Counseling and Classes

DUI Risk Education
Completion of 10 hours of Risk Education is required if you’re classified Minimal, Moderate or Significant Risk. You’ll learn about the impact that alcohol and drug use have on human behavior and, specifically, upon driving skills. Furthermore, you’ll learn about Illinois DUI law enforcement to protect public safety.

Early Intervention
If you’re Moderate Risk, along with 10 hours of Risk Education, you’re required to complete 12 hours of Early Intervention. Early Intervention is conducted in a group counseling setting with the goal that you develop a personal action plan to prevent irresponsible use of alcohol when driving in the future.

Outpatient Substance Abuse Counseling
If you’re Significant Risk, along with 10 hours of Risk Education, you need to complete 20 hours of counseling. If you’re High Risk, you need to complete 75 hours of counseling. We primarily do counseling in a group setting as it’s more efficient, economical, and because you can learn from other clients’ experiences. For your convenience, each office has groups in the mornings and evenings, and most offices have groups on the weekends. However, if you choose, our counselors can work with you individually.

During counseling, our staff will embrace an empathetic and non-judgmental approach to help you examine your issues, concerns, and problems that may have led to your arrest. Then, we’ll help you adopt new skills to develop alternative lifestyles which could significantly reduce your chances you’ll face another DUI arrest in the future.

For those of you who’re participating in counseling to fulfill a court-order, you can expect to be assigned a social worker or probation officer. We’ll work closely with your court contact to make sure they’re updated about your progress; therefore, it’s important that you complete your court requirements in a timely manner. Upon successfully completing your counseling, you’ll receive a formal letter of completion on DUI Counseling Centers’ letterhead that we’ll also fax to your court contact. For those of you participating in counseling for a Secretary of State hearing, you’ll receive a Secretary of State Treatment Verification Report to take to your hearing.

Aftercare
After successful completion of Significant or High Risk counseling, most courts require you to meet with your counselor on a monthly basis to reinforce the changes you’ve made. The duration of aftercare ranges from six to twelve months depending upon the specific court’s requirements.

Outpatient Substance Abuse Counseling for Reasons other than a DUI
We are not just a DUI program. Licensed to provide Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment and Intensive Outpatient Treatment, the DUI Counseling Centers has provided successful counseling to clients who were referred after being arrested for underage drinking, and for disorderly conduct, assault and battery, domestic violence and possession of illicit drugs where alcohol and/or drug use were related. Usually, lawyers have made these referrals when treatment is negotiated as a condition of bail, in a pre-trial hearing, or after sentencing when counseling was ordered as a condition of probation. If this is your situation, ask your lawyer to refer you to the DUI Counseling Centers’ office of your choice.

Other reasons to participate in alcohol and/or drug abuse counseling include your own concerns or family or employment pressures. Whatever the case may be, schedule an appointment with the DUI Counseling Centers’ office of your choice.