Peter Szil has no right for using the title of psychotherapist

Peter Szil who was born at Budapest in 1951 has used the Movement for the Prostitution Free Hungary (MPFH) as well as the website of prostitucio.hu to unlawfully call himself a psychotherapist. Peter Szil has mislead a number of other organizations and uses them till now. In 2006 it became clear that Peter Szil does not have a right to call himself a psychotherapist since he does not have a degree in psychology or psychotherapy or anything else. The first question regarding Szil's education came to light in January of 2006, since that time Peter Szil has rejected to answer openly. He has only provided partial replies two times when being asked by employees of those NGOs which are tied to him closly both financially and ethically. These answers later have been proven to be false and contradictional.

Because of this, all previously published material written by Peter Szil (Szil Péter) has been removed from the domain of prostitucio.hu on June 23, 2006. The title of psychotherapist written following his name has also been deleted. The provider of the webpage of the Movement for the Prostitution Free Hungary (MPFH) apologizes for any misleading information related to Peter Szil and his professional work published on the domain of prostitucio.hu. From now on MPFH is not taking any responsibility for the contain and professional relevance of the work of Peter Szil.

Background

Peter Szil had got in touch with MPFH at the beginning of 2004. The name of Peter Szil has been posted on the pages of prostitucio.hu since 2004. He has signed a number of formal letters and publications of MPFH as a psichotherapist. Two of his articles dealing with the issue of prostitution have also been published. In these articles he has been calling himself a "practising psychotherapist". He also claimed the following: "I have been working as a psychotherapist for more than twenty years both in clinical and theoretical fields".

Between 2003 and 2005 Peter Szil was represented at a number of confenrences in Hungary, introducing himself as a psychotherapist with more than twenty years of professional experience. He claimed he had been practising in Sweden and Spain. Peter Szil has also given the same information to the press several times. From 2004 Peter Szil has started to be involved in the work of more and more Hungarian NGOs. At the end of 2004 Peter Szil has provided supervision for the staff of one of the Hungarian ministries dealing with battered women. During this time Peter Szil has also been represented at several conferences in Spain claiming that he is the speaker of the Movement for the Prostitution Free Hungary. He has also called himself to be a "psicoterapeuta húngaro" (Hungarian psychotherapist) when making lectures at the conferences.

From November 6, 2005, Peter Szil has provided counselling at an Internet Forum for battered women and abusive men, also calling himself a psychotherapist.

The Facts Come to Light

On January 13, 2006, at the Forum mentioned above the following questions were asked: "Which University has given certificate to Peter Szil? Does he have a degree and what is his qualification?". After being silent for a significantly long period of time, Peter Szil has asked the provider of the Internet Forum to close the counselling topic. At the same time he has published a curriculum vitae. In this CV he has written: "I have formally recieved the diploma in psychotherapy in 1983 at Free Nordic University founded by Torbjörn Fjellström". This statement was modified by him the next morning saying that in Sweden he could not call himself a psychotherapist, only a gestaltterapist. Even though there were several more questions asked about the relevance of his statment, Peter Szil has been remined in silence ever since then, never giving answers to the questions about his education.

He does not answer to the questions of Juhász Géza, former director of Habeas Corpus Working Group (HCWG), who has submitted a number of grant proposals referring to Peter Szil as psychotherapist and psychologist. Based on this HCM has recieved an amount of 216.000 euro grant from Hungary and the European Union. HCM is currently implementing the so called Daphne II. Program from this grant. (Even though dr. Spronz Júlia, current director of HCM has been informed about the doubts of the qualification of Peter Szil a number of times, Peter Szil is still referred as a psychotherapist on this webpage.)

Juhász is the only person who is legally responsible for the contains of the grant proposals mentioned above. Juhász has signed the proposals without checking evidence of the qualifications of Peter Szil.

Clarification

Since Juhász Géza is legally responsible for the proposals and contracts related to Daphne II Program, he has asked Peter Szil in a letter dated March 5, 2006. to clarify the situation. This letter was returned by the post with the mark of "addressee rejected". After all this Juhász has invited Peter Szil to the meetings of HCM several times (March 16, April 2, June 11, 2006) to show his documents of qualification and answer the questions related to this issue. But Peter Szil has never showed up at the meetings, did not answer to e-mail messages or phone calls. He claimes he "has nothing to do with Juhász Géza".

