Stress Reduction Clinic, Inc., 140 NJ-17, Paramus, NJ
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Consumer Affairs (“Division”) announced today that a Superior Court judge has issued a temporary injunction barring a Passaic County man from providing medical, psychology, counseling, and therapy services at a stress reduction clinic he operates in Bergen County amid allegations he is practicing without the education, training, or licensure to do so.
The order, issued by Superior Court Judge Nicholas Ostuni, Sr. in Bergen County, grants injunctive relief sought by the State in a civil suit filed against Imran Rasid of Wayne, New Jersey, and his Stress Reduction Clinic, Inc., located in Paramus.
The suit alleges Rasid has never been qualified or licensed to practice medicine, psychology, counseling or therapy services offered through his Stress Reduction Clinic. Yet the defendants have been actively advertising and providing these services, in violation of New Jersey laws governing professions and occupations. The suit also alleges the defendants are violating New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act (“CFA”) through unconscionable commercial practices and misrepresentations in connection with Rasid’s practice.
The judge issued the temporary injunction during a September 24, 2025 hearing requiring Rasid and Stress Reduction Clinic to show cause why they should not be preliminarily barred from continuing their operations. The judge’s order specifically prohibits Rasid from conducting any business under the Stress Reduction Clinic name until further order of the court. It also prohibits Rasid from providing services requiring professional licensure–including medical, psychology, counseling, and therapy services–from anywhere in New Jersey, until further order.
The court reserved its decision on whether Rasid may engage in the practice of hypnocounseling, following a request by Rasid’s counsel. Hypnocounseling is a stress management technique that can be provided by a non-licensed individual only when used to assist clients with conditions not related to a medical or mental health disorder. An attorney representing the State objected to an exemption, arguing that Rasid could not be trusted to abide by the rules limiting the scope of hypnocounseling services permitted by unlicensed individuals.
“New Jersey’s licensing requirements are in place to protect the safety and welfare of the public by ensuring healthcare practitioners are qualified, competent, and practicing in accordance with the ethical and professional standards set by our licensing boards,” said Attorney General Platkin. “We thank the Court for acting to protect the public by granting our request to immediately bar this unlicensed practitioner from treating patients as we move forward with a lawsuit to permanently enjoin him from putting the public at risk through his unlawful conduct.”
According to a Verified Complaint and other documents filed in the case, the defendants explicitly and implicitly misrepresent that Rasid is appropriately licensed on office letterhead, business cards, and other documents that list his credentials as “Dr. Imran Rasid” and “MD, PhD, AW, CHt, NLP/Board Certified Therapist,” as well as through his website, advertisements, social media accounts, and statements made to clients claiming that he is “board certified,” “a renowned figure in the field of medicine” who has published “numerous papers in reputable medical journals,” “one of the leading physicians of the world,” and “the only MD and PhD who is practicing different tools and modalities of therapy in the State of New Jersey.”
“Imran Rasid has gone to great lengths to trick people into believing he has the requisite education, training, and licensure to practice medicine and mental health services in New Jersey, when in reality, nothing could be further from the truth,” said Elizabeth M. Harris, Acting Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. “Protecting consumers from this kind of blatant fraud is a matter of public health and safety and we will take every step necessary to put a stop to it.”
According to documents filed in the case, the Division opened its investigation of Rasid after receiving complaints alleging that Rasid was practicing without a license.
One complaint, filed with the State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy, was lodged by a licensed practitioner whose patient had left his care to pursue treatment with Rasid at Stress Reduction Clinic. After visiting Rasid’s website and noting the “unusual” and “confusing” language used to describe the defendant’s practice, the licensee alerted the Board that Rasid appeared to be practicing without a license.
A second complaint was filed with the NJ Board of Psychological Examiners by a woman—identified in court documents as “Patient 1”—whom Rasid was treating for anxiety. During virtual sessions, Rasid allegedly told Patient 1 he had attended school in Istanbul and that he was a medical doctor, an addiction counselor, and had a Ph.D. in psychology. According to Patient 1, during the course of treatment, Rasid was reluctant to bill her health insurance carrier. After Patient 1 insisted that Rasid submit the claim, he allegedly told her that the claim had been denied and she had to pay out of pocket. When Patient 1 verified that Rasid never submitted any claims and confronted him, Rasid allegedly terminated his services by sending a text message to her, telling her that he had been hospitalized and “the doctors are checking for malignancy. I don’t know if I will recover, therefore I cannot continue the sessions. I told the biller to refund your money back for the sessions we did. Thank you and take care.”
