Amanda Bynes Update: Actress Denied Release From Psychiatric Hold

According to new reports, troubled actress Amanda Bynes has been denied her freedom after requesting to be released from psychiatric hold.

Sources close to Bynes told TMZ that the starlet's lawyer argued she should be released on the grounds she is not a danger to herself or others, but a judge refused the request.

Bynes was first put on a 72-hour hold at a California facility on July 23 after a strange incident in which she was caught reportedly setting a small fire on a random driveway.

Three days later, the hold was extended by two weeks at the request of Bynes' parents, who are also bidding to gain conservatorship over the actress' assets.

A judge at California's Ventura County Superior Court denied her parents' initial request because Bynes was still under psychiatric hold and an immediate decision was deemed unnecessary.

"I need to have a dialogue with [Bynes] to gauge the propriety of a conservatorship to move forward," Judge Glen M. Reiser said of his hopes Bynes would be able to attend a rescheduled hearing on Aug. 9. "There are issues of liberty and property."

A lawyer for Bynes' parents insisted to People Magazine that the reason they are seeking control is because they "only want the best for their daughter" and "love her very much."

Recent reports say that despite her string of odd behavior in recent months, Bynes is responding well to treatment at the California hospital.

Sources told TMZ that the actress has shown signs of schizophrenia and is being treated with a "cocktail" of medications.

This week, Nick Cannon, who starred in the Nickelodeon hit "All That" with Bynes in the early '90s, released an open letter to the former child star, offering her his unconditional support.

"You're not alone," he wrote, calling her his sister. "I'm here for you. I understand. I care and I appreciate you, because that's what family does and that's what family is for."