John Kirk Rosemond (pictured above) is a psychologist. He lives in Kentucky. But even still, the Kentucky Board of Examiners of Psychology has sent Rosemond a cease-and-desist to his column, claiming that the advice he gives in his column is in the vein of the "practice of psychology," and therefore is not allowed, according to ABC news.
What?
Well, at the heart of the issue is …
Rosemond refers to himself as a psychologist (though he doesn't practice in psychology. But he's actually only a licensed psychologist in North Carolina, so the board is claiming that he shouldn't be allowed to call himself a psychologist while in Kentucky, as he isn't licensed there.
But that's neither here nor there—it's a newspaper advice column, not a private psychologist charging for sessions (and he is technically a psychologist and living in Kentucky), or at least that's Rosemond's lawyer's claim in his lawsuit against the Board of Examiners of Psychology. "If John Rosemond is a criminal for writing his column, than 'Dear Abby,' has been on a 50-year crime spree," said Jeff Rowes, a senior attorney at the Institute of Justice who is representing Rosemond, to ABC News. "Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, all of them would be crooks."
"The board is saying that you can only call yourself a psychologist in Kentucky if you are licensed to practice psychology in Kentucky," Rowes added. "We are using the first amendment to protect our client's right to express his opinions."
Rosemond is suing for the right to continue publishing his advice columns in the same way, as it seems the state is behind the board on this issue.
