I hate Dr. Phil. I have many reasons for this. My opinion of him is so low that I feel fair in saying that he gives all Phils a bad name. Actually, it was my parents that gave me a bad name. I wanted to be called Scott. Back to Dr. Phil. Regardless of what college degree he has and how many pounds he helped Oprah lose, he is a crackpot. It is not good therapy to tell people how stupid they are. It may be good television, but it is not good therapy.
As a therapist named Phil I am constantly referred to as “Dr. Phil.” If I had a high opinion of the man and his skills I wouldn’t mind the “fun” my patients have with the name. If my name was Albert and people wanted to call me Einstein, I would be totally cool with that. If I was Leonardo and people wanted to call me DaVinci, no problem. I wouldn’t even care about the Ninja Turtle references. For me, being called Dr. Phil is like a nurse being called Nurse Ratchet or every man named Osama being called Bin Laden. (Yes, there are others in the world with the name Osama. I met one once) Dr. Phil gives mental health a bad name the way Attila gave Huns a bad name.
To clear the good name of Phil once and for all I’d like to challenge Dr. Phil to a therapy Olympics. Some of the gymnastic events would include the mood swings and the Lithium levels. In track and field we could compete in the Ritalin Races. For swimming we could practice drowning peoples sorrows. I say that someone needs to find us a set of identical twins with identical mental health issues and the first man to help their patient wins. That’s right Dr. Phil, I’m calling you out! Bring it on fat man! You seriously don’t want a piece of me! And I want this event televised as a reality show hosted by some Carson Daly clone with rogue-ishly messy hair. Breaking Bonaduce? Puh-lease! I’d snap Danny in two by the second episode. I’m that good.
Hmmm we may have to agree to disagree here. Whilst i loathe all the “showmanship” about his show..just like i do Oprah, bottom line he as helped a lot of people, both mentally and financially.His basic psychology is not wrong, the majority of what i’ve heard him say is quite right…text book psychology stuff all graduates learn. So why do you dislike him so much……….is it just the showman part? Or you believe his treatment/diagnosis is wrong? interested to hear Phil.
“If I was Leonardo and people wanted to call me DaVinci, no problem. “How about if people wanted to call you Dicaprio.. 😉
I’m so glad you posted today, I needed a good laugh. I like what Heidi said…I thought of that Leonardo too….Yum.
I’d really like to see the show-down. Now, THAT would be good television.I hope someone tells the good doctor about your blog. 🙂
There’s a weird synchronicity to this post. Just today, as I heard Paula Dean’s voice and ran to change the channel(she sounds just like my Aunt Grace), I slipped into a temporary (is it anterograde or retrograde?) amnesia and almost turned to Dr. Phil. Then my brain woke up and went “Whoa! We watch Ellen at 3:00 now!” Then I started wondering what I would say if someone asked me about a particular D.P. episode. I finally came up with, “I don’t watch that anymore, it’s too depressing. I watch Ellen now because it’s funny and light-hearted.”I’m not sure Dr. Phil got worse. I’m thinking they are picking worse people to help, which is good for them, but painful to watch.But if I got stuck in a weird situation and the only choices were Paula Dean and Dr. Phil, I’d probably watch Dr. Phil.
I refuse to watch Dr. Phil. He is so annoying. You know how you feel about Raymond? That’s how I feel about Dr. Phil.
Michelle- His basic psychology is wrong. He gives the impression that boldly pointing out what people’s problems are and then telling them to stop it is how to “cure” a problem. Believe me, most of the time I can put my patients problems in a nutshell the first time I meet with them for an hour, but telling someone what’s wrong and helping them overcome it is two different things. Dr. Phil also doesn’t do his own work. There’s a real mental health professional whi interviews the people first, videotapes them, and passes the info on to Dr. Phil who then has time to come up with questions prior to taping the show. I don’t object to the showmanship. I object to the fact that I don’t have my own show.
Heidi and Well-Woman- Sure, I guess I could live with being DiCaprio if my name was Leonardo.
