Alcohol/Drug Education & CBI Program

Our 12-hour in-person and online Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention (CBI) Program is authorized by the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office for persons in Charlotte cited or arrested for misdemeanor violations such as shoplifting, larceny, simple assault, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct. Upon successfully completing our Charlotte CBI program, clients will receive a certificate that they or their attorney can take back to court in order for the charge to be dismissed. The total cost for the entire in-person or online cognitive behavioral intervention program is $200.00. Clients can secure their spot in a class online or by scheduling an in-person registration appointment.

Our clients have the option of registering for classes online, they can call 704-458-9292 to schedule, or they can visit one of our two locations in the Charlotte area to sign up for Cognitive Behavioral Intervention in person. Clients that choose to register online will be directed to our web based scheduling system where they can pay with either a debit or credit card to secure their seat in the class that best fits their schedule. Both the 12-hour CBI and the 15-hour Alcohol/Drug Education Classes are available for completion in just one weekend and cost $200.

We offer in-person and online Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention (CBI) Program classes on Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 am-3:00 pm. Clients can complete the entire program in just one weekend to obtain their 12 hour certificate of completion for court.

We service all age groups with a specialization in working with professionals, young adults, and college students. The majority of our clients either work, attend school, or both. Our hope is that we maintain a safe environment that caters to people who are not accustomed to getting in trouble but just made a bad choice that led them to the criminal justice system.

Clients enrolled in the class will be exposed to a variety of experiential learning tools including evidence-based workbooks, guest presenters, videos, group projects, and games that assist them with making future positive choices around alcohol and drugs. The goal of the course is not to tell clients what to do but inform them on the negative consequences if they choose to use or possess alcohol and drugs illegally.

Cognitive Behavior Intervention is a psycho-education based approach that uses a task-based problem-solving method.  This intervention class refers to a series of related mediations designed to change behaviors by teaching people to understand and change thoughts and behaviors. Based on the general belief that behavior is mediated by cognitive processes, CBI classes allow offenders to learn to examine their own thoughts and feelings, to recognize when their negative actions and feelings are escalating, and to use strategies to change their thinking and behavior.

CBI is a generic term for the training programs that aim to educate people about themselves and explain why they react to specific events as they do. According to research, a common feature of rehabilitation programs that reduce recidivism is a technique, component, or approach that affects the individual perception or thinking.

CBI’s are based on the simple principle that thought (internal behavior) controls open action (external behavior). Through cognitive learning (or programs), offenders gain new skills and ways of thinking that can lead to behavioral changes and, ultimately, influence their criminal mindset. This program uses a combination of approaches to educate the offender about awareness of self. This awareness is associated with the teaching of social skills to assist the offender in intrapersonal and interpersonal issues. In other words, these special types of intervention classes help the offender restructure his thinking process and provide him with the cognitive skills necessary for decision making and problem solving.

The precondition for a cognitive restructuring class is that offenders have anti-social beliefs, attitudes and mental habits leading to crime.

The goal of cognitive restructuring is to teach offenders how to transform their antisocial beliefs through the process of changing pro-social beliefs, focusing on the content of their thinking. In cognitive restructuring, offenders are subjected to a process of consciously examining their thoughts and then making connections between their thoughts, feelings, and the crimes they commit.

Cognitive skills allow criminals to modify their cognitive processes to control and interact positively with others. The aim is to teach offenders to control their own behavior by participating in processes that develop self-control, making them accountable for their actions, no matter how serious the situation. These specific skills include problem solving, social skills training (learned behavior that allows interaction with others to generate positive feedback), anger management, and empathy training.

CBI requires two things: learning and doing. A person undergoing CBI classes acquires coping skills, both relevant to their health and more general, helpful in everyday life. They learn about their health status and how it is maintained. This aspect of CBI class is based on the saying that knowing is power. The more a person knows about his illness, the better they can recognize the symptoms and act.

1. Qualify for the program

Based on the charges, the judge, lawyer, or probation officer will tell you if you qualify for the CBI program.

