🌟 Season 5 of the Asian Mental Health Podcast is a wrap. This finale episode looks back on everything: the Student Changemakers leadership program, the students who made it what it was, the practitioners who showed up for them, and the very big feelings the Shapes and Sounds team has about what the mental health sector still needs to do.

Season finales are usually about celebration, and there's plenty of that here. Asami, Marcus, and senior producer Yeo Choong reflect on six weeks of running a first-of-its-kind international student mental health leadership program, a full season of conversations, and what it really takes to reach communities that larger services a seem to be finding too hard.

The results were clear. Students came in thinking about how to help others. But, they left knowing that it's important to help themselves first. They built WhatsApp groups, they attended focus groups, they gave their time and their stories, and 88 of them tried to sign up to a program that only had room for 20.So yes, there is pride. There is also a rant, delivered with love, about why large, well-resourced organisations haven't yet figured out what two people (ie. us) planned in three months on the side. The answer, Asami and Marcus argue, is not complexity. It might be intention.

🎧 You'll hear about:

✅ How students' answers changed across six weeks of the leadership program

✅ The three biggest challenges international students reported: finances, loneliness, and distrust of services

✅ Why the peer practitioner model could change how international students access mental health support

✅ Why culturally responsive care is often far simpler to implement than services pretend

✅ The Shapes and Sounds definition of leadership (and why you already qualify)

✅ What comes next for Shapes and Sounds and the Asian Mental Health Podcast

🧠 Key Takeaways:

• Vinca: "Being a leader is not about being bossy. It's more about giving empathy, listening, and giving back to the team"
• Sania: "I wasn't aware of how many free mental health resources were available for international students. I also learned how I can support myself while helping my friends around me"
• Eva: "They gave you sample question styles, like what kind of question to ask people to actually let them self-reflect. It's really practical and I can use it"
• Marcus: "The answer is often so much more simple than we make it. We need to start so much more basic. Services need to do more, and more services need to care"
• Asami: "Focus back on a strengths-based model. These students are doing their best every single day. We have to recognise that positivity and that resilience"
• Yeo: "We got so much interest from students wanting to be on the podcast as guests. Real students talking about real experiences. That is the heart of this season"

🔗 Find culturally responsive practitioners on the Asian Mental Health Practitioner List

🌐 Shapes and Sounds website

🛠️ Resources and References Find them all over on the full show notes

🙌 Connect with Shapes and Sounds 

• ⁠Instagram⁠

• ⁠LinkedIn⁠

• ⁠Website⁠

🎁 Free Resource: Download ⁠"International Students and Mental Health"

✨ There are 39 other episodes to explore if you're looking for more. Please subscribe, rate, and review the Asian Mental Health Podcast on your favourite podcast app, and share this season with someone who might need it. Word of mouth is how we destigmatise mental health in Asian communities. 💛

See you in season 6!

The Asian Mental Health Podcast is a production from Shapes and Sounds, made on the stolen lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. This show is hosted by Asami Koike and Marcus Lai and produced by Yeo Choong.

This season is brought to you by Embrace Multicultural Mental Health (The Embrace Project). All thoughts and ideas you hear are independently ours and our guests.The Embrace Project is part of Mental Health Australia. For more information about the Embrace Project, visit here.

What does it really take to move across the world at 18, navigate a new city alone, and build a life from scratch? In this episode, Asami is joined by Divnoor Kaur, a Punjabi-Indian psychology graduate and early childhood diploma student who has been quietly determined to be part of Shapes and Sounds since 2023. It took three years, but we're so grateful that she made it here!

The conversation also features voice memos from Tina Liu, a bilingual psychologist at one of our Practice Partners, MindBodyHeart Psychology, and former international student herself, who reflects on the challenges she witnessed both as a student and as a practitioner working with migrants and international students every day.

Together, Asami, Divnoor, and Tina unpack what people get wrong about the international student experience: it's not just about managing study and a part-time job. It's about navigating racism you didn't expect, housing markets that weren't built for you, support services you didn't know existed, and a homesickness that only hits once you've left.

This is one for every international student, every person who loves one, and everyone who has ever felt like a fish discovering what water actually is.

🎧 You'll hear about:

✅ What people get wrong about international students and their emotional reality

✅ Racial slurs in the CBD two months after arriving in Melbourne

✅ Melbourne's housing crisis and how it hits international students hardest

✅ Mental health stigma in Indian communities and why "boys don't cry" sticks with you

✅ The WEIRD bias in mental health research and why culturally matched practitioners matter

✅ Peer mentorship programs, Bollywood clubs, and how to build a community from zero

✅ Sleep, eating well, and why loneliness sometimes wins over a good night's rest

👤 About the Guests

Divnoor Kaur is originally from Ludhiana, Punjab, India. She moved to Melbourne at 18 to study psychology at the University of Melbourne and is now completing a diploma in early childhood education. A passionate advocate for youth mental health, she was a peer mentor at UniMelb and a participant in the Shapes and Sounds Student Changemakers program. She has been trying to get involved with Shapes and Sounds since 2023. Three years later, she made it.

