DUI is Not a Reason for Diagnosing Alcohol Use Disorder

DUIs to Be Excluded as Reason for Diagnosing an Alcohol Use Disorder

The American Psychiatric Association has decided to exclude a DUI or underage drinking from  the DSM-V, the official APA guide used for diagnosing alcohol problems. 

For many clients, a DUI is the reason that they enter (court-ordered) counseling. However, legal trouble has not been found to be significantly related to either alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence (Shmulewitz, Keyes, Beseler, Aharonovich, Aivadyan, Spivak, & Hasin, 2010).

Removing the legal trouble criterion will not affect diagnosing severe cases of Alcohol Use Disorders,  but it will reduce severity in some cases.

Removing the legal criterion may altogether eliminate some diagnosis (and stigma) of  an alcohol use disorder for individuals mandated to counseling due to a single alcohol-related incident (e.g., a DUI, a case of underage drinking or public drunkenness). 

Register for online classes at Tom Wilson Counseling Center
 

8 Hour Online Alcohol Drug Class $150
12 Hour Online Alcohol Drug Class $225
16 Hour Online Alcohol Drug Class $300
20 Hour Online Alcohol Drug Class $375
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 4 Hour Online Minor in Possession Class $75
24 Hour Online Drug Diversion Class $450
26 Hour Online Deferred Entry of Judgment Class $450

ALL classes developed and monitored by Tom Wilson, a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor who is also a Certified Alcohol and Substance Prevention Specialist. Tom is the author of "Taming Anger and Aggression", an anger management program which has been taught to hundreds of people at the counseling center over the last twelve years. He specializes in adapting evidence-based substance abuse prevention programs for delivery through the web and other electronic media.