Celebs aside, rehab can work

Lindsay Lohan is back in rehab. It's not surprising, really. How serious can one be about overcoming addiction when one jumps back into the Los Angeles party circuit — wearing an ankle bracelet designed to measure one's blood-alcohol content — days after checking out of a chic substance-abuse treatment center?

Lohan faces new charges of misdemeanor drunken driving, felony cocaine possession and driving on a suspended license following an incident early Tuesday morning. She had been out of rehab less than two weeks.

It is not unusual to relapse in substance abuse recovery, celebrity or no. Actor Daniel Baldwin, who allowed ABC News' "Primetime" to tape various stages of his three-month drug-treatment program in Malibu, Calif., reportedly tried nine other treatment centers in his battle with addiction. In an Associated Press report about the news program, Baldwin said he had attempted in the past to "get things fixed so quickly" but has now accepted that addiction will be part of his life.

Perhaps that is part of Lohan's problem, attempting a quick fix to placate a court order or fend off more entanglement with the criminal justice system. It's difficult to say whether Lohan can learn to manage her addictions because, unlike some people who enter treatment because they have bottomed out, Lohan still has a lucrative career. Her latest motion picture, "I Know Who Killed Me," is set to open Friday.

Strangely, Lohan's life of privilege may be her worst enemy. She may have the financial resources to afford the very best treatment possible, but she lives in an enabling culture. Young stars often surrounded themselves with "yes" people, who may be more concerned about their own livelihoods than helping their employers live within certain boundaries. Sadly, addiction has claimed the lives of many young stars.

But these highly publicized cases of celebrities relapsing should not leave one with the impression that rehab doesn't work. It can. It works for many people. It may require several attempts in treatment, drastic lifestyle changes and intense psychotherapy to unravel the emotional pain behind many addictions.

If nothing else, the fits and starts of celebrity rehab may shine a spotlight on the larger population that needs treatment and cannot afford it; the limited number of treatment beds; health-insurance policies that do not cover it or the societal and economic costs of untreated alcohol and drug abuse. National surveys say 3.8 million Americans got substance abuse treatment in 2004, much of it through free self-help groups.

When one looks at addiction in those terms, there's nothing sexy or glamorous about it. It's more often a tale of ruined lives and the tremendous need for a lifeline, whether you're working on an assembly line or walking the red carpet.

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