The Sources of the Malicious
Gossip against me
The
rumour that I had obtained my degree from a diploma mill is maliciously (and
libellously) false.
It is also VERY old hat. It is based on the Wikipedia, the
"encyclopaedia" that anyone can edit and which I nearly sued a few
years ago (regarding an unrelated issue). In retaliation, Wikipedians
(as members of this cult are known) started to disseminate (anonymously)
libellous titbits about me:
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/wikipedia.html
Recently,
fans of Barack Obama have joined them in spreading this canard as “revenge” for
suggesting that their idol may be a narcissist:
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/obama.html
My Academic Degree
I studied in 1982-3 in ENCINO, California. At that time, there was a university
there called "Pacific" (yes, replete with a campus with very real
students, faculty, exams, and all the paraphernalia of higher education.)
Later, to distinguish itself from other Pacific universities, it added the
moniker "Western". Sometime during the 1990s it merged out of
existence.
I have never been to Hawaii, let alone studied there. The diploma mill that
used to call itself "Pacific Western University" (and then was
litigated into changing its name) was based in Honolulu.
To obtain my Ph.D., I had to submit a dissertation and defend it.
That I have a bona fide doctorate is very easy to prove: it is available from
the Library of Congress and from UMI.
HOW TO VIEW MY DOCTORAL DISSERTATION
To see a list of some of the books I had published in the English language
(including my doctoral dissertation), please follow this procedure:
1. Go to the Library of Congress Catalog by clicking
on this link:
http://catalog.loc.gov/
2. Click on Basic Search
3. Select Author/Creator Browse from the Search Type pull-down menu
4. Type "Vaknin" in the Search
Text dialog box.
My books (and doctoral dissertation) are listed under Vaknin,
Sam; Vaknin, Sem;
and Vaknin, Samuel.
To view my books click on "Vaknin, Samuel"
and "Vaknin, Sem"
and select the Full Record tabs.
To view my doctoral dissertation, click on "Vaknin,
Sam".
You will be forwarded to a page titled:
Time Asymmetry Revisited
Select the Full Record tab.
My dissertation is also included in UMI's databases (University Microfilms
International).
Click here to read some correspondence which may be of
interest in this respect.
My Work on Pathological Narcissism and the Narcissistic Personality
Disorder (NPD)
My NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder) Website and forums were the FIRST EVER on the Internet. My book was written in 1995-6 and the entire text was posted online in 1997.
I was the one who popularized the issue of narcissistic abuse online and in print. The very language used today to describe the experiences of victims of narcissists and psychopaths ("no contact", "narcissistic supply", “devalue and discard”, and so on) was invented by me in the mid-1990s.
My
books are based on the latest research in the field and on scholarly works by
the leading experts on personality disorders. Many of the chapters contain
detailed bibliographies.
My book - Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited (now in
its eighth, revised, impression) and the content of my Web site:
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com
are based on correspondence since 1996 with hundreds of people
suffering from the Narcissistic Personality Disorder (narcissists) and with
thousands of their family members, friends, therapists, and colleagues.
I,
myself, have been diagnosed with the disorder (twice) and spent time in therapy
and almost a decade discussing it in depth (mainly through correspondence) with
mental health professionals the world over.
My online mailing lists alone sport well over 26,000 members -
of which 1000 are therapists, social workers, psychiatrists and
psychologists - for example here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/narcissisticabuse/
Everything I write is backed by extensive bibliographies. You
can download some of them here:
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/NPDBibliography.zip
That
NPD is incurable is the view of virtually all major scholars in the field - not
only mine.
My Web site contains over
1400 pages of content - a total of 15,000 print pages, full text
online, at no charge.
Out of 30 books I wrote, I offer 24 here for download at no charge (hardly
a commercial practice):
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/freebooks.html
I never claimed to be a mental health professional. The disclaimer on my Web site is unequivocal and prominently displayed:
But I
am certified by Brainbench in Counselling
Techniques (with a very high mark):
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/certifications.zip
Brainbench are an online certification agency. Anyone and everyone can access their Web site and take their tests. BUT, the tests are very difficult, time limited, and you still have to PASS the tests to get a certificate! And they have a very impressive roster of clients:
http://www.brainbench.com/xml/bb/business/aboutus/aboutus.xml
"By partnering with Brainbench, 6 million members have advanced their skills and their careers, and over 4,000 businesses have found better ways to screen and select candidates, track and develop employee skills, and differentiate employees to current and prospective clients.
Corporate clients include numerous members of the Fortune 500, various U.S. Government agencies, and several universities and colleges.
Brainbench is ISO 9001:2000 certified! We are the first online testing company to obtain this accomplishment for its test development process."
As I
said, I am the author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".
The media and many mental health professionals seem to think that my
work makes me an authority on narcissism.
