Open letter to Dr. Phil: “a public mental health menace”

by  —  October 19, 2012

Dear Dr. Phil,

I write this letter to you with little hope of conveying information of which you were previously unaware. Rather, I write this letter so that the general public may be made aware of what you should already be well aware of, in hopes that they may appropriately measure your credibility following your forthcoming broadcast* related to the topic of an alleged satanic cult conspiracy — an episode which promises to be full of misinformation, delusions, harmful false accusations, and lies.

Specifically, it has come to my attention that you will be airing an interview with Judy Byington, author of a book entitled Twenty-Two Faces which purports to be the true story of one Jenny Hill, an alleged victim of the bizarre and controversial psychiatric condition known as Dissociative Identity Disorder [DID] (formerly listed as Multiple Personality Disorder [MPD]).

However dubious the legitimacy of DID, this diagnosis is by far the least of the problems with Byington’s book. Twenty-Two Faces is openly rife with archaic demonologies, and paranoid conspiracy theories being presented as root causes to the disturbances in Ms. Hill’s troubled mind. That Jenny Hill — a former drug addict and prostitute with a history of mental illness — is troubled seems indisputable, but Byington’s book seeks to expose an alleged satanic government plot behind Hill’s mental malaise that is tantamount to speculation upon who, exactly, is beaming voices into the heads of schizophrenics. Such an ignorant approach to therapeutic practice is harmful to mental health consumers, and your endorsement of such can hardly be of any positive value to your viewers.

The broader harm to the public mental health in endorsing a story as laden with paranoid delusion as Twenty-Two Faces — especially insofar as it is a narrative specifically appealing to the mentally vulnerable — should be clear to a doctor of Clinical Psychology like yourself. In fact, as recently as the 1980’s (and extending into the 90s), stories of non-existent satanic cults — upon which Byington has based her unhinged claims — caused a modern witch-hunt now known to sociologists as the “Satanic Panic”. Books foundational to this panic, and thematically identical to Twenty-Two Faces — particularly Michelle Remembers by Lawrence Pazder and Michelle Smith, and Satan’s Underground by Lauren Stratford — were soundly and thoroughly debunked by investigative journalists. Unfortunately, these debunkings only arrived after sensational talk-shows, promoting these books uncritically, helped create a moral panic that ruined families, resulted in false convictions of satanic crimes, and exploited the most irrational fears of countless mental health consumers. Both of these books are listed in Byington’s bibliography, despite their debunkings, and despite the fact the Satan’s Underground was so thoroughly discredited as to be withdrawn from publication… following which the author changed her name and abandoned her story of Satanic Ritual Abuse to instead pose as a childhood victim of the Holocaust.

Among the supernatural claims put forward in Twenty-Two Faces we have:

 

Any one of these topics would be a bit much for one episode, and each of these remarkable claims demands remarkable evidence. So what evidence does Byington provide? Incredibly, Twenty-Two Faces seems to rely solely on the “memories of [Jenny Hill’s] multiple personalities and their entries in diaries written since childhood”, as Byington describes in the book’s opening disclaimer. These memories were “repressed”, only recalled later in Ms. Hill’s life in the course of re-integrating her various fractured identities. Setting aside the fact that “recovered memories” similarly serve as the “evidentiary” basis for claims of Extraterrestrial abductions and past life regression, is it appropriate — in your professional opinion as a (former) Clinical Psychologist — to accept such extraordinary claims merely on personal testimony? Do you think it’s appropriate, Dr. Phil, to air fear-mongering claims of an anti-human, ubiquitous secret society on the “evidence” of such an unlikely anecdote?

Even looking past the supernatural propositions, Byington’s book is fraught with inconsistencies, among which we find:

You should be aware of serious problems with Byington’s book — the inconsistencies, improbabilities, and supernatural propositions — not least because you should be aware of the book’s contents before you endorse such material on your show, but also because I personally reached out to your producers to warn you of them. Your producers were surely also warned regarding Byington’s problematic narrative when in contact with Jenny Hill’s sister, who was also asked to appear on your show along with Mrs. Byington. Apparently, your producers — doing “entertainment” at the expense of good psychology — chose to ignore us both.

