Mischa Barton is terrified her career is over.

The 23-year-old actress - who was placed under involuntary psychiatric care in a Los Angeles hospital in July - was devastated when her new TV show The Beautiful Life was canceled after just two episodes, and now fears she will never find work again.

“This show was such an ego boost for her at a time when she needed one. She has been insecure about where her career was going and feels she may be a has-been at 23. She hasn’t been overwhelmed with offers since The O.C. went off the air,” a source said. “She needs to feel she’s still employable. Right now, that’s her deepest fear. That no one will hire her again. It’s not true, but that’s how insecure she can get sometimes.”

Bosses on The Beautiful Life - which was produced by Ashton Kutcher - were aware of how fragile Mishca was feeling, and so asked her mother Nuala to break the news the show was over.

“Mischa fell into her mother’s arms and sobbed. Nuala reminded her that there will be other opportunities and it wasn’t the end of the world, but Mischa got mad and screamed how she couldn’t understand. It was rough, apparently,” the source added to Britain’s Star magazine. “She said it wasn’t her fault they didn’t promote the show or keep it running long enough so people could discover it on their own.”