Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and Mary Kate Olsen are just some of the latest stars to be admitted into rehab for a miracle cure to their spiralling addictions and mental problems.
A new TV show on E!Entertainment premiering this weekend will take a look inside the rehabs where are favourite celebrities are sent to get rid of their demons.
But is rehab really helping them? Female First looks inside the most famous treatment centres to find out exactly what goes on behind the doors.
“Addiction doesn't care who you are. It will kill you,” says Howard Samuels the founder of Wonderland Rehabilitation Centre in the upcoming 'Out of Control: Celebrity Rehab Exposed' special for E! TV which premieres this Sunday. Wonderland is set in Hollywood's , Beverley Hills and is a popular choice for troubled stars including teen star Lindsay Lohan.
21 year old Lindsay has been a star since the age of 11, with roles in Disney films like 'The Parent Trap' and 'Freaky Friday' so not surprisingly by the time she was in her late teens she was a regular fixture on Hollywood's party scene. Her drinking a partying soon got out of control and after an all night session following last year's Golden Globes Lindsay decided she needed help and checked into Wonderland.
“I love Hollywood. I couldn't think of a better place for a treatment programme. It's a show business town so here we treat actors, we treat directors,” says proud Samuels.
“When a client and family come up here they're going to come in through our gate filled with anxiety and fear. They're going to come winding their way up to the top, park their car, get out and look at this house and wonder 'what am I getting myself into?' “ says Bruce Turner, executive director of the $40,000 per month centre.
Hollywood's lost souls soon feel at home with their own private suites, health spa and personal chef to cook up a healthy treat whenever they fancy it. “ There's dietary needs and there's vegans and there's non-vegans and no dairy and you kind of have to be ready to do anything at any moment's notice,” says Chris Wilson, Wonderland's executive chef.
According to the centres website, Promises is “Tucked into the Santa Monica Mountains with a gorgeous panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean.” and “offers an unparalleled recovery experience.”
“Our Malibu facility offers uncommon luxury and is the rehab facility of choice for business executives, professionals, celebrities, government officials and anyone wanting the finest rehab program in the world.”
Promises has centres in Malibu and West LA and offers a wide range of treatments including 24-hour detox coordination and facilitation, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and art and drama classes. This is the centre Britney Spears checked into after her famous head shaving inccident.
Another member of the Promises alumni is Kelly Osbourne. In 2004 Kelly was caught buying drugs by a British tabloid. Although no charges were made, her brother Jack intervened and drove his sister to Malibu to start a programme at the centre.
Rehab isn't all about drugs and alcohol. In the case of Mary Kate Olsen it was an eating disorder that led to her stint inside the Cirque Lodge centre in Utah.
Mary Kate and Twin sister Ashley were stars from a very young age but a couple of years ago they decided they were through with being just 'cute' little girls but Mary Kate seemed to take things a little too far. In 2004, pictures of the teen suggested her waif-like bony figure had been the result if extreme dieting and later that year she checked into rehab.
Cirque Lodge is also the centre which Lindsay Lohan is currently a resident for her third rehab stay this year. The lodge is set in the stunning surroundings of the Sundance mountains in Utah and is described as a 'world class' facility. Rooms at the centre can either be private, or shared, depending on the needs and desires of residents. The bedrooms feature cosy down duvets and pillows, reading and relaxation areas, fireplaces or wood-burning stoves, and large bathrooms with slate tile and jetted tubs.
Other rooms in the lodge include the central living room with comfortable couches and chairs. Also a dining room with large windows providing spectacular views of the Sundance resort and the surrounding mountains. There are individual drug rehab counselling rooms, group rooms, an exercise room, and a circular meditation room on the top floor.
But it's not all fun and games in the Utah mountains. Cirque Lodge also provides individual counselling, group therapy, extensive education, 12 step programming as well as hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, ropes course and other experiential activities.
Another popular rehab set in the middle of nowhere is Sierra Tucson in the heart of the Arizona desert. This is where Nicole Richie was treated for her teenage addiction to drink and heroin.
“The desert is a healing place and our philosophy was and is to get people out of their environment,” says Keith Arnold, chief executive of Sierra Tucson. “What you see with celebrities is they get there and other patients are impressed and very quickly within a matter of days they're just an addict.”
“Sierra Tucson offers a full continuum of treatment services from the medical aspects of what we have to cognitive behavioural therapy, shiatsu massage and tai chi.”
The centre also pioneered a specialised treatment called Equine Assisted Therapy. Patients on this programme interact with horses and the animals intuitively pick up feelings from the addict which help therapists identify underlying issues.
“Horses don't think in terms of right and wrong or bad and good. They simply think in terms of what's safe and what's not safe,” says Susan O'Day, the Equine Specialist at the centre.
So does rehab really work? With an increasing number of celebrities heading in and out of centres whenever they get caught up to no good we need to question whether it is just for the publicity and an easier ride in court.
“Part of the purpose of rehab unfortunately for many celebrities is the reverse public perception,” says Joe Levy, executive editor of Rolling Stone.
But singer and ex rehab resident Erin Hamilton believes this isn't always such a bad thing: “I don't care how you get into rehab- even if it was a PR move- something is clicking in them and they're thinking maybe their behaviour is outrageous, great.”
As Lindsay Lohan endures her third attempt at rehab in one year and Britney Spears heads closer to the edge we need to ask are these luxurious, expensive, glamourised holiday centres really the last hope for our teen stars?
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