Psychology of Vision Trainer Depletion 2017: Everything will be different

Feb. 2017

That 2017 Psychology of Vision Trainers Training in Hawaii must have been quite the shindig. Shortly after the event the various POV online sources have revamped their roster of trainers and it appears that perhaps half or more of them are no longer working in the "trainer" capacity, although many of them have moved on to become "Steps to Leadership" (i.e. POV-lite) facilitators.

Canada is now listing only three trainers and POV Canada has apparently deleted their Facebook page. POV UK lists only one single trainer. Both of the Anglo nations have zero events posted as of today (Feb. 7, 2017)

POV Japan has lost three trainers or so, and the once trainer-plentiful POV Europe is down to a mere three trainers now.  The trainer depletion in POV Asia is more difficult to ascertain, since their webpage is woefully out of date.

This 10-day Trainers Training is also something of a meeting of franchise holders, so it would appear POV is going through some sort of economic restructuring. It is obvious that many participants were blindsided and stunned by this event. 2017 is going to be a fascinating year to watch Psychology of Vision.

Here are just a few of the many interesting bits surrounding the soiree:

 Babs Stevens, Claudia Schönfeld, Alex Patchett-Joyce, Emiko Takano

 By way of comparison, here are the POV-Europe trainers in Jan. 2016

Below, they are down to three trainers. Susanne Ernst's caption translates into English:

"It has stormed violently and the sweet gentleness after it is all the more intense."

[Update: April 29, 2020: A link to a blogpost by a POV trainer who was purged. Her post should be entitled "I Will Survive!" We know she is not alone and send her our best wishes in building a new life]

https://www.anne-kathrin.de/inspiration/blog/wie-trauma-in-die-innere-freiheit-fuehren-kann.html?fbclid=IwAR34e8mfX-zFlVfswCLw_Z62JTQoJLZNCGYHNVilrwPOBylJZdvTcXf4lto

(Dead link)

"A few years ago I went through a very traumatic experience. It came unexpectedly. (Almost) everything was stolen from me within a few hours. Everything I believed in and committed to was torn away from me. Suddenly my friends were no longer my friends, but became evildoers. My purpose in life was taken from me and denied. Everything that I had relied on for years was suddenly gone.

It didn't just fall away. I was actively expelled, mocked,humiliated, cursed and no longer known. In what was previously the safest place for me, there was now neither protection nor support, but instead attack and violence.

I was in shock and traumatized and it felt like my whole life and the floor from under my feet had been torn from my feet. Like a fat earthquake that flattens everything. My life was shaken and collapsed.

I was stripped inside, naked, on the floor, and all sense was gone. And I was really scared. Betrayed, cheated, mistreated, despised.
And then very obvious lies were spread in public and my name dragged through the mud."

I talk about spiritual truth, and spiritual truth should never be sold -- those who sell it injure themselves spiritually

I recall seeing the Peace Pilgrim (1908-1981) at least once walking through my neck of the woods during the Vietnam War era.

Here are her thoughts on making spiritual awakening and healing a commercial venture:

Q: Why don't you accept money?
A: Because I talk about spiritual truth, and spiritual truth should never be sold -- those who sell it injure themselves spiritually. I accept money that comes in through the mail (without being solicited), but I do not use it for myself; I use it for printing and postage. Those who attempt to buy spiritual truth are attempting to get it before they are ready. In this wonderfully well-ordered universe, when they are ready it will be given.

Q: What is the theory behind 'not buying spiritual truth'?
A: The theory behind not buying spiritual truth is this: One who has it would not be selling it, so one who is selling it doesn't have it. These are the 'pearls without price.' As soon as you are ready for the spiritual truth, it will be given. On the other hand, you are given as you give. But paying a fee is not giving a gift. And you do not need to give to the one from whom you receive, as we are all cells in the same body body of humanity.

https://books.google.com/books/about/Peace_Pilgrim.html?id=1T6u5l3Xi1YC

£700 (or roughly $1100) per Hourly Session

This appeared in the POV sanctioned povevents.com website. It was taken down in Dec. 2014.

