The Education Directorate in Homs concluded, on Tuesday, a training course on awareness of the dangers of drug addiction and its prevention, targeting 75 psychological and social counselors in the second stage, at the Teachers Preparation Institute in the governorate. This step comes as part of a plan aimed at qualifying educational cadres to conduct awareness sessions for students and teachers.
The head of the School Health Department in the directorate, Azzah Haydar, clarified that the course lasted for three days, within the framework of cooperation and coordination with the Homs Health Directorate. The preventive plan aims to train around 800 psychological and social counselors across various educational stages, leading to the implementation of awareness sessions in the governorate's schools before the end of the current academic year.
For her part, trained psychological counselor Nour Shaaban pointed out that awareness programs take into account the age characteristics of students in primary, preparatory, and secondary stages. These programs focus on enhancing students' self-confidence to better reject deviant behaviors and confront bullying in all its forms, ultimately creating a safe educational environment that protects the school community against the risks of addiction.
Trained social counselor Kanda Al-Saleh added that the course provided trainees with scientific knowledge and practical skills to help them identify potential cases and handle them with confidentiality and safety. These courses come as part of the awareness and prevention plan against addiction and drugs for the 2026-2027 academic year, implemented by the Homs governorate team for monitoring addiction, with the participation of representatives from relevant official institutions.
Haydar noted that a special guide for psychological counselors on addiction awareness has been prepared, indicating that the first phase of the plan included training 35 psychological and social counselors within a Train-the-Trainer (TOT) program, under the supervision of the School Health Department and implemented by the Mental Health Section of the Health Directorate. This program aims to qualify these counselors and train them to transfer knowledge to the educational field.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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