When Rehab Became Cool

Richard DeGrandpre, the author of “The Cult of Pharmacology” (Duke University Press, 2006), an exploration of America’s ever-changing relationship with drugs, ascribes the latest cachet of rehab to a prurient, even envious fascination with celebrity culture, one, he said, in which “rehab has become fashionable, almost to the point, ironically, of giving a person status.”

No one seriously disputes that drug addiction and alcoholism are grave and potentially life-threatening. But among devotees of networks like E! Entertainment or the readers of People, which report obsessively on rehab, there is no escaping the conclusion that rehabilitation programs have become a pampering hostelry for the privileged classes, some of whose members bounce in and out like tennis balls.

There are 8,000 programs claiming to treat substance abuse in the United States, according to the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. Only a fraction are short-term residential programs, which can cost $25,000 to $80,000 for a recommended one-month stay. That price, their directors say, covers intensive treatment, with some establishments having as many as 10 counselors and therapists per patient. As health insurance coverage of residential treatment has declined, the programs have courted an affluent, lustrous clientele, in large part by touting lavish appointments. Some seem to be promote recovery as a luxury holiday. NY times