🏛️ Introduction: NDDTC – India’s Apex Institution for Addiction Psychiatry

The National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC), affiliated with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, stands as the epicentre of addiction psychiatry training, treatment, and research in South Asia.

Since its inception, NDDTC has led the standardization, scaling, and scientific grounding of deaddiction services in India. From pioneering detox protocols to developing national guidelines, it has shaped both policy and practice in addiction psychiatry for over three decades.

🧠 Vision and Scope

NDDTC’s mission extends far beyond clinical treatment. Its contributions span:

• Clinical service delivery

• Academic training and capacity building

• Epidemiological research

• Policy formulation and advocacy

• Regional and international collaboration

It plays a nodal role under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, and is a WHO Collaborating Centre for substance use prevention and treatment.

🩺 Clinical Excellence: A National Referral Centre

Located in Ghaziabad, the NDDTC campus includes:

• A 50-bed inpatient facility for complex detox and rehabilitation

• Outpatient clinics for alcohol, opioids, cannabis, benzodiazepines, tobacco, dual diagnosis, adolescents, and behavioral addictions

• Services tailored for special populations: women, youth, professionals, and co-occurring psychiatric disorders

It handles some of the most severe and treatment-resistant cases from across India and neighboring countries.

🎓 Training the Next Generation of Addiction Psychiatrists

NDDTC is the gold standard for postgraduate training in addiction psychiatry in India.

Trainees gain:

• Exposure to a diverse range of cases across substances and age groups

• Hands-on experience with evidence-based detox protocols

• Training in motivational interviewing, relapse prevention, and harm reduction

• Supervision from some of India’s most respected addiction psychiatrists

The centre also trains:

• MBBS students from AIIMS

• DNB and MD psychiatry residents from across India

• Nurses, psychologists, and social workers in deaddiction service delivery

Many alumni of NDDTC, including myself, now lead addiction psychiatry services across India, Southeast Asia, and the Gulf.

📊 National and Regional Research Leadership

NDDTC conducts and coordinates multi-centre epidemiological studies on drug use patterns, treatment gaps, and service models.

Notable contributions include:

• The National Survey on Extent and Pattern of Substance Use in India (2019)

• Development of the Drug Abuse Monitoring System (DAMS)

• Publications on cannabis psychosis, synthetic drug trends, opioid substitution therapy (OST), and youth addiction

• Collaborative work with UNODC, WHO, and regional addiction networks

📘 Policy and Guidelines

NDDTC has developed national guidelines for:

• Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) using Buprenorphine and Methadone

• Tobacco cessation programs for primary healthcare

• Clinical management protocols for alcohol withdrawal

• Management of dual diagnosis and behavioral addictions

These are used not only in India but adapted by mental health programs in Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.

🌏 Regional Influence Across Asia

NDDTC is now recognized as a regional hub for addiction psychiatry in South and Southeast Asia.

It regularly:

• Hosts regional workshops under WHO, UNODC

• Trains psychiatrists and policymakers from other Asian nations

• Consults on opioid crisis response strategies in low-resource settings

• Advocates for integrating deaddiction into national mental health programs

🔍 My Personal Reflection

As a psychiatrist trained at AIIMS and NDDTC, I experienced firsthand the structured, multi-dimensional, and deeply human approach to addiction treatment practiced there.

My clinical work in Chennai today—whether managing cannabis-induced psychosis, opioid withdrawal, or prescription drug misuse—is rooted in the lessons learned at NDDTC:

• Treating addiction not with judgment, but with science, empathy, and structure

• Engaging not just individuals, but families and systems

• Always balancing clinical excellence with community accessibility

📞 Bringing NDDTC-Backed Expertise to Chennai

At Apollo Clinic, Velachery & Tambaram, I now bring NDDTC-informed care to the heart of Chennai:

• Outpatient and inpatient deaddiction services

• Alcohol, cannabis, opioid, tobacco, and prescription drug treatment

• Structured behavioral and psychological interventions

• Family support and relapse prevention

📱 8595155808
🌐 www.srinivasaiims.com

“Recovery is not about willpower. It’s about the right care, at the right time, with the right people.”

✍️ About the Author

Dr. Srinivas Rajkumar T, MBBS, MD (Psychiatry)
Consultant Psychiatrist | Apollo Clinic, Velachery & Tambaram
Alumnus of AIIMS, New Delhi | Trained at NDDTC, Ghaziabad

Dr. Srinivas brings over a decade of experience in addiction psychiatry. Trained at India’s leading centre for substance use treatment, he now offers high-quality, compassionate deaddiction services in Chennai. His mission is to bring accessible, stigma-free, evidence-based recovery care to all who seek it.