It's been a rough year for Kim Richards. Just this past weekend, the former "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star was arrested for shoplifting at a Target and was apparently living out of her car at the time of the incident. Her family is concerned for her health and well-being and is considering all their options to try and do what they can to help her.
"Kim's family is devastated about her latest problems," a source close to the situation told Radar. "But they're not surprised. They believe that Kim has three options: 1. She goes back to rehab. 2. She's put on a 5150 hold. 3. She could end up hospitalized from alcohol poisoning or pill overdose."
The family is scared that rehab will just be a sad attempt at keeping her out of jail, but also think getting a hospital to agree to the 5150 hold may be hard. "The entire situation is very sad," the source told Radar. "No one really wants to be the one responsible for managing her life."
Psychotherapist Dr. Robi Ludwig explained what exactly this drastic measure of putting her on an involuntary psychiatric hold would mean for Richards.
"Kim is clearly in crisis. She's probably trying to self-medicate a depression," Ludwig told Entertainment Tonight. "The way a 5150 would benefit Kim is that it allows her to get the treatment she needs and it also stops her from signing herself out of the hospital."
This type of hold helped stars like Britney Spears and Amanda Bynes during their own personal times of crisis in the past. While it is effective, it does require legal and health care professionals to get involved and cooperate.
"Once the family commits someone involuntarily, they are saying 'My family member is in the hands of the medical staff or a mental health attorney,'" she added. "It usually is a motivator to get some form of treatment that they need to get stabilized and get healthier."
Read all about Richards' arrest and her unfortunate downward spiral HERE.
