Josh Duggar Gets The Dr. Phil Treatment: Are There More Dirty Secrets?
Josh Duggar is finally getting evaluated by a licensed psychologist, but he probably won’t benefit from what TV host Dr. Phil McGraw has to say about his situation. Josh is currently studying the Bible and trying to pray his bad deeds away in a faith-based rehab center, so it’s likely that he doesn’t have access to TV or the internet — especially since one of his issues is an addiction to internet pornography.
According to the Wrap, Josh Duggar’s troubles were a topic of conversation during Monday’s episode of The View. Dr. Phil was the show’s special guest, and he was asked to share his thoughts on the former 19 Kids and Counting star’s latest scandal. Josh is about halfway to 19 scandals and counting if you add up his five sexual molestation victims, his two Ashley Madison accounts, his alleged affair with a porn star named Danica Dillon, and his admitted addiction to internet pornography.
According to Dr. Phil, this long list of scandals could just be the tip of the iceberg — he seems pretty convinced that there are more skeletons in Josh Duggar’s closet. In fact, Dr. Phil thinks that Josh might have enough skeletons to fill every closet in his family’s massive 19 kid-sized house.
“My dad used to say that for every rat you see, there’s 50 you don’t,” McGraw said.
“To assume that everything you see is everything there is, would really be naïve… I just don’t believe that the whole truth has come out yet.”
If Josh is hiding more dirty little secrets, he might not publicly admit to them unless he’s forced to. He never spoke about sexually molesting his younger sisters until In Touch Weekly obtained the police reports documenting the molestation, and he didn’t confess to cheating on his wife, Anna Duggar, until Gawker revealed that he had two accounts on Ashley Madison, a website used to arrange extramarital affairs. Josh checked into rehab shortly after this story broke.
Dr. Phil also weighed in on the other victims of the recent Ashley Madison hack. He showed little sympathy for those whose names were leaked when hackers gained access to the accounts of millions of Ashley Madison users.
“Karma’s a bitch,” McGraw said.
Dr. Phil’s assessment of Josh Duggar might be the closest the former reality show star ever gets to talking to a licensed mental health professional. According to PEOPLE, Josh decided to deal with his latest scandal by checking into a rehab center called Reformers Unanimous. Tony Richardson, director of development for the treatment program, revealed that it is “based solely on the Bible.” In addition to studying the Bible, Josh will spend his days laboring his sins away by working as a cook, mechanic, or groundskeeper. The program sounds very similar to the one Josh was shipped off to after he sexually molested his younger sisters.
Richardson says that Reformers Unanimous is more like college than a mainstream rehab facility, and Zap2it points out that the treatment center’s website doesn’t mention anything about “trained psychologists or other accredited experts on addiction recovery” assisting with treatment.
Dr. Phil also talked to ETonline about Josh Duggar’s latest scandal and what Josh’s parents can do to help. He thinks it’s time for Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar to start re-evaluating the advice that they give to their son — work and Bible study obviously didn’t help Josh turn his life around after he sexually molested his sisters, so there’s a good chance it won’t put an end to his bad behavior this time around.
“I know they are doing the best with what they believe,” Dr. Phil said. “They are entitled to do that, but when the wheels are coming off, when things are not working, you got to ask, ‘What can I do different?’ Sometimes you parent and sometimes you re-parent.”
Perhaps Dr. Phil should consider dedicating one of his upcoming shows to thoroughly exploring the type of treatment that Josh Duggar is receiving and whether there’s any chance that it could be effective. Would you watch?
[Image credit: Josh Duggar/Instagram]
