‘Dr. Phil’ show staffers decry workplace as ‘traumatizing’ and a ‘war zone’

nypost.com:

have shared allegations with BuzzFeed News that cast a dark shadow on the long-running advice program. In the CBS daytime show’s 20 years on air, psychologist McGraw has gained a reputation for his affable, no-nonsense advice and so-called “Phil-isms” — as one goes, “We teach people how to treat us” — that he doles out to guests and their families on the brink of crisis.“Everyone was just pretty miserable.

You would walk into the building and there was just a palpable dread and anxiety,” one ex-employee told the site. “’Dr. Phil’ — the show about mental health where everybody who works on it has terrible mental health because our work conditions were really bad.”The irony of the new explosive claims — that a show whose mission it is to advocate for mental health hygiene couldn’t keep its own set happy — isn’t lost on the accusers.“I would have nightmares,” a former employee told BuzzFeed, choosing to remain anonymous for fear of backlash. “Even when I quit, I had to go to therapy for it, which is crazy because you’re working for a therapist.”It’s also long been noted that McGraw, 71, holds a Ph.D.

in clinical psychology, not a medical degree, and is also not licensed to practice.Though McGraw himself was not directly implicated in any of the anecdotes heard by BuzzFeed, accusers suggested he must be privy to the alleged bad behavior of executive producer Carla Pennington.

The Emmy-winning producer is being accused of, among other things, outbursts at lower-level employees — allegedly calling them “idiots,” “stupid” and “retards.”However, another group of anonymous staffers on behalf of Pennington insisted their experience had been positive overall, despite the high-stakes nature of the show.