Ms. Indrani Wijesundera - Coordinator - Department of Counselling

Present Head of Professional Programmes and Counselling Section, and the Senior Counsellor at the National Council for Mental Health (NCMH)-Sahanaya.  With over 12 years’ experience in the field of counseling, she is one of Sri Lanka’s leading counsellors.  Over the years, Indrani has worked not only with some of the country’s most prominent professionals in mental health such as Professor Nalaka Mendis, but also with a number of  internationally acclaimed figures from Israel, Pakistan, Australia and India.

Indrani has received international and local training in many areas of mental health.  She has participated in a workshop on Crisis intervention conducted by the IsraeliMinistry of Foreign Affairs, as a Research Fellow at the Pakistan Psychiatric Research Center, in the International Workshop on the Treatment of Schizophrenia conducted by NIMHANS, India, and in a series of psychosocial care training courses conducted in Israel on Art Therapy, Bibliotherapy & Dramatherapy, Movement & Music Therapy. Indrani is one of the pioneering counsellors to have received training in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy training in Sri Lanka, conducted by Dr. Robert Flynn (Clinical Psychologist- UK).  She has also worked as a therapist at Sahanaya Sexual Disorder Therapy clinic with Dr. Neil Fernando (Consultant Psychiatrist).

Indrani has experience in mental health research as well.  She has been awarded a scholarship to participate as a Research Fellow in a comparative study on Schizophrenics in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Further, she has developed psychosocial rehabilitation assessment forms for the evaluation of mental illness in Sri Lanka.

As a leading counsellor in the island, Indrani has often been involved in training programmes. She has conducted programmes and workshops on Self Awareness and Personality Development, Stress Management, Counselling Skills, Art Therapy, Disaster Management, and Dealing with terminal illnesses, for army officers (at 233 Brigade Headquarters, Wakarai and Kuruwita Camp), Bank of Ceylon Senior Executives, staff at Maharagama Cancer Hospital, academics at Open University, Staff at Mahaweli Authority, Midwives and Nurses, School teachers, and Tsunami victims.

As a senior and respected counsellor in Sri Lanka, Indrani has participated as a resource person for both electronic and print media.  She has participated in live educational programmes /discussions on Sirasa TV (“Jeewithayata Ida denna”), Swarnavahini (“Kedapatha”) and SLBC.  She has also provided information to compile articles related to mental health and psychosocial well-being and Counselling & Therapy.