Dr. Phil: Dugard, Kids Face Long Road

Dr. Phil McGraw, author and host of the popular syndicated show "Dr. Phil," said on "The Early Show" Thursday one of the most frustrating things about the Jaycee Lee Dugard case is people asking how Dugard could be controlled for so long by her alleged abductors, Phillip and Nancy Garrido.

"It's just so hard to wrap your mind around something like that," McGraw said, but added, "Look, when you're 11 years old and you are abducted by a power figure, and you're isolated, the number one tool of an abuser is isolation. ... And it seems that this girl was isolated forever before she ever got any ability to move around. And when you're 11 years old, you're so vulnerable."

McGraw said it's going to be a long road of recovery for Dugard and the two children fathered by her abductor.

Special Section: Jaycee Lee Dugard

Referring to Dugard's children, Starlet, 15, and Angel, 11, McGraw said, "They don't have any anchor in the real world. (Dugard) at least had 4,000 days with her parents and like 9,000 days with this guy. It will just be so difficult for them to find their way back. But it can happen."

And because not much is known about the relationship between the Garridos and Dugard's children, McGraw said the entire situation has to be unraveled, and it may be a very slow process.

He said, "There will be a mix of emotions where they're actually grieving the loss of this person and missing him being, but then learning what has happened. It's going to be such conflict that they can really fall through cracks if great care is not taken."

McGraw will kick off his eighth season of the "Dr. Phil" show live on CBS on Monday, September 14.