Ravindra Ranasinha PhD

Dr. Ravindra Ranasinha is a Drama Therapist with over 25 years of experience helping individuals and communities achieve emotional healing and personal growth through creative expression. Based in Sri Lanka, he specialises in trauma recovery, developmental disabilities, and community well-being, integrating Drama Therapy with mindfulness, Zen, and Tao-inspired approaches.

Dr. Ravindra Ranasinha is a Drama Therapist based in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, with more than two decades of professional experience using drama as a powerful medium for healing, personal growth, and psychological well-being.

For over 25 years, he has conducted Drama Therapy programmes across Sri Lanka, working with children, adolescents, adults, families, and communities from diverse social and cultural backgrounds. His work focuses on helping individuals overcome trauma, emotional distress, behavioural difficulties, and life challenges, enabling them to discover resilience, confidence, and renewed meaning in life.

A significant part of his practice is dedicated to supporting individuals with developmental disabilities, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Down Syndrome, and Cerebral Palsy. Through carefully designed therapeutic experiences, participants are encouraged to express themselves creatively, develop social and emotional skills, strengthen relationships, and realise their unique potential.

Dr. Ranasinha believes that drama provides one of the most effective pathways to healing the mind, body, and spirit. By creating safe and imaginative spaces for self-expression, Drama Therapy enables individuals to explore their experiences, release suppressed emotions, gain deeper self-awareness, and build meaningful connections with others.

His therapeutic approach is deeply influenced by the Asian philosophies of Zen and Tao, which emphasise the innate wisdom and healing capacities that exist within every person. Through the integration of therapeutic drama, mindfulness, and contemplative practice, he guides individuals towards emotional balance, inner transformation, and a more fulfilling life.

In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Ranasinha has contributed to the development of Drama Therapy in Sri Lanka through research, training, supervision, and the publication of scholarly work. He has conducted workshops and training programmes for mental health professionals, educators, community workers, and humanitarian organisations both locally and internationally.

He currently serves as a Director of the Research Institute for Dramatherapy.

Our Services

• Individual Drama Therapy Sessions
• Group Drama Therapy Sessions
• Trauma Recovery Programmes
• Support for Children and Adults with Developmental Disabilities
• Professional Training and Workshops
• Community-Based Healing and Well-being Programmes

Those who wish to experience the healing benefits of Drama Therapy are warmly invited to contact us to arrange an appointment.

Contact Information

Mobile: +94 71 983 9507

Email: ravindraranasinha@gmail.com
Email: info@srilankadramatherapy.org

Postal Address:
1/20A, Ariyawansa Lane,
Moratumulla,
Moratuwa,
Sri Lanka.

The History of Dramatherapy as a Formal Scholarly Discipline in Sri Lanka

by Dr Janet Le Valley

Sri Lanka has a very rich history of creative arts, in general, and Dramatherapy, in particular. Our ancient Bali and Thovil rituals, as well as some very dramatic Buddhist rituals, for example, are intentionally therapeutic, making use of masks, dance, ritual movement, collective family and community engagement, role play, archetypal and cultural symbols, deities and demons, paranormal negotiation by session facilitators with the conflictive and troublesome forces that further pathology in the patient and disturb family and community relationships.

As a formal scholarly discipline, however, Dramatherapy is new in Sri Lanka. Ravindra Ranasinha is Sri Lanka’s highly acclaimed Dramatherapy pioneer, having done Dramatherapy with children, adolescents, adults and families, and individuals struggling with the challenges of PTSD, Autism, Down Syndrome, psychological and emotional and behavioural disorders, family dysfunction, schizophrenia, and movement instability, in Sri Lanka, India, among Tibetans in exile, and being a respected and valuable consultant in an international network ranging from USA and Canada to Hong Kong and India. He has worked with Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Native and Allopathic medical professionals, as well as Educational and rehabilitation projects and institutions.

His doctoral research established the efficacy of dynamic meditation in a Dramatherapy context in the enhancement of potential in adults with Down Syndrome. He published Dramatherapy in Sri Lanka (2013) and Dramatherapy in a Counselling Context  (2013) in Sinhalese, as well. This book introduced Sri Lanka to dramatherapy, as a scholarly discipline. This was followed in 2014 by How Schools Abuse and Fail Children: Dramatherapy to Heal Emotionally Traumatized School Children in Sri Lanka, a book that included case studies in the application of dramatherapy to the field of Education. In 2105 he published Creative Arts Therapies for Autistic Children: A Sourcebook for Clinicians, Teachers and Parents. This book had contributions by international authorities, and is an exciting treasure chest of resources and scholarly dialogue.

In 2014, Ravindra graduated 16 students and interdisciplinary professionals from Sri Lanka’s first certificate program in Dramatherapy. It was sponsored by Samutthana the King’s College London Resource Centre for Trauma, Displacement and Mental Health, and various experts and scholars assisted with instruction.