From 1935 onwards, the only mental health hospital existing in Cambodia was the
Praek Thnoat Mental Hospital, run by two Cambodian psychiatrists trained in France. However, the Cambodian mental health field was devastated as a result of the Khmer Rouge period (1975-1979). Large numbers of qualified professionals of all disciplines were killed by the Khmer Rouge, with the two psychiatrists assumed to have met their death as well. From 1975 to 1994, no mental health training was conducted as it was believed that there were no surviving mental health professionals available to teach (Chimm, 2017, pp. 136-137).
As a result, Cambodia has had to slowly rebuild their mental health infrastructure. In 1992, a Mental Health subcommittee of the Cambodian Ministry of Health was formed to aid in its development (Parry & Wilkinson, 2019). Cambodia has also sought help from international NGOs, such as the Cambodia Mental Health Training Program (CMHTP) started by the University of Oslo in 1994; CMHTP provided the first modern group of mental health professionals in Cambodia (Chimm, 2017, p. 137).
In 2014, the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse (DMHSA) was established by the Royal Government of Cambodia, with the responsibility for mental health, substance abuse, and harm reduction. However, the Cambodian Ministry of Health still has yet to formally recognize a Mental Health Policy and, as there is no separate national organization for counselling currently set up in Cambodia, a significant amount of mental health work is done by non-profit organizations relying on donations (WHO, 2005). Funding for the mental health field is also struggling with less than 1% of the annual government health budget allocated to the profession (Schunert et al, 2012).