The material above covers some problems that any rational person could pick out merely from reading the book, but there are further problems with Twenty-Two Faces that are apparent to anybody who bothers to do a little research:

I hardly expect to see that you have asked any difficult, yet terribly obvious, questions of Judy Byington in your soon-to-be-aired interview, as Byington’s own website now proudly displays your endorsement:

“Dear Judy,

Thank you for taking the time to come to our show. I wish you great success with your book documenting the life of Jenny Hill and look forward to working with you in the future. God Bless!

Dr. Phil, Paramount Pictures Hollywood”

That this makes you complicit in purveying a delusional conspiracy theory is unfortunate, but hardly disputable. Judy Byington herself makes clear that she considers Dissociative Identity Disorder/Multiple Personality Disorder synonymous with Satanic Ritual Abuse, and you can hardly talk to her about one without addressing the other. To be clear, when Judy Byington talks of multiplicity and dissociative trauma, she is talking about a debunked conspiracy theory of satanic mind-control plots. That you should give such hysterical claims air-time — allowing a conspiracy theory to be presented as a diagnosis — on your widely viewed show is beyond irresponsible. It makes you a menace to the public mental health.

I have no illusion that you will correct your errors, or that you might pull the episode before it airs. Rather, I am simply posting this time-stamped letter to you here — which I will also send to you directly — so that neither you, nor your producers, may possibly claim ignorance in the near future when Judy Byington meets with the critical assault that will inevitably follow when sensible people see fit to read her work. I want it to be perfectly clear, now and in the future, that all the facts were available to you at all times. It is my feeling that your credibility should greatly suffer, and it is my wish that you should soon find yourself as bankrupt financially as you are ethically.

 

    Acrimoniously yours,

        Douglas Mesner

        www.process.org

 *Note, original reports stated that this episode would air October 31, 2012. As of October 27, this episode is not on Dr. Phil’s broadcasting schedule. Hopefully, Phil wises up and pulls the interview entirely, however, yesterday Judy Byington left a comment online that the episode should air “soon”. This open letter has been slightly modified to reflect the sudden uncertainty of the broadcast date.

23 Comments so far
  1. jeanettebartha October 24, 2012 3:53 pm

    Thank you for the reality check, Doug. Unfortunately, I am not on staff at Dr. Phil’s laboratory and can do nothing to get him to cease and desist giving the public titillating shows to boost his ratings.

    Halloween is big business in the psychotherapy arena. Extra sessions, hospitalizations, additional medications needed to quell the anxieties of patients who believe the nonsense of the illusive satanists.

    There is a link to your post on my blog.

  2. Emma Woods November 3, 2012 1:47 am

    It is amazing that they were going to have that show. I am so glad you wrote to him. It is a great letter.

  3. jeanettebartha November 5, 2012 4:33 pm

    Dr. Phil did Not air the show. Interesting.

    Doug, how about an update?

  4. doug November 6, 2012 1:03 pm

    On the 27th, October, Dr. Phil’s website listed the schedule for the week ahead with Byington’s interview excluded. Byington posted a comment that the episode would, however, air “soon”. A search of Dr. Phil’s site for the name “Byington” currently yields no results. It’s too early to say for certain, but it seems Phil may be reconsidering airing this outrageous and irresponsible filth.
    Since I posted my open letter, I have received an unprecedented response from readers who share my concerns regarding the purveyance of bizarre and harmful delusions being coerced into vulnerable mental health consumers and creating a public atmosphere of witch-hunting panic. One reader decided to check up on Judy Byington’s claim to be a consultant on “Satanic crimes” for the Utah Attorney General’s office. She wrote to them asking:

    Dear UAG

    Is it true that Judy Byington has been a consultant on “satanic crime” for your office since 2006?

