I'm reading his book "Family First", and I give it *****.

Learned more in that (and by watching The Simpsons) than most all the sunday school lessons in existence (and, repetition DOESN'T HELP!)

What think ye?

No comment - in the event that I would be blasted

"In order to change your life, you have to make changes in your life!"
lol Oh Dr. Phil.

First time I'm sharing this on the board- my family got accepted to appear on the Dr. Phil show several years ago. Yep, we were that messed up.

Fortunately, my nevermo dad was like eff that, we're not going on that stupid show haha and thank god for that! I don't really have an opinion on the guy himself, but it would have been really embarrassing to have to showcase our problems to millions of people.

I don't understand why people go on shows like that. Do they think they're doing the world a favor by exposing their personal problems for all to see? Do they want their 15 minutes of fame?
I don't get it.

That is a baldish, whitish guy considered as a good example of the US views of things, around the world? Cann't say I have ever seen him longer than two minutes, so I don't have an opinion.

The most recent Newsweek (April 16) certainly has an opinion of Dr. Phil and it's not favorable. Phil has pushed a couple of diet books and then we find out he and his son have financial interest in the books. To me he sounds a little like Glen Beck pushing gold in which Glen has a financial interest.

And for a psychotherapist, that's certainly a legitimate "style."

BTW, my youngest sister--an MD--was on his show a while back as a guest. She got maybe 30 seconds, but described the experience as "surreal."

In psychological "system theory" one dynamic we see operating is "intertia" that develops when a therapist tries to change the "dysfunctional structure."

Some of his critics are part of the forces that create that inertia. And doubtless the "worst" part of this is their criticisms are often "grounded in truth."

Just a little bit of meat, folks... Have a glass of milk, okay?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2012 03:04PM by SL Cabbie.

which seems to be down at the moment.

only thing I remember is that he's not actually a doctor.

I guess that makes him a liar.

It's so useful.

Other than that, eh.

I have never watched his show. I have seen him on other shows and to me, he is a bit creepy.

When I was younger, I had a way of describing men who I felt were not what they try to show themselves as being...I would say that they only washed where it shows.

I don't like Dr. Phil, though I will admit that he can be funny and witty. I hate it when he asks people "So how's that workin' for ya" because I think it's disrespectful. I also hate the way he panders to women and treats them like they should be treated with kid gloves. I especially hate the way he ignores domestic violence perpetrated by women. I think he's an arrogant ass.

I do watch his show, though, because it's kind of like a train wreck.

I think he's a pompous ass who gives out quick fix pop psychology advice.
Sure you have to change things in your life to change, but where are the tools to do so?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2012 10:59AM by Itzpapalotl.

I have mixed feelings. Most of the advice he gives is probably good advice, and for many people who are resistant to going to therapy, but who have problems, he might be one of the few sources they have for dealing with their problems. Heck, he might even encourage a lot of people to get into therapy who need it.

On the other hand, I am very uncomfortable with the format of taking people with problems, and airing them on TV for the whole world to see. Plus I really can't watch his show without falling asleep.

I watch his show occassionally. Seems like he gives good advice at time. For example, recently he had a man that remarried, and was having trouble with his ex and his teens. Phil drew the difference between parental love and marital love. None are priority over the other. Both are very differnet. Course, I'll cruxified for giving my opinion, which is why I remained anon.

i know robertb has his opinion and maybe he will share it...Phil has been brought up here before...Phil reminds me too much of Jerry Springer...ok not exactly like JS...but not too far away...:)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2012 11:06AM by bignevermo.

I have a hell of a lot more respect for Jerry Springer than I do Dr. Phil. Jerry Springer does not pretend to be helping people. He flat out says that if you come on his show, you deserve what you're gonna get. Jerry's show is a freak show-- but he never pretends it's anything more than a freak show. And I like him because he's funny.

I don't watch Jerry that often because I have to be in a certain mood for it. But I would rather watch him than Maury Povich and his boring "Who's the baby daddy" format.

My opinion is Bart Ehrman has shown Dr. Phil is a historical person. :p

Do you have evidence of this ?

is qualified to call himself doctor. He is not a medical doctor or psychiatrist, but he is licensed psychologist.

His advice is very simplified and often doesn't have much substance.

That being said, he is, after everything else, an entertainer.

but with anything, you have to be willing to take what good he offers and not use the rest. When he first appeared on Oprah years ago, it was things he said that got me moving again, got me to go get help, got me to stop taking sh*t from my ex and his boyfriend. It turned my life around.

I was also invited to go visit with him on Oprah--but I turned it down. I asked my kids how they felt and they said, "No."

I think sometimes he has some very good advice and other times, he falls short. It is "entertainment" after all. I think he has probably done more good than not.

But I sure like his wife.

First of all, he's not a DR. I have major problems with men who claim to be something they aren't. A good example would be a bishop posing as a marriage counselor.

