DR. PHIL: MODERN MESSIAH

     Dr.  Phil McGraw has become a more than a famous pop psychology spin doctor on television, he has in my opinion fashioned himself as a slick, modern messiah.  With a mix of his own version of Reality Therapy, catchy Texas witticisms, and expensive gifts from his sponsors, he has become North America’s replacement for God and spirituality.  I heard one person say the other day, “Nothing is too hard for Dr. Phil!”  Although he claims to be a Christian and believer in prayer, Dr. Phil behaves like a godlike figure to those he supposedly helps.

The Same Formula Every Time

 Generally, his daytime television show follows the same formula every time.   First, the troubled person presents the “unsolvable” problem, then Dr. Phil confronts him orher with some hard hitting advice.   All this is followed up by incredibly expensive donations from his sponsors, and after that a “light bulb” moment occurs for the afflicted person when they agree with Dr. Phil’s advice or requests.  I have been watching Dr. Phil’s show for a long time now and no one ever refuses what Dr. Phil requests.  This carefully scripted show always has the same type of person on – someone with an obvious problem who is apparently creating their own problems with foolish behavior or bad choices.  Whether it be an alcoholic, an unfaithful spouse, a person with an eating disorder, or someone who is overweight, Dr. Phil’s confrontation always “brings them around” on the show.  The person is then sent to rehab, a spa, a fancy vacation, or given a raft of material goodies   Evidently, the rank and file psychiatric survivor seems to be largely ignored by the world’s most famous counselor.

     I personally would not want to be counseled by Dr. Phil.  First of all I do not like persons who shout at me, and secondly, I have a chronic mood disorder which is genetic or biochemical.  I don’t think that Dr. Phil would want me on his show, since there is no quick fix for being schizoaffective.  Being a sensitive person I would be very upset by his bellowing and bullying.  With me he wouldn’t get a sudden “light bulb moment” or meek submission.   

A Massive Ego

     One thing that strikes me the most about this Dr. Phil is his overweening ego.  Recently, I bought two of his diet books and sincerely tried to read them to get advice on losing weight.  What offended me the most was that he has such a massive ego that fairly drips from every page.  He commented in his books that his diet was the only way to lose weight, the last diet you would ever need, etc..  The particular diet Dr. Phil was advocating was really nothing new or spectacular.  It was just your run of the mill 1200 calorie weight loss diet with a lot of pep talk and boasting about himself. 

     Dr. Phil was catapulted to fame when Oprah Winfrey started treating him as her personal guru.  Oprah angered the Texas beef ranchers by making an offhand comment that she personally was never going to eat another hamburger again.  She found herself in the middle of a lawsuit when Dr. Phil came and sat in her outer office and demanded to be seen by her.  He coached her for the court appearance and forever endeared himself to Oprah when she won the lawsuit.  Dr. Phil became a regular on the Oprah show and then this media mogul helped him launch his own show.  His loyal public has been massaging his ego ever since in a cult-like following.

Mental Health Consumer/Survivors Left Out

     Dr. Phil’s advice to people on his show is not necessarily bad.  He provides mostly good information and fun entertainment for those in TV land, however, my main concern is that people are seeing him as a messiah when he is only human and has feet of clay just like everyone else.  To place so much trust in one man is dangerous.  What if Dr. Phil dispenses the wrong advice and some troubled soul commits suicide instead of finding the appropriate help?  He also tends to offer simplistic solutions to complex problems.   Typically, on his shows he acts like Hitler when he is confronting a person with bad behavior and then turns into Santa Claus when he dispenses gifts.  He alternatively uses the tools of intimidation and bribery.   However, the biggest beef I have with Dr. Phil is that he conspicuously leaves psychiatric consumer/survivors out in the cold.  He does nothing to bring awareness to the stigma and struggle of those with long term mental illnesses. A man with his media power could do a lot to help mentally ill persons who are downtrodden in society and abused in hospitals, however, he has mostly given us a big round of indifference.  Some of his shows just concern themselves with trivial problems like a daughter who thinks that her father should not sleep under a flowered duvet or a husband who thinks that his wife’s butt is not round enough.  Although some of the Dr. Phil shows deal with serious problems, he rarely deals with the major psychiatric illnesses such as bipolar mood disorder and schizophrenia.

       Will I still watch the Dr. Phil show?  The answer is “maybe” because I like the entertainment value once in awhile.  However, a little of Dr. Phil goes a long way and I absolutely refuse to worship him as the long awaited messiah.   I think that his adoring public should take a “get real” look at the man and realize that Dr. Phil is not for everyone nor is he the answer to everybody’s problems. Don’t ditch your pastor or counselor for Hollywood’s pop psychology.  Remember, Dr. Phil isn’t God!