About Dr Lalith Wijedoru

Going from healing through medicine to healing with stories!

"Everyone who has worked with Lalith on stories has thoroughly enjoyed the process. His collaborative approach, warmth, and professionalism make him a joy to work with."

Rachel Collins from Linked In

I'm a third culture kid on a journey...

I am an independent wellbeing consultant with a specialist interest in emotional wellbeing.

I am an award-winning storytelling facilitator, helping people craft and share their true personal stories in psychologically-safe reflective spaces.

I enjoyed a varied career in healthcare as a paediatrician specializing in emergency medicine, both in the UK and overseas.

I qualified from University College London (UCL) Medical School, and have worked in Hertfordshire, Kent, Yorkshire, Merseyside, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and London.

As a Clinical Lecturer of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and a Research Fellow for the University of Oxford’s Tropical Medicine Research Units, I have been an educator, researcher, and a clinician in low-resource settings across Asia including Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Bangladesh.

I would be described by some psychologists as a Third Culture Kid (TCK). I was born and raised in an east Asian culture (Hong Kong / China) to south Asian (Sri Lankan) parents, and educated in an English-speaking western European system.

I am a diversity and inclusion champion, collaborating as a strategic partner of the All-In Diversity Project, and as an associate of Token Man Consulting, SMRS, and Smart About Health.

As a Myers-Brigg ENTJ Personality, I am confident and assertive but can balance this with the sensitivity required for delicate and empathetic conversations.

The global pandemic certainly made a lot of us reflect on our personal lives and careers...

When people discover that I made a career change from being a senior specialist paediatrician to a wellbeing consultant focusing on personal stories, the common responses are:

‘What a waste of all those years of your medical training…
As a doctor, I was trained to listen to the stories of patients/carers, about their health problems. This process is known in the medical profession as ‘taking a history’. His-story. I continue to hone my skills as someone who listens to human stories, acknowledges emotions, and has advanced communication skills.

‘Well, that is something completely different…’
The consistent feedback I get is that sharing and listening to personal stories has been healing. So instead of healing children and families using Western medical practices, I am now helping adults pause, reflect, and heal their emotional wounds through stories. It is the same goal that I had when I applied to medical school.

‘You are going to end up homeless without a stable income…’
I am a solopreneur. A micro-business. Self-employed. I would be lying if I said that there weren’t days when I thought having a stable income would be easier! I am learning a whole new set of skills as a business owner. It is with determination, and a flexible work pattern that I am learning the ropes and growing my business.

‘I wish I was as brave as you…’
Fortune favours the brave! If I always do what I always did, I will always get what I have always got. One of my favourite quotes from Baz Luhrmann’s film Strictly Ballroom is ‘ …a life lived in fear is a life half-lived…’ I think that dealing with honest stories requires courage. I adopt the same boldness when running my business.

‘But you are such a good doctor…’
I seem to receive more external recognition and reward from things that were not the main features of my medical job plan. When I got painted by an artist exhibiting at the Tate Liverpool for my work as a storytelling facilitator for staff wellbeing, and was part of winning teams in staff engagement, I knew something had to change.

My primary school teacher from Year 3 was particularly vocal about my storytelling abilities. A high school psychology teacher was very complimentary about my understanding of the theories of human behaviour. When I look back at my career like this, the signs were clearly there. It took me until my 40s to really join the dots.

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When your child abuse is concealed and disbelieved, the silence of denial is deafening...

I have always had a keen interest in the welfare of others. I have tended to gravitate towards leadership positions. I am confident in representing and advocating for those who do not have a voice. I stood for student office as the Union Welfare Officer at University College London Students’ Union.

This passion continued in my working career where I was committed to supporting staff to be the best version of themselves. Whether this was colleagues, or supervising those more junior to me I always placed great importance on this. After all, who cares for those in the caring professions?

As someone who faced a number of adverse childhood experiences (parental bipolar depression, domestic violence, physical and emotional abuse) resilience was a key part of my survival and maturation. I remain passionate about promoting the welfare of and the safeguarding of children.

Having experienced different healthcare systems, the concept of ‘just because we can doesn’t necessarily mean we should’ is a recurrent ethical dilemma for me. Moral distress triggered by the wide variety in what happens in the face of medical futility really affected me at different stages of my training.

