Survivors of Toxic Abusive Relationships
In the early 1990s, I was a “lonesome licensed therapist cowboy” from South Florida, driven by a simple mission: to help people heal. I never expected that mission would lead me onto the stage of The Geraldo Rivera Show, and eventually, into the heart of one of the most exploitative industries in the world—Talk Television.
For two decades, I lived in a paradox. I was a clinician operating inside a traumatic warzone, “dancing with the devil” to reach an audience of millions. People gathered around their television sets daily to watch a spectacle of human suffering. They saw the traumatic hell, the shouting matches, and the broken families, but they rarely saw the path out. I stayed because I knew that if I could survive the environment, I could deliver a message of hope to the living rooms of people who felt they had nowhere else to turn.
The Malignant Narcissism of the Industry
While the faces on the screen were often from marginalized or impoverished backgrounds, the hands pulling the strings belonged to Wall Street and global entertainment titans like Tribune, Paramount, Warner Brothers, and Sony. These entities acted as a collective malignant narcissist. The dynamic was purely transactional and deeply predatory:
- The Prop Up: They would find people in the midst of evident mental health crises or domestic “hell.”
- The Display: They would prop them up under the hot studio lights, fueling the fire for ratings.
- The Disposal: Once the credits rolled and the segment was over, these human beings were often discarded without a second thought.
The fallout was devastating. Behind the scenes of the “daily warzone,” the industry left a trail of suicides, relapses, and families permanently torn apart. The most famous Talk Television Homicide as a result of a Talk Show, the Jenny Jones Show, I even found myself being the expert testimony as the only licensed therapist in the country who could testify to State of Mind of a Talk show. I testified again Telepictures and Jenny Jones in a lawsuit that resulted in a 25 million dollar verdict. I also created a legal precedence where television shows were fearful not to hire me for subsequent shows, knowing I would be the first question a lawyers would ask whjen future tragedies occurred. These guests were my first STARs—Survivors of Toxic Abusive Relationships.
8 million Dollars of “Free Care”
I knew I couldn’t change the nature of the industry alone, so I fought for a “ransom” on behalf of the guests. Over those 20 years, I managed to secure over 8 million dollars in free care for more than 800 guests.
By leveraging the very platforms that sought to exploit them, I channeled resources back to the survivors. It was a grueling, uphill battle to prove that there were clinical solutions to the mental health challenges being broadcast as entertainment. I wanted the world to see that while the trauma was real, the recovery could be real, too.
A 30-Year Legacy: The STAR Network Foundation
Today, three decades after I first stepped onto a soundstage, the lessons learned in those “TV trenches” have culminated in a global mission. The trauma enabled by the talk show era laid the groundwork for the STAR Network Foundation.
We have moved from the soundstage to the global stage, providing a dedicated infrastructure for the recovery of those who have survived toxic, narcissistic, and abusive systems. What began as a therapist trying to provide a safety net for guests on a stage has evolved into a worldwide foundation dedicated to healing the specific wounds of STARs.
Join the Conversation: “Dirty Talk” Begins This Wednesday
I am helping the producers to finally pull back the curtain on this era to reveal the truth behind the lens for all of the world to behold. This Wednesday, January 14, marks the premiere of a special three-part series on Prome Time ABC: Dirty Talk.
In this series, I reflect on my 20 years as a therapist navigating the exploitative machinery of Talk TV. I will dive deep into the psychology of the industry, the resilience of the survivors, and how we can learn today through the Star Network Foundation today how to apply those lessons to healing from toxic relationships today.
When: Wednesday, Jan 14 The Series: “Dirty Talk” (Part 1 of 3) The Topic: 20 Years in the Trenches of Talk Television
Don’t miss this look into the “daily warzone” and the first time I realized the toxicity of this world called today for a global foundation called for the Star Network birth. Watch this series to understand the birth of a movement for survivors everywhere.
