FICAN

What is the educational background of PV's program director, Bob Pegler? Is he a licensed health service provider in TN? According to the PV website on August 11, 2006, Pegler was a state licensed psychologist and health service provider and a member of the APA - not just the Appalachian Psychoanalytic Association, but the American Psychological Association . I highlighted the questionable degree and licenses.

Verify the archived PV page here: http://web.archive.org/web/200608220558 ... /p1-f.html


Bob Pegler, CAS



Program Manager, Residential Services

Education:
# Certified Addiction Specialist
# Certified ROPES Facilitator


Professional Affiliations/Licensure:
# American Psychological Association & Appalachian Psychoanalytic Association
# Licensed Psychologist/Health Service Provider, Tennessee

Other:
As Program Manager, Bob is responsible for The Boys and Girls Cabin Program, as well as Activity Therapy Services. He has a background working with adolescents in treatment settings for over 20 years. He was one of the founding staff at Peninsula Village in 1986. He has a background as an Activity Therapist, and has specialized in Addiction Therapy since 1984, when he helped in creating the Youth Chemical Dependency Unit at Peninsula Hospital. He lives with his family in Knoxville, and has two adolescents of his own.

On Staff at Peninsula Village Since: 2004


[hr]

Bob Pegler's current profile on the Peninsula Village Staff Page:


http://www.peninsulavillage.org/pv-staff.cfm


Bob Pegler, CAS
Program Director



Education:
# Certified Addiction Specialist
# Certified ROPES Facilitator
# Certified Interventionist

Professional Affiliations:
# Tennessee Association of Alcohol & Drug Abuse Counselors
# National Association of Alcohol & Drug Abuse Counselors

Other:
As the Program Director of Peninsula Village, Bob is responsible for overseeing all operational aspects of the program. Bob also manages Recovery Services, Activity Therapy, Admissions and Community and Alumni Relations. Bob facilitates weekly recovery groups and chemical dependency education groups with the outdoor cabin groups as well as the Admission and Assessment Units. He assisted in developing a Family Relapse Prevention Group for patients and families nearing program completion. Bob also co-facilitates alumni and family support groups in Atlanta, GA, and Raleigh, NC. Bob has over 25 years experience working with adolescents with substance abuse issues.

[hr]


Where did the psychology degree go?

Isn't it interesting how the credentials disappear once they are scrutinized.... Great Find!

Link: http://health.state.tn.us/licensure/index.htm

I was trying to verify Bob Pegler's license as a psychologist, but there were strangely no records found.....

hmm, I can only see the CAS initials after his name. Certified Addiction Specialist. I don't think that is synonymous with psychologist, is it? (lol)

Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor? No records found.
Certified Psychological Assistant? No records found.
Certified Professional Counselor? No records found.
Licensed Clinical Social Worker? No records found.
Licensed Professional Counselor? No records found.
Psychologist? Nope!
Psychological Examiner? No records found.
So I checked under Bob Pegler and Robert Pegler under ALL licenses in TN, No records found.
Then I checked under Both forms of the name under ALL licenses and in ALL states... No records found.

But I did find this. Link: http://www.americanacademy.org/certification/cas/
Site Name: American Academy of Health Care Providers in the Addictive Disorders.

Dear Health Care Provider:

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the American Academy, I am pleased to provide information about the Certified Addiction Specialist (CAS) certification offered by the American Academy of Health Care Providers in the Addictive Disorders.

The Academy currently has certified members in 48 states and 7 other countries comprising a diverse membership of psychologists, psychiatrists, medical doctors, social workers, counselors, and nurses. The Certified Addiction Specialist (CAS) credential is a clinical certification based upon experience providing treatment under the direction of a qualified clinical supervisor, specialized training, and a written examination. Specialization in the addictions resides within five categories of treatment activity: alcohol addiction, drug addiction, eating disorders, sex addiction, and gambling addiction.

Thank you for your interest in providing high quality, credentialed services in the addictions field. We look forward to working with you towards receiving the Certified Addiction Specialist (CAS) credential.

Best regards,

Cheri Swensson
Executive Director

Then the site said to look up a CAS go to http://www.americanacademy.org/resources/
And when I put the name Pegler in this is what I found:

CAS Members (Found 0 results.)

