Getty Images, Splashnews.com
A new report that Tiger Woods flew to Mesa, Arizona with wife Elin Nordegren and his two children, has fueled speculation that he might be switching rehab facilities to The Meadows located in nearby Scottsdale.
When Tiger Woods made his speech on Friday Feb. 20, he confirmed that for “45 days from the end of December to early February” he was in inpatient therapy reportedly at Gentle Path, part of the Pine Grove Behavioral Health & Addiction Services center. By our calculation, that means that he has been now out of rehab for several weeks.
He reportedly flew to Mesa, Arizona on Feb. 21, according to TMZ, which is located near The Meadows, a sex rehab facility in nearby Scottsdale.
What does this development mean? Is it a good idea to take a several-week-long break from therapy AND change your facility mid-treatment?
Hollywoodlife.com consulted Dr. Charles Sophy, a psychiatrist who has appeared on Dr. Drew Pinksy‘s Dr. Drew Live radio show talking about sex addiction, and also author of the book Side By Side.
“He’s out in an unstructured, unmonitored environment, and I would wonder if his defenses and insights are strong enough at this point so that he doesn’t slip and fall,” says Dr. Sophy. “Based on his severity, I would have wanted at least three to six months of him being in a facility to really get himself solid before leaving structured environment.” Sounds like a break is NOT a good idea!
But even if he is not strong enough yet for a break, Dr. Sophy said, “it’s not a bad thing necessarily” to switch treatment centers at this point. Many addicts switch programs mid-therapy, after completion of the initial stage of treatment. Once an initial assessment and identification of triggers is completed, it is not unusual to be referred to another program that would work better for the addict.
If he is switching treatment to The Meadows, he would be in good company: other celebs including David Duchovny reportedly did a stints for his own alleged bouts with sex addiction, and Kate Moss and Elle Macpherson reportedly went there for substance abuse issues.
That said, Dr. Sophy was still very concerned about the break in treatment and exposure to the outside world.
“This is not someone who was just flirting, or had one or two affairs,” the psychiatrist said. “The impulses to act on these behaviors have been there for many years. It’s process both physical and emotional, and it’s really an ingrained part of him. I can’t imagine four weeks would give him enough tools to sustain distraction.”
Hear that Elin? Tiger’s not ready to see you or your adorable babies yet! Get him back into rehab, stat!
Read More About Tiger Woods:
Shira Phillips
Posted at 12:10 PM on February 23, 2010
You people who write this crap and market it as “news” are sick and disturbed. It isn’t the public’s decision whether Tiger should or should not move to another rehab. The worst thing you crappy “news” (and I use the term very loosely)organizations do is consult some psychiatrist or psychologist to comment on someone they don’t even TREAT!!! No physician or someone with a doctorate should EVER comment on people they don’t treat nor have any medical information on. It’s just STUPID, STUPID, STUPID AND IGNORANT!!! Don’t say this is news, it’s not NEWS, what you’re doing is just plain wrong and ignorant.