Dr. Drew Pinsky

[PetW]

@FlightlessBird

I respect Dr. Drew. On one radio interview he said he expected 50/50 on people who thought the show was great/horrible. But he said it ended up being about 90/10 (great/bad).
Here’s think link:
When I heard him on the radio , he was asked a lot of questions about the validity of the show, and he had some great answers. I’d give that a listen to hear what he is saying about his involvement about the show.

Thanks for that link, he does seem really honest about all the aspects of the show. He’s such an intelligent guy, I’m definitely going to DVR this show now.

[Captain_Amazing]

@msmith537

I also liked how he pointed out that Dr Phil doesn’t actually have any credentials.

According to Wikipedia, Dr. Phil has a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Texas. Is that wrong?

[King_Friday]

@Earl Snake-Hips Tucker

I think he’s still a little miffed about Costanza not working his file.

Bear in mind, he was in the smaller office.

[duality72]

@Captain Amazing

According to Wikipedia, Dr. Phil has a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Texas. Is that wrong?

If you read on to the Sanctioned for unethical behavior" part, his license to practice was revoked in Texas and he hasn’t gotten a new one anywhere. That’s probably what they’re referring to.

[bbs2k]

@Omniscient

To start, it’s Dr. Drew Pinsky.

There are a few telling facts. First, he started hosting Loveline pro bono in the early 80’s, for years even after the show became popular and nationally syndicated he continued working without pay and under the alias Dr Drew in order to conceal his professional identity. He maintained a full-time position in a hospital and later a private practice which had nothing to do with celebrity. The guy for the first 15 years or so worked as a volunteer and shunned celebrity.

Later when the show achieved real fame he came to terms with his celebrity and started doing TV and radio work and earning from it. I think he’s since stepped away from his practice and has embraced the money and opportunity to use his notoriety in order to do public service announcements about health issues he finds worthwhile.

I’ve always thought he did a especially good job of walking the line between being professional and taking problems seriously without losing his sense of humor on some of the topics. I think he knows that Celeb rehab is largely a sham, and some of the people are there solely for the publicity, but that doesn’t seem to stop him addressing the serious issues with some of the patients and on the larger stage I think he appreciates how it acts as a 30 minute long PSA against doing drugs.

I’m just quoting what you said because it is everything I wanted to say.

@Two and a Half Inches of Fun

I always like Dr. Drew, but this Celebrity Rehab show seems like the lowest of the low. It has people with real problems (as in one guy looks like he is about to die) and other people that just want to be on TV (Baldwin). The show just seems so dirty and disgusting.

“Lowest of the lows”?

A bit dramatic aren’t we?

I respect Dr. Drew immensely, including his own admitted faults. He carries a savior complex so he feels drawn to rescue people for his own self-satisfaction. Now he was given the opportunity to help treat a gaggle of “celebs” as well as having the recovery process documented. Not a lot of people catch the A&E version of this, but it appeals to a young demographic that needs addiction shown to them.

I don’t fault him a bit for jumping at the opportunity.