

[LJL07]

That must not be true in every state. In my state, an out of state licensed psychologist was brought before the board (because of a complaint filed by an individual) for practicing too many hours in their state. Without going into too many details, the board simply encouraged her to get licensed since she was working so many hours in our state and imposed no sanctions whatsoever. They also dismissed all of the additional complaints brought to their attention because "she wasn't licensed in their state." The individual then filed in the psychologist's state and also got nowhere because the violations occurred in another state.

Ick. I believe that. Totally defeats the purpose of having a regulatory board, doesn’t it? Yes, I know in each state the board sets their own rules, but APA hands down practice guidelines. In our state, someone had their license suspended for practicing in another state without a permit or license. In ethics classes, they pounded it into our heads that we couldn’t call ourselves “psychologists” without a license. Since most people don’t know the difference between a psychiatrist, psychologist, licensed counselor, or social worker, I guess that’s how people like Doc Ali get away with misrepresenting themselves.

 

[LJL07]

Aside from what has been discussed, I've never been impressed with the results of the psychologist we are speaking of. I have 2-3 psychologist I have referred kids to over the years for fear issues and their fear is resolved within months (using a combo of EMDR and hypnosis). These include kids who were stuck for years. The kids who see DA don't ever get better (the ones I've known), but their parents don't want to try someone local because they believe they've "been to the best" so why bother with a local doctor.

Her stuff is very basic CBT that you can get off of Pinterest with a gymnastics spin. It’s not impressive. The blind trust Is so troubling. That’s how Larry Nassar got away with what he did for so long. I hope more people call Doc Ali out and stop using her.

 

[MILgymFAM]

Found this in a discussion elsewhere, reading all the tweets and sub-tweets was....well wow

“Here is a good discussion of some of the concerns about the work of this “sports psychologist” and how she is portraying herself:”

It looks like Union (listed as her school for a PhD) is regionally accredited. Not sure what I’m missing there? I’ve never been a fan of her, having come across her work with my D and finding it lackluster (but universally recommended).

 

[LJL07]

It looks like Union (listed as her school for a PhD) is regionally accredited. Not sure what I’m missing there? I’ve never been a fan of her, having come across her work with my D and finding it lackluster (but universally recommended).

The school could be accredited, but the doctoral program for psychology is supposed to be “APA accredited” and then she’s supposed to complete an APA accredited internship/residency prior to graduating with her doctorate.
i read in one of the tweets that you can call yourself a “mental toughness” coach, no problem, with virtually no credentials. But Doc Ali is clearly portraying herself as a psychologist.

 

[Ppgmom]

Wow. Thank you, @raenndrops, for sharing!

Really proud of you! You are amazing and courageous!

 

[Ppgmom]

Amazing young woman to come forward.

 

[duyetanh]

Found this in a discussion elsewhere, reading all the tweets and sub-tweets was....well wow

“Here is a good discussion of some of the concerns about the work of this “sports psychologist” and how she is portraying herself:”

Omg

 

[cmg]

I tried the Doc Ali program for my daughter. I just got the work book. She didn't like it at all and I did not make her continue with the program. It was very much in your face and "just deal with it" type of instruction. The beginning of the book has you think about your fears all the time and at least for my daughter she was young enough at the time that thinking about it actually made it worse. She is in High School now and is finally starting to realize she can do the skills she was afraid of, but it has taken a long time. We tried hypnosis too and she had a tape that she listened to when she slept. For several years she listened to it every night and one day she just stopped. I think it helped some, but the biggest thing that has helped is she has specific goals and realizes that in order to meet her goals she has to be able to do these skills. She is just starting to do the skills she has been afraid of for the last 5 years. So I am now not surprised to learn that perhaps Doc Ali is not all that she says she is. I think she got connected to UCLA and that was the golden ticket for her. Dealing with fears in gymnastics is so very hard and I think it is different for each kid and therefore there is no "formula" that works for everyone like she claims. Just my two cents and based on my daughter's experience which is going to be different than any other kid.

 

[raenndrops]

Found this in a discussion elsewhere, reading all the tweets and sub-tweets was....well wow

“Here is a good discussion of some of the concerns about the work of this “sports psychologist” and how she is portraying herself:”

They are phasing out the PsyD in Clinical Psychology, but I have attached the information about it. They did use APA guidelines in the design of the program but admit it is not APA Accredited ... and tell their students to do their due dilligence to make sure they can get licensed in their state (look into the requirements for licensure in their particular state).
My biggest problem is that she KNOWS she got a PsyD (which is actually better for working with clients / patients), but she calls herself a PhD.

The school could be accredited, but the doctoral program for psychology is supposed to be “APA accredited” and then she’s supposed to complete an APA accredited internship/residency prior to graduating with her doctorate.
i read in one of the tweets that you can call yourself a “mental toughness” coach, no problem, with virtually no credentials. But Doc Ali is clearly portraying herself as a psychologist.

A PhD is a Doctor of Philosophy, whereas a PsyD is a Doctor of Psychology. PhD students are generally trained following the scientist-practitioner model that puts greater emphasis on research than PsyD students, while PsyD students are generally trained with greater emphasis on clinical work than PhD students.
The Doctor of Psychology degree was introduced in the 1970s as an alternative for students who were less interested in conducting ongoing psychological research and more interested in providing psychological services to patients and the public. Per the APA, “the focus of PsyD programs is to train students to engage in careers that apply scientific knowledge of psychology and deliver empirically based service to individual, groups, and organizations.”

 

[ReluctantGymMom]

Sorry to hijack but where did you see that they’re phasing our PsyD’s? I’m just in the middle of a psychology degree and was looking at PhD and PsyD as the options and haven’t seen any mention of it in my clinical course - I’m already massively confused as it is