Yes

by Katie Lee

Created on: November 17, 2008

When "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" first premiered, I had doubts. I thought this was simply another exploitative reality TV shows, designed to take someone's suffering and turn it into entertainment for the masses. But when I happened stumble upon an episode, I found myself riveted by the genuine emotions and struggle that was happening in the rehabilitation facility.

Suddenly this wasn't about exploiting human suffering, but about acknowledging it and empowering those who were suffering. It was about educating the general population to the complexities of addiction, and how to deal with such a crippling disease. There was a sensitivity in how the daily struggles of the celebrity addicts was presented and a raw openness with how issues were raised and addressed. The show was very similar to A&E's critically acclaimed docu-series, Intervention.

As Dr. Drew had once remarked, "we are only as sick as our secrets," so this show has demonstrated with celebrity addicts. Yes, at times the camera can feel intrusive and it's uncomfortable watching someone confess to traumatic childhood abuse. But at the same time, there was an understanding and respect that can develop between viewers and the celebrity addict.

Take for instance, Brigitte Nielsen, once famous for being a bombshell and the ex-wife of Sylvester Stallone, and pro football star, Mark Gastineau.. Her image in the press was that of a manipulative gold digger. But on celebrity rehab, we got to meet a sensitive, repentant woman, who was torn up about how her addiction was affecting her children. We got to see how she struggled with her addictions while living the so-called high life. She was a real person, with flaws and vulnerbilities, like the rest of us. In the end, when she managed to attain and keep her sobriety, it was a joyful moment for everyone.

In the rehab center, the celebrities were accepted as they are - addicts who needed help. There was no pecking order, no A-lists, no image to uphold. In fact, Dr. Drew regularly got them to "get real" and tell him (and the others) about who they really were, behind their so-called public images. Not surprisingly, many of the celebrities had trouble with this, often finding comfort in the image they had created for themselves as it served as a buffer between the world and their real, suffering, vulnerable selves. In a way then, it could be argued that by having these celebrities really be themselves in front of the camera for the first time was an important first step in their recovery since more often than not, it was the fake image that often contributed to their addiction.

Of course there were moments where some celebrities were clearly playing to the camera. Jeff Conway (now back again for another stint on the second season of the show) comes to mind, along with his enabling, co-dependent girlfriend Vicki. Jeff didn't seem to have a real desire to get clean, and his progress (or lack thereof) reflected that. While it could be argued that Jeff couldn't play to the cameras if they weren't there, it could also be noted that one of the primary lesson learned in rehab is that one must have a real desire to get better.

I doubt that if Jeff Conway had been at some other rehab centers (and he had stated that he has tried rehab before, without cameras) his prognosis would have been different. It was clear that he didn't really have the desire kick his addiction completely, and the fact that his girlfriend seemed to be sabotaging him didn't help. So the cameras could hardly be blamed for that. Likewise, I dont' doubt that Brigitte Nielsen would have gotten clean and sober at some other rehab center because she clearly had the desire to combat her addiction. It's no coincidence that she's still clean and sober now, and no cameras have been following her around since the first seaosn wrapped up.

In the end, addiction is a complicated disease and battling it isn't as simple as "best done in private" or "let the public watch." As any addict will tell you, the desire to use is constant and anything, absolutely anything, can make an addict want to use. So the mere presence or absence of cameras in an addict's recovery is oversimplifying a complex and protracted process.

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