Why are so many criticizing Dr. Phil?

Why are so many criticizing Dr. Phil for his role in the "Brittney" saga? Yes, he has a television show and yes, he is a astute business man who I am sure is concerned about the ratings of his show, but so what?

We complain about how complex and expensive healthcare is in America, but here is someone who, regardless of her personal motive or gain, is making sincere efforts to help people get the help they need to make their family healthier and suddenly everyone is critical.

If you think getting treatment for cancer or other physical illnesses are a battle with an insurance company, try getting MENTAL health treatment. It's expensive and much less a science than other types of treatment. Many insurance companies have in fact RESTRICTED the amount of visits to a therapists or psychologists that they will pay for and we all know that a significant portion of the homeless suffer from untreated mental illness.

It is the success of his show and the high ratings that the show enjoys that ALLOW Dr. Phil to provide the help that he provides to his guest and others. Without the revenue that those ratings bring, there would be no mental health facilities donating their services in exchange for publicity that the show provides.

I recently read an article in the LA Times (NOT one of my favorite newspapers) that Californians want to have their cake and eat it too. They argued that we wanted to keep cutting taxes without cutting services. Well, if the individuals are willing to have their problems publicized in exchange for having the help they need, I say we should judge.

The bottom line is that it's the RATINGS that allow Dr. Phil to provide the assistance that he does, and I am certain that if it wasn't helpful, we would have heard or read about it by now. Would we rather that these people NOT be able to get the help they need?

It would appear that Dr. Phil has stepped up and admitted the mistakes he made in dealing with the Brittney situation and I believe he is entitled to a mistake or misstep now and again. If I were to make a judgment as to who could be trusted to be honest and up front about what happened behind closed doors, I'd be inclined to believe Dr. Phil over Lynn Spears any day.

So now is the time to decide. If you feel like Dr. Phil's show simply exploits people instead of help, then stop watching the show. When enough people feel that way, then there will not be enough ratings for the show to help anybody. Will you be happy then?