#2778: Bobby Doscher

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 validated anecdotes, 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.