CAS Registrants (Found 0 results.)

That's what I always get when I run a license search on our Mr. (Dr.?) Bob Pegler - nothing at all, going all the way back to 1970. The inescapable truth is, Pegler has never held a TN state medical license of any sort. Odd that he was a psychologist for about a year, and APA as well.

I'm sure this wouldn't have anything to do with the Clinical Director Adam McLain being denied a license by the TN Board of Psychology due to his internship not being APA approved. Pegler's Immaculate Degree and McLain's lack of one do overlap neatly. The minutes of the Board of Psychology are easy to find - McLain had to appeal, and the process went on for about two years before the Board agreed to accept his internship - provided he took and passed the TN written Psychology exam. At one point McLain did receive a temporary license, but for a period of almost two years, he held the position of Clinical Director of the Girls' Continuum at PV without his TN psychology license, which also means he was not a TN Licensed Health Service Provider. The PV Parents Handbook states Clinical Directors are licensed health service providers.

This archived PV page lists only one TN licensed health service provider on the staff - Bob Pegler, and we've addressed the doubts about the veracity of his claims.

http://web.archive.org/web/200608220558 ... /p1-f.html

There's a lot of licensing oddities at PV, if you consider a lack of licensed staff an oddity - no one ever calls them on it, until now. Pegler's fraudulent claim of a TN license and McLain's fraudulent representation and lack of a license certainly makes it appear Peninsula Village engages in Deceptive Marketing by Residential Programs for Teens..

Is anyone looking into this sort of unethical behavior?

These guys are:
GAO Hearing
Hearing on "Child Abuse and Deceptive Marketing by Residential Programs for Teens," scheduled at 10:00 a.m. in room 2175 Rayburn H.O.B. Witnesses to be announced.
http://edlabor.house.gov/committee/schedule.shtml

The child abuse at PV is well-documented in survivor accounts on this forum and in former PV patients medical records.

Rachel, can you please PM or email me?

Zen Agent wrote:That's what I always get when I run a license search on our Mr. (Dr.?) Bob Pegler - nothing at all, going all the way back to 1970. The inescapable truth is, Pegler has never held a TN state medical license of any sort. Odd that he was a psychologist for about a year, and APA as well.

I'm sure this wouldn't have anything to do with the Clinical Director Adam McLain being denied a license by the TN Board of Psychology due to his internship not being APA approved. Pegler's Immaculate Degree and McLain's lack of one do overlap neatly. The minutes of the Board of Psychology are easy to find - McLain had to appeal, and the process went on for about two years before the Board agreed to accept his internship - provided he took and passed the TN written Psychology exam. At one point McLain did receive a temporary license, but for a period of almost two years, he held the position of Clinical Director of the Girls' Continuum at PV without his TN psychology license, which also means he was not a TN Licensed Health Service Provider. The PV Parents Handbook states Clinical Directors are licensed health service providers.

This archived PV page lists only one TN licensed health service provider on the staff - Bob Pegler, and we've addressed the doubts about the veracity of his claims.

http://web.archive.org/web/200608220558 ... /p1-f.html

There's a lot of licensing oddities at PV, if you consider a lack of licensed staff an oddity - no one ever calls them on it, until now. Pegler's fraudulent claim of a TN license and McLain's fraudulent representation and lack of a license certainly makes it appear Peninsula Village engages in Deceptive Marketing by Residential Programs for Teens..

Is anyone looking into this sort of unethical behavior?

These guys are:
GAO Hearing
Hearing on "Child Abuse and Deceptive Marketing by Residential Programs for Teens," scheduled at 10:00 a.m. in room 2175 Rayburn H.O.B. Witnesses to be announced.
http://edlabor.house.gov/committee/schedule.shtml

The child abuse at PV is well-documented in survivor accounts on this forum and in former PV patients medical records.

It seems folks started investigating Pegler's past when McLain's came up with such a blight on it. I believe the former staff and patients who claim that Bob has a "special way" of getting through to people, but I don't think it is consistent. The Pegler I know is volatile, and will explode if he doesn't get his way. If Bob says "jump", and one doesn't jump, they might get to see a large man loose his composure. This is a scary situation for both child and adult.