2. Register for classes

Once you have received the court order, you can register for in-person or online cognitive behavioral intervention courses at www.cbhic.com or over the phone by calling 704-458-9292.

3. Participate in all classes.

The offender must attend at least 12 hours of classes to be eligible for offense dismissal as a result of this program.

4. Follow Up with Court, Lawyer, or Probation officer

Depending on the nature of the case, the offender may need to meet other requirements in addition to CBI classes. The offender must make sure to contact the court with a lawyer or probation officer to ensure that the court has been informed about the full course completion and have satisfied all steps to dismiss charges. With this knowledge, CBI classes seek to strengthen this relationship between knowledge and activity so that a person can take practical steps to relieve their symptoms and recover.

To combat these destructive thoughts and behaviors, a teacher or instructor begins by helping the client recognize problematic beliefs and actions. This phase, called Cognitive Components, is important for learning how thoughts, feelings, and situations can contribute to maladaptive behavior. The process can be difficult, especially for patients who experience introspection, but can ultimately lead to self-discovery and knowledge being an integral part of the treatment process.

Cognitive components

Teachers teach students strategies that promote self-regulation, encourage positive behaviors, and reduce inappropriate behavior. This includes direct instruction on a specific problem-solving strategy, self-study, communication skills, relaxation, and situational awareness. The components of the solution to the problem are:

• Problem Recognition: Students learn to recognize problems, cause and have the opportunity to recognize problem situations. Case studies, real, and hypothetical problems are used to help students identify problems.
• Define and articulate the peculiarities of the problem: Students practice describing the problem, including the people involved, the source of the problem and its consequences. Students are encouraged to examine the problem from their own point of view. Generating questions and analyzing problem situations helps students learn to articulate problems.
• Develop a process to solve the problem: Students will explicitly learn all stages of the problem solving process through teacher modeling. Students will be offered a guided exercise with corrective feedback, positive reinforcement and independent practice. Students learn to organize the steps in a sequential process that leads to an adequate solution of the problem. Role play, group discussion activities and self-control are effective approaches to teaching the systematic process.
• Generate alternative strategies to solve the problem: In a systematic process, students learn to think of different strategies to solve the problem and to develop alternative solutions. Students learn to answer the test: “What are your possible solutions?” Because learning how to generate alternatives is positively related to increasing problem-solving skills and social adaptations throughout life, generating alternatives is a crucial element.
• Evaluate the consequences of each alternative generated: Students learn to find the most effective solutions. They are encouraged to identify the most viable alternatives and to generate the possible consequences for each alternative benefit and risk. Students are encouraged to choose safe and fair alternatives. This component provides basic practices for assessing consequences and choosing appropriate future decisions.
• Choose an approach: Students are encouraged to choose the best solution to solve the problem and to try the chosen solution. Students can repeat and implement the solution and discuss the consequences.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the chosen solution: Students are helped to determine if the solution worked. Students are cautioned that the first option does not always solve the problem and that other alternatives should be considered.

The second part of cognitive-behavioral intervention classes focuses on the actual behaviors that contribute to the problem. The offenders begin to learn and practice new skills that can be used in real life situations. For example, an addict may start exercising new coping skills and finding ways to avoid or manage social situations that may lead to a relapse.

In most cases, CBI is a step-by-step process that helps a person take progressive steps toward behavior change. Someone who suffers from anger management can start by imagining a social situation that causes anger rage.

Our in-person and online Cognitive Behavioral Intervention educational program has been used to treat people with a variety of conditions including:

• Addiction
• Violation
• Shoplifting
• Public Disturbance
• Anger

Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention class is generally appropriate for individuals who are more comfortable with a structured and focused approach in which the instructor often plays a role in the lesson. However, for CBI to be effective, the individual must be willing to invest time and effort in analyzing their own thoughts and feelings. This self-analysis and homework can be difficult, but it’s a great way to learn more about how internal states affect external behavior.