Television psychologist Dr Phil McGraw has scrapped plans to air a show about troubled pop singer Britney Spears after he was criticised for visiting her while she was in hospital.
McGraw visited Spears at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, after she was admitted for an evaluation following a custody dispute at her home.
Several other counsellors later accused the therapist of breaching the singer's privacy by visiting her at the hospital.
However, McGraw said yesterday, in an interview with 'The Early Show', that he visited Spears "at the request of her family".
He claimed that the singer's mother, sister and brother "were very frustrated that she apparently wasn't going to be held (in hospital) for a longer period of time."
McGraw said that he had planned to tape a show on yesterday, stressing that the show would not have explored the tabloid side of Spears' problems, but instead would have focused on other issues surrounding her case.
"Clearly, it is not just Britney's family struggling to find a way to protect adult children who cannot be ordered or compelled to seek help," he said.
The television psychologist also said: "Because the Spears situation is too intense at this time, and out of consideration to the family, I have made the decision not to move forward with the taping."
McGraw said that details of his visit to Spears would remain private.
The singer was released from hospital at the weekend.