Pegler is now Program Director at PV, and if any parent were diligent enough to check out staff credentials before a placement, they would reject PV with a quickness. Pegler claims an "affiliation" with the National Association of Alcohol & Drug Abuse Counselors, but he can't have a certification from them:

National Certified Addiction Counselor, Level I (NCAC I)
# To qualify for the NCACI certification, you must have: A current state certificate or license as a substance abuse counselor
# 270 contact hours of substance abuse counseling training, including six hours of ethics training and six hours of HIV/AIDS training
# Three years full-time work experience or 6,000 hours of supervised experience as a substance abuse counselor
# Certification Costs

National Certified Addiction Counselor, Level II (NCAC II)
# To qualify for the NCACII certification, you must have: A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university
# A current state certificate or license in your profession
# 450 contact hours of substance abuse education and training, including six hours of ethics training and six hours of HIV/AIDS training
# Five years full-time experience or 10,000 hours of supervised experience as a substance abuse counselor
# Certification Costs


Master Addiction Counselor (MAC)
# To qualify for the MAC, you must have: 500 hours of education and training to include Master’s degree in the healing arts- counseling, social work, family therapy, nursing, psychology, or other human services field
# Current state certificate or license in your profession, such as an LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) or an LSW (Licensed Social Worker)
# Three years of supervised experience – two-thirds of which must be post-master’s degree award
# Certification Costs


The requirements of a state license or certificate would block Pegler, as well as the educational background. The other group, Tennessee Association of Alcohol & Drug Abuse Counselors, doesn't offer any kind of certification and has a website that looks like a sham. http://www.taadac.org/

TAADAC started an alcohol and drug counselor certification process which was not based on academic degrees, and developed the first test that was given to perspective counselors. The certification process was run by TAADAC until 1996 when the State of Tennessee Alcohol and Drug Bureau took over the process of certification. In 1996 the A&D certificate was changed to a license process with conferees holding the title of Licensed Alcohol and Other Drugs of Abuse Counselor, or LAODAC.

Overlooking academic degrees allowed Pegler to be certified through TAADAC, and TN still doesn't require an academic degree for state licensure. One thing could be keeping him from getting state certification:

1200-30-1-.04 QUALIFICATIONS FOR LICENSURE

The applicant must be highly regarded as possessing good moral character and professional ethics, as specified in rule 1200-30-1-.13.

I must have "talked him up" - after posting the above, I came across this. Nebulous credentials and education be damned, Bob Pegler is now an EXPERT.

Intervention: Hype or Help? Peninsula Expert Sorts the Facts
Knoxville, TN (July 7, 2008)


The television show Intervention has allowed America a glimpse into the desperation of those seeking help for the addiction problems of their loved ones. Is this kind of intervention a trendy hype or true help?

“Intervention is not new. The discipline has been around since the 1950s,” said Bob Pegler, C.A.S. (Certified Addiction Specialist) and Peninsula Village program director. “It’s a tool used to convince loved ones to get the help they need.”

Pegler said that intervention is being used effectively not only for addiction, but for psychiatric disorders, eating disorders and for chronic health problems such as diabetes.

“Typically, people who turn to intervention have tried everything they know and nothing has worked,” Pegler explained. “They are worried about the safety of a loved one.”

A good interventionist will facilitate discussions between family, friends, and the person needing help, serve as a moderator, and be knowledgeable about various options for treatment when the person has agreed to seek help.

Pegler is a trained interventionist in the ARISE method (Relational Intervention Sequence for Engagement.) ARISE is an “invitational” intervention in which the person needing help is invited to be a part of the whole process, rather than being surprised by a group intervention, as frequently depicted in the media.

For more information visit Peninsulavillage.org and click on the intervention link.

Also is ever so interesting how Mr. Pegler, who ran "addiction recovery groups" at PV, never had any notes in medical records. I endured many of his lame and torturous groups, and not one bit in my medical record about him or his groups. Interesting how since I was " an addict to tranqs" that it was never mentioned once in my entire medical record.
The one and only time this goons name appears in my record, is from a restraint log, where he assisted in my takedown.