    She claims as such on her website:

    http://22faces.com/press-kit/

    If so, this is very concerning. I hope you realise that 99% of “satanic ritual abuse” is a fabrication by the “therapist” and sometimes the mistreated patient.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_ritual_abuse

    Yours faithfully […]

    The Attorney General’s office replied in no uncertain terms:

    The site says Byington has acted as a consultant on satanic crime for the Utah AG’s Office since 2006. The Utah AG has not had any consultants on satanic crime since 2006 or any time, and certainly has not used Byington in any capacity including as a consultant, ever.

    Craig L. Barlow
    Assistant Attorney General
    Division Chief
    Children’s Justice Division
    Utah Attorney General’s Office

    Despite all of this, and despite my having sent the station a version of my Dr. Phil letter in advance, an ABC affiliate in Utah decided to run a story about Judy Byington that presented none of the disturbing questions I provided them. Putting the irresponsible report on their website after airing it on television, the comments section soon became deluged with angry demands that the story be corrected, the facts be checked, the questions confronted. Kimberly Nelson, the anchor responsible for the story has failed to act responsibly as a journalist, and she has still failed to reply to any of the criticisms, even as the comments bled over onto her Facebook page. The station, instead of answering to any concerns, simply pulled the ability to comment from the piece. As people emailed the station directly, there was only one simple reply: “We stand by our story”. What this means is unclear. Do they mean that they still believe their story to be accurate, despite their apparent unwillingness to confront all of the evidence? Did they find a way to reconcile the discrepancies with Byington’s story? Or do they simply mean that they will air what they like, and they don’t see a need to over-burden themselves with cumbersome fact-checks?

  5. russ hook November 6, 2012 3:33 pm

    To the supreme IDIOTS who commend Mr. Jew Mesner for trying to suppress very crucial information about the horrors of trauma-based MK Ultra mind CONtrol….SHAME ON YOU, for either being so IGNORANT, and SHAME ON YOU MORE for being COMPLICIT in this cover-up! My first concern was, why is this JEW so concerned about not having this story aired on national TV? WHAT IS HE SO AFRAID OF???? WHY IS HE GOING TO SO MUCH TROUBLE??? And most importatntly, WHO IS HE TRYING TO PROTECT??? Is it b/c the horror was perpetrated by a JEW? Dr. GreenBAUM? When the truth comes out that many JEWS were responsible for millions of deaths before, during, and esp. AFTER WW2, will the idiot fringe jump on the band wagon, or not believe it b/c it goes against their life-long hollowHOAX programming? MK Ultra is rampant, and I have met 2 victims myself…PERSONALLY.
    One victim was abused at Bnai Brth in Hamilton, Ont. And satanic ritual abuse goes hand in hand with MK. The other victim was SRAed when he was a child by the Priminister of CanaDUH P.E. Trudeau, a known homosexual/Jesuit. It’s WAKEY WAKEY time idiots!
    nick61@telus.net

  6. doug November 6, 2012 4:10 pm

    Why, thank you, Nick Kennedy, for providing us with one of your rather predictable rants which manages to work “the Jewish question” into everything, whether it makes sense or not.
    Assuming you actually read my open letter to Dr. Phil at all, you may want to revisit it and look over my straight-forward objections to the topic material. You seem to assume I’m Jewish, then you go on to speculate that I’m merely covering for the crimes of a Jew — the Jewish Nazi Satanist from the CIA who acts as the villain in 22 Faces.
    To tell you truth, it wasn’t the “Jew” part of the Dr. Greenbaum equation that gave me serious reservations as to the veracity of the book (though it seems obvious to me that he is a fictional character made Jewish for the satisfaction of discerning readers like yourself). In fact, what I find most suspect is that the protagonist of the story was born under the auspice of prophecy, was endowed with ESP as a result of early abuse, dabbled in levitation, suffered demonic possession, heard the voice of God, and was saved by a dramatic divine intervention.
    Do you believe all of these things, Nick? Has your experience of supposedly meeting 2 people victimized by MK-Ultra shown you the reality of all these items of supernaturalism? Or are you simply obligated to believe any claim, no matter how irrational, if only a Jewish enemy is invoked?
    And what of the narrative discrepancies in the book? Were you able to reconcile those?

