The Professional psychological Counselling Centre was started on 19th February 1993. No: DS/MN/SS/11). Batticaloa community was severely traumatized because of 30 years of war and other natural disasters. Many Non governmental Organizations came to empower this in-need community. Medical, educational, employment, housing and other social needs were attended to, by the different organizations. A ve
ry important need was neglected for our community. To fulfill this need is a challenge, for, to respond to this need, expert training was needed. Because of the war situation, trauma was very much present. More than 26% experienced PTSD, 18% suffered from unresolved grief. 18% suffered from depression. Paul Satkunanayagam, S.J., a Jesuit trained in India, Italy and USA holding triple Master Degrees in Counselling Psychology, career Guidance and Education and Theology took the initiative to respond to this need, because he is a licensed psychological Counsellor trained in Loyola University and St. Louis University, U.S.A. In 1993 he started doing counselling for torture survivors, tortured by military and militant groups. Then he looked for the infrastructures and started the Professional Psychological Counselling Centre in 1993. With experience obtained from counselling the Torture survivors, Fr. Paul expanded his counselling services to other emotionally disabled people in depression, with suicidal tendencies, alcoholically addicted, emotionally disabled children, and negative self image adolescence, dysfunctioning families and disoriented couples. He started the Professional Psychological Counselling Centre with the objective of bringing healing to traumatized people of the Eastern Province and the results have been very positive and encouraging. Now the Professional Psychological counselling centre is administered by a Board with Fr. Paul Satkunanayagam, S.J., Psychological Counsellor (MA, M.Ed.) as the Director – PPCC.