I am baffled as to how this man sleeps at night..... oh, that's right, he is a Cafone and a Babbo, without a doubt.

can't say for sure, but when I worked there many years ago, the notes in the medical records were typically recorded by the line staff who worked daily on the unit or in the cabin. Geez...can't even remember what we were called. PA's maybe? (psychological assistant?). I think that's right. Anyway, the professional staff would direct the treatment team meetings and then the whole team would sign off on recommendations for the next week or two. I don't recall that the clinical staff would regularly write things in the medical record. Visiting psychiatrists would come in for consultations each week or so and tweak medications and meet with clinicians and so they would have regular notes in the record, but guys like Pegler, not so much.

Expvstaff wrote:can't say for sure, but when I worked there many years ago, the notes in the medical records were typically recorded by the line staff who worked daily on the unit or in the cabin. Geez...can't even remember what we were called. PA's maybe? (psychological assistant?). I think that's right. Anyway, the professional staff would direct the treatment team meetings and then the whole team would sign off on recommendations for the next week or two. I don't recall that the clinical staff would regularly write things in the medical record. Visiting psychiatrists would come in for consultations each week or so and tweak medications and meet with clinicians and so they would have regular notes in the record, but guys like Pegler, not so much.

SettleForNothingLess got her records last year, and my daughter got hers a month after Settle, so we can give an accurate description of PV's current methods of keeping medical records.

There are two reports filed weekly:

1. The staff Psychiatrist's observations of the patient and review of current medications.

2. The clinical director and the manager of residential services complete a review of the patient's treatment for the week, make
changes in the treatment plan and assign the patient's "focus"

There are two other sets of treatment notes filled out as needed or by schedule:

1. The family therapist keeps notes on all family therapy sessions and conversations with the patient's parents and any other
information relevant to the patient.

2. The line staff on the unit make notes/observations on a schedule of about every four hours.

The PV treatment team meets once every two or three weeks to review cases. School reports are intermittent.

There's so much documentation that the clinicians and staff contradict each other often, sometimes on serious issues.

Zen Agent wrote:
SettleForNothingLess got her records last year, and my daughter got hers a month after Settle, so we can give an accurate description of PV's current methods of keeping medical records.

There are two reports filed weekly:

1. The staff Psychiatrist's observations of the patient and review of current medications.

2. The clinical director and the manager of residential services complete a review of the patient's treatment for the week, make
changes in the treatment plan and assign the patient's "focus"

There are two other sets of treatment notes filled out as needed or by schedule:

1. The family therapist keeps notes on all family therapy sessions and conversations with the patient's parents and any other
information relevant to the patient.

2. The line staff on the unit make notes/observations on a schedule of about every four hours.

The PV treatment team meets once every two or three weeks to review cases. School reports are intermittent.

There's so much documentation that the clinicians and staff contradict each other often, sometimes on serious issues.

I don't doubt your last point. Again, the treatment team meets weekly (or did many years ago) and a report, including the week's "focus", was made. That was signed by all members of the treatment team including clinicians, nursing staff, educational staff, and line staff. The line staff in STU would make a shift note that generally described the patient's behavior during the 8-hour work shift. The staff would also report on the patient's participation (or lack thereof) in the daily group therapy sessions. Cabin staff would make daily behavioral observation notes as well as group therapy reports.

As for contradictory documentation, it seems that you might be suggesting that there were disagreements or some struggle going on over a patient's treatment. Again, it has been a long time since I was there and so I can't speak to anything that has occurred since the mid-90's or so. We were working with treatment-resistant adolescents who were veterans of numerous previous attempts at treatment. Many of those patients weren't exactly interested in progressing through the program and did much to sabotage their progress. They might try to frighten their parents into relenting and pulling them out, staging a mini hunger strike, or developing plans to elope from the facility. STU was designed to last about 2-3 months on average for most patients and in the beginning, I think that was probably accurate. There were some that stayed longer, and many that moved to the cabins within that time frame. It was rare for a patient to move to the cabins in less than that time. As the program grew and Covenant came in, (and I have mentioned in previous posts), the typical patient became more hardened and resistant. STU, for them, was more like incarceration...something that many of them had experienced previously.

