Springdale man accused of practicing psychology without a license – Pittsburgh Tribune

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By Chuck Biedka

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Published: Tuesday, July 17, 2012, 9:42 p.m.

Updated 23 minutes ago

A Springdale man will stand trial for allegedly working as a licensed psychologist even though he doesn't have a doctoral degree nor a license, a prosecutor said.

Lawrence Stefan Lovasik, 59, of 432 School St., is charged with theft by deception, Senior State Deputy Attorney General Mark Serge said. An investigation is continuing.

Lovasik waived the charge to court on Tuesday rather than have a preliminary hearing.

He is accused of accepting about $17,660 in pay from Unity Family Services Inc. in the Kiski Park Plaza, Allegheny Township, on the pretense that he was a psychologist licensed in Georgia.

Unity Family Services is a family based mental-health service agency that gets most of its funding from medical assistance. Unity Executive Director Michele Gould hired Lovasik in May 2011 and fired him Oct. 17 after she learned he had no advanced degrees and no license to practice.

Gould said Lovasik passed clearances and didn't have a criminal record.

Serge said Lovasik deceived Gould by giving her his transcripts from the "Greenwich College/University of London, External Study Programmes" in Greenwich, England.

Gould said she learned that there is no record of Lovasik getting graduate degrees there. He also doesn't have a psychologist license from Pennsylvania, Ohio or Georgia, according to Serge.

Gould said Lovasik did some counseling because Unity thought he was a licensed psychologist but clients weren't charged because he didn't have a Pennsylvania license.

Gould said Lovasik gave her a Georgia psychologist license number but she learned that number belongs to another psychologist who practices in Augusta, Ga.

Lovasik's attorney, Patrick Nightingale, said Lovasik waived his right to a hearing because he prefers to handle the case in court.

"And my client has no comment," he said.

Nightingale later said he is waiting to get prosecution papers showing specific evidence the state may have against his client.

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