Since not Peter Szil nor the current director of HCM have made any steps for clarifying the situation, Juhász Géza has written a letter to the Ministry of Education of Sweden as well as to Free Nordic University (Fria Universitetet Nord, FUN) (see below).

Torbjörn Fjellström, director of FUN, has answered that the institute was founded in 1993 (!). However Mr. Fjellström has provided education and therapy prior to the foundation of the institute, those activities were purely private without giving any formal degree. Siv Mozard, educational director of FUN stated that Peter Szil is not represented in the records of the institute. The Swedish Ministry of Education has also confirmed that the institute indicated by Peter Szil has never issued certificates (see the letters below).

The letter of the National Board of Health and Welfare has also confirmed the information that Peter Szil is not licensed nor registered as psychotherapist in Sweden, that is why it is obvious that he has never done legal and professional work.

Based on all this it is proven to be untruth that Peter Szil is a qualified psychotherapist as he had stated to the public. It is also proven that Peter Szil does not have any degree in anything not only psychotherapy.

We ask those Internet providers who were misled by Peter Szil, to publish the right information regarding his qualification and create a link showing to this page.

PS: On June 27, 2006. following the arrival of the letter from Sweden claiming that Peter Szil has no diploma, Peter Szil had gotten warned immediately that the doubts regarding his education was published in Hungarian, and he was also asked to react. Peter Szil has not replied anything, but soon thereafter he and his deeply committed colleagues has changed their opinions. They have foggily admitted that Peter Szil had no degree in anything, but they have also emphasized that in their opinion there was no need for a degree in psychology to be capable with the requirements of the job. It was also said that "Peter Szil is using the word psychotherapist as a name for his occupation" (see the statement about the issue dated August 15, 2006, this text is only available in Hungarian).

Peter Szil and his suppoters want to avoid the question whether this is illegal to call somebody a psychotherapist and provide supervision for organizations without a degree in psychology.

On September 26, 2006. Peter Szil has showed up at the meeting of Habeas Corpus Working Group, where he was willing to answer some of the questions on the demand of Géza Juhász. After eight months of silence this was the first time when Peter Szil has admitted the he has never graduated at any college or university. He also claimed that he has provided psychotherapy to patients through private practice in Sweden between 1982 and 1990. After moving to Spain in 1990, Peter Szil has carried on his private business and provides psychotherapy in Spain up to the present days.

Peter Szil has also rejected to answer the question which authorized bodies are informed about his psychotherapist work. He said that his practice is based on the so called "diploma" issued by FUN in 1983. Peter Szil has placed his certificate of attendance on his website on September 22, 2006. But he was unable to explain why he considers this certificate to be a degree in psychotherapy: Peter Szil was not willing to answer the question why does he consider this certificate to be an official diploma in psychotherapy when the sections of "self-therapy" (egen terapi) and "theory" (teori) are deleted.

Appendices

I.

The list of those Hungarian civil and governmental organizations where Peter Szil has worked claiming that he was a psychotherapist: Peter Szil also got involved in the work of other organizations fighting for equal rights of women and men during this time.

II.

The list of the organizers of those Hungarian conferences where Peter Szil spoke as a psichotherapist:
  • Eszter Alapítvány and the Család, Gyermek, Ifjúság Kiemelkedően Közhasznú Egyesület (The Eszter Foundation and Family, Child, Youth Association)
  • Budapesti Közgazdaságtudományi és Államigazgatási Egyetem Társadalmi Nem- és Kultúrakutató Központ (University of Economics of Budapest, Department of Social and Gender Cultural Research Center)
  • Prostitúció Nélküli Magyarországért Mozgalom (Movement for the Prostitution Free Hungary)
  • Magyar Internetező Nők Egyesülete (MINők) and the Nőtárs Alapítvány (Association of Hungarian NetWomen and Nőtárs Foundation)
  • Belügyminisztérium (The Ministry of Internal Affairs)
  • Ifjúsági, Családügyi, Szociális és Esélyegyenlőségi Minisztérium (Ministry of Youth, Family, Social and Equal Opportunity Affairs)
The list above might not be full.

