Academic Rigor, Clinical Empathy & Military Honor
Explore the 28-year trajectory of Lt. Col. M.D. Lakshman Gunathilaka — from postgraduate behavioral research at the University of Peradeniya to spearheading national counseling frameworks for Sri Lanka's educational, armed forces, and corporate sectors.
Lt. Col. M.D. Lakshman Gunathilaka
28+ Years Psychosocial & Defense Leadership
A Rare Convergence of Disciplines
In-Service Advisor • Senior Psychological Counselor • National Cadet Corps Officer
Holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel (O/3901) in the National Cadet Corps (NCC) alongside a prestigious Master of Education (M.Ed) from the University of Peradeniya, Lt. Col. M.D. Lakshman Gunathilaka occupies a unique position in Sri Lankan counseling and leadership coaching.
As the In-Service Advisor in Psychosocial Intervention and Counseling for the Kandy Education Zone and a recognized National Trainer of Trainers under the Ministry of Education, he has co-developed national curricula—including the definitive *Soft Skills Resource Manual*—and trained multiple generations of school principals, teachers, and student prefects across the island.
Beyond academia, his clinical acumen has anchored high-stakes community recovery missions: counseling traumatized children and school communities in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in Ambalangoda, managing psychosocial care for cancer patients at the General Hospital Kandy, and conducting mental resilience programs for war veterans and retired armed forces personnel through the Ranaviru Seva Authority.
- •ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ මනෝවිද්‍යා උපදේශක
- •පුද්ගල සංවර්ධන හා නායකත්ව කුසලතා සංවර්ධන ජාතික පුහුණුකරු
- •මනෝවිද්‍යා හා උපදේශන පර්යේෂණ ආයතනයේ ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ කථිකාචාර්ය හා පාඨමාලා සම්බන්ධීකාරක
- •විද්වත් උපදේශකවරුන්ගේ ජාතික ආයතනයේ විධායක සභික
- •මහනුවර අධ්‍යාපන කලාපයේ උපදේශනය පිළිබඳ ගුරු උපදේශක
- •ලුතිනන් කර්නල් ලක්ෂ්මන් ගුණතිලක
Lt. Col. Lakshman Gunathilaka
In-Service Advisor in Psychosocial Counseling
University Degrees & Research Chronology
A 22-year academic trajectory anchoring empirical counseling interventions in adolescent psychology and post-conflict military rehabilitation.
Master of Education (M.Ed)
අධ්‍යාපනපති පශ්චාත් උපාධිය
“An action Research to Modify the Behavior of teenagers with Maladjusted Behavior including Drug addiction through Psychological Counseling.”
Adolescent Behavioral Psychology & Anti-Addiction
Faculty of Education, University of Peradeniya
Action Research, Cognitive Behavioral Interventions, School Counseling Fieldwork
Forms the operational counseling protocol utilized today in school behavioral remediation, drug addiction diversion programs, and prefects guild psychological conditioning across Sri Lanka.
Postgraduate Diploma in Guidance and Counseling (PGDC)
මඟපෙන්වීම හා උපදේශනය පිළිබඳ පශ්චාත් උපාධි ඩිප්ලෝමාව
“A survey to Identify the counseling needs of armed Forces and Police Personnel in the Post Conflict Era.”
Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE)
අධ්‍යාපන පශ්චාත් උපාධි ඩිප්ලෝමාව
Advanced educational philosophy, institutional administration, student cognitive guidance, and educational psychology.
Certificate in Professional Skills for Educational Administrators (CCPSD-III)
අධ්‍යාපන පරිපාලකයින් සඳහා වෘත්තීය නිපුණතා සංවර්ධනය
Specialized training for In-Service Advisors, educational administration, zonal supervision, and institutional ethics.
Bachelor of Arts (B.A. General)
ශාස්ත්‍රවේදී සාමාන්‍ය උපාධිය
Foundational university degree in humanities and social sciences at the historic campus of Peradeniya.
National Diploma in Teaching
ඉගැන්වීම පිළිබඳ ජාතික ඩිප්ලෝමාව
Three years of intensive residential pedagogical conditioning, classroom psychology, and national teaching methodology.
Accredited Specialized Training
Specialized clinical, trauma, and child-safeguarding certifications completed with international humanitarian agencies and statutory health bodies.
GTZ (German Technical Cooperation)
Trauma Counseling Specialized Program
කම්පන හා ආපදා උපදේශන විශේෂඥ පුහුණුව
Completed during the national crisis of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Provided frontline trauma stabilization to grieving school children, displaced families in Ambalangoda, and critical psychosocial debriefing under German clinical standards.
Escape Institute & Family Planning Authority
Child Sexual Abuse & Reproductive Health
ළමා සුරක්ෂිතතාව හා ප්‍රජනක සෞඛ්‍ය උපදේශනය
Advanced clinical specialization in handling sensitive adolescent abuse disclosures, ethical safeguarding protocols, trauma-informed recovery, and adolescent reproductive psychological guidance.
Diploma in Psychology
Institute of Psychological Studies – Colombo 03
Foundational behavioral psychology, psychopathology, cognitive models, and psychological assessment metrics.
Higher Certificate in Guidance & Counseling
Institute of Psychological Studies – Colombo 03
Therapeutic client communication, empathetic listening, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and individual case formulation.
Management Skills for In-Service Advisors
Ministry of Education & Thumula Educare
Institutional leadership, zonal counselor supervision, educational governance, and national program management.
Hospital & Veterans Psychosocial Care
Kandy General Hospital & Ranaviru Seva
Oncology patient counseling at Kandy General Hospital and psychological resilience programs for war veterans.
Key Professional Appointments & Contributions
Over 28 years of institutional leadership across the Ministry of Education, Armed Forces, Public Administration, and statutory counselor governance.
Directing student psychosocial programs, guiding school counselors, overseeing crisis resolution, and formulating behavioral intervention strategies across secondary colleges in the Kandy Education Zone.
Formulated and deployed structured crisis de-escalation protocols and peer guidance networks serving tens of thousands of school students in the Central Province.