Joyce Brothers, the pop psychologist died

It was more than 20 - 30 years ago! I remember listening to her on the radio when I was a kid so that was 40 years ago or so.

I was kind of fascinated with listening to all these adult problems and wondering what my adult life might end up like.

You're right, of coarse! My memory plates are degenerating at a faster rate than yours.

Joyce was a contestant on the $64,000 Question show as I recall. She confounded the judges by answering each question right on successive weeks, even though the questions became more obscure each time. The preselected winner bombed and Brothers won by answering every boxing question they could come up with.

You are correct! She was also given her own show for a few years, and appeared on several sitcoms and games shows as a guest. Nice lady with class and smarts.

I saw all of that.
I have not a clue about who she actually was, though I take it she talked a lot.

She was the first female (or any gender) talk show host that dealt with personal problems. In late '70s, she was the number one TV personality.

Yes; I meant that I didn't ever have a good sense of her as a person. Kind of hard to explain.

Oh, OK. I understand now. She kept up a consistent public façade, but you can't tell what's underneath her entertainment or prof guise. Well, it seemed clear that she enjoyed helping people and being in front of TV cameras and/or a mic.

I don't think she ever projected much in the way of her personality. I remember her, from her advice-giving TV show, mostly as being rather cut and dry, and trying to be objective and impersonal and "professional"--which always made her seem rather flat and emotionless to me. And that demeanor carried over into her later celebrity interview show as well.

So I didn't ever have a good sense of her as a person either.

She certainly wasn't as colorful as those, like Dr. Ruth, and Dr. Phil, who she paved the way for.

She did break ground by discussing and addressing previously taboo topics on her TV show. And I think she was the first licensed mental health professional who began dispensing advice to the general public through the media--which also caused Brothers to be on the receiving end of a lot of flack within the profession of psychology. She was accused of unethical conduct as a psychologist for doing that--for trying to diagnose and treat the problems of people she had not met or evaluated. In addition, she was accused of being unethical for practicing outside her area of expertise in psychology--her doctorate was in experimental psychology, but the sort of advice she dispensed, and the problems she addressed, fall within the area of clinical psychology, so she was felt to be misrepresenting her expertise within the field. Other psychologists tried to get her NYS license as a psychologist yanked for those violations, but were unsuccessful. Eventually, I think, they created new guidelines for psychologists primarily engaged in "entertainment" to get around some of these problems.

The public still seems unconcerned about such ethical matters. Dr Phil lost his psychology license in Texas over an ethical violation in his private practice, and currently, I believe, holds no license, in any state, as a psychologist. But, as long as he sticks to "entertainment" and doesn't actually treat anyone, no one seems to care much. But, when he went to visit Britney Spears, during one of her hospitalizations, and then publicly commented on her condition, he found himself in hot water too because he didn't have a state license to offer her treatment, and he was violating ethical boundaries of patient confidentiality.

But, if it hadn't been for Dr. Joyce Brothers, other "pop psychologists", like Dr. Phil, wouldn't even be around now. She was a trailblazer. And I do think she helped to educate the public about the issues she addressed. She was more of an educator than a shrink. And she became one of the earliest TV "personalities", a role she apparently enjoyed.