Perceived Opportunities and Challenges of Providing Counseling Services at Amanuel Mental Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Every time, human beings are preoccupied to realize their potentialities to the maximum, to have good interpersonal relationships, and make the right decision at the right place and time. However, being healthy is a sine qua non for every person who is living under the sun. To develop well thought prevention, intervention, and rehabilitation schemes, it is mandatory to undertake scientific investigation and come up with empirical findings on which such program would be based. A descriptive study was conducted among purposively selected counselors (100%) using participant-observation, FGD, document analysis, and interview. The study acknowledged past major achievements, failures while citing future potentialities and limiting factors in terms of gaps in knowledge; infrastructure and facility and management. Treatment without encompassing counseling can be better termed as placebo-treatment. It is without substance and is devoid of healing power. Hence, the current practice of counseling must be revisited.