I would suggest that contradictions in medical records don't mean much unless you see it among the clinical staff. The line staff didn't have enough initials behind their signatures to change the course of treatment very much. You might have a patient who has a history of lying and making up fantastic stories and telling staff what he thinks they want to hear...(and there are first person accounts on this site from ex-patients who say that they did just that). Those patients might see their treatment goals change many times during the course of their time in STU because of the time spent chasing down their stories in family therapy or group sessions or whatever. That doesn't necessarily mean that clinicians were disagreeing; it might suggest that "more layers of the onion" (as one clinician called it) had been exposed and that changed things.

Again, these are things that I am trying to recall that happened well over a decade ago. Hope these posts are helpful.

Expvstaff wrote:

Zen Agent wrote:
SettleForNothingLess got her records last year, and my daughter got hers a month after Settle, so we can give an accurate description of PV's current methods of keeping medical records.

There are two reports filed weekly:

1. The staff Psychiatrist's observations of the patient and review of current medications.

2. The clinical director and the manager of residential services complete a review of the patient's treatment for the week, make
changes in the treatment plan and assign the patient's "focus"

There are two other sets of treatment notes filled out as needed or by schedule:

1. The family therapist keeps notes on all family therapy sessions and conversations with the patient's parents and any other
information relevant to the patient.

2. The line staff on the unit make notes/observations on a schedule of about every four hours.

The PV treatment team meets once every two or three weeks to review cases. School reports are intermittent.

There's so much documentation that the clinicians and staff contradict each other often, sometimes on serious issues.

I don't doubt your last point. Again, the treatment team meets weekly (or did many years ago) and a report, including the week's "focus", was made. That was signed by all members of the treatment team including clinicians, nursing staff, educational staff, and line staff. The line staff in STU would make a shift note that generally described the patient's behavior during the 8-hour work shift. The staff would also report on the patient's participation (or lack thereof) in the daily group therapy sessions. Cabin staff would make daily behavioral observation notes as well as group therapy reports.

As for contradictory documentation, it seems that you might be suggesting that there were disagreements or some struggle going on over a patient's treatment. Again, it has been a long time since I was there and so I can't speak to anything that has occurred since the mid-90's or so. We were working with treatment-resistant adolescents who were veterans of numerous previous attempts at treatment. Many of those patients weren't exactly interested in progressing through the program and did much to sabotage their progress. They might try to frighten their parents into relenting and pulling them out, staging a mini hunger strike, or developing plans to elope from the facility. STU was designed to last about 2-3 months on average for most patients and in the beginning, I think that was probably accurate. There were some that stayed longer, and many that moved to the cabins within that time frame. It was rare for a patient to move to the cabins in less than that time. As the program grew and Covenant came in, (and I have mentioned in previous posts), the typical patient became more hardened and resistant. STU, for them, was more like incarceration...something that many of them had experienced previously.

I would suggest that contradictions in medical records don't mean much unless you see it among the clinical staff. The line staff didn't have enough initials behind their signatures to change the course of treatment very much. You might have a patient who has a history of lying and making up fantastic stories and telling staff what he thinks they want to hear...(and there are first person accounts on this site from ex-patients who say that they did just that). Those patients might see their treatment goals change many times during the course of their time in STU because of the time spent chasing down their stories in family therapy or group sessions or whatever. That doesn't necessarily mean that clinicians were disagreeing; it might suggest that "more layers of the onion" (as one clinician called it) had been exposed and that changed things.

Again, these are things that I am trying to recall that happened well over a decade ago. Hope these posts are helpful.

Your posts are always helpful and provide an insight none of us have into PV, thanks for posting. The most serious contradiction I've seen involved a restraint log. The restraint occurred in front of the patient's mother, who photographed the incident. The photos show five large women sitting on the patient, four on her limbs and one with her knees on the patient's back. The counselor in charge wrote the patient had "swung her arms and was a threat to herself and others", and noted the names of the staff who initiated the restraint and the staff who actually performed the face-down restraint. The Counselor listed five names involved in the physical part of the take-down, verifying the mother's account without the pictures. The nurse who witnessed the restraint said the patient tried to pull away from staff to run to her mother, and the staff psychiatrist stated the same thing. That means two out of three eyewitness accounts of the restraint indicate it was not justified according to TN's guidelines concerning what necessitates a restraint. The counselor's account also makes it clear the restraint was not a TCI like PV claims to use, but a gang assault by five people.