  7. russ hook November 6, 2012 4:29 pm

    All of these symptoms you describe are from MK Ultra trauma-based mind control, (the victim I met was micro-chipped)and we all have ESP abilities, it’s just that most are too dumbed down to develop them. Mesner is a JEW name, and I don’t trust any JEW. Most of these “voices” are psy-ops from the CIA. It is actually quite common for those who know how the jUSA Govt. operates. I haven’t read the book, but I may buy it now to support this woman who is REVEALING what you are trying so hard to HIDE. It’s too little too late Mr. Jew. The sheeple are awakening!
    BTW, I am not typing this for your benefit, but the 4 or 5 people who read your BS blogs!
    nick61@telus.net

  8. russ hook November 6, 2012 4:32 pm

    BTW,The MK victim I met was JEWISH, programmed by JEWS. Of course, not all of the perps/satanists are Jews, but a disproportionate amount ARE nonetheless.
    nick61@telus.net

  9. doug November 6, 2012 4:50 pm

    I see, Nick! So levitation is a “symptom”? How is being born under the auspice of prophecy a result of MK-Ultra? How is divine intervention? What of demonic possession? If that’s a side-effect of MK-Ultra programming, why did the CIA make it so susceptible to the exorcising prayers of Mormon Church officials?
    But then, you haven’t even read the book. Nor does it seem you actually read the piece you’re commenting on. Nor can you speak to the narrative inconsistencies in the book, uninformed as you are. Nor am I Jewish. And if I was, it certainly would do nothing to validate the absurd claims in the book of which you are ignorant.
    Also, why is it that there are herds of credulous morons who all seem to use the same ironic phrase to describe the rest of the world in their mindless parroting of their most cherished delusions: “sheeple”?
    So, go ahead, Nick, read 22 Faces, then read my letter, and then perhaps you’ll be prepared to actually have a discussion on the topic.

  10. russ hook November 6, 2012 5:09 pm

    The ONLY claim I am making here is that MK Ultra mind control is real, so is SRA, and it has been called the SILENT HOLOCAUST by some, b/c it is so WIDESPREAD/RAMPANT. If this is so ridiculous, WHY are you trying so hard to suppress it??? THAT IS THE QUESTION Mr. Jew?
    nick61@telus.net

  11. doug November 6, 2012 5:16 pm

    So let’s be clear here, Nick: You say that “MK Ultra is real, so is SRA”, and so, by extension, this book (which you’ve never read, by your own admission) is necessarily a true story?
    I’m kind of surprised that you, Nick Kennedy, as a black man, would take common cause with neo-Nazis. Or have you joined a black American radical Islamic anti-Jewish sect?

  12. russ hook November 6, 2012 5:47 pm

    If this is so ridiculous, WHY are you trying so hard to suppress it??? THAT IS THE QUESTION Mr. Jew?
    nick61@telus.net

  13. doug November 6, 2012 6:32 pm

    It’s one of the enduring paradoxes that the simplest of minds are always also the most frustrating to try and understand. Thus we have this afro-centric Jihadist, Nick Kennedy, presuming to ask me why (or “WHY”) I am trying so hard, as he sees it, to “suppress” 22 Faces.

    I suppose, Nick, that you’re trying to boil it down to one question to save face for your asinine entry wherein it was quickly revealed that you hadn’t read the book in question, and it was quite obvious you failed to grasp, or possibly even read, the piece itself upon which you are commenting. One wonders if you had read a negative review of one of the Harry Potter books if the first question to occur to you would have been, “why are they trying to suppress this book?” Well, I don’t know, Nick, perhaps you should read the criticisms of the book and see if you can figure out what my issues with it are. I’m pretty clear in my presentation, you should be able comprehend at least some of it.

    You claim the Holocaust is a hoax. WHY are you trying so hard to suppress the Holocaust? You see how this idiotic “logic” can be applied either way? Any criticism becomes “suppression”. (To be clear, this question was raised only to illustrate a point. I’m really not interested in hearing your empty-headed theories.)

    You ask, “If this is so ridiculous” why do I try to “suppress” it? Of course, this is only an “If” because you apparently have no idea what the book is even about. It’s not a question of “if” the book is ridiculous. The book clearly is ridiculous, unless, of course, you really believe (as you implied) that levitation is a “symptom” of MK-Ultra, as is being born under the auspice of prophecy, divine intervention & demonic possession (of a peculiarly Mormon context).

    Of course, you can again try to broaden your argument into something very generalized, as you did earlier — perhaps in some bit of recognition as to what a dip-shit you come off as — and say that ALL you are claiming is that MK-Ultra and SRA exist. Why you would come here and try to say “just” that, while the topic is a specific book and a specific broadcast is entirely unclear, but even then you come with no better tools than to accuse me of being a “Jew” and thus invested in suppressing important information. Leaving the problem of definition aside, let’s just assume you’re right (against all odds) and that whatever you mean when you say MK-Ultra and SRA really are cold realities. Just for argument’s sake, you can have that. So what does that mean for my criticisms of this book? Nothing. They all still stand. The story needs to be judged on its own merits, and you’ve not even bothered to read it. You’ve decided, apparently, that it must be true, because you’ve also decided (and we can see what competent judge of evidence you are) that MK-Ultra and SRA are alive and well today. This is fallacious logic that anybody who passed kindergarten should recognize intuitively.

    Let’s put it like this, Nick: Say I were to tell you that a werewolf stole the horn off of my pet unicorn’s head? Would you believe me? If you did not, on the grounds that perhaps you feel that unicorns and werewolves don’t exist (I’m giving you an unearned benefit of the doubt), would it be appropriate for me to chastise you and shout that you are trying to “suppress” the fact that theft exists? (and this analogy gives your definitions of MK-Ultra and SRA themselves the unearned benefit of being as established of realities as theft, offering your position a degree of credibility I’ve gone well out-of-the-way to extend, and it still doesn’t make for a rational argument)

  14. russ hook November 6, 2012 6:45 pm

    You really are a pathetic neurotic lying Jew. (Is there any other kind? lol) You show ALL the symptoms so clearly. If this is so ridiculous, WHY are you trying so hard to suppress it??? THAT IS THE QUESTION Mr. Jew?
    nick61@telus.net

  15. doug November 6, 2012 7:06 pm

    Nick — See reply above. Have somebody read it to you, if you must.

  16. russ hook November 6, 2012 7:25 pm

    Also, if the HollowHOAX is so true, why are the lying parasite jews trying so hard to prevent any questions about it? “NEVER TRUST A JEW”…. Nikola Tesla.
    nick61@telus.net

  17. doug November 6, 2012 7:51 pm

    Nick — You may want to find a forum where that is a relevant question (though it will never be an intelligent one in any context). The conversation here has absolutely nothing to do with what you are asking.

  18. russ hook November 6, 2012 8:07 pm

    Good answer Jewboy! U can sure dodge them questions like a pro! U bin doin dat for a long time, I’ll bet! lol After years of sparring with lying kikes, one gets a feel for them after a while. Oy Vey! lol
    nick61@telus.net

  19. doug November 6, 2012 8:34 pm

    As for dodged questions directly relevant to the topic here, here’s the breakdown:

    — Has your experience of supposedly meeting 2 people victimized by MK-Ultra shown you the reality of all these items of supernaturalism?

    — Or are you simply obligated to believe any claim, no matter how irrational, if only a Jewish enemy is invoked?

