I don’t think he was. I don’t think it was a lack of effort or empathy or he didn’t care on some level for his patients, but he was not a good psychologist. Even one of his long time patients, a Mr Carlson (played by Jack Riley) said on another series in the 1980’s that he was treated “by some quack in Chicago.”

I don’t think it was lack of effort or caring but on the end Bob quit the Psychology business to be a professor in Oregon (although this may not have happened because of him waking up with his gorgeous wife from the Newhart/Vermont nightmare still in Chicago.

But maybe because Dr Hartley wasn’t that good at his job he had regular patients for years because they didn’t know any better.

He tells Mr. Peterson in Season 2 that Peterson doesn't have to see him any more, but then Peterson freaks out and he's still a patient as the show ends.

Bob's also a disaster with respect to patient confidentiality.