Even Chuck himself says that his Psychology is a hoax

This is actually old news which I have rediscovered. Julian Ticehurst, former POV trainer and employee of Spezzano and Associates Ltd. and spouse of Janie Patrick Ticehurst (co-author with Chuck Spezzano of Healing Metaphors A-Z), made the following statement on Twitter back in 2010 under his "Julian Edward" handle:

"I’d say that a good half of people who attend the groups think it’s nonsense too but they use the tools and love it for that.

even Chuck himself says that his Psychology if [sic] a hoax. But he’s not interested in people believing it. Only in the results."

https://robteszka.wordpress.com/2010/05/22/pov-redux/

State of Hawaii v. Charles L. Spezzano dba Psychology of Vision

Charles Lee Spezzano Ph. D. in Professional Psychology

The title page, table of contents and some selections from Chuck Spezzano's dissertation in the course of earning a Ph. D. in Professional Psychology. This degree is more liberal arts based than medical and this school was not accredited by the APA in 1977. The attainment of this degree is still a considerable achievement and does entitle the graduate to use the prefix of "Dr.," but it is not recognized by the profession as an accredited or medical credential.

Given the number of German language websites (and several in English) marketing Spezzano's for-profit services with erroneous academic awards it needs to be said Chuck Spezzano's degree was not in clinical psychology. In Hawaii he is not licensed as a psychologist and in fact was fined in 2004 for pretending to be one.

In order for Spezzano to become an actual psychologist in Hawaii he would be required to go back to school in order to earn a proper psychology degree. But the only school he attended after 1977 was exactly 30 years later at Oneness University, an institution now disowned by Lency Spezzano, a fact confirmed by her son Christopher. In fact, POV has gone to great lengths to eradicate any online trace of their association with OU. Why? We don't know. OU was once one of POV's two "greatest inspirations" but somehow rapidly fell from Spezzano grace between 2011-2014.  Yet the OU program remains in the POV curriculum and several current and former POV trainers are proud to be allied with OU to this day.

The number of German websites making false claims about Spezzano's credentials is staggering. I am attempting to document them all but the task is formidable. Spezzano's own direct promotional people and POV trainers in Europe are repeating these myths.

According to the POV Trainers Manual the Spezzanos have regularly scheduled conferences with their trainers. That would seem like the perfect time to mention the correction of these errors, but somehow these fallacies continue to be posted online for years.

So far I have not located any research by either Chuck or Lency Spezzano submitted to peer-reviewed journals.

Charles L. "Chuck" Spezzano should not be confused with Charles J. Spezzano, who is actually a real psychologist.  It seems the Library of Congress Name Authority File has blended these two Spezzanos together, which adds to the confusion.

There is also the question of the name of Spezzano's actual degree. Mr. Spezzano himself says it is in Counseling Psychology, but this dissertation (which is classed in the Library of Congress classification call number for literature) states it was written for the obscure and unemployable Professional Psychology degree.

Many, many questions here- not the least of which are the business ethics of Chuck Spezzano profiting from false advertising. Lency Spezzano claims these promotions are out of their control even though many of these fabrications are trumpeted by their close associates, some even broadcast under POV websites.

It should be noted that both Spezzanos have gone on record stating that Chuck Spezzano is not a psychologist. Chuck Spezzano told APTN reporter Rob Smith in 2013 that he is not a psychologist, he is a "coach." Lency has stated Chuck is not a psychologist in her Truth About Chuck and Lency Spezzano and the Psychology of Vision website:

http://the-truth-about-chuck-and-lency-spezzano.com/is-chuck-spezzano-a-psychologist/
[Update Oct. 12, 2019: "This site is currently undergoing maintenance." -- This has happened just in the last week. Below is a link to the Internet Archive version]

https://web.archive.org/web/20190221053037/http://the-truth-about-chuck-and-lency-spezzano.com/is-chuck-spezzano-a-psychologist/

Psychology of Vision Trainers Manual 2011

This document was removed from public view by Spezzano and Associates Psychology of Vision Ltd. in May 2014.