Second Programme to Establish the District Counsellors Pool – Galle District

The second programme in the series to establish a District Counsellors Pool was held on 5 August 2026 at the Galle District Secretariat, focusing on the Galle District. The initiative aims to strengthen the effectiveness of the Bureau of Rehabilitation’s pre-rehabilitation assessment and post-rehabilitation follow-up processes by addressing the shortage of counselling officers within the District Rehabilitation Coordination Offices established under the Bureau.

The programme series was initiated under the concept of Senior Professor Wasantha Subasinghe, Chairperson of the Bureau of Rehabilitation. The event was held under the patronage of Galle District Secretary K. U. Chandralal, with the participation of Additional District Secretary (Lands and Development) G. G. Lakshmi Kanthi, Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Brigadier Shiran Amith, Senior Psychological Counsellor Prabha Yatawara of the Ministry of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment, officers of the Bureau of Rehabilitation, and counselling officers representing the Galle District.

The selected members of the District Counsellors Pool are expected to provide professional counselling support during both the pre-rehabilitation assessment and post-rehabilitation follow-up stages. Their role will include helping to rebuild family relationships while beneficiaries are undergoing rehabilitation, fostering positive attitudes towards the rehabilitation process within families, supporting the successful reintegration of beneficiaries into society, maintaining healthy family relationships following rehabilitation, and helping to prevent relapse into substance abuse.

As part of the programme, Senior Psychological Counsellor Prabha Yatawara delivered a special lecture on the importance of counselling and its role in supporting rehabilitation and reintegration. In addition, Ms Nimaya Priyamali, Counselling Officer at the Navodaya Tertiary and Vocational Literacy Training Centre, conducted a knowledge-sharing session on the psychological conditions of rehabilitation beneficiaries and the fundamental principles that counsellors should understand when working directly with them.