Does Steve G. Jones have the title "Dr"?

Question

My friend posted a screenshot of this cooky ad on his Facebook feed:

(larger version)

When someone uses phrases like "astral projection", "astral planes", "transcendence", etc., it makes me highly skeptical they have a legitimate claim to the title "Dr".

Question: Does Steve G. Jones have the title "Dr"?

Steve G. Jones is sometimes described as a "celebrity hypnotist" (see his Wikipedia page), and is particularly noted for his exorbitant prices:

“It’s remarkable just how many celebrities use hypnosis—how many CEOs and heads of production companies,” says Dr. Steve G. Jones, a hypnotherapist based in Savannah, Georgia, who charges $25,000 for two hour sessions with top executives, actors, directors and producers. “…It’s sort of a secret weapon for a lot of very successful, very wealthy people.”
_{K. Strauss, Using Hypnosis To Be Better At Business, Forbes, 2014}

He was also mentioned in the Huffington Post as the victim of identity theft, and his techniques were mocked on the Chasers War on Everything (starting around 20m). He has a video on Express about "astral sex".

I found the answer while writing the question, but I think the answer is interesting, so I think I'll post a self-answered question.

How is this person notable to begin with? – jwodder Jul 06 '20 at 15:19 — jwodder, Jul 06 '20 at 15:19

score 9 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 06 '20 at 19:15

Yes! He has a Doctor of Education degree from Georgia Southern University.

His website is stevegjones.com and on his about page he claims to have:

Ed.D. (Doctor of Education), GSU (Georgia Southern University), Statesboro, GA., 2013.

So his claim to the "Dr" title is through having a doctorate in education. His 2013 doctoral thesis can be downloaded from Georgia Southern University. Its title is:

The Relationship Between the National Survey of Student Engagement Scores and Persistence Data from the Freshman Year to the Sophomore Year among Georgia Southern University Students

Obviously this doctorate is not related to medicine, nor hypnosis, nor "astral planes".

An image of his purported testamur from Georgia Southern University is on his webpage:

Does Steve G. Jones have the title "Dr"?

1 Answers1