    — And what of the narrative discrepancies in the book? Were you able to reconcile those?

    — levitation is a “symptom” [of MK-Ultra]?

    — How is being born under the auspice of prophecy a result of MK-Ultra?

    — How is divine intervention [a result of MK-Ultra]?

    –What of demonic possession? If that’s a side-effect of MK-Ultra programming, why did the CIA make it so susceptible to the exorcising prayers of Mormon Church officials?

    — You say that “MK Ultra is real, so is SRA”, and so, by extension, this book (which you’ve never read, by your own admission) is necessarily a true story?

    — Leaving the problem of definition aside, let’s just assume you’re right (against all odds) and that whatever you mean when you say MK-Ultra and SRA really are cold realities. Just for argument’s sake, you can have that. So what does that mean for my criticisms of this book?

    — Let’s put it like this, Nick: Say I were to tell you that a werewolf stole the horn off of my pet unicorn’s head? Would you believe me? If you did not, on the grounds that perhaps you feel that unicorns and werewolves don’t exist (I’m giving you an unearned benefit of the doubt), would it be appropriate for me to chastise you and shout that you are trying to “suppress” the fact that theft exists?

    So it seems all the dodging has been on your end. But then, you’ve not read the book either, and now you’re trying to shift senselessly to another topic…

  20. russ hook November 6, 2012 8:53 pm

    I have read “Trance” by Cathy O’Brien, and lots of Springmeier’s stuff, as well as Brice Taylor’s book. Then tons of stuff over 15 years about MK on-line. The victim I actually lived with for 3 hellish weeks was BIG TIME MPD. When I told her she was a MK victim, her memories of abuse, and SRA came flooding back to her. The stories she told me after were corroborated with what I had read previously, years before. Of course she was a whore, and in the sex trade b/c all of the females, and some male victims are programmed for that to earn money for these satanic sickos. I saw a little girl personality also, and a intelligent one too. I think she was programmed for legal work.
    Using logic, common sense, and being able to read LIARS like yourself is also a gift I have.lol It’s frustrating trying to deceive someone who is ON to you, and knows his stuff isn’t it? The POS who perpetrate this, and the ones who try to protect them are the lowest SCUM on the Planet. How does that feel? OOps, I forgot, the JEW has no compassion, and fakes emotion, but is an excellent LIAR, CHEAT.
    nick61@telus.net

  21. doug November 6, 2012 8:57 pm

    “It’s frustrating trying to deceive someone who is ON to you, and knows his stuff isn’t it?”
    I wouldn’t know, Nick, you came here not having read the book in question, with no understanding of the piece I have written, and with no ability to answer any of questions put to you.

  22. Booboola from Winnipeg November 6, 2012 9:53 pm

    Oh my goodness Russ Hook, you say your friend who you actually lived with for three weeks was a “BIG TIME MPD” ! How hard that must have been on you Russ, certainly that experience along with the tons of on-line stuff you read must make you an expert on things like that eh ?
    I know I sure feel like an expert on stuff like that after being a “BIG TIME MPD” once myself. Yes indeed, I spent five years as a patient of Dr.Colin Ross, the guy who wrote the forward to Judy Byington’s book “22 Faces”, and I lived too tell all about it. Well that is actually pretty easy for me now that my friend Doug Mesner wrote that article about my experiences at the hands of my old psychiatrist Colin Ross. Check it out:
    https://process.org/discept/2010/02/08/dr-colin-a-ross-psychiatry-the-supernatural-and-malpractice-most-foul/
    I can’t say that I agree with anything you’ve said in your comments but you sure have a way of putting the word “Jew” in everywhere you can, I never seen anything like it, but then I have never spent any time on any White Supremesist web sites. Well have a nice day Russ, I’m glad to know that you’re out there and I’m way over here.

  23. madalynkathryn December 22, 2013 9:37 pm

    Could read it till my eyes bleed. You are a master(bow)! As it is! 🙂

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