A California judge has ordered Chris Brown to stay two more months in the Malibu rehab center where he is being treated for anger management issues.
Doctors have diagnosed the R&B singer with PTSD and bipolar disorder, conditions which they say could be deeply connected to his violent past.
They say he is making great progress while becoming less impulsive, though the process is ongoing. As such, the judge sent him back for at least two more months.
Although a report reviewed by the judge says the singer "is happy with the program," Brown seemed disappointed in court by the judge’s decision.
His stay has been extended, though, whether he likes it or not.
"It is evident that [Brown] has responded well" to the treatment, a probation officer wrote to the court, with one major caveat considering his troubled history.
The positive turn "has occurred only recently," the report said, and the court should be cautious about releasing him; he should also stay on probation until November.
Chris Brown, 24, was placed on five years’ probation in 2009 for his attack on his then-girlfriend Rihanna just hours before the Grammy Awards that year.
Those five years have been tumultuous, to say the least.
Most recently, he was sentenced in November to three months of in-patient rehab after being charged with misdemeanor assault in a fight in Washington D.C.
Because his probation has been revoked as a result, he’s at the mercy of the court here; Brown could be jailed on the spot but was instead sent to rehab.
The judge in Los Angeles could further penalize the singer if he ends up being convicted in the D.C. case, which goes to trial April 17, or any other crimes.
Whether it comes to that remains an open question.
According to a letter from the facility treating Brown, he has a very regimented life in rehab, waking at 5 a.m. every morning at the Malibu, Ca., location.
He does 24 hours a week of community service as well as six to eight therapy sessions per week, during which he attends to get to the root of his problems.
With his team of clinicians and doctors, he continues to "address his bipolar diagnosis, anger management, post-traumatic stress disorder and past substance abuse."
The letter says Brown "continues to make great strides" but needs "intense individual, family and medical follow-up over the next year so he can sustain the changes."
It also says that going forward, Brown needs to continue close supervision by his doctor "to ensure his bipolar mental health condition remains stable."
"It is not uncommon for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder and Bipolar II to use substances to self-medicate their biochemical mood swings and trauma triggers."
The doctors feel Brown is "aggressive and acts out physically due to untreated mental health disorder, severe sleep deprivation, inappropriate self-medicating and untreated PTSD."
He also recently claimed to have lost his virginity at age 8. So there’s that. Clearly, whatever environment he was brought up in did not help matters here.
Despite all of his legal troubles, Brown is learning how to control his anger and he is recognizing the error in trying to treat his problems with substance abuse.
If Brown continues on his current path, he can "become the positive role model in society that we believe he truly desires to be," the report concludes.
Chris Brown: Can he be a changed man after rehab?