Pat O'Brien Gets Dr. Phil's Help

'Insider' And Therapist Put Sober Living In The Spot Light

(CBS) 

Many are wondering if O'Brien's career can take the heat.

Dr. Phil says, "Will celebrities, certainly women, who are so offended by the nature of some of the things that came into the public light, will they talk to him? How's he going to feel with that? All of those things I think are huge challenges that create stress, and it's that's kind of stress that makes you want to go back to the drinking and the drugs."

Dr. Phil tells Chen it is an extremely difficult road O'Brien has ahead of him. "I think it is an uphill battle on a slippery slope," he says. "Pat has gone to the extent of getting a sobriety companion, someone that lives with him 24/7, in a weak moment can say, 'Stop. Do not. Walk away.'"

O'Brien will begin anchoring "The Insider" again Thursday night. But before returning to his office, Dr. Phil accompanied him to "The Insider" studio where O'Brien apologized to his staff.

Linda Bell Blue, the executive producer, says O'Brien's return to the show was not conditional on him having to get into rehab.

"Pat very much wanted to go into rehab," she says. "We played the tapes for him. He didn't remember leaving the messages and was pretty embarrassed."

So did America's therapist leave O'Brien with any good advice?

"He said it's the advice I would give myself and other people out there with the same conflicts," O'Brien tells Chen, "Move forward, one step after another."

When Pat O'Brien returns to "The Insider" Thursday night, Blue tells Chen, he will apologize on air to his viewers.

Dr. Phil's "Behind The Headlines" special airs Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m. on CBS.

"The Insider" and CBSNews.com are both units of Viacom, which also distributes "Dr. Phil."