Dr. Keith Ablow Versus Dr. Phil McGraw

In all fairness, Dr. Phil McGraw came out first with his television series. He has had over four television seasons of successfully helping individuals and families in trouble. Dr. Keith Ablow, on the other hand, has not been on the television set that long, but that still doesn't make him any less of a real person who has the desire to help people and change their lives.

Qualifications

Dr. Phil and Dr. Keith both seem to be well-qualified to have their own television show helping people on and off the set with their personal and traumatic stories. Let's look at how Dr. Phil's and Dr. Keith's degrees stack up against each other. Doctor Phil McGraw's education took him to Midwestern State University where he earned his B.A. He then went on to North Texas State University and received a Masters in experimental psychology and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. On the other hand, Dr. Keith took a different route. He chose to attend Brown University and then received his M.D. at the John Hopkins Medical School.

When it comes to comparing their educational qualifications, one man's degree doesn't outweigh the other's. Both schools are well known for their psychology programs and both graduated successfully. However, the difference does lie in how Dr. Phil and Dr. Keith Ablow have used their degrees in their life.

Treatment Methods

While the two doctors both specialize in the psychology field, the difference lies in how they apply each of their methods to the real world of counseling and psychotherapy. On the Dr. Phil Show viewers have been subject to his treatment methods that involve a get-real attitude about life. Doctor Phil McGraw frequently tells his participants on the show that they need to change their behaviors and Dr. Phil gives them tips about how to do just that. If that isn't enough, Dr. Phil even sets them up with real counselors and therapists in their own town and state.

On the other hand, Dr. Keith Ablow seems to take a different approach to helping his clients on the television set. He seems to be more concerned with finding the root cause of certain unwanted behaviors. He tries to help people figure out why they're acting a certain way and then he tries to help them figure out where they should go from there.

Who's the better man?

Just from examining Dr. Phil and Dr. Keith from the two perspectives of their educational degrees and treatment methods, one cannot ascertain whether or not one man should be regarded as "better" over the other. However, watching their television shows should give you a different perspective and angle on the issue.

It seems that Dr. Phil has a better connection with his guests and tries to understand more of where they're coming from. In contrast, though, Dr. Keith seems to play a little bit of the "mediator" when it comes to couple and family problems. For example, in one episode of watching Dr. Keith, it seemed as though he was trying to make one of his guests admit to something that he didn't want to. Of course, Dr. Keith may have been imitating somewhat of Dr. Phil's philosophy of "You can't change what you don't acknowledge," but it seemed as though he was going about in the wrong way.

But judging both Dr. Phil and Dr. Keith should include more than just looking at their biographies and watching a little snippet of their television shows. Both of their goals are to help individuals and families across America and there's no doubt that many people have been helped by Dr. Keith and by Dr. Phil. They are both committed to a profession of helping individuals and families how they can and they should both be commended for doing just that!