This question was originally posted on Quora.com, and was answered by Mikka Luster, Clinical and Neuropsychologist, Licensed Psychotherapist The Dr. Phil on TV? Absolutely not. Dr. Phil McGraw, although he has a PhD in clinical psychology, does not practice it. To his (scant) credit, he doesn’t claim that he does, and admits that he uses pop counseling approaches instead of scientifically sound techniques. That’s both because despite retiring his license to practice he could still be held accountable if he violated the regulations surrounding psychological counseling, which include that it cannot happen in front of indeterminate audiences, and because real psychotherapy and psychological counseling does not work if used in the manner he uses his “clients” for broadcast ratings. According to a 2008 Today article: In 2002, the California Board of Psychology determined that McGraw did not need his license for the purposes of his show because he was “doing more entertainment than psychology.” He voluntarily retired it in 2006, likely as a means to protect himself. His approaches are pop science and laughable. He’s using old, discredited, “Pathways” tricks, which are stage show counseling tricks (along the lines of the “Boooohaaaaaaah” confidence seminars. His public diagnoses are not backed by fact, and he’s using Barnum texts to describe people. Maybe he once was a competent psychologist. But the man on TV isn’t doing psychology and therefore deserves no professional respect. Source
