Amanda Bynes, Former Child Actress, Pays Up To $3,500 A Day For Psychiatric Treatment
Amanda Bynes faces what may become long-term mental health treatment, and reportedly pays up to $3,500 a day for both her psychiatric treatment and living expenses. This could amount to $1,277,500 treatment costs in one year.
After being hospitalized in July, the former child actress was transferred to UCLA Medical Center for psychiatric treatment after a temporary hold in Ventura, California. She was placed on a 5150, which is a hold for a person who is thought to be a danger to themselves.
This occurred after a series of bizarre incidents where Bynes’ behavior began to spiral -- including throwing a bong out of her Manhattan apartment -- leading up to her setting a fire in someone’s driveway in Thousand Oaks, California.
In August, doctors said that they were treating Bynes for schizophrenia. According to TMZ, doctors have the ability to keep Bynes on psychiatric hold for up to a year, but will likely hold her for 60 days.
Schizophrenia is a chronic disorder that causes people to hear voices or believe that other people are controlling their thoughts or trying to hurt them. People with schizophrenia may experience hallucinations or delusions about their environment and other people. It is typically treated with antipsychotic medications.
Bynes, who is twenty-seven years old, will temporarily be subject to her mother Lynn's conservatorship, which will allow her to temporarily make medical and financial decisions for her daughter.
“The cost is so high because it covers not just treatment, but living expenses as well,” a source told TMZ. “To put this in perspective, you can get a deluxe executive suite at the Four Seasons Hotel in nearby Beverly Hills for $815 a night.”
Former child actresses or musicians who have struggled with mental health issues most famously include Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears, but other troubled former child stars include the Olsen twins who dealt with eating disorders, Anissa Jones of "Family Affair" who died of a drug overdose at age 18, and Jonathan Brandis, who committed suicide at age 27.
According to Radar Online, a source said that “[Schizophrenia] a very serious diagnosis, but Amanda can live a long and healthy life, as long as she takes her prescribed medications. She can function in society and still work.”