III.
The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare's Reply

Socialstyrelsen
The National Board of Health and Welfare
Division for Legal Affairs and Qualifications
Ene Berglin

2006-08-16

Dnr 559-4/06

Dear Géza Juhász,

In answer to your enquiry about Peter Szil the National Board of Health and Welfare will inform you the following.

Peter Szil is not licensed/registered Psychologist, or Psychoterapist in Sweden. In consequence, The National Board of Health and Welfare has no information about his training or about his working experiences. Obviously he has not been working in a regulated profession.

There has never been a standard university or otherwise accredited school named Free Nordic University, (Fria Universitetet Nord, FUN) in Sweden.

Neither the National Board of Health and Welfare nor the Swedisch National Agency of Higher Education, that has been consulted in this matter, has any knowledge of or can find any information about this institution.

Yours sincerely,

Ene Berglin
Higher Administrative Officer

Socialstyrelsen
SE-106 30 Stockholm
Sweden
Street address Ralambsvägen 3

IV.
The Swedish Ministry of Education, Research and Culture's Reply

REGERINGSKANSLIET
Ministry of Education, Research and Culture
Division for Higher Education
Frédérique Lémery
Telephone +46 8 405 17 97

U2006/5193/UH

12 July 2006

Géza Juhász


Thank you for your letter concerning the Fria Universitetet Norden.

Fria Universitetet Norden does not have and never has had accreditation to deliver any higher education degree such as psychologist or psychoterapist.

For more information I recommend you to contact Högskoleverket, the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education www.hsv.se. The Agency is our National Recognition Information Center (NARIC) and is in contact with, among others, Magyar Ekvivalencia és Információs Központ, Oktatási Minisztérium.

I hope that you will find a solution to this delicate matter.

Best regards,

Frédérique Lémery

cc to Swedish National Agency for Higher Education

V.
The Free Nordic University Management's Reply

Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2006 20:02:44 +0200
From: Siv Mozard
To: Geza Juhasz
Subject: Peter Szil

Dear mr Geza !
We do not have Peter Szil in our register and noone here know him.
mvh
Siv Mozard
FUN/Samverkangruppen
Fleminggatan 27
112 26 Stockholm


Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 07:58:58 +0200
From: Torbjörn Fjellström
To: Geza Juhasz
Subject: FUN & Peter Szil

Dear Mr. Geza,

The Free University of the North was founded in 1993. In the 80's i preformed some private teaching, training and consulting which also could be called education. All our teaching, therapy and training have been and will be absolutely private and have no official or established worth, but practically a lot of people, especially the last 15 years have had good use of our programs. Since 1989 we have consentrated the training on addictology (a new concept created by us) and educated some 250 addictologists, but this is far after Peter S. was in our training. He har not got in touch with us concerning this work in Hungary and by the way, we have not heard from him since he left the education

yours truly
torbjörn fjellström
fil.lic. psychologist

VI.
The Swedish Psychotherapy Centre's Reply


Géza Juhász

Stockholm 06-09-13

Dear Sir!

I'm sorry you have not got an answer earlier, but our office has been closed during the summer.

RPC or Riksföreningen PsykoterapiCentrum is an organisation for authorized psychotherapists with a psychodynamic/psychoanalytic training but we also have some student or supporting members.

In Sweden we have strict rules for those who want to be authorized psychotherapists, maybe similar to the rules in Hungary. Before you start the training for becoming a psychotherapist, you must have a training and practice as a psychologist or psychiatrist, or if you are trained as social worker, priest or nurse you can add a basic psychotherapist training before you can enter the educations that are the basis for authorization. Only a few institutions have training programs that are qualified enough to give the basis for the authorization that the state institution Socialstyrelsen give and supervise. In Swedish the authorization is called "legitimation" or "leg" for short. If we work within healthcare we have to have "legitimation" or be in training with the support of a supervisor. Within healthcare the titles of psychologist or psychotherapist are protected by the law.

In Sweden we have a big problem with people who call themselves psychologists or psychotherapists but who can escape the law by claiming that they are not working with disturbed people, "only with people who want personal development". But their patients don't know this limitation.

I'm sorry to inform you that I think you and your organization have a problem concerning Peter Szil. I have never heard his name and neither have the collegues that I have asked. And we have never heard of "Fria Universitetet Nord". If it was some institution for studies, it was absolutely not a University in the real sense, and not with the authority to give training for psychologists or psychotherapists. None of the different "modalities of psychotherapy" that are mentioned have the status to give an education that may lead to an authorization as a psychotherapist. "Diplomas" are given to shorter educations. The publishing house of ICA is mostly known for popular versions on cooking or health advise, not for professional literature.

