Drug addicts turn to counseling: FHI (Vietnews Online) | Methadone …

The Family Health International (FHI) said more than 7,000 drug addicts and relapsed addicts have come to FHI-funded clinics for free counseling services as part of a program it started in May 2008.

The FHI has piloted the methadone treatment program for alcohol and drug addicts in six clinics in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and northern Hai Phong City.

The clinics offered addicts methadone maintenance therapy along with basic healthcare services, including counseling.

According to Vietnam News Agency, the program has shifted the focus of Vietnam’s approach from “giving advice” to evidence-based behavioral therapy.

The main advantage in counseling was that it helped drug users build skills to overcome their individual vulnerability, while previously the only skill they learned was “don’t go near drugs,” the VNA quoted Adelaide University Professor Robert Ali as saying.

Statistics from the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shows Vietnam has some 170,000 drug addicts, most of whom relapse into drug use after returning home from rehab centers.

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