‘Dr Phil’ in Britney Spears row
p2pnet news | TV:- TV psychologist ‘Dr Phil’ McGraw has apparently made some of his colleagues angry (or jealous) by his unrequested visits to singer Britney Spears.
He was planning a TV special around Spears, who’s just out of hospital because of problems variously reported as being linked to drugs or to psychiatric disorders.
Although McGraw dropped his plans "for a show on Spears’ latest breakdown," some in the mental health community, "say just showing up at her hospital room last week was going too far," according to Associated Press.
"It’s true people sometimes need to be placed under involuntary mental health treatment because they can’t take care of themselves," the story has Dr Jeffrey Sugar saying, adding:
"But there’s a difference between being detained involuntarily for psychological treatment and being forced to endure Dr. Phil involuntarily."
Spears, "who appeared to have enough trouble already," saw McGraw, "barge into her life Saturday when he showed up at her room at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center as she was about to be discharged," says AP.
Spears was said to have run off with a member of the paparazzi fraternity, who’ve been pursuing her relentlessly.
Also see:
Associated Press – Dr. Phil Criticized for Britney Brouhaha, January 8, 2008
paparazzi fraternity – Britney Spears runs off with paparazzo, January 7, 2008
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January 8th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Ok I’ll say it.
Who Cares what the mental health community thinks.
Spears obviously needs some form of mental help.
Whether Dr. Phil is the one for the job….. I don’t know.
January 8th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
dr. phil who?
January 8th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Dr. Phil cannot help everyone, despite how it looks on his TV show. Often, if he finds he cannot help someone on his show, he will stop filming and rewind the tape, then kick the “offending” people off the set.
Also, we do not know the long-term effects of taking his advice. Maybe after ten years people fall into a new downward spiral and kill themselves. Maybe Dr. McGraw should take his own advice if so.
January 8th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Who cares what the mental health community thinks?
You should. They have a valid point.
People that mess around inside other people’s heads have an obligation to abide by the highest ethical standards. One of the first, and most basic ethical rules for psychologists is that you must not allow your desires and needs to play a part in your work. When you do that, you place your own needs before the needs of the client. There is an inherent power-differential in the therapist/client relationship which makes it easy for unscrupulous therapists to misuse power.
The mental health community isn’t just being spiteful because they all wish they’d thought of piggy-backing onto Britney’s fame first, they’re concerned about what looks to all the world like an ethical violation. He visited her without her asking for him, and before they’d had any sessions, before anything, the first thing he’s doing is planning a TV special. it looks to all the world like he’s attempting to exploit an emotionally vulnerable woman for his own gain. This is bad for the obvious reason that he wont be working 100% in her best interests, and also because it causes negative public perception of the mental health community, and makes every therapists job a little bit harder.
Does she need Dr.Phil? who knows. I’ve seen his show, and personally i cant stand him. But she clearly needs someone, and if Dr.Phil, as a “celebrity therapist” has the skills and experience with whatever special issues celebritys have, then thats fine, and he’s fine. What she doesn’t need is Dr.Phil planning the Opera special in his own mind while she’s spilling her guts on his couch.
January 9th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
dr. who?
February 18th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Dr. Phil has a great show and I beleive sincerly is trying to help people. However his lapse in judgement in handling the Spears case makes me wonder about his motives. Was he trying to help or was he self promoting? Was his wallet thickness part of his thinking?
He now has an issue to deal with; it will be interesting to see if the good Dr. uses his own advise or that of an attorney.