Drug Programs & Counselling in NSW

If you have been charged with any sort of drug offences you may want to consider the option of voluntarily seeking out professional drug counselling, psychological treatment or rehabilitation especially if drug consumption or addiction is a problem that you have experienced.

Not only will a drug user undoubtedly learn a lot from such professional treatment and hopefully benefit by abstaining from drugs but a person who has proactively sought out counselling or psychological treatment will show the Courts that they have taken significant and positive steps in tackling their drug problems.

By making a serious effort to receive professional help for an obvious drug problem you put yourself in a position where you can show the Court that you have taken steps to ensure that you do not reoffend again in the future. Generally the Courts are very receptive to hearing  about how an offender has made a significant effort to try and rehabilitate and reform their offending behaviour. Consequently, many Magistrates and Judges will strongly take into account such evidence that can prove to the Court that the offender has put themselves through rehabilitation, counselling or obtained psychological treatment and in turn deal with their Court penalties and sentences with a certain level of lenience.

Certainly, if a person has been charged with minor drug possession and that person can show the Court that they have taken steps to obtain professional drug help then they put themselves in a far better position is having the Courts deal with their matter under Section 10 – which basically means that they would not be criminally convicted for that particular offence.

There are various different types of professional assistance offenders can obtain including rehabilitation, counselling or psychological treatment. Below we discuss the various different form of professional help you should consider:

Psychological Treatment:

We find that when our clients have obtained professional Psychological Treatment for their drug issues they benefit from it substantially in life and also in relation to their Court matters.

For someone seeking to obtain Psychological Treatment the first thing they should do is go along to your local Doctor or General Practitioner (GP) and explain to them that you have been going through a hard time in tackling some drug issues.

You will need to get a referral from your GP to a Clinical Psychologist. If you have a particular Psychologist in mind then you can ensure that you obtain a referral to that person, otherwise your GP will be able to refer you to a Clinical Psychologist that they know of.

When you are in your consultation with your GP you should enquire whether or not you are suitable to be assessed under the Medicare Mental Health Plan which would basically mean that you could claim a Medicare rebate for up to 10 treatment session per year. This is something that may be of significant assistance for you financially.

Once you have obtained a referral to a Clinical Psychologist you will be assessed by him or her and they will generally develop a treatment plan customised to your particular issues usually involving a variety of different treatment methods.

A really good thing about obtaining psychological treatment is that generally the Clinical Psychologist is very accommodating when it comes to preparing a Psychologists Report to tender to the Court at your hearing. A good Psychologists report can be invaluable and have a significant effect on the way in which a Magistrate or Judge deals with you matter and what penalties they decide to hand down.

Having taken all of this into account – what is really important is for you to attend as many sessions which your Clinical Psychologist as possible before your matter is finalised in Court. Generally, the Courts will allow some period of time for you to adjourn your matter and obtain professional treatment however the more sessions you can complete before your final hearing will mean that you look like you are extremely serious about your treatment and rehabilitation.

For example if an offender turns up to their final Court hearing having completed 12 sessions of psychological treatment this will certainly be given far more weight when it comes to sentencing compared to an offender who turns up to their final Court hearing with just 1 or 2 sessions completed with their psychologist.

An offender needs to show the Court that they are serious and committed to tackling their drug problems so that they do not reoffend again in the future.

MERIT Program:

The MERIT Program is one of the most popular drug offender programs in New South Wales. MERIT stands for Magistrates Early Referral Into Treatment and as the program title suggests it is a program that requires the referral and consent of a Magistrate in order to allow a person to participate.

Click on the drop down titles below to find out more about the MERIT Program:

Drug Counselling & Rehabilitation:

If you feel as though you have some serious drug dependency issues then another option you may want to explore is to contact one of the drug counselling services or rehabilitation clinics that are available in our community.

Depending of your level of need when it comes to tackling drug dependency issues there are various different levels of support and help out in the community that is available to you. This can range from weekly group counselling sessions right through to full time rehabilitation clinics for seriously dependent drug addicts.

As we have mentioned above you may wish to take the first step of making contact with you local doctor or GP to get more information about what they think the most suitable kind of support there is available for you and your particular situation. Your local GP should have significant knowledge of local counselling services or rehabilitations clinics which you can partake in.

If it is clear that you do have some sort of drug dependency issues and especially if you have been charged with drug offences then it is strongly recommended that you get the best counselling or rehabilitation there is to get your life back in control and your health in order.

In addition to taking back control of your life the Court will see that you have taken significant steps to get on top of your drug addictions issues and will offer you a certain level of leniency when it comes to handing down the penalties and sentences for your particular drug offences.

COUNSELLING SERVICES:

REHABILITATION CLINICS:

 

Benefits of Drug Treatment & Counselling

Whilst we are criminal drug lawyers in New South Wales and our job is to represent our clients to the best of our ability – there is no greater joy that we get than seeing a person who clearly has some significant drug addiction and dependency issues obtain the right professional treatment and come out the other side as a person who has successfully tackled their drug issues and are on the road to taking back control of their normal, healthy and law abiding lives. This has occurred time and time again when we see drug dependents seek out counselling, intensive rehabilitation, psychological treatment or participation in the MERIT program.

Obviously such treatment and programs as discussed above have significant benefits in showing the Courts that offenders are seeking redemption by getting on top of their personal drug problems and seeking to turn their lives around so that they do not reoffend again in the future. Magistrates and Judges love to see proactive steps like this being taken by offenders and will absolutely take this into account when it comes time to sentencing the offender by offering a level leniency.

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CONTACT US: 

Sydney Drug Lawyer NSW

362-370 Pitt Street
Sydney NSW
(02) 9283 8620

http://sydneydruglawyer.com.au

Email: sydneydruglawyer@gmail.com

If you need further advice or assistance in relation to any of the above NSW Drug Law Defences please contact us on the above details.