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Britney Interrupted

Originally posted Thursday February 07, 2008 12:00 PM EST

Not seeing Preston (right) and Jayden (on Jan. 14) "is only adding to her problems," says a source. Photo by: Jeff Steinberg / INF

A court-appointed attorney who had met with Spears in the hospital testified that she "does not understand the nature of these proceedings" and "lacks the capacity" to hire representation. "Britney's feelings toward her parents are off and on," says a family friend. "One minute she is begging for their presence, the next she wants nothing to do with them. But they are actively trying to get her help."

If there is any silver lining in Spears' latest hospitalization, it is that, unlike her trip to Cedars-Sinai on Jan. 3, she did not resist when Nadel issued the 72-hour hold. She was at home with her mom and Sims when, at 1:10 a.m., a tight formation of emergency vehicles arrived at her front entrance; twelve minutes later she was on her way to the UCLA hospital – no screaming, no standoff. During her 14-day hold, her doctor can discharge her to outpatient treatment if she is deemed well enough or apply to keep her longer – a move UCLA psychiatrist Dr. Carole Lieberman (who is not treating Spears) would advise. "I hope the psychiatrists have the courage to keep her there more than 30 days. If she starts cooperating and the psychiatrists take her off the hold, she's so impulsive she might decide to leave. She needs six months in a psychiatric hospital and [to] work with [doctors] in therapy to figure out her underlying diagnosis."