The NJ Board of Psychological Examiners received another complaint against Rasid from a woman alleging he had been sexually inappropriate with her. The woman—identified in court documents as “Patient 2” —had been seeing Rasid once a week for three months for treatment of anxiety when he told her that he liked her, wanted to pick her up from her place of employment on his new motorcycle, and take her out for lunch or dinner. Rasid allegedly showed Patient 2 his phone, where he had saved her Facebook profile picture in his camera roll. Among other things, Rasid told Patient 2 that he looked at her picture and counted the days until he saw her again. He also called her on her phone and texted her inappropriately.
In May 2024, as part of the Division’s investigation, a Division investigator working undercover (“covert investigator”) posed as a patient in two meetings with Rasid in his office at Stress Reduction Clinic. Rasid introduced himself to the covert investigator by saying “I am a physician, M.D. I’m also a psychologist. I’m a Ph.D.[.] I work for Saint Michael’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital[.] And I’m also one of the leading physicians in the world.” Rasid allegedly told the covert investigator that he had been the therapist for the wife of a former world leader as well as the therapist for “some celebrities from Hollywood and New York.”
During a session on May 9, 2024, Rasid allegedly explained to the covert investigator, “We fix the issues. It doesn’t matter what issue you have. Once you leave this room, you will see the change.” Rasid diagnosed the covert investigator with having a “full blown panic attack,” which was a “genetical disorder” coming from either her mother’s or father’s side. Rasid addressed the covert investigator’s admission that she drank alcohol daily by stating that he did not think the investigator was getting addicted to alcohol, and that she was “just getting used to it, but [he’s] going to break that pattern[,]” but first, the covert investigator needed to “learn how to calm down [her] mind.” Rasid allegedly explained how his treatment worked by telling the covert investigator that he has “thousands of patients” that he works with and “all of them” have gotten better. Rasid allegedly told the covert investigator that he also provides marriage and couples counseling and offered that service to her if she wanted to work on her relationship with her husband.
In a seven-count verified complaint, the State alleges the defendants engaged in:
- unlicensed practice of medicine (Rasid)
- unlicensed practice of psychology (Rasid)
- unlicensed practice of marriage and family therapy (Rasid)
- unlicensed practice of professional counseling (Rasid)
- unlicensed practice of alcohol and drug counseling (Rasid)
- violation of the CFA – misrepresentations (Rasid and Stress Reduction Clinic, Inc.)
- violation of the CFA – unconscionable commercial practices (Rasid and Stress Reduction Clinic, Inc.)
The suit seeks to permanently bar Rasid from engaging in, or holding himself out as engaging in, the practice of medicine, psychology, marriage and family therapy, professional counseling and alcohol and drug counseling, and from using titles denoting licensure in these professions, unless he is authorized by the licensing boards to do so. The suit also seeks to permanently enjoin Stress Reduction Clinic Inc. from providing or holding itself out as providing medical, psychological, counseling, or substance abuse services, and to enjoin both defendants from engaging in any unconscionable commercial practice, fraud, or deception. The complaint also seeks civil penalties, judgement of restitution to any and all affected persons or entities, and costs associated with the prosecution of the case.
The State is represented in this matter by Deputy Attorney General Yudelka R. Felipe, under the supervision of Section Chief Doreen A. Hafner of the Professional Boards Prosecution Section within the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Practice Group of the Division of Law. Investigators with the Enforcement Bureau within the Division of Consumer Affairs conducted the investigation.
Patients who believe that they have been treated by an unlicensed individual or in an inappropriate manner by a licensed professional can file an online complaint with the State Division of Consumer Affairs by visiting its website or by calling 1-800-242-5846 (toll free within New Jersey) or 973-504-6200.