This is as much of an answer that I can give. RPC is not an institution for education or whith any possibility to control what kind of activity Peter Szil has had in Sweden. If you want more information about training programs and "legitimation" in Sweden you could ask someone at Socialstyrelsen, the state organisation for control of health care workers. See their homepage: www.socialstyrelsen.se

Yours sincerely

Lena Roos
Leg psychologist, leg psychotherapist
Secretary in Riksföreningen PsykoterapiCentrum

VII.
Letters of Juhász Géza

To the Management of Free Nordic University
Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2006 13:28:05 +0200 (CEST)
From: Juhasz Geza
To: FUN
Subject: Peter Szil

Torbjörn Fjellström
Director
Siv Mozard
Director of registrar
Fria Universitetet Nord
Free Nordic University
Korpberget
872 93 LUNDE
Sweden

Dear Torbjörn Fjellström and Siv Mozard,

My name is Géza Juhász, founding member of Habeas Corpus Munkacsoport (HCM, Habeas Corpus Working Group) - a legal advocacy organization in Budapest, Hungary since 1996.

Please help me clarify a situation involving Peter Szil, who claimed to have received his basic training and diploma in psychology/psychotherapy in your institution - Free Nordic University - in 1983.

Peter Szil has introduced himself to us and to the civil rights circles of Hungary in 2003 as a psychotherapist. In Hungary to become a psychotherapist first you have to receive a degree in psychology, so naturally we believed he was a psychologist too. He convinced me and our organization HCM in 2004 to apply for European Union and Hungarian State funds - the budget totalling 216.881 euro - to support a certain program he claimed to be an expert of. In the applications we called him psychologist and psychotherapist.

We trusted him and asked no documents from him at the time to prove his schooling and his professional experiences. Since between 1998 and 2005 I was the director of HCM, I signed all contracts, so I am responsible for their contents.

Problems and questions arose around the validity of the program in 2005, and later more questions were asked about his diploma and professional experience. In January of 2006 he stated the following about his degree:

"Officially I have received my diploma in psychotherapy in 1983 in the Free Nordic University".

Dear Mr. Torbjörn Fjellström and Siv Mozard, up to day Peter Szil has not shown us this diploma, and we do not know what this diploma stands for, since he refused to go into details about it. Please help us and let us know more about this matter. Has Peter Szil - who was born in 1951, Budapest - received basic university training, and then a diploma in psychology/psychotherapy in your school in 1983? Could you please tell us what your institution was credited for at the time in Sweden? Was it a standard university, like all other universities? Was there any precondition set to enter your program? The students entering your program had to have basic university training and degree from other institutions, or your program gave basic training and degree to them? How long have this training last? How many hours did this training involve?

Dear Mr. Torbjörn Fjellström and Siv Mozard, I am sorry to have to burden you with these questions, but I have to see clearly in this matter.

Hope to receive your reply soon, wishing you, and your institution all the best, and thank you for your help and patience in this matter,

Géza Juhász

To the Swedish Ministry of Education, Research and Culture
6 July 2006

Leif Pagrotsky
Utbildnings- och kulturminister

Utbildningsdepartamentet
Drottninggatan 16
103 33 Stockholm

Dear Leif Pagrotsky!

My name is Géza Juhász, founding member of Habeas Corpus Munkacsoport (HCM, Habeas Corpus Working Group)---a legal advocacy organization in Budapest, Hungary since 1996.

Please help me clarify a situation involving Peter Szil, who was born in 1951, Budapest. Peter Szil claimed to have received his basic training and diploma in psychology/psychotherapy at Free Nordic University, (Fria Universitetet Nord) Sweden in 1983, adding, that the training he had participated in has ceased to exist since. He convinced me and our organization HCM in 2004 to apply for European Union and Hungarian State funds---the budget totalling 216.881 euro---to support a certain program he claimed to be an expert of. We trusted him and asked no documents from him at the time to prove his schooling and his professional experiences.

At the beginning of 2006 questions arose concerning his professional background and education, but he refused to show us his diploma, or answer our questions.

