This is a follow-up to our previous post questioning the apparent internship of a Liberty University student, Christopher Doyle, with discredited ex-gay guru Richard Cohen. Tim Clinton (mentioned in previous post) responded to our email two days after we requested information about this issue. Cohen has not responded to a similar inquiry.
The Center for Counseling and Family Studies at Liberty University is not affiliated with the International Healing Foundation (IHF) nor has IHF been approved as an internship site. Additionally, Richard Cohen has not been or would not be, as we understand the matter, approved as a supervisor for one of our students. The IHF site describes the student as an “IHF Intern Therapist” and goes on to state that this individual “is completing his master’s degree in counseling from Liberty University.” However, he is not formally identified by the IHF site as an intern of the Center for Counseling and Family Studies at Liberty University. Any supervision or training provided by Mr. Cohen are not activities sanctioned by our program as part of a clinical training experience.
We thank Dr. Clinton for his investigation of this issue and the timely response. Cohen has also since made changes to his website concerning Doyle:
New IHF OnSite And Telephone Counselor Under the Direct Supervision of Richard Cohen!
has now become:
New IHF OnSite and Telephone Sexual Reorientation Coach Being Trained and Mentored by Richard Cohen!
A disclaimer of sorts has also been added to the details, noting that “Christopher’s work at IHF is not fulfilling educational requirements for his master’s degree.” It is apparent that Liberty wanted Cohen to make the non-connection very clear, as we can appreciate. Whatever Doyle is doing with Cohen and IHF, it is outside his educational path at Liberty.
One can only hope that those charged with guiding Doyle’s academic life have communicated to him (with all due urgency) the detrimental effects such a relationship will likely have on his professional career.