"Rehab with Dr. Drew" Returns to VH1 to Help Young Adults With Their Addiction Issues

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- VH1 and Dr. Drew are back together for a sixth installment of "Rehab with Dr. Drew," premiering Sunday, September 16 at 8 PM*.  Featuring individuals straight out of the VH1 adultster demographic, Dr. Drew faces eight of his most challenging patients to date all with hardcore addictions ranging from heroin to prescription pills to alcohol.

According to the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an estimated 23.1 million Americans who were 12 or older needed treatment for drug and alcohol abuse that year, while only 2.6 million received treatment in a specialty facility. Another source, the 2009 Treatment Episode Data Set, which gathers information on persons admitted to publicly funded treatment programs, shows the age group with the highest admissions was 25 to 29 years of age at 15.2 percent followed closely by the 20 to 24 year age group at 14.9 percent.

In the sixth installment of the 'Rehab' franchise Dr. Drew once again takes viewers behind the closed doors of the rehabilitation process.  From heartbreak to hope, we follow Dr. Drew and his patients on their difficult and deeply emotional journey to sobriety. A raw and unflinching look at the many faces of addiction, Dr. Drew shows us that rehab is not a glamorous spa vacation as often portrayed in the media, but a profound life changing process that offers hope for a better life.

"Addiction is a disease that doesn't limit itself to celebrities but reaches across all economic, social and racial boundaries with lasting and profound effects of not only of the patients but also their families, friends and co-workers. Rehabilitation and sobriety on the other hand are an arduous lifelong journey," said Dr. Drew.

Dr. Drew is the host of "Dr. Drew" on HLN and the nationally syndicated late night radio show "Loveline" as well as a respected practicing MD, board certified in internal and addiction medicine, a member of the staff at Huntington Hospital and an assistant clinical professor of Psychiatry at the KECK USC School of Medicine. He is the author of the New York Times best seller The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism is Seducing America (Harper-Collins) and Cracked: Putting Broken Lives Together Again (Harper-Collins).  Dr. Drew co-authored the first academic study on celebrities and narcissism that was published in the Journal of Research in Personality (Elsevier) in September 2006, and is the first systematic, empirical scholarly study of celebrity personality.  Dr. Drew hosted VH1's "Sober House" and "Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew" and can be seen on MTV's "Teen Mom" and "16 & Pregnant." 

Returning for a sixth season to assist Dr. Drew are counselor Bob Forrest and resident technician Shelly Sprague.  Also returning this season is Dr. John R. Sharp, M.D.  Dr. Sharp is a member of the faculty at Harvard Medical School, and the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles.  His expertise is in the integrated treatment of depression and bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, attention deficit disorder, and addiction.  Dr. Sharp has been recognized as Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and of The Academy of Psychosomatic.  He maintains an active private practice in Boston and Los Angeles. Jennifer Gimenez will also be back as a resident technician. Jennifer was previously seen on season 5 of "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" and "Sober House" as the house manager.

For additional information about "Rehab with Dr. Drew" visit the official VH1 "Rehab with Dr. Drew" site at Rehab.VH1.com and on VH1 Mobile each week following the show's on-air premiere.  Viewers can also find 'Rehab' updates on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/VH1 and on Twitter @VH1 with the hashtag #Rehab.

"Rehab with Dr. Drew" is produced by Irwin Entertainment.  Executive producing for Irwin Entertainment are John Irwin, Damian Sullivan, Joel Rodgers and Rob Buchta.  Dr. Drew Pinsky and Howard Lapides also serve as executive producers.  Jill Holmes, Tom Huffman and Jeff Olde are executive producers for VH1.

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with TV series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 99 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital channels and services including VH1Classic, VH1 Soul, VH1 Mobile, and extensive video on VH1.com.  VH1 is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.  For more information, go to www.VH1press.com.

*All Times ET/PT

SOURCE VH1