Dr. Phil : Season 17

The 1947 case of a 22-year-old woman found murdered in a vacant lot in Los Angeles becomes one of the most notorious unsolved murders in American history.

Cheryl says she must wear surgical masks at home because a global terror network is experimenting on her with lethal chemicals; her daughter is concerned for her mental health; Dr. Phil reveals the results of extensive testing in Cheryl's home.

Sarah's dad says she is destroying her life by walking away from a full-ride college scholarship to chase what he calls a "silly daydream" of becoming a professional dancer; sisters say mom Laura is a reckless dater who has been married 10 times.

On Nov. 18, 1978, more than 900 followers of Jim Jones and The Peoples Temple were killed, many by drinking cyanide-laced fruit punch; Dr. Phil speaks with survivors Rep. Jackie Speier and former Peoples Temple members Vernon Gosney and John Cobb.

Amanda is madly in love with her son's father, a severe epileptic who refuses to take his medication and has seizures almost every day; her mother wants her to move on.

Patty says she spent hundreds of thousands of dollars giving her son everything he wanted, and now, she says, he wants her dead; a first look at Dr. Phil's interview with Oprah Winfrey (book "The Path Made Clear").

Jessica, who makes poor decisions, drinks alcohol daily and has a violent relationship with her live-in boyfriend, says her mother is brainwashing her 10- and 13-year-old children against her.

Mason's grandmother stabbed him to death two days before his 7th birthday, causing his father to start using drugs again and acting erratically.

Michael, an admitted liar who now claims he's a changed man and wants to "come clean" about all his past lies and deceptions, including some that have landed him behind bars, comes face-to-face with three of his victims.

Lindsay was a 24-year-old real estate agent when she was targeted and brutally murdered; her father thinks police are covering up who killed her; a woman uses DNA ancestry websites to help solve seemingly unsolvable cold cases -- all from her couch.

Shelly says when she married her husband, David, less than a year ago, she had no idea that divorce might be a possibility. While Shelly claims David is verbally abusive and controlling, David says his wife thrives on drama, loves attention, and refuses to let go of the past rather than try to work on a better future. David claims he feels Shelly’s health issues control a lot of her emotions. Shelly says she desperately wants Dr. Phil’s help to save her marriage. Then, Sandra says 26 years

Fifteen-year-old Dawson says he is not the person his parents, Chris and Dawn, believe he is. He says their perception of him is based on their childhood memories of him playing baseball and going on family vacations. Dawson says he wants more freedom to do the things he enjoys, such as smoking marijuana and hanging out in the streets, where he posts photos on social media of himself holding guns. Dawson shared some videos he posted on social media with Dr. Phil producers – and his parents

Twenty-six-year-old Megan claims from the age of 7, she was repeatedly sexually abused and raped. As a teen, Megan claims her parents threw her out on the streets, where she says she was raped over 100 times. Megan claims she spent her 21st birthday chained to a bed – after being abducted, beaten, and sex trafficked. Megan’s mother, Beth, emailed Dr. Phil for help. Even though Beth claims her daughter’s trauma has left her “non-functioning,” she also says Megan needs to pull herself

Annie and Josh say their mother, Shauna Taylor, created non-existent illnesses and put them through medical workups that were painful and occasionally dangerous. Josh says not only did his mother constantly take him to the hospital where he says he had two unnecessary spinal taps, he claims she also locked him and his brother in a dog cage and threw them around the room. Shauna was eventually diagnosed with Munchausen syndrome by proxy and had her children removed from her care. Shauna’s

Forty-seven-year-old Adam says he needs Dr. Phil’s help because he’s never had a girlfriend, never been in love, and no woman has ever loved him. He says out of the hundreds of dates he’s been on, he rarely gets a third date. By 50, he says he wants to be married with children but fears he will never get there if he can’t even snag a third date. Dr. Phil sends Adam on a speed date with five single women to dissect what Adam may be doing wrong on dates. By the end of the show, after Dr.

Elsa claims she was abused almost daily and beaten with ropes, chains and whips by the people she thought were her adoptive parents, Joe and his wife, Evangeline. Elsa claims Evangeline smashed her fingers with a hammer, cut off part of her tongue with a pair of clippers and even tied her to her highchair and threw her down two flights of stairs. When she would get grounded, she claims Joe and Evangeline would starve her for 1-2 weeks. Elsa says the abuse lasted for years until an unlikely

Jacob’s son Blake was burned at 2 1/2 years old on a treadmill in his sister Ellen’s home at Thanksgiving in 2014. Jacob claims Ellen was 100% responsible for his son’s injuries and scars. Jacob’s wife, Beth, says that their family was uninvited to further Thanksgivings by Ellen. Ellen says that she never uninvited Jacob and his family, is not responsible for Blake’s injuries and says that in the four-and-a-half years Jacob has held this grudge, Blake hasn’t developed scars. Ellen

Twelve years ago, Sara says she gave birth to a baby girl and then, two years later, had a baby boy. After saying she did not connect with her son, Sara eventually gave him to his father to raise. Then, when she says she found herself too “stressed out to raise her daughter,” she gave her to her parents, Tracy and Bret. Now, Tracy and Bret say they wonder how their daughter could have just given up on motherhood. Tracy, Bret and Sara’s older sister, Heather, say now that Sara is childless,