Dr. Phil "My Daughter Is Being Brainwashed by a Psychic, and I Think He Is a Con Artist" (airdate 1-22-18)
OMG, WHERE DO I BEGIN!
Dr. Phil "My Daughter Is Being Brainwashed by a Psychic, and I Think He Is a Con Artist" (airdate 1-22-18)
BASIC SYNOPSIS:
Kristine, an overbearing mother, with serious boundary issues, accuses her flighty daughter, Shaina, of being a terrible mother, and of being controlled by a psychic, who claims to be a messenger of God.
THOUGHTS:
Dr. Phil and I were both trained under the same school of therapy, R. E. B. T., or Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, created by a brilliant man, Dr. Albert Ellis¹. However, Dr. Phil often deviates from this school of thought because it makes "good TV", and this is one of those examples. The tragedy is, it's the guests who have come to him for help who suffer. In this case, everyone leaves the way they came, and that is tragic. Dr. Phil never uses REBT in this episode, instead constantly chastising the daughter (Shainia), and never the mother (Kristine). This, of course, puts the daughter on the defensive, at one point, wanting to leave the stage. This gets uproarious applause from the audience, but sadly, did not get the mother or daughter the help, the both desperately need. They BOTH clearly need therapy, and need to have their irrational beliefs challenged, something they seem willing to do, based on their appearance on the show.
WHAT SHOULD WORK (BUT DOESN'T) ABOUT KRISTINE:
1. She creates a list of "offenses" her daughter has committed, but has NO PROOF to back any of them up (Dr. Phil doesn't even ask how she know these things).
2. She's called CPS repeatedly on her daughter, but no abuse is ever found.
3. She stalks her daughter on her social media, or gets others to do it for her.
3. She uses innocuous comments to call CPS (like her daughter's belief in fae or psychics, a religiously protected belief in this country, and NOT child abuse).
4. She repeatedly jumps out of her chair to initiate violence, so many times in fact, Dr. Phil has to caution her.
5. She uses issues like head lice, as a way to show Shaina is a bad parent (many children get head lice at school, it has nothing to do with parenting).
6. She uses typical boyhood pranks (like putting foil in the microwave while Mom is taking a nap) as proof of child abuse.
None of these behaviors are ever addressed, because let's face it, it's more fun to joke about the woman who believes in fairies, or psychics.
 |
| Kristine's baseless accusations (No proof provided) |
WHAT SHOULD WORK (BUT DOESN'T) ABOUT SHAINIA (BUT DOESN'T):
1. Dr. Phil never addresses the root of the problems between mother and daughter. He never gets a background or history on either one of them.
2. He never delves into the mother's past, or even asks about Shaina's father, or lack of one.
3. He let's Kristine drone on and on about how Shaina is basically a whore, because she has so many men in her life, but never asks if this is a learned behavior (where is Shaina's father, did she have a stepfather, or did Kristine have many men around while Shaina was growing up).
4, He never asks the grandmother about the Kristine's past, or Shainia 's childhood, important questions if you're actually going to help someone. When did the problems between the two begin? What's the root of these problems?
5. He doesn't address Shaina's line stepping, or boundary crossing, with jokes she posted on FB about spiking her roommate's drink with a laxative, or with Kristine's lack of boundaries, by reporting an obvious joke post (about seeing fairies), to the police.
6. If Shainia did believe in fae, she would not be alone, and it would be a protected religious practice in this country. Shainia made a harmless comment about first waking up, not having her glasses, and seeing what looked like fairies around her eyes. For this, her mother called the police. Dr. Phil never mentions this line stepping, but the police do. The police mention Kristine request they take action against her daughter because she's a danger based on this comment. But after checking on Shaina and her children, they found it was a bogus call, and there was no need for further action. This is absolutely the type of behavior that should have been addressed by Dr. Phil, but wasn't.
 |
| The police clearly think Kristine, the mother is a nut. They leave saying it's a bogus call. |
WHAT SHOULD WORK ABOUT DENNIS (BUT DOESN'T):
1. Instead of challenging the relationship between Dennis and Shaina, he attacks Dennis for being a psychic. Dr. Phil knows full well this will cause people to dig their heels in. He never delves into the dysfunctional relationship between the two, instead tries to humiliate Dennis, and anyone who believes in psychics².
