Drew Barrymore says her therapist ditched her because of her drinking habits

Drew Barrymore is candid about the unexpected challenges she’s experienced on her long journey to sobriety.

In a Los Angeles Times profile released Monday, the actor and daytime talk show host said Barry Michels, her therapist of more than a decade, dropped her as a client after her 2016 divorce from Will Kopelman .

At the time, Barrymore said, Michels expressed concern about how much her drinking had increased since the breakup. She and Kopelman, a former actor turned art consultant, had been married for about four years.

“[Michels] he just said, ‘I can’t take it anymore,'” the “Santa Clarita Diet” star told the Times. “It was really about my drink. I said, “I got it. I have never respected you more. You see I’m not better. And I hope that one day I will earn your trust back.”

Also among those concerned for Barrymore’s well-being was her longtime friend and “Charlie’s Angels” co-star Cameron Diaz.

Although the experience of watching Barrymore suffer was “hard to watch,” Diaz said she never lost her “absolute faith” in her friend.

“You can’t even imagine how hard it was to be her as a child,” Diaz said, “and then she shot somewhere else with the ability to save herself.”

Barrymore found new motivation to quit drinking after the 2019 premiere of “The Drew Barrymore Show,” which was renewed by CBS for a fourth season earlier this year. She said Michels took her back as a client.

“I think the opportunity for a show like this really hit me,” Barrymore told the Times, noting that she doesn’t describe herself as “sober” and doesn’t attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. “I said, ‘I can’t handle this unless you find me in a really clear place.'”

A Golden Globe winner for “Grey Gardens” in 2009, Barrymore rose to fame at age 6 after her lead performance in “ET.” ”, underwent drug and alcohol addiction treatment at the age of 13. About a year later, she was granted legal emancipation by her mother, Jaid.

“Maybe people think I solved a lot of problems when I was young because it was so hard then,” Barrymore said.CBS Mornings” in 2021. “We continue to experience things in every decade of our lives that are almost beyond what we thought we saw. And I’m interested in that conversation, that we don’t fix it, we just move on and let it never break again. We are on a roller coaster.

Need help with substance use disorders or mental health issues? In the United States, call 800-662-HELP (4357) for SAMHSA National Helpline.