Lindsay Lohan was back in court AGAIN on Friday and if you feel that this is déjà-vu and this sounds vaguely familiar then check out this abbreviated time-line of Lindsay’s alcohol/drug and legal woes:
1) Jan. 2007: Checks into rehab voluntarily for the first time.
2) May 26, 2007: Arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
3) May 28, 2007: checks into rehab for second time.
4) July, 14, 2007: Checks out of Promises rehab facility after more than six weeks of a “successful” stay.
5) July 24, 2007: Ten days after leaving Promises she is arrested on five counts, including driving under the influence of alcohol and possession of narcotics. She checks into an undisclosed rehab facility hours after the arrest.
6) Aug. 23, 2007: Reaches a plea deal for her 2 DUI arrests earlier this year: One day in jail, 10 days of community service, complete a drug-treatment program, and 3 years probation. She states to MTV, "It is clear to me that my life has become completely unmanageable because I am addicted to alcohol and drugs,"
7) Oct. 5, 2007: Completes 2 months of Rehab at the Cirque Lodge Treatment Center in Utah, 3rd rehab.
8) Dec. 31, 2007: In a TMZ video, drinks straight from a bottle of champagne while partying.
9) Oct. 16, 2009: Shows up hour late to probation hearing for a progress review on her two DUI cases. Another year of probation added for failure to comply with court orders.
10) June 8, 2010: Judge issues an arrest warrant after she violates court order to not consume alcohol.
11) July 6, 2010: Appears in court with “F**K U” painted on her fingernail. Sentenced to 90 days in jail and 90 days in rehab for probation violation. Released after 2 weeks in jail and 3 weeks in rehab (4th rehab).
12) Sept. 2010: Fails drug test for cocaine. She tweets: "Regrettably, I did in fact fail my most recent drug test” and "Substance abuse is a disease, which unfortunately doesn't go away over night. ..." US Weekly reports the tweets were a fun, collaborative effort with friends while Lindsay laughed, giggled and drank Jack and Cokes.
13) Oct. 22, 2010: Sentenced to rehab until January 3rd, 2011. She told her probation officer that continued, inpatient treatment would be a hardship financially, and damaging to her career. Interesting comment in that inpatient rehab was her only hope of staying out of jail.
OK, I want you to play the consulting psychiatrist on this case for a minute and after reading the above tell me what YOU would advise the judge in terms of Lindsay’s treatment. More outpatient rehab? In patient treatment? Jail? Or maybe just a slap on the wrist and say, “bad girl Lindsay, don’t do that again”?
Well, today Judge Elden Fox gave her a stern warning, told her to get “serious” about her rehab and sentenced her to a 5th rehab, until Jan. 3 2011. He also added that if she failed another drug test she really (really, really, really) would go straight to jail.
Here’s the deal. Is Lindsay an addict? No doubt. Does she need rehab? Absolutely. So is rehab the best place for her now? No way!
I’ve treated hundreds of addicts and I have to admit I was leaning toward the rehab route for her until I researched all of Lindsay’s legal woes, her failure to take the court system seriously, and most importantly her flippant attitude about the whole ordeal.
Lindsay needs a wake-up call right now! A six-month jail sentence with no early release for overcrowding or good behavior. That’s just to get her attention and let her know that this is real life, not a movie set and that when she does go to rehab it will be with a sense of relief that she has a chance to get her life back on track AND that she is NOT in jail.
I predict she will have another failed rehab on her record within six months…and then we’ll be back to déjà vu…all over again.
Dr. Dale Archer is a psychiatrist, addiction specialist and frequent guest on FoxNews.com's "The Strategy Room." For more, visit his Web site: Dr.DaleArcher.com.
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