(vh1) VH1 has once again partnered with Dr. Drew Pinsky for a third season of the hit reality series "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew." The series, consisting of eight one-hour episodes, is slated to premiere in early 2010.Similar to the first two cycles, the third season of "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" will follow the real-life experiences of celebrity patients undergoing detoxification and treatment at The Pasadena Recovery Center. The show will follow Mackenzie Phillips (One Day At A Time), Heidi Fleiss, Tom Sizemore, Dennis Rodman, Mindy McCready (Country Music Singer), Lisa D'Amato (ANTM), Mike Starr (Alice in Chains), Joey Kovar (Real World Hollywood) and Kari Ann Peniche (Playboy Playmate).
The series will chronicle the patients' intensive 21-day program with both group and one-on-one therapy and non-traditional therapies like art and music. Returning to the show to help Dr. Drew are drug counselor Bob Forrest and resident technician Shelly Sprague who have each spent years on both sides of the rehab fence. Dr. Drew is also bringing in some additional prominent physicians to help him give the patients supplementary one-on-one care.
Dr. Drew, who is a highly respected practicing MD and is board certified in addiction medicine, will once again 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.
Dr. Drew is host of the nationally syndicated radio show LOVELINE where he has been taking calls from listeners since 1984. Many people do not know that Dr. Drew is an internist who is board certified in addiction medicine, still runs a private practice, and is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Keck USC School of Medicine. Although he is an associate professor of clinical psychiatry at the KECK USC he is not a psychologist or psychiatrist. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism is Seducing America (Harper Collins) and CRACKED: Putting Broken Lives Together Again (Harper Collins,) that looks at treating addicts from a caretaker's perspective. Among numerous awards, Dr. Drew was honored with the 2008 Larry Stewart Leadership and Inspiration Award at the 12th Annual PRISM Awards.