Spider-Girl- I don’t think word of my challenge will ever get back to Dr. Phil. Plenty of times I’ve left not so subtle hints in my blog on various topics and have uet to hear back from Tom Cruise, ESPN, any publication, the Queer Eye people, or Dr. Phil. Thanks for hoping though!
Geewits- Nope, you were right in thinking that Dr. Phil got worse. It’s hard to fake legitimacy for too long with millions watching. You’re starting to see the cracks in his elaborate facade.Heather- Thank you for hating Dr. Phil as much as I hate Raymond. You are very wise.
I don’t totally hate him. While I understand that he is milking this for all it’s worth, being way too prolific with books I wouldn’t bother to read, and allowing his show to become more talk-show-like every day, I still think he might help some people out there. Someone might be watching the show and identify an issue they have and learn something.I am not well-versed enough in psychology to be able to gauge his professional abilities but people seem to get what he says. So maybe, if he helps even one person, he is not that bad.-N
phil, i don’t think scott would be a good name. ex husband was scott, soon to be ex middle name is scott. so pretty much scott is an exhusband name. my given name is donita and i always wanted to be something with a y on the end, mandy or misty or kelley so i had to settle for doni, its a little cooler.i used to watch dr phil at night but they have changed his show to judge judy now, so much for therapy now we are going for justice!
Wow. He is just a guy trying to make a living.And I don’t think you look like a Scott. In fact, I have an ex that is a Scott. Scott is definitely a bad name.
I’d pay good money to see THAT show down.But I’m puttin’ my money on older dude, he just looks meaner.P.S.Leonardo…he’s not JUST a turtle, he’s a teenage mutant NINJA turtle.
I can see an episode of Jerry Springer: Phil Factor versus Phil “the doctor”. Or pro wrestling. In prozac mud.with pale T shirts on 🙂
Now Phil…you see all this anger and frusteration? “How’s that workin’ for you?”lol. Just a little advice…Dr. Phil style. Oh come on. Give over..I like the guy.
Phil I have to agree that “Dr. Phil” is a quack. I have the same feelings for “Dr. Laura” as well. I’m am working on my BA in Psychology now and will one day be Dr. Laura. I will one day be in your boat I feel for you.
Being a fellow mental health professional, I dont know if I agree. Dr. Phil might not be the BEST person to help those with mental illness *as I hear he has “experts” on his show, when he’s supposed to be the expert himself*….I might not have worked as long as you in mental health, but I have worked just as closely, and can also identify clients problems in a short amount of time. The thing about Dr. Phil, him..not you, is that he seems to have people on his show that a large majority of his viewers might be able to relate to….overweight, out of control kids, loveless marriage…whatever. I think his show is geared towards the general public in the broadest definition, and the reason he’s so popular is because he reaches so many people in a short amount of time, and gives them the insight to try to change their own lives. The unfortunate thing is that they dont attribute the change to themselves, they give the credit to Dr. Phil, therefore enhancing his popularity.I dont think that his show has a lot to do with mental health issues, but rather, issues that contribute to a decline in mental and emotional well being.
I hate Dr. Phil too. I have never liked the man. But I will call you Scott if you want.Hehe. I would love to see that show… And eventually, I am going back to school to study pyscology… To help women like myself mostly….So they know there is light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. Tawnya
what if we just call you the Angry Dr. and just drop the Phil altogether…or maybe Dr. Flip???
All of your responses made me laugh.
Phil-Hehe…you are, apparntly, easily amused.-N
I agree with you about that guy being a crackpot. All he does is spew out common sense to people. I can’t respect any doctor who constant tells people they need to lose weight, when he needs to loose it himself. And how often does he have these shows about ppls appearance, and they end up getting plastic surgery. He’s about as legit of a Dr. as Dr. Joyce Brothers. Pop culture hacks I say! Great post!
I don’t care for Oprah but I do like Dr. Phil’s “in your face” approach. Hell if a person is so damn dumb that they have to go on a talk show to get their lives back in order, they deserve to have someone tell them what idiots they are.
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