Media

Some in the Science Community Aren’t Sold on Dr. Phil’s Mental Health Guru

For years, TV’s Dr. Phil McGraw—who, it’s worth noting, is not licensed to practice medicine—has tapped his longtime advisor, Texas psychologist Frank Lawlis, to consult on cases presented on his daytime TV juggernaut, Dr. Phil. A new Hollywood Reporter story takes a deep dive into Lawlis’s unorthodox and, some claim, “potentially dangerous” practices.

McGraw has been a Lawlis acolyte ever since the elder man was McGraw’s PhD advisor decades ago; McGraw frequently taps Lawlis to consult on tough cases, especially relating to troubled youth. His Lawlis Peavey PsychoNeuroPlasticity Center outside of Dallas primarily services at-risk adolescents and adults who’ve “never been able to launch themselves.” A trip to this clinic includes something called “brain mapping,” sessions in hyperbaric chambers and sensory deprivation tanks, and costs $9,295 for a simple diagnosis—treatment program not included….