IANNI COMES BACK TO REALITY

by Heather Truax
4/5/04

Dr. Lynn Ianni has been selected to work as a therapist for an upcoming reality television show, The Swan.

A former Batavia resident has struck reality television gold a second time. Dr. Lynn Ianni will be working as a therapist on a new reality show called The Swan.

The show premieres at 9 p.m. Wednesday and then moves on to its regular time slot of 9 p.m. Mondays on Fox (WUHF- TV, channel 31 in Rochester, and WUTV- TV, channel 29 in Buffalo) The Swan is designed to resemble a real-life fairy tale where women leave their dull lives behind to transform into "beautiful swans" both inside and out.

The show features 18 contestants who each have their own team of specialists including coaches, therapists, personal trainers, surgeons and stylists. Each week, two women compete to move on to the final round. However, there is a twist -- during the three month transformation, the contestants are not allowed to see their own reflection.

This is not Dr. Ianni's first time as a participant on a reality television show.

In January 2003, she worked as a counselor on ABC Family's The Last Resort, a show that featured nine couples at a crossroads in their relationships. With the help of counselors and specially designed 'activities, the couples had one week to resolve their
issues.

While working as a counselor on both shows, Dr. Ianni noticed similarities in the two series.

"Both of the shows are based on tackling deep-seated issues and working toward resolution using very interactive therapy. They're both about making positive changes in people's lives and creating self-esteem, emotional wellness and healthy relationships," Ianni said.

There are also several distinct differences.

"The Last Resort focused on couples with relationship issues at a crisis point in their relationships. The Swan involves working with each individual woman to deal with self-esteem issues from the past and also current issues that arise as they transform physically throughout the process. I also had more time to work with each 'Swan' since they've been in the program for a couple of months," Ianni said.

The three months that contestants spend on The Swan is not just glamour and glitz. After the physical transformations are complete, contestants are sent to "boot camp" where they receive rigorous amounts of exercise, diet and therapy on a daily basis.

At the end of the three months, contestants show off their new looks and personalities at "The Ultimate Swan" pageant. The woman who shows the most improvement both inside and out will be crowned "The Ultimate Swan."

Ianni, a 1973 graduate of Batavia High School, received her bachelor's degree in psychology from the State University of New York at Geneseo in 1976 and her master's degree in counseling psychology from the University of Notre Dame in 1978. She went on to complete her Ph.D. in psychology at California Coast University in 1998, and is in private practice in Los Angeles.