See
this random selection I Googled:
What
mental health professionals say about my work:
My
work is quoted in more than 100 scholarly works (search for "Sam Vaknin" on Amazon and on Google
Scholar):
Click
on these links as well:
You
can download some of the scholarly and media articles which cite my
work here:
Sunday
Times
Channel
4 (UK) Documentary Egomania
WebMD
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/71/81306.htm
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/29/technology/29NECO.html
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/09/AR2005110902106.html
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2004-11-29-celebs-mixed-messages_x.htm
New York Post
http://www.nypress.com/16/7/news&columns/feature.cfm
"Sam Vaknin is the world’s leading expert on narcissism."
Tim Hall, New York Press, Volume 16, Issue 7 - February 12, 2003
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/bbing/stories/s1158704.htm
"Vaknin’s a respected expert on malignant narcissists ... He set about to know everything there is about the psychopathic narcissist."
Ian Walker, ABC Radio National Background Briefing, July 18, 2004
The Infinite Mind radio program
http://www.lcmedia.com/mind333.htm
United Press International (UPI)
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/corporatenarcissism.html
Cal Thomas column
http://townhall.com/columnists/CalThomas/2005/06/15/faultless_nation
Toronto Sun
CanWest News service and Newspapers Network
You
can find the full texts of these articles here:
Santa Cruz Sentinel
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2005/April/24/style/stories/06style.htm
Correspondence regarding Sam Vaknin's Doctoral Dissertation
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dawn Perri" <puccinsk@2xtreme.net>
To: <sam@vessolink.ru>
Sent: Sunday, November 23, 1997 1:01 AM
Here is the reply I received with respect to your dissertation
Pax.
D Perri
From: "Connell, Bonnie" <bconnell@umi.com>
To: "'puccinsk@2xtreme.net'"
<puccinsk@2xtreme.net>
Subject: RE: Vaknin
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 15:08:21 -0500
X-Mailer: Microsoft Exchange Server Internet Mail Connector Version
4.0.995.52
From: Liming, Lee
Sent: Thursday, November 20, 1997 1:31 PM
To: Sales Support
Subject: FW: Vaknin
From: Dawn Perri[SMTP:puccinsk@2xtreme.net]
Sent: Thursday, November 20, 1997 12:41 PM
To: Webmaster
Subject: Vaknin
I am looking for a dissertation that was registered with your service in
the early 1980's. The Author is Sam Vaknin, and the
title of the
dissertation is "Time Asymmetry Re-Visited" ,
I did not have any luck
finding it with your search engine. I am reasonably sure that it is
registered with your service, as the author himself has directed me here
for a copy.
Thank you for your time,
Dawn Perri
Thank you for your recent inquiry. The dissertation(s) or thesis(es) you
requested is/are available from UMI. To order by phone please call
1-800-521-3042. If you wish to pay by check or money order, please mail
your request to the address listed below. Copies can also be orderedover
the Internet at http://wwwlib.umi.com/dxweb/gateway.
Please feel
free to contact a UMI representative if you require further assistance.
Best regards.
Pricing: Catalog #LD00714
Academic(students/faculty) Non-Academic
Paper - softcover: $36.00 Paper - softcover: $57.50
Paper - hardcover: $43.50 Paper - hardcover: $69.50
Film/Fiche: $32.50 Film/Fiche:
$46.00
Author Title Order #
Please allow 2-3 weeks delivery time.
A 5 to 6 day rush service is available for an additional $25 per copy.
Some restrictions may apply.
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Hart [mailto:hart@pglaf.org]
Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2007 9:05 AM
To: Book People
Cc: Michael S. Hart; hart@pobox.com; hart@readingroo.ms
Subject: [BP] Sam Vaknin's PhD Thesis
A bit of factual evidence on Sam Vaknin's doctorate
that, perhaps,
takes us a little more out of the subjective realm:
While I am certainly no authority on "diploma mills" and the like,
but I have never heard of one that would have required or accepted
a 225 page Doctoral Thesis. Even more suprising
would be accepted
theses of such institutions by Uniersity Microfilms Interenational
of Ann Arbor, Michigan, pretty much the world thesis
authority and
then accepted by the Library of Congress, whose entry follows:
Time asymmetry re-visited by Sam Vaknin.
LC Control Number: 85133690
Type of Material: Book (Print, Microform,
Electronic, etc.)
Personal Name: Vaknin,
Sam.
Main Title: Time asymmetry re-visited
[microform] / by Sam Vaknin.
Published/Created: 1982, c1984.
Description: [225] leaves.
Notes: Thesis (Ph. D.)--Pacific
Western University, 1982.
Microfilm. Ann Arbor, MI : University Microfilms
International,
1984.
1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm.
LC Classification: Microfilm 85/871 (Q)