Is Dr. Cheyenne Bryant a Real or Fake Doctor? (And Why It Matters)
Dr. Cheyenne Bryant is under fire after being accused of misleading the public about her academic credentials.
Bryant refers to herself as a “psychology expert,” “life coach,” and “doctor of psychology” on her website. She’s shared her relationship expertise on TV shows like Teen Mom Family Reunion and Basketball Wives and is frequent guest on podcasts and talk shows such as The Jennifer Hudson Show and Tamron Hall. But as her star rose, claims that she was a scammer grew, especially as she went on a press tour to promote her new book, Live Your Promise.
On the book’s cover, Bryant is credited as “Dr. Cheyenne Bryant.” But she’s been unable to produce any evidence she actually earned a doctorate.
Dr. Cheyenne Bryant addresses skepticism about her degree
“I’m going to clear it up on hear once, and I’m not doing it again,” she said in a May 2026 appearance on The Breakfast Club. Bryant went on to say that she “completed an entire program” at the now-defunct Argosy University but because the school went out of business, she can no longer access her transcripts.
Even if she doesn’t have a doctorate, Bryant said she could still practice as a therapist if she took the step to get licensed.
“I have my masters in marriage and family child [therapy],” she said. “…I don’t need a doctorate in counseling psychology to go get licensed as a therapist. That’s what we’re all missing.”
In the past, Bryant has referred to her work as a therapist, but it’s unclear if she was ever a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy, or LMFT.
“I’ve been in the mental health field for 13 years,” Bryant told Showbiz Cheat Sheet in 2022. “I started off as a marriage, family and child therapist. I did that for a few years about 10 years ago. And then I transitioned over into a life coach, a psychology expert life coach. And so I went into private practice as a life coach and it’s been about 10 years doing that.”
Why Dr. Cheyenne Bryant’s credential matter
Bryant’s caginess around her degree got even more complicated after she got involved in a public dispute with Pastor Jamal Bryant, on whose podcast she’d been a guest. She sent him a cease and desist letter ordering him to stop talking about her educational background, at which point the pastor revealed that he’d received an email from Indiana Southwest Christian University claiming it had granted Dr. Cheyenne a doctorate. But the school, which was established just a few months ago, appears to be fake. The university’s founder said that he’d been moved to grant Bryan an honorary degree to “validate her self-fulfilled prophecy.” But Bryant’s representatives have said she never asked for that dubious honor (via Bossip).
Bryant’s possibly fake title of doctor is a big deal, experts told the Fox 26 Houston’s The Isaiah Factor. An unqualified person offering advice to people in need could possibly “do a lot of harm,” Dr. Bernadette Smith said, especially because “the people she is talking to are people who typically do not seek out help.”
By not being clear about the nature of credentials, Bryant was “purposely misleading people,” Dr. Jasmine Boone said. She’s also not bound by a code of ethics and can’t be reported to any kind of licensing board if patients are concerned about her behavior.
“She’s gone on shows and said, ‘I blend therapy and coaching together,’” Dr. Angela Jones said. “No you can’t do that. Because therapy requires a license.”
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