At least Phil has an education to back it up, but he's really a Hollywood moneymaker. That's his main agenda. I think him and his neauseatingly perky wife are phony.It's all about fame and money. I don't like that he's making his fortune on the backs of desperate people.

While he may have helped some, his Dr. Phil family that he's had on for years now, is a train wreck. I don't see where his intervention has done anything to help them, other than the mother got a free face lift. The daughter he stepped in to help is a walking disaster. She likes the attention, but isn't much interested in anything except what she gets for free.Phil keeps using them though. I suppose he will until he's off the air.

I have a huge problem with him being referred to as the nations DR. Pretty arrogant. He's not someone who I would choose as a dr. I think he's arrogant, condescending, and greedy.

I think he's probably helped more people than done more damage, but I despise his style of delivery and his pithy little cliches like "how's that working for you?"

I was having a conversation with a bunch of coworkers at a happy hour once, and I was talking about how I have a policy of questioning authority. I'm not just a knee-jerk rebel, but I will stop and take a minute to think through a new rule. If it makes sense and I can see the good reason for a new rule, I'll totally comply. But if it just looks like someone else's thinly veiled attempt to control me, then their rule can go suck eggs. A very controlling, manipulative, and extremely low self-esteem coworker turned and barked at me, "How's that workin' for ya?" with a really self-satisfied smirk on his face.

Very seriously, I said to him, "Quite well, actually. I learned a long time ago that blindly doing exactly what I'm told doesn't always serve my best interests and, in some cases, has led me down a very dangerous and unhealthy path. So now that I question everything, I find I take much more responsibility for my choices and my actions because I made a conscious decision to do this or that." Of course he shut right up and I'm not sure if I ever had a conversation with that guy again. :>)

What annoyed me is Dr. Phil uses that phrase to try to help point out to people how their dysfunctional behavior is limiting their personal growth. People who have very little understanding of psychology, however, will use those pithy little statements as a bludgeon to attack someone who won't do what they're told. Dr. Phil might be a decent therapist one on one, but I find his TV persona to be pretty off-putting and often very patronizing.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2012 11:22AM by dogzilla.

I really hate that snarky retort-- "How's that workin' for you?" I think people who make a habit of using it are usually arrogant jerks. I think it's a very disrespectful way to address someone. When someone says it to me, I instantly consider them an asshole and quit listening.

I also hate it when Dr. Phil gets all authoritarian and tells people he's gonna put some "verbs in his sentences". He acts like an overbearing father figure and I find it very off putting. I watch his shows on OWN sometimes, though just as often, I'll turn the channel to "The Golden Girls" because I'd rather hear Bea Arthur talk like that then Dr. Phil.

Deranged crack monkey. Sometimes he gets it right by sheer luck of the draw, most times he is dripping with disdain for how the unwashed masses handle their pathetic, little lives.

The arrogance comes off him in waves- even through tv land :)

Now let me tell you how I really feel................

My wife loves him! Personally, I think he is the biggest ambulance chaser on the planet. Look what he did a couple of years ago with Britney Spears. Running down to Florida, or where ever she was in rehab, trying desperately to insert himself into the treatment. I was glad she threw him out on his ear, that way he can't take credit for "saving" her. I run out of the room when he is on.

Parts of his advice seem good, some not so good. Really, I think he does some good.

Areas in the past where I think he could improve are in matters of domestic abuse. I've seen him sitting with a couple where one spouse is abusing the other, and he's trying to repair the relationship-when in my experience, it's best for people to part ways if abuse is occurring - because it generally won't change. Period.

He should only work on those people who are abusive as individuals, because an abuser knows how to hide, evade, lie etc and won't be truthful with anyone.

I sort of liked him until I saw this poor mormon girl on the show. Well, she was trying to be a poor EXmormon girl and her family was really pouring on the pressure to toe the party line. Dr. Phil was a bit more supportive of the family and was completely and totally blind to the control and manipulation tactics. He was trying to counsel her about all her "self destructive" behavior, which consisted of a couple of piercings, some beers on the weekends with her girlfriends, her bf she had sex with, and, oh the evil coffee drinking.

Seriously, the family was painting this picture of her like some kind of drooling gutter whore and Phil just bought right into it and sided with them. The girl got no support at all and it was patently obvious to me that all her compulsive behaviors were a result of trying to take back control over her life... which Phil was feeding right into. He couldn't see how the religious issues were killing the family's ability to have any kind of healthy respectful relationships with one another. So he's got all these pithy cliches that make snappy little tag lines and comebacks, but they don't really promote people respecting themselves or each other. As soon as he let that mormon girl's family turn on her and verbally cannibalize her on national TV, I was cured of any respect I'd had for the man, from a psych standpoint. He has no business doing what he does.

How old was the girl?

fraud