Things have changed since you left PV, expvstaff, but your recollections show some things are still the same. It does seem like the PV you worked for, the pre-Covenant PV, had a better trained and educated staff who truly wanted to help the kids in the program. You once said PV would continue to treat a child if the insurance ran out but the treatment team decided the patient needed to stay a little longer. Compassion and professional ethics like that are long gone from the program.

expvstaff, you've been patiently answering our questions: Do you have anything to ask about the current conditions at PV? I know you've read a lot of horrifying accounts, but do you have any questions about counselor credentials, practices, treatment methods, etc.?

Zen Agent wrote:expvstaff, you've been patiently answering our questions: Do you have anything to ask about the current conditions at PV? I know you've read a lot of horrifying accounts, but do you have any questions about counselor credentials, practices, treatment methods, etc.?

I don't really have any questions about it now. I am pretty removed from that industry and have been since I left. I believe that there are a few folks who work there that I worked with but I stopped referring potential employees there years ago. It's not that I don't care about how things are now. I've said before that it seems to have changed so much, from something that I was very proud of into perhaps something that sounds unreal. I also know that for some kids back in the early 90's, the Village was unreal for them too. It certainly wasn't some idyllic location where miracles happened. At least not for everyone

I do find it hard to believe that some of those people (like Pegler) would have transformed into evil, sadistic people. I don't believe that for a minute. If there were major liberties being taken regarding his credentials and how they were presented, my first thought would be that Bob Pegler didn't initiate it and maybe wasn't aware of it. When it comes to licensure issues, the state is so far up the tailpipe of institutions that I can't imagine that someone would deliberately try to sneak that by them. Your documentation is compelling; I just don't think that was Pegler's idea. I don't even see him agreeing to do it.

I don't speak for PV (and hide my name now, so I don't really speak for me either) but will continue to check in here from time to time and add things if I think I can shed some light.

Expvstaff wrote:

Zen Agent wrote:expvstaff, you've been patiently answering our questions: Do you have anything to ask about the current conditions at PV? I know you've read a lot of horrifying accounts, but do you have any questions about counselor credentials, practices, treatment methods, etc.?

I don't really have any questions about it now. I am pretty removed from that industry and have been since I left. I believe that there are a few folks who work there that I worked with but I stopped referring potential employees there years ago. It's not that I don't care about how things are now. I've said before that it seems to have changed so much, from something that I was very proud of into perhaps something that sounds unreal. I also know that for some kids back in the early 90's, the Village was unreal for them too. It certainly wasn't some idyllic location where miracles happened. At least not for everyone

I do find it hard to believe that some of those people (like Pegler) would have transformed into evil, sadistic people. I don't believe that for a minute. If there were major liberties being taken regarding his credentials and how they were presented, my first thought would be that Bob Pegler didn't initiate it and maybe wasn't aware of it. When it comes to licensure issues, the state is so far up the tailpipe of institutions that I can't imagine that someone would deliberately try to sneak that by them. Your documentation is compelling; I just don't think that was Pegler's idea. I don't even see him agreeing to do it.

I don't speak for PV (and hide my name now, so I don't really speak for me either) but will continue to check in here from time to time and add things if I think I can shed some light.

As far as I know, Bob Pegler had nothing to do with the fabricated credentials listed in his information on PV's website. He seems to be unaware of how long his credentials were misrepresented and PV is ultimately at fault, anyway.

One observation - Bob Pegler is extremely touchy about the subject, so....

People don't transform into evil, sadistic individuals for no reason. As you've noted, though, Covenant formed and accountants were watching the bottom line and making changes that were detrimental to treatment. You left shortly after the arrival of the State kids, Vance Sherwood left bitter at what had happened to his program. I think Bob Pegler's educational background is limited, which is why he has stuck with PV. What effect did a decade of mostly unqualified new line staff, unqualified clinicians, institutionalized, hard-edged kids and brutal restraints requiring investigations have on Pegler? People eventually reflect the nature of their surroundings. One former PV patient described Bob Pegler as having "anger management issues" on the unit.