معرفی
Gayani Gamage is a Lecturer in Psychology at St Mary’s University since March 2023. She holds a PhD from the University of East London (2011), specializing in health message framing and physical activity promotion. Previously, she served as the founding Head of the Department of Psychology and Counselling at the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL, 2017–2023), where she pioneered Sri Lanka’s first distance learning BSc Psychology program and the University Counselling Centre. Her academic roles include module convening for Health Psychology, Counselling Psychology, and Mental Health Interventions courses, alongside supervising research dissertations.
Her research focuses on health promotion, mental health stigma, palliative care, and lived experiences in healthcare contexts. Key projects include exploring maternal experiences of infant heart disease, mental health service gaps for Sri Lankan adolescents, and palliative care communication strategies. She has contributed to national initiatives like the National Cancer Control Programme and the National Palliative Care Programme.
Gayani’s publications span qualitative studies on healthcare experiences, distance learning mental health, and gender-based violence attitudes. She is a Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol.) and active member of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and its Health Psychology Division. Her work emphasizes culturally sensitive healthcare practices and improving mental health education accessibility in Sri Lanka.
