Recently, while surfing the web, I came across an article with the title “Equine Therapy or Natural Horsemanship.” As this is also the title of a recent post of mine on this blog, naturally I clicked on the link. Much to my surprise, and dismay, the article was a direct copy of mine, with a few words changed.
Take a look for yourself…
Here is the article:
http://eatingdisordrs.com/eating-disorders/equine-therapy-or-natural-horsemanship/
And here is my blog post:
http://blogs.psychcentral.com/equine-therapy/2011/08/equine-therapy-or-natural-horsemanship/
Adding to my horror was that the article appeared not on the site of an individual, but a much larger organization — presumably a reputable one. In addition to this, the word changes were clear, yet the general theme, structure, and organization of the article was COMPLETELY IDENTICAL. In fact, as much as 90% of the article was copied from my post WORD FOR WORD!
Naturally, I searched the site eatingdisordrs.com for a “contact” link so I may inform them of the situation. However, after dissecting the site assiduously, there appeared to be no way to contact this organization. The only exception was the “comment” section just below the article. So, with no option left, I posted as comment, including the link to my blog post, and clarifying the nature of my blog — which is to say that it is indeed copyrighted information, and that any unauthorized reproduction is actually illegal.
Not surprisingly, I have heard nothing back.
However, the situation itself reminds me of the importance of upholding the APA standard in all that we do. After all, whether performing equine therapy, or conducting eating disorder therapy, we are bastions of the field of psychology. And in so being, we must also remember that regardless of what we do, we must always “do no harm” to the client. I believe, however, that we must also not knowingly — and this was most obviously done knowingly — do any harm to others. This is especially important when harming another is done for self benefit.
I am again dismayed that a “reputable” organization would attempt to plagiarize a blog post of mine, under the guise of “acting therapeutically.” It is my hope that this organization and others like it will recognize the deleterious effects that this sort of behavior causes to not just individual such as me, but the field of psychology as a whole.
Claire Dorotik