Lindsay Lohan -- I'm NOT Cutting Dad Out of My Life

This is surprising ... Lindsay Lohan does NOT consider her dad to be a toxic influence -- in fact, she actually wants him to be a big part of her life while she focuses on rebuilding herself after rehab.

As we reported, Lindsay went on a friend-slashing massacre a few weeks ago while in treatment, putting together a list of the bad people she wanted to cut out of her life once she got out -- and Michael was NOT on the list.

We're told Lindsay actually wants to keep Michael around because she believes -- despite his glaring flaws -- that he's actually a positive influence on her ... and family is really important.

Even crazier ... we're told Michael was in the therapy session with Lindsay when she discussed the "bad" list. Her brother Michael Jr. was there too.