Amy Winehouse is out of rehab, to a triumphant return at the Grammy’s. But she was only in rehab for a few weeks - enough time to dry out and get some food into her. Was it really enough to get to the bottom of her alcohol and drug abuse and make sure she stays clean? I really hope it was, but chances are she’s going to need much more of a drug rehab program to help her find her demons and beat them into submission.

Short term drug rehab programs - or simply going through drug detox, which is more what it sounds like Amy did - are the reason ’relapse is part of recovery’ has become an accepted concept.  Should she go to one of the swanky Malibu-type drug rehab facilities? I don’t think so, she’d be better off in a place that treats her like a real person instead of a celebrity. Amy may have reached celebrity status, but that’s not who she is, it’s something she’s achieved.

It obviously took years for Amy to accumulate enough baggage to get herself into the condition she was in, and it’s virtually impossible to get rid of that baggage in a few short weeks of drug rehab.

Many people have come home from short-term drug rehab - looking and feeling better than they have in years - only to relapse a short time later, sometimes with fatal consequences. Their body can no longer tolerate the same high doses of the drugs they were taking and, not being aware that they can’t handle it, people sometimes take the same dose they used to and overdose.

Overcoming drug addiction is not just a matter of feeling better - that’s part of it, of course, but a drug rehab program that’s ultimately successful really digs in to find out what caused the addiction in the first place, and addresses those issues. I hope Amy continues to work through her ’stuff’ so she can stay clean. 

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