Backstreet Boy can lead teens down road to sobriety

(The Express-Times, July 13, 2001)

TODD DAWSON

Add one more face to the parade of celebrites trooping off for treatment for addiction.

A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys, the band that critics, rock fans and parents love to hate for their formulaic, albeit catchy pop music, is undergoing 30-day treatment "for clinical depression...and excessive consumption of alcohol," according to a statement released by the band.

The band's current summer tour has been put on hold until August while McLean, 23, undergoes treatment.

The so-called "Bad Boy" of the band--because of his tattoos--McLean, according to the band's statement was raised by his grandmother and her recent death triggered his deep depression and his spiraling problems with alcohol.

McLean joins a long list of sports and Hollywood celebrities who have sought treatment, including Melanie Griffith, Luke perry, Eric Clapton, Darryl Strawberry, Tim Allen, Charlie Sheen, Christian Slater, Rober Downey Jr. and Kelsey Grammer.

What distinguishes McLean is that since the Backstreet Boys rocketed to fame and fortune in 1997 he's been, like it or not, a hero, a heart throb, and role model for millions of teenagers around the world.

While his music may send teens into paroxysms of adolescent passion, McLean's coping with his dual illness may do more in the long run to reach out and truly touch the lives of his teen fans.

As Paul Minnich, program director of St. Luke's Adiction Treatment Services, Bethlehem, notes "statistics show that the age for initial use of alcohol is getting younger and younger...when I started in this field 11 years ago, it was rare to see kids 12 and 13 with problems...that's not so rare anymore. We see kids sometimes as young as age 10."

With both parents very often working out of the house, with single-parent households and broken families, and parents not as accessible as in the past, Minnich says that McLean has the potential "to be a role model, to show kids that one can cope with problems without acting out."

"He's showing kids it is okay to have a problem and to take care of it. People forget that alcoholism is a disease, but a disease with a stigma attached to it. People aren't embarassed to say they are a diabetic, but they are to say they are an alcoholic."

Minnich says McLean has the potential to show young teens there is "no shame" in coping with your problems.

While McLean amy never have intended to be a role model, he has a potential to do great good for his yong teen fans says Dr. James Feldman, director of public education for KidsPeace.

"Celebrites and others, like parents, have the opportunity to use their position in the community as a positve message to other who look up to them and to turn personal tragedy into something helpful for others."

By facing up to his depression and alcoholism, McLean shows teens, says Feldmen "that none of us, not even rich and famous, are immune from problems...and he shows them that those problems can be treated with professional help."

Feldman stresses that depression is one of the most treatable of all mental health problems, and like Minnich, laments the stigma that is attached with mental illness and alcoholism. "Very often people suffering from depression try to self-medicate and they use alcohol...so you wind up with not one but two problems."

"There is real potential for this young man to serve as a role model and to educate the public."

Both Minnich and Feldman stress that substance abuse is a common occurrence, not a disease limited to celebrities.

St. Luke's Addiction Treatment Services offer a wide variety of counseling services for teens from three outpatient facilities:

KidsPeace operates a Web site, sauys Feldman, that "deals with suicidal thinking, depression, drug, tobacco, and alcohol abuse."

"We have peers helping kids, not in real time, but with professional oversight. Teens can be reviewed by a professional before another teen responds back. It combines professional and peer help."

"Whether it be a celebrity or with another teen on our Web site, kids need to know others have shared the same experiences they have. They are not alone, and a Web site really workes for a generation raised on the Internet."

KidsPeace's Web site is: teencentral.net

Leaving behind the limelight, the limos, and the loving fans, A.J. McLean by going into treatment may be sharing with his listeners his greatest gift: the courage to embrace live clean and sober.

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