Monday December 4, 2000

Celebrity Rehab

If they gave an award for the ultimate celebrity rehab clinic... It'd probably go to a place in Malibu called Promises. EXTRA has an inside look at the posh and secret facility where a lot of stars have sobered up.

Recovery is comedy in the film "28 Days" but when real Hollywood stars get addicted they come to a place where treatment is no joke. This is a rare look inside the exclusive and reclusive Promises clinic.

In the hills of Malibu there's a swimming pool, a gourmet chef, a million dollar view, and a policy of total secrecy.

The only way anyone found out Charlie Sheen spent six months here was when the actor talked about how helpful his stay had been. Christian Slater is another star who publicly praised his Promises treatment. Tim Allen was also reportedly a patient.

Clinical psychologist Suzanne Poland wouldn't divulge to us details of any patient's treatment, but she did reveal celebrity makes counseling more difficult. She says, "The factor of status and image can be a block to someone's recovery. I know as a psychologist my patients will even try to look good in front of me."

How to bring them down to earth? Promises makes them take orders from the chef. Suzanne says, "This is something some of our clients have never done before, things like washing their own clothes, helping out in terms of the kitchen."

There are published reports Robert Downey Jr. spent time at Promises. And addiction specialist expert Dr. Drew Pinsky believes Downey must now do what Charlie Sheen did... check into a clinic for an extended stay.

Dr. Drew says, "Long standing polydrug usually requires months and months if not a year or more in a highly structured environment."

And if Downey doesn't do that his 1999 court speech might be the script for his final act. He said, "It's like I have a shotgun in my mouth and I've got my finger on the trigger… I like the taste of gunmetal"

Clinics like Promises not only re-build patients' lives they can also save them.

The Promises program isn't cheap. Here's the EXTRA info: a month of treatment costs patients thirty-one thousand dollars and isn't covered by insurance.