This was my Achilles heel in my role as a caring healthcare professional. Sharing my story and hearing the stories of others also affected by moral injury inspired me to get further training in storytelling.

Having received training in facilitating departmental and organizational storytelling sessions (Team Time | Point of Care Foundation and Schwartz Rounds), I saw first-hand how stories can change work cultures, and perspectives for individual staff members.

I have also suffered racial discrimination, as well as harassment and bullying in the workplace both in the health service and the university/research sector. I am well aware of the psychological impact such incivilities can have, and the even greater difficulties in speaking up when they do happen.

As a result, I have heightened compassion and understanding for those who have suffered all forms of emotional trauma. I have often been told that I am a positive example of traumatic growth.

During yoga, I used to sob imagining I was touching the feet of my brain-dead friend on intensive care...

The suicide of a close family friend, Simon, in December 2018 after a downward spiral from NHS clinical work-related post-traumatic stress disorder (among many other complexities) was a jarring reminder of the importance of looking after the emotional wellbeing of front-line staff.

In autumn 2021, the death of a dear friend, Jessica, following surgical complications to remove a brain tumour was another wake-up call. Jessica had always encouraged me to do more media work to engage, educate, inspire, and connect people. She was incredibly proud of my storytelling work to support staff wellbeing.

Spurred on by Jessica’s death, I did the groundwork required to get shortlisted for national awards. I was emotionally and physically exhausted as well as deeply heartbroken. The children’s hospital team where I worked won the coveted Health Service Journal (HSJ) Award in Staff Engagement (2020).

This external validation and subsequent awards in employee engagement reaffirmed the belief in myself to help individuals, organizations, and communities share individual and collective stories. I left the National Health Service in Oct 2021.

Lang Lang said he liked the way I played my right hand chords...I was gobsmacked...

Music plays a big part in my life, both as a performer and as an admirer. I am an amateur pianist, and love to play solo but love making music with others even more. Music is the only thing that stays when everything and everyone else is gone. I love to discover and share stories related to the soundtracks of our lives.

Coconut or potato? Brown on the outside, white or yellow on the inside...

Physical wellbeing is also very important to me. Yoga, fitness, walking, swimming, and massage are major parts of my timetable. That said, the Asian in me inevitably travels down the path of food, food, and more food! Good food, good drink, good company, good conversation, and good music equals bliss in my life.

I have worked as a clinical lecturer, researcher, and educator at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, the non-governmental organization Friends Without A Border, and the University of Oxford. I have been a mentor for NHS staff through the NHS North West Leadership Academy.

Eastern philosophies have influenced me a lot throughout my life. I see great power in masterful inaction (Wu Wei) described in Taoism. I uphold Buddhist principles including the importance of careful analysis (Kalama Sutta). I am grateful to my International Baccalaureate education which fostered critical thinking.

I believe in truth and justice. I seek out the hidden truth. I trained as an expert witness in family law to be part of the legal process where evidence is properly analysed. I start courageous conversations on the uncomfortable truths of life. I combine a bold yet compassionate approach to sensitive, taboo topics.

My English teacher from secondary school nicknamed me 'Lalith the Loquacious...'

I was a voracious reader since being a pre-schooler. I loved stories, especially folk tales which explained natural phenomenon using mythological characters like the Sun God riding his chariot of flames across the sky from east to west. As an adult, I became fascinated with stories and films which were emotionally challenging.

The jingle you hear on some of my promotional material was inspired by the chimes heard on audio books indicating when it is time to turn the page. As someone with a track record of working with children, I want to bring the wonder and creativity of storytelling to us big kids as well.

I am hopelessly inquisitive, incurably curious. I love to learn from others and their experiences. I have been described as a mix between an anthropologist, lawyer, medical scientist, and thespian. An interesting dinner guest, perhaps? A useful person to have on a pub quiz?

I am bold, yet kind. Close-to-the-bone, yet sensitive. Pedantic, but broad-minded. I am ultimately interested in people, what makes them tick, and what makes them happy.

#GetYourselfALalith #UnashamedlyShameless #ProjectReflectConnect