Heather Locklear's Psychiatric Hold Extended 2 Weeks: She 'Needed Additional Help,' Source Says
Heather Locklear‘s psychiatric hold has been extended, PEOPLE has confirmed.
The actress will remain under the care of doctors for an additional two weeks in order to undergo further evaluations. TMZ was the first to report the news.
“Heather is under a 52-50 hold for 14 days. The doctors need more time to assess her and the situation,” a source tells PEOPLE as to why the hold was extended. “During that 14 days, the attorney and the doctor will go to court and ask for a conservatorship and under that conservatorship, she is assigned a guardian. Overall, it gives them time to assess the patient.”
Continues the source, “Heather needed additional help. Three days is not enough time to come up with a plan of support. And now they need to figure out what that plan of support is.”
A guardian is put in place to help ensure Locklear follows the plan outlined by her doctor, explains the source.
“The guardian will be the person who safely assists in her care to make sure she follows the rules and is in a good environment,” says the insider. “The guardian will make sure she is taking the medication and she is living in an atmosphere of support and will work on keeping her life balanced. And that is what everyone wants. Everyone wants Heather to live a healthy and balanced and safe life.”
A 52-50 hold is a “14-day involuntary hold that is placed by a physician following a 51-50 hold for additional intensive treatment,” according to College Hospital Costa Mesa.
On Nov. 18, Locklear was taken to a hospital after her therapist determined that she was experiencing a mental breakdown, a source confirmed to PEOPLE. The call was made as a health precaution for Locklear.
“Deputies responded to Ms. Locklear’s home regarding a medical call,” Sgt. Eric Buschow of Ventura County Sheriff’s Office told PEOPLE. “There was no crime.”
After the fact, a source told PEOPLE Locklear’s friends and family are extremely worried about her.
“Heather had been in rehab for three months and got out in early October, the day before her daughter’s 21st birthday,” the family friend said. “And for the last month, she has been living privately and low-key.”
“There was a fight with her boyfriend [Chris Heisser] and she threw him out and he alerted her attorney and her doctors,” the source continued. “She was put in a 51-50.”
As for Locklear’s family and loved ones, including ex Richie Sambora, 59, and their 21-year-old daughter Ava, they’ve been putting on a brave face for the star but know that she desperately needs professional help.
RELATED: Heather Locklear’s Ex-Husband Richie Sambora Says He’ll ‘Always Be There’ for Her & Daughter Ava
“It’s very hard on the family,” the source said. “Richie is a rock for Ava. She is holding up but always worried about her mother.”
On Thursday, Sambora flew home to spend Thanksgiving with his daughter.
“They had an amazing Thanksgiving and had a private chef there so they could be together one-on-one,” a friend of Sambora and Locklear told PEOPLE. “They had a great meal and got caught up.”
Although Sambora initially planned to be in New Jersey, “he did not want Ava to be alone on Thanksgiving,” the friend said.
RELATED: Heather Locklear Sued for Attacking Emergency Responder, Wishing Death on EMT’s Children
Following Locklear’s psychiatric hold, Sambora commended his daughter’s strength in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE.
“I will not waver on always being there for Heather getting her the best help possible,” Sambora said. “I am once again very proud of my daughter for her composure and strength during this very difficult time.”
Locklear’s difficult year has also included time in rehab that ended in October, an arrest in June after she allegedly attacked a police officer and EMT who responded to a disturbance call and a hospitalization for a possible overdose that same month.
