Consumer Health Features
Lindsay Lohan's 'do or die' time, addiction experts hope starlet wakes up
By April Neale Mar 19, 2013, 5:14 GMT
Dr. Damon Raskin, who works as a consultant in Personalized Detox/Internal and Addiction Medicine with Cliffside Malibu Treatment Center, commented on what Linsday Lohan has in store for the next three months:
Lindsay Lohan's Monday (March 18) was a stress fest of hurry and wait, as the actress arrived 45 minutes late to court navigating Los Angeles rush hour traffic and diverted flights.
Lohan agreed to a plea deal to avoid 6 months in jail, instead opting for a locked down rehab facility for 90 days, and to undergo psychotherapy and do 180 hours of community service.
Dr. Damon Raskin, who works as a consultant in Personalized Detox/Internal and Addiction Medicine with Cliffside Malibu Treatment Center, commented on what Linsday Lohan has in store for the next three months:
“In the case of Lindsay Lohan, she has gone through the residential rehab more than once, so the difference here is that she has a mandatory stay order for three months (90 days) which will be a more daunting achievement considering the time. What she can expect is a schedule of intensive psychotherapy, individual therapy and group activities that support healing and reinforce her therapies combined. She may need a detox, but of this I am not certain, not knowing her medical records. She will be drug tested regularly.”
“By the way, a locked down facility doesn’t necessarily mean jailed in dark and dingy treatment center with bars on the windows, she can still have all the amenities that are available at any five star facility, however, she will not be allowed to leave for the mandated 90 days.”
“The real problem here is that no one gets better in rehab unless they want to be there, and Ms. Lohan has to be ready to make these changes or it's all a waste of everyone's time and money. She's doing a disservice to herself to not commit to working with a good therapist to uncover these root issues that keep her failing in life instead of succeeding. She should be at the top of her game in the acting realm, but she has shot herself repeatedly in the foot with undermining behaviors. None of this will change until she has a complete reboot in her own head, and devotes herself to becoming honest with herself and seeks out the very best professionals and like minded people who will support her and protect her from the negative influences that have so demonstrably pulled her talented creative self down. This is a classic do or die situation, and we hope she has an awakening to what she must do.”
Sunday night, Lohan bailed on a Virgin America flight that she had already boarded, from JFK to LAX in favor of a private jet.
It turns out that Lohan didn't cause any disruption or delay the flight, an eyewitness exclusively tells E! News.
"I'm on the plane last night getting ready to take off from JFK to LAX. Lindsay Lohan is sitting across the aisle from me. They announce that we're going to have to stop in [Las Vegas] for a refuel because of some fairly routine maintenance issue that will require us to fly at lower altitude than typical," the source said.
"Ms. Lohan freaks out a bit, announcing to those of us nearby, 'I have to get to court in the morning! I don't want to go back to jail!' And while the flight is waiting for approval for takeoff, she's stressing big-time, pacing and making a string of phone calls," the witness recalled. "The flight crew was awesome, very professional and kind, working to accommodate her. At the last moment, she apologetically gets off the plane."
The insider said that the flight crew announced the delay at about 7:50 p.m., with the flight scheduled to take off at 8:05 p.m.
Lohan "fretted a lot while they were waiting for an official clearance to take off," but she did not delay the flight, the eyewitness assured us, adding that two others left the flight before her.
"I think that was the tipping point for her," the source said. "Honestly, I feel for her. It truly wasn't a...diva moment. It was a scared-little-girl moment."
The constant drama and near misses are wearing thin for the "Mean Girls" star who looked tired in court today. Another addiction expert from residential rehabilitation facility Cliffside Malibu weighed in.
“A lockdown treatment facility is basically jail and we all know both anecdotally and from the evidence that jail does not aid in addiction recovery. These punitive measures are the polar opposite of what the evidence shows works to help addicts recover and not what we believe in here at Cliffside Malibu," says Addiction Researcher and Transformative Studies Scholar Constance Scharff, Ph.D. of Cliffside Malibu. (www.cliffsidemalibu.com)
