Dr. Phil on Custody Battles:
The Bridget Marks Custody Case

Commentary by
Dr. Reena Sommer

I am a huge fan of Dr. Phil McGraw. However, I am very dissapointed in how he presented the segment that featured a follow-up on the Bridget Marks custody case. The picture presented was a joyful reunion between mother and children. This clearly left the impression that a "wrong had been righted" and that justice was finally served. Dr. Phil demonstrated that finally there was a rightful conclusion to a very difficult and ugly custody battle. But does this depiction correctly describe the really the way it is?

There is no doubt that the children are probably very pleased to be returned to their mother's care. Afterall, this is where they have spent most of their lives - until the judge's decision to remove them from their mother's custody. And it is with their mother that the children's sense of security and safety lie. Not many can dispute this or that being caught in the cross fire of parents fighting over custody is something that no child should have to be exposed to.

Dr. Phil was also quick to describe how difficult it was for the children to cope while in their father's care - that they missed their mother terribly - that he was unable to meet their needs - how he was unable to provide an environment in which they could flourish and enjoy activities such as ballet lessons.

One very glaring issue that Dr. Phil completely neglected to addess was the reason Bridget Marks lost custody in the first place - the fact that the court found that she deliberately manipulated and encouraged her daughters to make false allegations of sexual abuse against their father. Putting aside for a moment the potentially damaging consequences this has for their father, there are also the tremendously damaging implications for the girls - in having them falsely believe they were molested by someone who should love and protect them.

The more appropriate question are: