Status of Residential Treatment Centres Offering Addiction Counselling for Persons Living with Alcohol Use Disorders in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Residential treatment centres are well known to provide services for persons living with alcohol use disorders (AUD). The interventions of their treatment packages are not always evidence-based. There have been no efforts to test the effectiveness of such addiction counselling packages offered in Sri Lanka. Paving the way to such efforts, this study aimed to describe the treatment packages offered by addiction counselling-based residential AUD treatment centres in Sri Lanka. The list of existing treatment centres was compiled using information from the National Dangerous Drug Control Board (NDDCB), web search, and word of mouth. An authorised person from each centre was interviewed using a structured interview. Addiction counselling centres in Sri Lanka are required to be registered with the NDDCB, and 17 such centres had been registered in 2023. They provide treatment for various addictions including alcohol,tobacco, drugs, and gambling. Only 9 (52.69%) centres provide services for AUD. Seven (78%) of these centres are owned by private parties and 5 (56%) of them are located in the Western Province. Four (44%) such centres accept involuntary clients through court referrals. Many centres utilise non-evidence-based intervention such as forced abstinence. Three (33%) centres did not report collecting data to evaluate the effectiveness of their programme. The non-governmental sector contributes heavily to the provision of residential addiction counselling in Sri Lanka. These centres are concentrated in the Western Province. The science behind these interventions, and their success, safety, and legality need a closer look.