In 1968, Prof. D.S. Ranawaka has started counselling service with a small group of interested young people. While he is practicing, he has understood the requirement of training more people for this counselling moment.

Those days no advertisements at all for this purpose. Yet, Prof. D.S. Ranawaka has developed a syllabus to train new members. Thus, he trains members in a small scale. Only known and interested people entered to learn counselling.

At this moment Prof. Ranawaka joined with Dr. Ratnin Devaraja to practice counselling. Dr. Devaraja lived in Japan and worked as a lecturer of “Tsukuba University”. He was a first-degree psychology graduate of London Polytechnical Institute.

Thus, first counselling center in Sri Lanka was established by Prof. Ranawaka and Dr. Devaraja at Mount Lavenia. Dr. Devaraja used his ancestral house for this center. At this moment Prof. Diyanath Samarasinghe had joined to handle the clients who has psychotic symptoms.

Gradually this counselling service was so popular. Then Dr. Devaraja and Prof. Ranawaka had developed a new curriculum to provide better and deep training to the students. Prof. Diyanath also joined to deliver lectures.

As a team, Dr. Devaraja, Prof. Diyanath and Prof. Ranawaka had conducted many seminars in various parts of the country to emphasize “Need of psychology and counselling for the public”

This effort was highly appreciated by Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe who was the minister of education and youth affairs at that time. He deployed a team of government officials to discuss with this professional team to develop a programme in the field of counselling. This was a golden opportunity for the public as well as youth counsellors.

As a result of these discussions, this professional team had planned to execute a workshop to develop guidance and counselling programmes for the young generation of the country.

From 31st May 1982 to 4th June 1982 conducted 5 days workshop by National Youth Services Council at SLFI (Sri Lanka Foundation Institute). Here, Prof. Ranawaka delivered a main lecture on the subject. (Full report of this workshop has been published and archived at the library of SLNIPC) Mr. Charitha Rathwatte was the head of the workshop by representing MOE Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe. All state departments, NGOs and universities represented at this workshop for five days. Food and refreshments were provided by SLFI.

1) To establish a unit in the youth council and ministry of education
2) To train more and more counsellors
3) To establish counselling centers island wide
4) To establish a psychotherapy clinic
5) To draft a code of ethics for counsellors

Youth council implemented above proposal by assigning an assistant director to the project. Prof. Ranawaka had named the new service as “Youn Mithuro” and NYSC has agreed to his name. NYSC also had assigned Prof. Ranawaka as the project consultant and visiting psychologist and Prof. Diyanah as a visiting psychiatric for this project.

Under this project Prof. Diyanath and Prof. Ranawaka had started activities with two counsellors. Thus, it was possible to expand up to 34 counselling centers island wide within 10 years, with the support of the minister of education.

On 28th April 1986, the first professional counselling association established in the education faculty of the university of Colombo. Chaired by Prof. Ranawaka. There, Pro. Ranawaka had appointed as the first president of the SLNIPC.

In 1990, Prof. Ranawaka started one-year proper training for the youth. It is conducted in establishing a new institute called “Institute of Psychological Studies” (IPS). After he could extend the service by establishing new for centers in Kandy, Kurunegala, Galle and Matara as four branches of IPS. Programmes were conducted in both English and Sinhalese languages.

Under this project Pro. Ranawaka could train more than 1000 members and made them as professional counsellors. Also, they became members of SLNIPC simultaneously. Prof. Ranawaka held entire accountability of IPS, as the Programme Director and Course Coordinator by creating and regulating curriculum and administrative functions up to 2020.

Due to the serious illness faced by him in 2020, he appointed new programme director and course coordinator to IPS from 2020 onwards. Later in 2023, SLNIPC was compelled to discontinue the affiliation with IPS due to administrative guidelines and curriculum structure of IPS was not on par with the standard guidelines of the professional association-SLNIPC. Thus, SLNIPC was not in a position to issue memberships to IPS students from 2023 onwards.


In 2023, SLNIPC established another institute to continue professional training and teaching to the members. This was named as “Center for psychotherapeutic Studies” -“CPS”. This is totally conducted under the guidance of Prof. Ranawaka and SLNIPC. There he takes entire accountability as the Programme Director and Academic Coordinator.

In 2023, IMBS Campus requested affiliation from the SLNIPC. After several discussions within the executive committee, forwarding SLNIPC standard guidelines and having several understandings with the management of IMBS campus, in the end SLNIPC conferred affiliation to IMBS campus going through a constructive MOU.

This note is placed parallel to the 23rd Biennial General Meeting on 7th April 2024

References

1) Workshop report published by National Youth Services Council, 1982.
2) SLNIPC Publication “Sri Lanka upadeshana sewawe ithihasaya”.