Comments on: Can you be a parapsychologist without a college degree?

By: Reverend S

Reverend S — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:01:59 +0000

I don't think so and a highly regarded paranormal book author and ghost hunter Trent Brandon discusses this topic in his book A Ghost Hunter's Bible. I do not think they are breaking any laws but don't take my word for it I am not an attorney. I have talked about some ghost hunters who claim to be scientists and are out to prove to the world ghosts exist are ordinary people many without any college at all have a problem with they way people view them so they are desperate to somehow do something to get the respect they desperately desire. They are frustrated because the paranormal field is not taken seriously. I can understand how they feel and most who do don't like me because I don't mind being called a ghost hunter and I do not mind being made fun of by skeptics. I take my hobby seriously just like I do my hobby of fishing, camping etc but I am in the paranormal investigating not to prove to the world that ghosts exist because I know that will never happen. I do it to help my client to live with things they do not understand and help them understand these things a little better. I do not charge money and have spent more money on my hobby then I should but hey most of us in thin interest have.
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By: psiexploration

psiexploration — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:32:59 +0000

If you follow the conventions of science and academia the answer is a resounding no. One can not call themselves a medical doctor without having attended (and passed) a medical school. One can not claim to be a psychologist without a Ph.D. in psychology (the term if you have a Masters in psychology is psychological associate).

However, most people engaged in parapsychology research full time (there are less than 50 in the world) hold a Ph.D. or another doctoral level degree in a conventional science (medicine, psychology, engineering, physics, etc.) and pursued parapsychology in their thesis or dissertation work or waited until they had tenure at their university before even starting such research.

The problem as I see it is there is not yet an accepted term for the dedicated amateur that wishes to contribute to parapsychology. For example Amateur Astronomer is an acceptable term and many have contributed to the field of astronomy. In the case of astronomy there are many professionals that will help with writing guidelines, help organize star parties, and welcome the help.

Parapsychology (as practiced by professionals) is too concerned with it’s own image to want anybody not trained at the doctorate level to be involved in any way in the field. This is the same reason the focus has been on experiments and not field investigations. While it would be nice for parapsychologist to come down from the Ivory Tower in which they live and correct the lies constantly told by skeptics and train people how to use science correctly to investigate topics I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

I have provided links below to the professional association for Parapsychology and to two web sites that are trying to bridge the gap between the Ivory Tower and the Public.

Psiexploration
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http://www.parapsych.org
http://www.publicparapsychology.org
http://www.irva.org

By: gregg k

gregg k — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:53:59 +0000

Which ghosts that people see do they decide needs a psychological examination? Or is it a psychological illness that causes you to think you see paranormal activity? The parapsychologists study the paranormal investigators. You need all kinds of degrees and experience in the field to witness paranormal activity because if you do witness it, there is some knowledge that you have to have to notice it and experience to respond to it.
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By: Paranormal Investigator

Paranormal Investigator — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:11:59 +0000

No you need a degree in psychology and there you can go to any specialty but you can learn it through books and courses and have a certificate of attendance which puts you one step ahead of on investigator.
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By: Minerva

Minerva — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:40:59 +0000

NO. Anyone who claims to be a parapsychologist without a degree is a liar. They are nothing more than a paranormal researcher. It's that simple. They can pretend all they want.
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By: Nice Guy

Nice Guy — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:52:59 +0000

In the world of the paranormal. You need no qualifications to be anything you want.
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By: Teancum

Teancum — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:44:59 +0000

You can be alot of things without a college degree, a degree is just a "the government said so" certificate. That doesn’t amount to much to me because I’m not impressed with bureaucrats, especially when it comes to the paranormal.

A degree will tell you, "If you can’t explain it, your crazy" which pisses me of that these people head our society and write our textbooks.
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