According to Medecins sans Frontiers (2017) Honduras has one of the highest rates of violence in the world. Honduras has experienced many years of political, economic, and social instability that has had a significant impact on the medical and psychological experiences of the population. Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Latin American region and there is limited access to health services.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO, 2008), mental health services are organized in terms of geographic areas. However, not all regions or districts have the basic mental health resources required. The current reference/counter-reference system for mental health issues in Honduras is not seen as effective. Limited information is available on counselling and mental health practices in Honduras and according to Gines-Rivera & Panting-Sierra (2010) an insufficient number of studies have explored Honduran counselling practices and how the concept of professional counselling is not familiar to most Hondurans. Alarcon (2003) describes the cultural characteristics of guilt and shame as being serious obstacles to help-seeking behaviours in instances of mental illness among families.
Gines-Rivera & Panting-Sierra (2010) also describe the main providers of counselling as clergy, namely lay pastors and Catholic priests, and it is clear that religious and folk beliefs about causes and treatment of mental health problems play a strong role in the country. Most seminaries offer programs on pastoral counselling skills to lay counsellors. According to Gines-Rivera and Panting-Sierra (2010), school counselling in Honduras is entirely separate from pastoral counselling. School counselling training is primarily delivered by the Universidad Pedagogica Nacional Francisco Morazan [Francisco Morazan Pedagogy University].
Although limited details are available, the government does have a unit responsible for treatment of substance abuse disorders and the treatment of addictions (WHO, 2008). In addition, United States based charities also support some substance abuse disorder rehabilitation such as at the Cerepa Addiction Center (https://predisan.org/cerepa-addiction-center/) near Catacamas.