Michael Lohan, never one to be content with just exploiting his kids some of the time, has managed to wrangle five whole days with eldest daughter and fellow addict Lindsay Lohan. The two famously reunited last month for the first time in three and a half years. Well, famously according to “People” and “Us Weekly.” Michael supposedly treated ex-wife Dina Lohan like crap… though from what I’ve heard about Dina Lohan, a lot of people would have trouble treating her like gold. But whatever. He threatened Dina’s brother, racked up a few DUIs, and ended up in prison for a couple years. Lindsay distanced herself from him… after all, you can’t be associated with drugs and alcohol and breaking the law when you’re Lindsay Lohan. I’m kidding, the guy sounds like a grade-A jerk, and as messed up as Lindsay is, she’s probably still better off than she would be if she’d kept her father in her life after all of his destructive behavior.

Well Michael has supposedly changed his life, found God, and is working at a faith-based teen drug and alcohol counseling center. It’s hard to tell if he really means what he says or is just incredibly manipulative – he spends a lot of time talking to the press and assorted blogs, trying to spin his side of the story. There’s a lot of “I want Lindsay to be well” and therapist-speak that doesn’t come off as incredibly genuine when it’s coming out of his mouth. Apparently Lindsay has agreed to spend five days with Michael at her rehab facility in Utah. I’m guessing it’s going to involve a lot of counselors. One would hope, at least.

“Lindsay Lohan will spend five days at a secluded lodge in the Utah mountains with her father Michael. ‘It can only help her recovery,’ Lohan’s mom Dina tells PEOPLE in an e-mail. ‘It’s time to mend.’ She adds, ‘He is visiting Lindsay alone because we are giving her dad a chance to make amends.’ A protection order against her former spouse, she says, precludes both parents spending time together with their daughter simultaneously.

“During the first week of September, father and daughter ended their three-and-a-half year estrangement when Michael visited Lindsay at the Cirque Lodge Treatment Center. They have been in contact since and Michael is set to arrive in Utah late Monday night to begin their five-day retreat together Tuesday morning.

‘She is in a better place than ever,’ a source close to Michael tells PEOPLE. ‘Lindsay asked [him] to come out, and he’s ecstatic she’s back in his life.’ The 21-year-old actress has been in rehab since August 3, following her arrest in July for driving under the influence and cocaine possession.

“Despite this easing family tension, Lohan has no immediate plans to leave rehab – but may complete her court-mandated 10 days of community service, according to one source, helping AIDS victims in South Africa.”

[From People]

Let’s hope this is a good thing. It’s definitely a great thing that Lindsay’s spent so much time in rehab. She strikes me as someone who should spend at least a good year there… maybe more. It seems like she almost needs to be re-formed. There used to be this crazy “re-brithing” therapy where people would emerge from an artificial womb (generally concocted with blankets) and start life over again. Except that a little girl once died in the process, so they generally don’t do that anymore. But I think Lindsay should. Except without the dying. And hopefully, when she gets out of her artificial blanket womb, she’ll open her eyes and see two completely different parents. That would help a lot too.

Picture Note by Jaybird: Would you trust your sobriety to this guy? Thanks to user the_bat1 on ONTD for these pics of Michael Lohan in a see-through shirt.