"Quality Time" for Lindsay, Dad

Mon., Oct. 1, 2007 1:00 PM PDT by Tina Dirmann

With the countdown on for Lindsay Lohan's release from rehab this month, her father says the troubled actress may finally be on the way to kicking her nasty booze habit with a new treatment option.

Michael Lohan, who will spend the next five days visiting his daughter, exclusively tells E! Online that he and Lindsay will talk about using a drug that helps curb her craving for alcohol.

"When I get there, that will be a large part of our discussion," Michael Lohan said Monday in the hours before boarding a plane to Utah to see Lindsay. "Because no matter how you look at it, when she's out, she will be tempted. But if that craving for alcohol is not there, then she will have a much better chance to stay sober."

The drug, called Vivitrol, is injected into the body once a month and slowly releases into a patient's system over a 30-day period. That makes the drug different from other alcohol-curbing narcotics on the market, which requires the patient to take a pill every day to achieve the same affect.

Vivitrol would not be Lindsay's first medication to curb her alcohol use, according to her father.

"She tried something else, but it failed her," said Michael, himself a recovering addict who spent two years in prison on a variety of charges before getting out in March. "But some are just less effective on the body's chemistry. They all work similarly, but this one has a slightly different molecular structure. It's an improved version. And the fact that it's injected, that is a huge advantage, too."

Michael will pick up Lindsay from the Cirque Lodge treatment facility on Tuesday morning and spend five days alone with his daughter. It will be the first time in nearly three years he has spent one-on-one time with her, and the first time since she's been at the Cirque Lodge that she has been allowed out for an overnight visit.

Michael has rented a rustic, secluded four-bedroom house in the hills of Utah, where he said he plans to spend time hiking mountain trails with his daughter.

The two are attempting to reconcile as part of Lindsay's rehabilitation—her third attempt at sobriety this year. The actress is on track to leave Cirque Lodge in a couple of weeks, to begin work on the tango-themed film Dare to Love Me. She will continue to receive treatment on an outpatient basis through the shoot.

For now, though, Michael Lohan is looking forward to his visit.

"It will be just us spending quality time together," he said. "Though I know she wants to do some shopping. She's already told me that!"