# Dr. Phil? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 23, 2009, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-phil/490451 "2009-03-23T11:45:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cpaligo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/77aa72/32.png) [@cpaligo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cpaligo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-phil/490451/1 "2009-03-23T11:45:27Z")
Hi StraightDopers, I posed this question to Cecil: Cecil, I am troubled with a question. I was talking with a psychologist friend of mine. Somehow the subject of the famous Dr. Phil came up. She said he’s full of flim-flam. She said he was a psychologist, she thought, in Pennsylvania. He got in trouble with the Medical Board for having relations with a patient. The Board then took his license away. He jets over to Hollywood to become the famous Dr. Phil we know today. My doctor friend said that’s why the television audience knows him by Phil, his first name. He can’t legally be called Dr. Whatever-his-last-name-is. The Doctor title was stripped! Tell me, oh Master of Psychoditalizing. Is this true? I got this reply: You might go to our web-site at [www.straightdope.com](http://www.straightdope.com) and to the section called “Message Boards” to pose your question there. Some regular posters are experts in researching Hollywood types (and we’ve got doctors who can look up medical certification – his full name is Dr Philip E McGraw, that’s no secret, which makes me think your friend is the one that flim-flamming.) Anyway, they may be able to help you. Or it might stir up an interesting discussion, anyhow. You’ll have to register on our site to post, but it’s painless. And, we hope you’ll find the Message Boards interesting enough to stick around. We hope that will help, Thanks for writing, CK Dexter Haven Straight Dope Staff Can anyone help in this quandry? 😕 Thanks, CJ Paligo ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-phil/490451/2 "2009-03-23T11:56:06Z")
I do know that the whole “Dr. Firstname 'cause he’s a loser” thing is bogus: The laws don’t care whether you use your first or last name, merely whether you hold yourself out as a physician but aren’t one. (Also note that there are many different kinds of physician, and the laws apparently don’t control things like Dr. Laura implying she’s a psychologist or psychotherapist when her training is really in kineseology or something.) ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-phil/490451/3 "2009-03-23T12:02:51Z")
No, he still has his Ph.D. He is no longer licensed to practice psychology in Texas ([cite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_McGraw)). His show is entertainment, and does not require a license. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-phil/490451/4 "2009-03-23T13:43:35Z")
Wikipedia to the rescue. Here’s the relevant text from Shodan’s link: > [@](#): > > **The Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists imposed disciplinary sanctions on McGraw on January 27, 1989 for an inappropriate “dual relationship” reported in 1988 by a female therapy client/employee from 1984**. McGraw was ordered by the Board to take an ethics class, pass a jurisprudence exam, complete a physical evaluation, undergo a psychological evaluation, and have his practice supervised for one year in order to continue his private practice in Texas. **McGraw admits to giving the client a “job” at his office (which is not allowed), but denied carrying on a sexual relationship with the 19-year-old, who says their relationship was "sexually inappropriate**".[12][3][13] **As of 2008, McGraw has not completed the conditions imposed by the Board of Examiners of Psychologists,[14] and he is not licensed to practice psychology in Texas, California, or anywhere else**.[15] > > After being sanctioned in Texas in 1989, McGraw did not renew his license and is therefore unable to “practice psychology” or to represent himself as being a psychologist.[16][13] Appearing on the Today Show in January 2008, McGraw said that he has made it “very clear” that his current work does not involve the practice of psychology. He also said that he had “retired from psychology.”[17] According to the Today Show, the California Board of Psychology determined in 2002 that he did not require a license because his show involves “entertainment,” rather than psychology.[18] My bolding. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-phil/490451/5 "2009-03-23T14:11:10Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > (Also note that there are many different kinds of physician, and the laws apparently don’t control things like Dr. Laura implying she’s a psychologist or psychotherapist when her training is really in kineseology or something.) [Physiology](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Schlessinger#Qualifications) > [@](#): > > Schlessinger’s Ph.D. is in physiology, and not psychology as her show’s title and content may lead listeners to assume. Critics have characterized the show’s name as deceptive. Schlessinger’s Ph.D qualifies her for the title of Doctor. However, her California Marriage Family and Child Counseling (MFCC) license has been inactive for several years. Schlessinger has never stated that she is a Doctor in Psychology, but has often referred to herself as “a licensed therapist.” Can you call yourself “licensed” if you have a license that is no longer active? And, what’s “deceptive” about the title “The Dr. Laura Show”? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-phil/490451/6 "2009-03-23T17:49:29Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Can you call yourself “licensed” if you have a license that is no longer active? > > And, what’s “deceptive” about the title “The Dr. Laura Show”? She could be a licensed massage therapist, for all we know. It seems to me that it doesn’t matter what titles Phil and Laura wear. What they do on their shows is not therapy. If they pretended it is therapy, they’d both be de-shrunk. After getting very sketchy information from guests, they “authoritavely” declare what’s wrong, and what needs to be done to solve it. “Get a grip. Straighten up and fly right. Now, go home and clean up your room. Let’s go to commercial.” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-phil/490451/7 "2009-03-23T18:14:34Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > It seems to me that it doesn’t matter what titles Phil and Laura wear. What they do on their shows is not therapy. If they pretended it is therapy, they’d both be de-shrunk. After getting very sketchy information from guests, they “authoritavely” declare what’s wrong, and what needs to be done to solve it. “Get a grip. Straighten up and fly right. Now, go home and clean up your room. Let’s go to commercial.” Frankly, both Dr. Laura and Dr. Phil always struck me as more effective therapists than Dr. Drew, and he’s a real one. “I like sex too much!” “Were you molested as a child?” “I like being tied up!” “Were you molested as a child?” “I’m into older guys.” “Were you molested as a child?” “I think I might have chlamidya.” “Were you molested as a child?” “My boyfriend thinks I’m fat!” “Were you molested as a child?” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-phil/490451/8 "2009-03-23T18:52:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Can you call yourself “licensed” if you have a license that is no longer active? > [@](#): > > She could be a licensed massage therapist, for all we know. Or it could mean she can legally drive a car. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_Astronaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bad\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-phil/490451/9 "2009-03-24T20:34:44Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Frankly, both Dr. Laura and Dr. Phil always struck me as more effective therapists than Dr. Drew, and he’s a real one. > > “I like sex too much!” > “Were you molested as a child?” > > “I like being tied up!” > “Were you molested as a child?” > > “I’m into older guys.” > “Were you molested as a child?” > > “I think I might have chlamidya.” > “Were you molested as a child?” > > “My boyfriend thinks I’m fat!” > “Were you molested as a child?” Except that the answer ends up being “yes” far, far more than you would expect. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-phil/490451/10 "2009-03-25T03:24:28Z")
Licensed means your license is valid. An expired license is not valid. A suspended or revolked or non-renewed license is not valid. As for the “doctor” lable, in the USA “doctor” is, in every day usage, applied to physicans meaning those having an MD or DO. Outside of an acedemic setting or a specific office (chiropractor or dental office for example) to say doctor means MD or DO. In other countries though this isn’t the case. I noticed a lot watching re-runs of an Australian soap opera “Prisoner: Cell Block H” the title doctor is very ambigous, and they have to explain what kind of doctor they are