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VH1 Teams Up with Dr. Drew for 'Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew,' a Series Depicting the Process of Overcoming Addiction
VH1 and Dr. Drew Pinsky Will Open Up The Inner World Of Rehab As They Help
Nine Celebrities Through The Process Of Getting Clean And Sober
The Series Will Premiere on VH1 on January 10, 2008 at 10pm With Eight
One-Hour Episodes
NEW YORK, Nov. 27 -- VH1 has partnered with Dr. Drew for
the reality series "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew." The project, consisting
of eight one-hour episodes, is slated to premiere on January 10, 2008 at
10pm*.
This series will follow the real-life experiences of Brigitte Nielsen,
Chyna, Daniel Baldwin, Jeff Conaway, Jessica Sierra, Jaimee Foxworth, Seth
"Shifty" Binzer, Mary Carey, and Ricco Rodriguez as they undergo
detoxification and treatment at a center in the Los Angeles area. While
these celebrity patients may be accustomed to receiving special treatment
in their everyday lives, they were in for a major surprise when they
entered this no- frills treatment facility. Dr. Drew was aided in the
process by his experienced and trusted staff of counselors, including
registered nurses and other addiction experts.
In a television first, the highly respected Dr. Drew, a practicing MD
and assistant clinical professor at KECK USC School of Medicine, will give
viewers an unflinching look at exactly how the rehab process works and what
it feels like for participants. Dr. Drew hopes to use his celebrity
patients to humanize the process and show viewers that treatment is a
viable way to break the cycle of addiction. "The road to sobriety is not
easy and rehabilitation and the recovery process are not to be taken
lightly," said Dr. Drew Pinsky. "My goal is to lift the veil and help my
patients, as well as viewers, understand that if not taken seriously,
addiction is a disease that will kill you."
"This project will reveal that true rehabilitation is grueling work and
takes an ongoing commitment. At the same time, we hope to demystify the
process and encourage people with substance issues to explore rehab as a
viable option," said Michael Hirschorn, Executive Vice President, Original
Programming and Production, VH1. "There is no one better than Dr. Drew to
deal with this topic honestly while assisting people who truly need his
expertise and guidance."
All but one of the patients completed an intensive 21-day
round-the-clock program with both group and one-on-one therapies. After
they completed the program, the patients were given the opportunity to
continue their treatment in a sober living facility or treatment center for
at least three months at VH1's expense.
While most people know Dr. Drew as the host of the syndicated radio
show Loveline and the MTV show of the same name, Dr. Drew is a medical
doctor on staff at Huntington Hospital, a board certified addictionologist
and medical director of the chemical dependency unit at Las Encinas
Hospital in Pasadena, where he has been treating addicts for over 20 years.
Although he is an associate professor of clinical psychiatry at the KECK
USC School of Medicine, he is not a psychologist or psychiatrist. His book,
Cracked: Putting Broken Lives Together Again (Harper-Collins,) is all about
what treating addicts is like from a caretaker's perspective. Dr. Drew
co-authored the first academic study on celebrities and narcissism. The
study was published in the Journal of Research in Personality (Elsevier) in
September 2006, and is the first systematic, empirical scholarly study of
celebrity personality.
"Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew" is executive produced by John Irwin and
Damian Sullivan for Irwin Entertainment. Dr. Drew Pinsky and Howard Lapides
are also executive producing. Michael Hirschorn, Jeff Olde, Jill Holmes,
and Noah Pollack are executive producers for VH1.
VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter
to them most with TV series, specials, live events, exclusive online
content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 90 million
households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital channels and
services including VH1Classic, VH1 Soul, VH1 Mobile, VH1Games and extensive
broadband video on VH1.com. Connect with VH1 at VH1.com.
*All times ET/PT
SOURCE VH1
http://www.vh1.com
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