Speaking up

Okay, I know no one is a “bad guy” but I have to seriously question the health and intentions of Dr. Phil.  He is in serious need of some kind of intervention. He is likable and has a lot of smart, pithy things to say, but he has crossed over the line. I was getting my nails done last week and was forced to listen to his show. He had some sort of “Retreat” program with 16 people going through his “program”.

TV Therapy

What a lot of people don’t know is that to be able to go on TV and intervene with people the way he is doing, you have to give up your licensure as a professional. Dr. Phil is an unlicensed psychologist. There is nothing wrong with that, per se, but people should know that he is not licensed and that it is for a reason.

Professional counseling and psychology licenses attempt to regulate what it is okay to do and what is NOT okay to do.  Professionals lose their license when they do something that is considered to be inappropriate or unethical of a professional. Dr. Phil’s doing therapy on national television is considered to be unethical, that is why it’s forbidden for license holders.

Dr. Phil’s Retreat

On this ‘retreat” program I suffered through I watched innocent people going through hell.  Dr. Phil used his undue influence to coerce these people into revealing the most intimate details of their lives and trauma history in front of millions of people. Okay, he was trying to get the point across that being victimized is not the defining thing about us as human beings. His point is when we hold the secret in our entire lives and let it dominate our emotional lives; it becomes the dominant factor in our lives.  The supposed point of this exercise is, we are to believe, getting rid of this excess baggage.

The Problem of National TV Therapy

The problem is multidimensional. To start this, this is therapy and therapy is by necessity something that should be private and confidential. He was doing group therapy on national television, exploiting those peoples pain and suffering for his own ends. He was directly benefiting from their suffering. This is not only unethical; it’s immoral. Now those people will walk down the street and be recognized as “Oh, there is that guy that was raped when he was nine!”  How is that going to help rid him of his Victim baggage?

Sure, there will be some short term benefit of relieving oneself of the burden of carrying around the secret, but the long term effects of exposing such vulnerability on the national stage is not something that has been researched. We have no idea how this could impact someone as vulnerable as a severe abuse survivor.  Neither does Dr. Phil, what’s more, he obviously doesn’t care. I’m sure his ratings went up and that is what is most important isn’t it?

It’s Exploitation

I am surprised that more counseling and psychology professionals are not as upset by this obvious exploitation of these brave individuals.  I can only imagine the amount of pain and suffering they will now have to endure as a result of Dr. Phil’s exploitation of them.

Dr. Phil, Please Get Your Own Help

Of course, I know that anyone causing this much pain to another person has to be holding in a heck of a lot of their own pain. It makes me sad for him. He is out there with the Rescuer mode in his head and in fact injuring people in the process. I suspect he buys his own press, thinking he is this great and helpful person. And this is not to say he hasn’t helped some people, I am quite sure he has.  But the reality is that Rescuers do sometimes help people but in the process also injure a lot of people, too.  I should know; I spent a lot of my life as a Rescuer.

Is Dr. Phil Injuring or Helping?

Let me know what you think. I am opinionated but not closed-minded. I would love to hear what you think. Comment below.