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

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