Dr. Michael Shery, Clinical Psychology

                                                                               2615 Three Oaks Rd. Ste 2A;  Cary, IL 60013

                       www.carypsychology.com  847 275 8236 (24 Hrs);  drmike@carypsychology.com

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DUI? Where Should you Get Your Court-Ordered DUI Assessment?

                                        -from Cary, Algonquin and McHenry-

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If you have been arrested for DUI, chances are that you need a court-ordered Alcohol Assessment or evaluation. A question you might be asking is, where do I get it? Should I find an evaluator who is a credentialed doctoral-level psychologist who specializes in clinical assessments related to alcohol and substance abuse, or should I, on the other hand, allow a lower level credentialed paraprofessional to do it.

It is very important to always have the most highly credentialed and qualified professional do your assessment. It is in your best interest to use a clinical psychologist who is highly trained and concentrates in the assessment of DUI and substance abuse cases.

It is important because these doctoral-level psychologists have focused much of their time on doing state-of-the-art DUI assessments and are not just lower-level paraprofessionals with just a few years training and experience. This is to your benefit because it means that it is likely that the court will have much more confidence in their findings.

Find the most highly trained and respected specialist when needing a DUI or other substance-abuse evaluation. A masters-level counselor is more of a DUI assessment technician; not a highly qualified doctoral-level psychologist.

The psychologist doing your DUI evaluation will have approximately 8 years of college and graduate school training in doing testing, assessments and evaluations, while a DUI paraprofessional may have only 2 to 5 years of limited training. The doctoral-level psychologist will have greater expertise in administering and interpreting the tests and in providing a powerful report to your attorney and the court. Psychologists can make powerful and very credible witnesses in DUI cases.

The key is EXPERTISE and that comes with the psychologists highly respected professional degree, education and experience. There are many counselor-types who do DUI assessments and evaluations.

The only way for you to tell which professionals are experts and will powerfully influence the court, rather than just be run-of-the-mill or mediocre, is to know if they are fully qualified, licensed psychologists with substantial experience in working with DUI and court-ordered cases.

Psychologists have doctoral degrees, are highly trained in the scientific basis of assessments, have usually done an abundance of them and consequently are highly respected by judges and the courts. Because reports by psychologists are so highly respected, if your attorney is highly skilled, he or she will be able to use the assessment findings to get the very best legal outcome for you.

Some judges and attorneys do not have a clue as to how to evaluate the seriousness of an alcohol problem or what to do about it, besides throw the book at you. Consequently, an expert DUI assessment may make it possible for you to get a legal sanction that is significantly reduced and one which makes much more sense, psychologically.

Since you want an evaluation that will have the best impact on the court, it is all about getting the most respected and the most highly educated professional to do it. Make no mistake: It is best to get a seasoned clinical psychologist who is experienced in DUI cases.

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