Meet Dr. Ami Kunimura

Founder, The Self-Care Institute

Ami Kunimura, Ph.D., MT-BC is the founder of The Self-Care Institute. She holds a Ph.D. in Mind-Body Medicine and is a board-certified music therapist.

Ami provides support for individuals and organizations with burnout prevention, stress management, and sustainable self-care.

She has presented on self-care, burnout prevention, and occupational well-being at international conferences and has developed research-informed educational programs used by clinicians, helping professionals, and organizations worldwide.

With over 20 years of clinical experience, Ami blends science and compassion to support restoration, resilience, and whole-person well-being. Ami’s approach integrates research-based practices, trauma-informed care, and transpersonal psychology to create experiences that support physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health.

Ami has taught as a lecturer at UCLA and as an adjunct graduate faculty member at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and Saybrook University.

Ami’s work supports a global community through education, training, and self-care innovation that focuses on whole-person health, professional sustainability, and authentic self-care that honors each person’s humanity.

For speaking inquiries, interview requests, or media requests, please email support@selfcareinstitute.com

Take a Moment

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SIGN UP FOR AMI’S EMAIL

Take A Moment is an email you’ll get every first and third Wednesday of each month from Dr. Ami to give you:

⤑ Practical and effective self-care tools
⤑ Insights to support your well-being
⤑ A breath of calm and compassion in the middle of the week

SELECT PUBLICATIONS & APPEARANCES

Economist Enterprise (2026) Making Self-Care Work: Integrating Self-Care Into Health Systems

Hawaii Public Radio (2025) Stress Management Techniques for the New Year

Kunimura, A. (2023). Striving for fulfillment: A grounded theory of the transformation of burnout to well-being. (Publication No. 30522507) [Doctoral dissertation, Saybrook University]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2825023120

Kunimura, A. (2022). The intersections of race, burnout, and self-care in social justice and music therapy. Music Therapy Perspectives, 40(2) 182-191. https://doi.org/10.1093/mtp/miac002

Able Voice Podcast (2022) “Self-Care: The Tough Love Friend with Ami Kunimura”

Creative Peacemeal Podcast (2021) “Ami Kunimura”

MT Mentor Podcast (2020) “MT Mentor with Guest Mentor Ami Kunimura, MA, MT-BC”: Self-

Kunimura, A. (2016). Resilience Over Burnout: A Self-Care Guide for Music Therapists. https://www.selfcareinstitute.com/ebook-music-therapists/ ISBN 978-0-692-75212-8

Kunimura, A. (2014). Harmony Handbook Vol. 1: Resources for Music Therapists Working with Adolescents and Adults in Mental Health Treatment https://www.harmonyresource.com/resources/

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