Ghana Psychological Council registrar loses her temper on live radio

Clinical Psychologist and registrar at the Ghana Psychological Council, Dr Diana Baah Odoom, hanged up on an Accra based Peace FM presenter Kwasi Aboagye when she was asked what the council is doing about people who parade themselves as counsellors on radio aside writing them letters.

Dr Baah Odoom who was earlier answering questions about George Lutterodt said he was warned by the Psychological Council in 2016 to stop parading himself as a counsellor on radio, but the National Media Commission (NMC), Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Journalists and media managers failed to uphold the order.

"If the NMC, GJA are regulating, they would know that before any resource person is invited to speak on radio checks, would have been done," she said.

The Clinical Psychologist indicated further that, "George Lutterodt is not a counsellor...he has no training in counselling and he has not attended any counselling school so he shouldn't be held as such".

Ghana Psychological Council in a letter to the self-acclaimed marriage counsellor, Cyril George Carstensen Lutterodt, warned him to stop holding himself out as a counsellor.

The Ghana Psychological Council indicated that it was against the law for an individual, without the proper qualifications, to hold him/herself out as a counsellor, therefore, George Lutterodt is contravening the laws of Ghana by presenting himself as 'Counsellor Lutterodt'.

Section 140 of the Law-Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act, 2013 (Act 857) stipulates that "a person who does not have the requisite qualification and who is not registered with the Council but wilfully and falsely uses any name, title or in addition implying a qualification of practice as psychologist or counsellor and practices or profess to practice psychology of which include counselling or receives payment to provide psychological services commits an offence and is punishable by law."