Dear Leif Pagrotsky, Could you please tell us what this institution (Free Nordic University) had been credited for in the Swedish educational system in 1983. Was it authorized to issue university degrees and diplomas in psychology/psychotherapy? Was it a standard university, like all other universities? The students entering the programs of FUN had to have basic university training and degree from other institutions, or the program itself gave basic training and degree to them? How long have the training last? How many hours did the training involve?

Hope to receive your reply soon, wishing you all the best, and thank you for your help and patience in this matter,

Géza Juhász

To the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare and to the Swedish Psychotherapy Centre
18 July 2006

Socialstyrelsens Kundtjänst
120 88 Stockholm
Sweden

cc:
Riksföreningen Psykoterapi Centrum
Engelbrektsgatan 35 B
114 32 Stockholm
Sweden


Dear Sir/Madam!

My name is Géza Juhász, founding member of Habeas Corpus Munkacsoport (HCM, Habeas Corpus Working Group)---a legal advocacy organization in Budapest, Hungary since 1996.

Please help me clarify a situation involving Peter Szil, who was born in 1951, Budapest, Hungary. Peter Szil claimed to have received his basic training and diploma in psychotherapy at Free Nordic University, (Fria Universitetet Nord, fun) Sweden in 1983, adding, that the training he had participated in has ceased to exist since.

Peter Szil has introduced himself to us and to the civil rights circles of Hungary in 2003 as a psychotherapist. In Hungary to become a psychotherapist first you have to receive a degree in psychology (or in psychiatry), so naturally we believed he was a psychologist too.

He convinced me and our organization HCM in 2004 to apply for European Union and Hungarian State funds---the budget totalling 216.881 euro---to support a certain program he claimed to be an expert of. In the applications we called him psychologist and psychotherapist. We trusted him and asked no documents from him at the time to prove his schooling and his professional experiences. Since between 1998 and 2005 I was the director of HCM, I signed all contracts, so I am responsible for their contents.

In his CV attached to the European Commission Daphne II. Programme Peter Szil has written the following:

[after 1974] `... I began to study Pedagogy and Psychology at the University of Stockholm and followed a course of Film Media in Teaching at the Swedish Academy of Dramatic Arts. In 1979 I began my training for psychotherapist in Sweden and the United States, which I formally finalized in 1983. Over the following years I kept on assisting to various trainings in teaching and communication skills, different modalities of psychotherapy (Gestalt therapy, Bioenergetics, counselling for couples, Neurolinguistic Programming, psychodrama, Transactional Analysis, Clownanalyse, music therapy) and bodywork (massage, kinesiology etc) in Sweden, USA, England, Norway and France. Parallel to my main work as a practicing psychotherapist for individuals, couples and groups I from the beginning kept a foot in the world of lecturing, teaching and the training of professionals, as well as in the publishing of writings related to my work, both as an author myself and as advisor to the major Swedish publishing house "ICA" between 1981 and 1989. (...) At the same time I was one of the pioneers of the anti-sexist Men's Movement in Sweden. The network for the creation and support of consciousness-raising groups for men I contributed to organize at that time became the core from which crisis-centres for men and treatment programs for violent men grew out over the years.'

At the beginning of 2006 questions arose concerning his professional background and education. In January of 2006 he stated the following about his degree: "Officially I have received my diploma in psychotherapy in 1983 in the Free Nordic University", but he refused to show us his diploma, or answer our questions.

Dear Sir/Madam, Could you please tell us what this Institution (Free Nordic University) had been credited for in the Swedish educational system in 1983? Was it a standard university, like all other universities? Was there any precondition set to enter the program? The students entering the program had to have basic university training and degree from other institutions, or the program program gave basic training and degree to them? How long have the training last? How many hours did the training involve?

Dear Sir/Madam, please confirm to us that Peter Szil received basic university training and diploma in psychology/psychotherapy in the Swedish educational system, and then he received his license/permission from your Institution to practice psychoterapy in Sweden.

Could you also confirm to us the statement of Peter Szil---quoted above---about his practicing psychotherapy for individuals, couples and groups, lecturing, teaching and training professionals in Sweden.

I am sorry to have to burden you with these questions, but I have to see clearly in this matter.

Hope to receive your reply soon, wishing you, and your institution all the best, and thank you for your help and patience in this matter.

Yours sincerely

Géza Juhász