Sri Lanka

Whilst there is a lack of studies in the comprehensive history of counselling in Sri Lanka, it can be observed that as with many other Asian countries, it has its roots in school and community-based counselling. In 1983, Sri Lanka introduced school guidance and counselling programmes to a select number of schools in Colombo, in collaboration with the National Youth Council. In 2006, the Guidance and Counselling Unit at the National Institute of Education (NIE) was established with the aim to meet the psychosocial needs of the community through various initiatives such as curriculum improvement, evaluation, and training of professionals (Pathirana, 2016). 

Also established in the 1980s, was the start of the non-governmental Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) services as a response to the anti-Tamil and ethnic violence present in the country at the time (Galappatti, Salih, Tegal, & Cassiere-Daniel, 2016). These services moved from being centre-based and individually focused to incorporating community development, such as supporting child protection, resettlement of displaced individuals, and gender-based violence responses (Galappatti, Salih, Tegal, & Cassiere-Daniel, 2016). 

The Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 heightened the amount of services provided by the MHPSS. Where MHPSS services were concentrated in areas that were experiencing ethnic conflict, the aftermath of the tsunami brought these services to all affected regions to aid with post-tsunami recovery by the government and international NGOs (Galappatti, Salih, Tegal, & Cassiere-Daniel, 2016; Minas, Mendis & Hall, 2017). This surge in MHPSS supported the government in finalizing the national mental health policy though the mental health infrastructure in Sri Lanka, however, it is still slowly growing as it battles the traditional stigma of mental illness and lack of stable funding as they also largely rely on donations alongside government funding (Kitsiri, 2015).