'Stutz' on Netflix: Who Is Phil Stutz and Where Is He Now?

Stutz is the most-recent work of Oscar-nominated actor and director Jonah Hill, and it is available to stream via Netflix now.

In the documentary film, Hill interviews his therapist Phil Stutz about his work and personal life, including the practice of psychotherapy and the experience of grief. Simultaneously, Hill admits to Stutz that he has found himself in a bit of a directorial and therapeutic rut.

Audiences are taken through Stutz's empowering technique known as "The Tools" and get an insight into how the therapist has helped Hill and others like him to be the best version of themselves.

Newsweek has everything you need to about Stutz and where he is now.

Who Is Phil Stutz?

Phil Stutz is a therapist, author, and renowned psychiatrist, who grew up in Manhattan, New York City.

Stutz graduated from New York City College and received his MD from New York University, before going on to complete his psychiatric training at the Metropolitan Hospital in East Harlem.

For several years, Stutz served as a prison therapist at the infamous Rikers Island, working with hardened criminals to address their problems.

It was during his time at Rikers that Stutz discovered his unique method known as "The Tools" to help his patients and guide them in the best way to help them reach their true potential.

Stutz explained to non-profit New York educational retreat center The Omega Institute: "I actually developed the tools out of frustration. Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I was frustrated with psychotherapy. It dealt with the causes of people's problems, but it didn't help so much where the rubber meets the road.

"I felt like I'd hit a blank spot where I'd take a person to a certain level of self-understanding, but then they needed to do something to actively change things, and I didn't have anything to offer them."

Stutz added: "Maybe they needed to do something external, like get out of a relationship or confront somebody, or maybe it was something internal like stop worrying or being so judgmental. I felt like I'd lead the horse to water but didn't have a way to make it drink.

"I began to make up solutions on the spot, to force myself to say something. After doing this many times, and working with hundreds of clients, I found some wisdom surfacing out of my unconscious. All that repetition resulted in about 20 or 25 tools that really work for people."

After working at Rikers Island, Stutz opened his own private practice in New York, before settling in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s where he implemented his "tools" with a wider audience.

He is the co-author of the 2012 New York Times bestselling book The Tools, which he wrote with fellow practitioner Barry Michels. Their follow-up, Coming Alive, was released in 2017.

Netflix's Stutz explores the visual and experience-based exercises, known as "The Tools," that the therapist uses to help his patients grow, and in particular, how he helped Hill.

Audiences learn about various tools including "The Shadow", "Life Force", "The Snapshot", "The Grateful Flow" and more.

Other tools include "Reversal of Desire", encouraging you to face pain head-on; "Active Love" helping you to use anger to move on; and "Inner Authority", a tool to help you embrace your insecurities.

Stutz is Hill's therapist and has been for several years. Audiences learn Hill reached out to the psychiatrist for self-esteem issues.

The actor is 38 today. In Stutz, Hill is heard sharing: "When I met you, I was 33, maybe. I had an incredible amount of success. (But) inherently, at my core, I'm still this unlovable person. The work is inching towards not only accepting (that) it's great to be this person..."

As seen in Stutz, the therapist and Hill find similarities in their grief. Stutz speaks openly about the death of his 3-year-old brother, which occurred when he was just 9 years old, and how that affected his life.

In return, Hill reflects on his struggles with body image and grieving the sudden death of his older brother, Jordan Feldstein, at the age of 40 in 2017.

Both men discuss their parents, with Hill's mother even taking to the therapy chair.

Where Is Phil Stutz Now?

Today, Stutz, 75, is still working on his very successful psychiatric career, as well as continuing his work as an author and public speaker.

According to The Tools website, Stutz and his fellow practitioner, Michels, have clients that include top writers, actors, producers, lawyers, agents, CEOs, and other creatives in Hollywood.

In the documentary, it is revealed Stutz was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in his late 50s, and it is something he battles with today.

Alongside Michels, Stutz is still helping people across the world, often hosting workshops that are accessible via The Tools website. The pair have also written several articles on anger, pain, relationships and negative thinking for Goop, which are available to read now.

In Stutz, director and client Hill says that he wanted to make this film to "give therapy and the tools I've learned in therapy to as many people as possible through a film."

Hill adds: "I made this movie because I love Phil because I love the life these tools allowed for me to have. And it doesn't matter what people think about the movie. It just matters that we finished it together."

Stutz is streaming on Netflix now.