2. Dennis should have been irrelevant. He's not important here, and Dr. Phil knows it. But it does make for more sensational tv, and higher ratings, than a boring show about a dysfunctional relationship between a mother and daughter.
3. Dr. Phil goes on and on and on about how Dennis is committing a misdemeanor by practicing his trade (God's messenger - NOT psychic) in the state of New York. But repeatedly, Dennis said he gave readings for free, and preached about what they were worth, saying people should make a donation. That would not be illegal, sleazy, but not illegal. It doesn't really matter, because none of Dennis's behavior has anything to do with Kristine and Shaina's problems, and isn't that what we're here for? (I guess not.)
3. Dr. Phil actually quotes Leviticus as a way to shame Dennis, the psychic, are you freaking kidding me?! Of course Dr. Phil's trained monkeys roar with applause, so much so they miss Dennis's comment about 1 Corinthians 12:10³, which I suggest everyone read below, but first, let's see what other "truths" Leviticus holds.
Leviticus says: Women are worth less than men when selling them as slaves (so of course slavery is ok) (Lev. 27:1-4), God shuns those with disabilities (Lev. 21:16-23), The death penalty should be used for incest, bestiality, homosexuality, prostitution, and blasphemy, or if you curse at your mother or father (Lev. 20-27) God will make you eat your children if you cross him (Leviticus 26:27–29) of course, Tattoos are prohibited (Lev. 19:28)⁴
Anyone who would quote Leviticus doesn't know the Bible, and quite frankly, isn't a Christian. Jesus came in fulfillment of prophecy, meaning he washed away the old, and brought a new era of thinking, where the disabled were lifted up, the prostitute could be redeemed, and God's love was for all. I thought Dr. Phil was a Christian?
TO SUM UP, WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THIS SHOW? EXPLOITATION
Because it wasn't to help anybody, and this is the kind of blatant charlatanism that gives Psychiatrists/Psychologists a bad name. It goes back to that old adage, what do you get when you break down the word therapist - the rapist, and that's what happened on this show, pure and simple. No one was helped here, but three people were exploited for Dr. Phil's ratings, pure and simple.
Let me make this clear, I don't think Dennis is a messenger of God, and I do think he might be exploiting people, but I didn't see enough about him to know. There wasn't a background on anyone really, just a bunch of name calling and accusations from Kristine and the grandmother (with nothing to back it up).
Bibliography:
¹Dr. Albert Ellis was a psychologist. He is best known for developing Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), which is a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy. He held MA and PhD degrees in clinical psychology from Columbia University, and was certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). It is the school of thought I was trained in, at the University of New Mexico.
² The United States government believes in precognition, so does MIT, and many other prestigious organizations. There have been many repeatable studies that show precognition is REAL. Look it up! Studies having to do with sexual and violent imagery/precognition will surprise you.
³ Corinthians is in the New Testament, which is what Christians believe, because it has to do with Jesus. Gifts God gives: the gift of prophecy and the discernment of good spirits from bad
"and to another the working of miracles, and to another prophecy [foretelling the future, speaking a new message from God to the people], and to another discernment of spirits [the ability to distinguish sound, godly doctrine from the deceptive doctrine of man-made religions and cults…"] -1 Corinthians 12:10
⁴ Here are a few of the things Leviticus teaches:
*“If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.” | Leviticus 20:10
*“If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death.” | Leviticus 20:13
*“If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death.” | Leviticus 20:9
*There are nine passages in the Old Testament where God makes cannibalistic threats. Here is the worst one:
“And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.” (Leviticus 26:27–29 King James Version)
*It's ok to own slaves and rape them (you just have to pay a fine) (Leviticus 20-22)
*“Don’t cut the hair on the sides of your head or trim your beard." (Leviticus 27) {not sure the punishment if you do}
Old testament God believes people have value (but men are worth more than women):
*"Set the value of a male between the ages of twenty and sixty at fifty shekels of silver, for a female, set her value at thirty shekels." (Leviticus 27 1-4) {I guess that's it you need to sell them, cause you know, slavery is ok!}
God says people with disabilities are unholy:
*"Yet because of his defect, he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, and so desecrate my sanctuary. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.’ ”(Leviticus 23)
To learn more about the craziness of Leviticus, click here
Comments
Post a Comment