Celebrity Home Detox; Home Rehab

Celebrity Home Detox; Home Rehab

The recent legal finding that AEG was not responsible for Michael Jackson's death gives our industry a chance to revisit the role of Home Treatment for celebrities. A home treatment plan for a celebrity may include a home detox or a home based rehab.

The fairly recent deaths of Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston, and the escapades of Charlie Sheen last year bring to light the importance of having some template for treating the celebrity. Charlie Sheen, God bless him, gave us plenty of fodder and opportunity to re-evaluate treatment in the home.

Stay at Home Rehab: Four Points to Consider: 

EHD blogged about Charlie Sheen's stay at home rehab February of 2011. I will insert "celebrity" in place of Charlie in rehashing the four points needed to move toward a successful outcome. The following is the original blog:  Charlie Sheen Stay at Home Rehab

There are four factors that must be in place for a celebrity's in home rehab to be successful.

1. The celebrity must be sincere in his or her quest for treatment and help

1. The celebrity must be surrounded by positive connections. Hangers on, and Glommers that have catered to the celebrity's every whim have to go. Positive connections are people that care if he lives or dies and are willing to risk their relationship with the celebrity by refusing to enable the addiction. 

1. The celebrity must have quality clinicians in charge of, and participating, in the rehab. Addictions treaters remind me of a quote from George Orwell’s Animal Farm “All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others!” There are a lot of quality providers out there, but there are a lot of quacks as well. 

1. The celebrity must have quality physician based care. This must be ongoing.

Stay at Home Rehab: Boundaries

The past trials and tribulations of Lindsay Lohan triggered the following EHD blog about boundaries: The treatment of celebrities:  Treatment of the client in the home, including celebrities, requires the clinician to maintain healthy boundaries in order to achieve a successful outcome. This list of healthy boundaries and unhealthy boundaries were taken from the same blog. 

Healthy Limits and Boundaries:

• Clinicians maintain privacy and confidentiality. Public knowledge of the clinician or public access to clinicians treating the celebrity create a high likelihood of shifting the therapeutic balance.

• A clear set of expectations, both for the celebrity and for the clinician, should be defined. In some instances an actual written statement may be helpful. The set of expectations may have considerable room for negotiation or may be very tight. This is dependent on the current circumstances.

• Along with expectations, there should be a clear set of accountable consequences to negative or self-inflicted problems. These accountable consequences are best identified in a way that they will be followed through, by both the celebrity and the clinician. Hollow consequences that are not followed through on are not helpful and may actually contribute to continued negative behaviors.

• Success should be defined and agree upon. Success can be defined in many different ways. The important thing is to have a sense of direction and be able to celebrate once success is achieved. Positive reinforcement is so important in early recovery.

• Ongoing negotiation and re-negotiation of expectations should be encouraged.

• The clinician working with the challenging celebrity should have supervision and be prepared to terminate their relationship with the celebrity, either temporarily or permanently, depending on mutually agreed upon behaviors.

Unhealthy Limits and Boundaries:

• Clinicians who share positive or negative information about the client to the public ... or share anything about the client to the public.

• Clinicians who engage in unhealthy behavior with the client. For example, clinicians who participate in after hours partying with the client. A sober companion who accompanies the client to after hours commitments may be a healthy connection. A sober companion who engages in the party atmosphere and gets caught up in the glitter of this lifestyle is an unhealthy connection. Expectations need to be defined early on.

• Clinicians who "bend" the rules for a celebrity are not doing the celebrity any favors. It is extremely important for the client to know what he or she can expect from their clinician. Thus the need for accountable consequences.

• Acceptance of expensive gifts without discussion or limits. The high-end client can often be very giving and generous. However gifts are not without conscious or unconscious expectations.

• The classic example of poor boundaries and poor limits is the physician who treated Michael Jackson and agreed to the use of a medication that was inappropriate in an outpatient setting.

The treatment of the celebrity in the home may be a viable option. This treatment requires a basic template for treatment and maintenance of boundaries.