Bobby
Doscher is an Oklahoma City-based chiropractor (the President and Chief Executive
Officer of the Children’s Chiropractic Center “Oklahaven”), and apparently
something of an authority in the chiropractic community – at least she is a
somewhat sought-after teacher and practitioner ready to hold seminars and talks
to introduce people to the magic of chiropractic, in particular chiropractic targeting children: “With gentle realignments of
the spine, the life force– or the vibrations that hold every cell in the body
together – flows freely into the tissue, which has been so tight for these
children for so long, restoring life,” says Doscher. In chiropractic practice, this
life force is known as “innate intelligence,” according to Doscher, “but
it has many other names including the Holy Spirit and Chi.” And if anyone were ever to think that chiropractic – at least its
core parts, those that go beyond standard physiotherapy, such as subluxation theory– was anything but New Age
pseudoreligion, or that it had anything to do with, say, science or reality,
they can easily put those confusions to rest. (And even if you were sympathetic
to such stuff, we suspect you’d be hard pressed to explain what it means and
how its beneficial for your body for ‘vibrations to flow freely into your
tissue’).
Doscher,
though, seems to think otherwise: “Chiropractic Based on Scientific Fact”,
declares Doscher in an explicit endorsement of the
pseudoscientific nonsense known as subluxation theory. The vision of her organization,
Oklahaven, is accordingly “making chiropractic the first resort for health
for the children.” And according to herself and her folio of subjectively
validatedanecdotes, Oklahaven has experienced great
results treating a range of conditions, including “learning disabilities,
developmentally delayed, dyslexia ADD, ADHD, autism, and cerebral palsy.”
In fact,
Doscher is not only a “D.C.” but also an “N.D.”, and she is affiliated with
something called the Gemstone Therapy Institute, which introduces people to the
rites and tenets of the insane religious nonsense of New Age gemstone magic. She is also a fan of sacred geometry.
Diagnosis:
Doscher has some influence, and she specifically targets children and parents,
especially those finding themselves in challenging situations. She’s no doubt
sincere in her beliefs, which seem to be unfettered by reality. And as Edzard Ernst points out, sincerity makes a quack more
dangerous, not less.
