The short answer is no. Dr. Phil McGraw, aka Dr. Phil, is not a licensed therapist. A damning 2008 New York Times piece noted that McGraw is exempt from state medical ethics rules, which prevent him from, for example, revealing the identities of his patients because he's not actually a practicing doctor. Though the reality star has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from North Texas State University and was licensed in the state for 20 years, he hasn't been licensed for quite some time. He's also not licensed in California, where he lives and where Dr. Phil is filmed.
The question of McGraw's legitimacy came to light after he commented publicly on the tribulations of a then-obviously struggling Britney Spears, before walking back his comments under intense backlash in a blog post. In the midst of half-apologizing for his inappropriate behavior, the Dr. Phil star, who's made celebs cry over the years, argued that, because he doesn't intend on going back into private practice again, he doesn't actually need to be licensed. However, he argued, due to his many years of experience and his Ph.D, "You still have to call me Dr. Phil."
