Court-Ordered Counseling in NYC Criminal Cases

Counseling is a general term that often refers to one on one or group sessions with a mental health provider. This mental health provider might be a therapist, psychologist, and/or psychiatrist. They may or may not need to be specifically licensed for the court to honor the counseling. Counseling can become a requirement if you agree to it or if it is imposed on you as a result of your sentence. It may last for hours, days, weeks, or longer. Counseling can apply to a range of issues including:

• Substance abuse
• Domestic violence
• Mental health
• Behavioral
• A combination of the above issues

The specifics of court ordered counseling in a NYC criminal case is determined on a case-by case basis. In some cases, the counseling is done by the court's provider and the details have been pre-determined by the court and possibly combined with testing to ensure that you are in compliance.

Sometimes, private counseling can be done instead. This is when you obtain counseling on your own done on a schedule and consisting of treatment that you arrange.

General types

• Court provider (such as a program)
• Private provider (you and your attorney design it)

Common cases we see where counseling is involved

• DWI / DUI
• Domestic violence
• Misdemeanor sex crimes
• Almost any case where mental health / substance abuse is an underlying factor