Diploma Programs

The concept of alcoholism and other drug dependency as being a disease first surfaced early in the 19th century. In 1956, the American Medical Association (AMA) declared alcoholism as an illness and in 1987, the AMA and other medical organizations officially termed addiction a disease. Addiction is defined as the ongoing use of mood-altering sub-stances, such as alcohol and drugs, despite adverse consequences. Genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influence the development and manifestations of the disease. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) defines substance abuse and dependence as a maladaptive pattern of substance use, leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, although they are manifested differently.

According to the Handbook of Drug Abuse Information in Sri Lanka 2017, the total number of drug related arrests was 79,378 in 2016. Since the early 1980’s, Sri Lanka had to face a growing problem of drug abuse, mainly heroin amongst youth. It is estimated that there are about 45,000 heroin users and more than about 200,000 cannabis users in Sri Lanka today. Alcohol and tobacco usage also have become high. There is also a higher tendency of using psychotropic and pharmaceutical substances use among the youth as well. 

The drug addiction has become a major problem and a threat to the society in many countries around the globe. Addiction psychology mostly comprises the clinical psychology and abnormal psychology disciplines and fosters the application of information obtained from research in an effort to appropriately diagnose, evaluate, treat, and support clients dealing with addiction. Throughout the treatment process addiction psychologists encourage behaviors that build wellness and emotional resilience to their physical, mental and emotional problems.

In other words, an individual exposed to a substance can become addicted over time when he or she continues to use the substance to continuously achieve the same reward feeling. Addiction counseling is conducted by a credentialed or licensed professional, usually in an office setting or in a rehabilitation facility. Addiction counseling involves a professional teaching an individual coping skills to minimize or discontinue harmful substance use and help the individual understand the consequences of continued use. Substance use disorder counseling usually consists of several consistent components, including intake processing and assessment, creating a treatment plan, implementing various therapeutic techniques, and continuing care. Counselors should be able to effectively use these components of counseling due to their academic and professional training.

Rehabilitation is an integrated programme of interventions that empower individuals with disabilities and chronic health conditions to achieve “personally fulfilling, socially meaningful, and functionally effective interaction” in their daily contexts. Rehabilitation Psychology is a specialty area within psychology that focuses on the study and application of psychological knowledge and skills on behalf of individuals with disabilities and chronic health conditions in order to maximize health and welfare, independence and choice, functional abilities, and social role participation across the lifespan. Rehabilitation psychologists are uniquely trained and specialized to engage in a broad range of activities including consultation, programme development, service provision, research, teaching and education, training, administration, and development of public policy and advocacy related to persons with disability and chronic health conditions.

The importance of rehabilitation arises in Sri Lanka as there mostly we can hear the increment of the drug usage in the society. Since this has become a major issue in the country in this specific diploma programme we hope to give the students an idea about drug’s related counseling methods and the intervention process. This is related with the substance abuse people mostly. Therefore, it can be said that in the Sri Lankan context there is a huge necessity of the knowledge of addiction psychology and rehabilitation psychology.