Music soothes the mind. Most of us probably take this statement at face value and never think about how it really happens. But Amodini Jayawardena, who moved to New Zealand at the age of 13 has taken that statement to another level by practicing Music Therapy.

For most of us music therapy may sound like a new concept, but it has been around for ages. To simply put, it is when music is used to treat people as a form of therapy. If we elaborate further, music therapy works as a helpline for mental health, disabilities, neurodiversity, neonatal care, elderly care, and school children and teenagers, all in the forms of soothing their minds through music. Out of this vast variety, Amodini decided to focus her expertise on mental health, disabilities, and neurodiversity.

Before becoming a music therapist Amodini has always been passionate about music, growing up with playing the piano, singing, and a lot of performing arts. After moving to New Zealand, she performed in the Auckland Epsom Girls’ Grammar school’s choir, through to her Master’s in Music Therapy at Victoria University, Wellington.

Amodini moved to Auckland, New Zealand at the age of 13 with her parents and little brother. After high school, she went to Otago University in Dunedin for her undergraduates. Although her musical roots were in Classical music, she caught another interest in the Contemporary styles of Soul, Blues, and R&B at Otago University. Lucky for her, the university offered programs in these streams, which Amodini eagerly followed. Then under her mother’s guidance she decided to follow her Master’s in Music Therapy and took that path as a profession. Now she is a professional music therapy practitioner living in sunny Northland.

As the World Music Therapy Week 2025 started on April 10th and continues till the 15th, Amodini will obviously be quite busy. The week that celebrates music therapy will be focusing a lot not just on performance, but also on advocacy and fundraising, with the goals of making it more accessible to the public.

Although she moved to New Zealand at a young age, she speaks fluent Sinhala and has never forgotten her Sri Lankan heritage. Even her Master’s research was focused on how the Sri Lankan culture impacts music therapy. She feels that our culture’s diversity, hospitality, and warmth can influence her profession. She thinks that even negative aspects like our anxieties around the civil war and how we coped with it can be an effective learning factor in music therapy. She is eager to research further on how the Sri Lankan culture can blend with her practice.

Music is not her only interest. Ever since she was a child in Sri Lanka, she has been an enthusiastic swimmer who regularly visited the beach with her family. Hence, she decided to learn surfing after moving to Northland, which had been inspirational in her recent surfing trips to Sri Lanka and Bali.

When asked about whether she has plans to become a performing musician, her answer was that she is delighted with what she is doing now. Although she wouldn’t rule out the idea of taking her talents to a larger mainstream audience, she feels that she can be more personally connected to people through music therapy than being a popular artist.

For further details about music therapy week 2025 visit:

https://www.musictherapy.org.nz/whats-happening/music-therapy-week-2025/

By Thulitha Abayawardana