LONDON: Pals of troubled actress Mischa Barton are worried the star has pushed herself back into work too soon following her health problems earlier this month.

The former The O.C. star was placed under involuntary psychiatric hold at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after reportedly suffering a meltdown and calling cops to her Hollywood home.

She was released over the weekend (25-26Jul09) after a week of treatment, and her representative insisted the 23 year old was eager to get back to work. She is due to start shooting Ashton Kutcher's new show The Beautiful Life in New York.

But Barton's close circle of friends fear she is taking on too much too soon - insisting the star needs more "aggressive" therapy to get back to her best, according to the New York Daily News.

An insider tells the publication, "Mischa needs more aggressive treatment over a long period of time.

"It's only been a matter of days since she was released from the hospital, and I think she definitely wasn't there long enough. She needs to be very cautious - she's at a very big risk. I personally think it's a bad idea to go back this quickly, given her past history with substance abuse."

Barton, 23, is set to play Sonja Stone, a catwalk beauty addicted to pills, on the new show, which is tentatively scheduled to start filming on 31 July (09).