Guru Ratings
Phil McGraw
Bad.
Remember my ratings criteria. I’m not judging these gurus on “global” or moral values, but very specific criteria. Many of my favorite books would be rated “bad” by my criteria for self-help (probably, because they are not self-help books). My ratings don’t reflect how well an author met his own goals, but how well they met my criteria for useful, accurate self-help.
Criticisms of Dr. Phil from inside and outside academia are widely available, and I won’t repeat them here. Basically, many of his tactics are ineffective or harmful. He’s a TV personality like Jerry Springer, not a therapist. In fact, he is not licensed to practice psychotherapy.
Life Strategies (2000)
Life Strategies could have been written by anyone, then inflected with Phil’s style. Take action, forgive, blah blah blah.