Experts debate merits of Sheen home rehab

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Addiction experts say there are pros and cons to U.S. television star Charlie Sheen's home rehab strategy.

Sheen surprised many therapists and fans by announcing he would undergo rehabilitation in his own home in Southern California rather than the more traditional approach of checking into a residential facility with others seeking to kick their various bad habits.

"Treatment of addiction is a group process when done properly -- not an individual thing at all," Dr. Drew Pinsky told People magazine.

People said Saturday that Pinsky and other skeptics dismissed arguments that home rehab preserves the privacy of public figures and noted that other celebrities have gone through the process without much intrusion.

But Ken Seeley, founder of Intervention911.com, said individual treatment can be helpful in the long run by keeping the patient closer to everyday reality.

"When you're in a facility, you're in a bubble," Seeley told People. "When you go home, there's a transition period that is pretty delicate and a lot of people relapse at that time."

Sheen's manager, Mark Burg, told the magazine his client had tried group rehab in the past and this time was putting his money on a personalized team of experts in the comfort of his own home.