Sunday's
NY Times asked some uncomfortable questions about the efficacy of the trendy, high-end rehabilitation facilities that cater to the needs of a new generation of troubled starlets too busy to endure 28 days of minimum security lockdown, no matter how luxurious their temporary accommodations. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is some controversy over the claimed success rates of
celebrity-friendly courses of treatment at places like Wonderland Center and Promises Malibu that leave its famous patients feeling so positive about themselves upon graduation that they believe they
never had problems in the
first place. Reports
the Times:Dr. Samuels, a clinical psychologist, said that Wonderland recognized that integrating people back into their normal lives was an important part of recovery. "If you spend your whole time at a treatment center, when you leave you're not prepared for the stresses and anxieties on the outside."But other experts say that the more permissive attitude of high-end residential programs is primarily a reflection of the demands of a new generation of affluent addicts, more pampered and less inclined to endure the tough-minded approach of the past. There is also a recognition that four decades or so of the A.A.-based approach have produced only the slimmest evidence of success.
"It's not a good thing or a bad thing, it's uncharted waters," said Clare Waismann, the executive director of the Domus Retreat in Anaheim, Calif., speaking of the new leniency. "They're trying new approaches. You can't tell Lindsay Lohan she can never have a beer again or she's failed. She will fail.""These treatment centers have worked in the same manner for 40 years, and the success rate has been extremely low," she said. "For business reasons, most of these rehabs are trying to adapt to the new starlets and their needs, allowing them to go to work and come back, go shopping, use their cellphones. This is all new for the 12-step world. They're pretty much the guinea pigs of change in the rehab world."
The good news for our local luxury-rehab industry is that in Lohan, they've been provided the perfect "guinea pig" for their evolving business/treatment models. Over the next two years, the Wonderland alumna and soon-to-be Promises grad will likely pass through another three or four facilities following her inevitable relapses, giving her a unique perspective on which therapeutic elements--from poolside group sessions short on intrusive sharing and long on personal tanning time or in-house nightclubs that serve margaritas with lower alcohol content--might work best for the addicted actress just looking to spend a stress-free month hiding from the media.
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