UNODC supports Practitioners in Community-Based Settings

The South Sumatra province has been ranked as the second largest province with people who use drugs, with a prevalence of 5%  which approximately corresponds to 326,694 people, and methamphetamine is still the most popular drug of choice in this province (BNN, 2019). The Indonesian Association of Addiction Counsellors (IKAI) in South Sumatra sees an urgent need to strengthen the capacity of all practitioners working in this field, particularly in community-based setting. There has been an increasing demand from people with drugs use problems willing to attend available drug treatment facilities.

UNODC immediately responded to the request proposed by IKAI (National and South Sumatra chapter) to build the capacity of practitioners working with people with drug use disorders in the community based setting. Upon IKAI’s request, the training prioritised psychosocial interventions with a focus on motivational interviewing (MI) and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). The 5-day skills-based training was conducted in Palembang with 20 practitioners (17 male and 3 female) attending the training from 10 to 14 January 2022. With the support from Bureau of INL, US Department of State on the Global Mentor of Drug Demand Reduction programme, UNODC conducted the capacity building using MI and CBT from the Treatnet training modules (https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treatment-and-care/treatnet-training-package.html ) specific for this initiative.  

With the hope, that all participants may able to implement all learned skills appropriately after the training. People with substance use problems may benefit and achieve their full potential in their recovery process. Other than that, this initiative became a very good start in enhancing quality evidence-based treatment of drug use disorders at the beginning of year 2022, as this activity has also been published in local newspapers http://sriwijayapost.com/tingkatkan-profesionalisme-konselor-adiksi-ikai-sumsel-gaet-unodc/ and http://sumselpost.com/tingkatkan-profesionalisme-konselor-adiksi-ikai-sumsel-gaet-unodc/ .