Dr. Phil Legally Can't Go by Dr. McGraw Because his Clinical License Was Expired

photo by Dave Herholz

There was a tweet today by user @oldlinds about Dr. Phil’s clinical license status. His title comes from his PhD in psychology but he can not practice clinical psychology in any state in the US.

dr phil has to go by “dr phil ” because he’s not allowed to go by “dr mcgraw” bc his clinical license was suspended. you may be wondering why i am tweeting this, seemingly out of nowhere. it’s because i hate dr phil
— graveyard smash (@oldlinds) October 3, 2019

This apparently has been documented in the past, according to a piece in startsat60.com, a formal complaint filed with the California Board of Psychology in 2016 had exposed that Dr Phil did not have a license to practice psychology for many years — and never held one in California, where his show is taped.

“Phillip McGraw of the Dr. Phil show does not have a license to practice psychology in the state of California,” says the complaint filed by a psychologist, whose name was withheld. “By giving advice, he is practicing without a license.” The document also charges the TV guru – who has been branded a fraud – violated doctorclient privilege by discussing Britney’s case publicly and notes, ” A petition is being circulated to remove the Dr. Phil show from the air.”

The twitter user goes on to point out that while he does have a PhD in psychology, the role he plays on his show is acting as a mental health profession, not teaching a college class.

he really shouldn’t be using “dr” at all but I honestly think he’s allowed to for the same reason that dr dre is allowed to call himself dr dre
— graveyard smash (@oldlinds) October 3, 2019