Is The Dr. Phil Show in Trouble?
I know these are tabloid reports and you can’t really trust them but, once in a while, the National Enquirer is actually right so I’ve at least got to mention this.
According to the magazine, Dr. Phil has fired 30 staff members abruptly in his latest backstage meltdown. Apparently, the show began with 250 staffers and is now down to around 100.
First of all, I’m not sure how that could be true since I’d imagine it takes more than 100 people to produce this show.
The article goes on to say that the ratings for The Dr. Phil Show continue to drop drastically – in 2005 he was pulling in 7.2 million viewers and now it’s just about 2.5 million.
Again, I have no idea how accurate all of this is but I can actually see how that would make sense. I used to find Dr. Phil harsh but a lot of his advice was actually useful.
Now, it just seems like he rakes people over the coals for sheer entertainment for his audience and I think it has turned people off. I liked feeling like he was being hard on a couple/individual/family because he wanted to help them and now it just looks like he does it for ratings.
What do you think? Have you stopped watch the show? If so, why?
image: Zuma Press
I stopped watching Dr. Phil several years ago. When I started watching his show, I really enjoyed it. He gave good advice. As I was working through my own Psychology degree (with a focus in counselling), the more I couldn’t stand his show. He is completely unethical towards his guests. He makes it all about him, not about “his clients.” If you read his background, you find that he lost his practicing license due to unethical practices. It makes you wonder!! When he was discovered by Oprah, he wasn’t even a practicing psychologist – far from it. And where does this health advice come from? Where are his credentials for that? The most ridiculous thing is that his primary expert is Dr. Lawless, which is fine, but you can’t be an “expert” in everything!