Is Dr. Phil...

[hearts and roses]

What posesses any one to go on national (and these day international apparently) television to discuss their VERY personal family matters? Why would anyone do that? I would imagine, on some level, that the truly intimate details may not be exposed to a degree where honest to goodness diagnosis and solutions can be explored. I think that Dr Phil works with what he has, makes very quick diagnosis and subsequently tells his guests what do, without giving the guest an opportunity to explore their role, their background, their past and current way of life. I don't know that he's a bully, but I don't think he is qualified to be doling out professional advice to strangers on tv. Ethically, I would have a difficult time working with a program like this one.

[HaoZi]

I think some go because they've run out of local resources that can/will help, or can't afford it, whereas this might air the dirty laundry but also get some paid-for help. I'm sure there are attention-seekers, too, but most just seem lost and out of other options.

[Marguerite]

I don't believe there are any overly fast diagnoses. The work behind the scenes on a show like this is massive. This is not Jerry Springer. Whether it is ethical or not - there would be standards that Dr Phil would have to adhere to, or risk being very publicly struck off. So we can only assume he adheres to those standards set by the professional board. He IS qualified and would have to work to maintain that qualification.

However - I do feel you would have to be desperate for services absent in your life to date, to go on a show like this.

Dr Phil has often explained the ethos of the show - he takes on various cases purely as instructive, because he feels that the process will educate people in some way, other people in a similar situation. He's very open about it. He also has his failures and these are also very public. So when he 'calls out' someone, it is not based just on what the viewer has seen. For every minute of screen time, there would be another two minutes of recording time and a number of hours of staff footwork to get a lot more information on that particular situation. You sometimes get a glimpse of tat when a guest on the show has been difficult and Dr Phil calls in his staff to bear witness to problems being hidden.

Marg

[witzend]

Oh, I think the woman was completely inept and I was disturbed by her inability to admit that the best thing might actually be that she walk away if she really felt that no one was ever going to help her/everything was someone else' fault. But her SIL was extremely angry - I can see why - and if I were in her position and the choice was to work with the SIL there is no way in he// I'd do it. I'd sign over custody right then and there because all I could see was that Dr. Phil was on their side and the only one that needed an advocate was the boy. I just didn't get the impression that Dr. Phil was offering to help her gain control of her parenting back, I thought he was offering to police her parenting for the daughter and SIL.

It would be interesting to know what ever happened in this family. If I were to predict, Mom would have failed miserably at parenting the boy, the Daughter would take custody and sue for child support, and the SIL would walk away once he had made sure that everyone had failed his expectations.

[CrazyinVA]

I have never been a big fan of Dr. Phil, but for awhile I did respect his tendency to call people on their bad behavior. I agree that as the years have gone on, he's been pulled deeper and deeper into the Hollywood machine. When he stepped into the Britney Spears debacle a few years back, I lost all respect for him. It was a blatant publicity stunt, IMO, that exploited a young woman's tragic downfall for his own benefit.

[JJJ]

I had to make a rule that no one spoke that man's name in my presence or I was going to get violent. At least back then (maybe 6 years ago??), he did several shows (on Oprah) that basically said that all mental health problems in children could be fixed with better parenting.

[klmno]

Unfortunately, that's mainstream American's way of thought. Then, when the kid turns 18 they are magically supposed to know how to make it in this world. Dr Phil fell into the trap of reflecting mainstream instead of sticking to his own principals, IMHO. I could feel resentment but, goodness, the vast majority of people in mine and gfg's lives have done the same thing- POs, tdocs, judges, etc. It's the trend these days and they all want to fit in with each other- otherwise, it wouldn't be "normal" or "sociable".

Independent thinking and sticking up for a "right" isn't respected these days.

[Marguerite]

I haven't heard that attitude (that all problem kids can be fixed with better parenting) from Dr Phil lately. I can't recall when I've heard him hold that view as a general thing. Individual cases may be different, but I do remember having seen shows which did deal with kids who had serious mental health issues and good parents who were out of their depth through no fault of their own.

Marg