Tina Liu is a practicing psychologist at MindBodyHeart Psychology, a bilingual Mandarin and English private practice in Melbourne and a Shapes and Sounds practice partner. Originally from China, Tina completed undergraduate studies at Monash, a PhD at Deakin, and a masters in psychology at VU. She worked for years teaching in a university foundation program before transitioning to clinical practice, where she works primarily with Mandarin-speaking migrants and international students.

🔗 Find Tina Liu and other culturally-responsive practitioners on our Asian Mental Health Practitioner list

🌐 Our Practice Partner, Mind Body Heart Psychology

🛠️ Resources Mentioned: Find them all in the full show notes over on our blog

🙌 Connect with Shapes and Sounds ⁠

• Instagram⁠
• LinkedIn
• Website

🎁 Free Resource: Download ⁠"International Students and Mental Health"

⁠✨ If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and review the Asian Mental Health Podcast on your favourite podcast app. Share this episode with someone who is an international student, or who loves one. Word of mouth is how we destigmatise mental health in Asian communities.

💛The Asian Mental Health Podcast is a production from Shapes and Sounds, made on the stolen lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. This show is hosted by Asami Koike and Marcus Lai and produced by Yeo Choong. This season is brought to you by Embrace Multicultural Mental Health (The Embrace Project). All thoughts and ideas you hear are independently ours and our guests.The Embrace Project is part of Mental Health Australia. For more information about the Embrace Project, visit: https://embracementalhealth.org.au/

⚠️ Content warning: This episode includes mentions of eating disorders and depression. Please approach this carefully. If this doesn't feel right for you today, skip ahead or return when you're ready.

What happens when your culture is something you only truly discover after leaving it behind? In this episode, Asami sits down with Cait, a Filipino-Chinese undergraduate psychology student, youth mental health advocate, and owner of 11 dogs (!) each with their own personality and their own wanted-poster photo frame.

Cait moved from the Philippines to Melbourne to study psychology, carrying with her a history of depression, anxiety, and an eating disorder, none of which she disclosed when she arrived. "I had a clean slate," she says, "and it really backfired on me."

What followed was a year and a half of navigating a new country, a fragmented mental health system, and the slow, surprising discovery of who she actually was as a Filipino, something she never had to think about back home.

In this conversation with Asami, Cait opens up about the Filipino concept of kakayanin (to endure), how colonialism has shaped the way Filipinos understand mental health, why a diagnosis in the Philippines can feel more like a kryptonite than a lifeline, and what it means to fight for culturally grounded mental health research. This one is warm, funny, and deeply honest, and it's the kind of conversation that reminds you why representation in mental health spaces is a non-negotiable, not a "nice to have".

🎧 You'll hear about:

✅ Growing up Filipino-Chinese and falling short of academic expectations

✅ Depression and navigating stigmatised mental health services in the Philippines

✅ Moving to Australia and leaving your mental health history behind, and why that backfired

✅ Kakayanin: the Filipino concept of endurance and its double edge

✅ Why Filipinos telling stories through karaoke might actually be the research gap we need

👤 About the Guest

Cait is a Filipino-Chinese undergraduate psychology student in Melbourne and a passionate advocate for youth mental health, particularly within Filipino communities. As a participant in the Shapes and Sounds Student Changemakers program, Cait carries both her own lived experience with depression, anxiety, and navigating cultural stigma, and the stories of other young Filipinos she has spoken with along the way. She is deeply invested in reshaping how mental health is understood and researched across Southeast Asian contexts, and believes those conversations start over food, language, and karaoke.

🔗 Find culturally responsive practitioners on the Asian Mental Health Practitioner List

💡As a bonus, connect with Arthur De Jesus who's a Filipino clinical psychologist and the founder of AK Psychology, Melbourne's first Filipino psychology private practice

🛠️ Resources Mentioned: Find them all over on the full show notes on our blog

🙌 Connect with Shapes and Sounds 

• ⁠Instagram⁠

• ⁠LinkedIn⁠

• ⁠Website⁠

🎁 Free Resource: Download ⁠"International Students and Mental Health"

⁠✨ If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and review the Asian Mental Health Podcast on your favourite podcast app. It really helps other international students find these conversations. Share this episode with your friends, especially if you know, or are, a young Filipino navigating life far from home. Word of mouth is how we destigmatise mental health in Asian communities.

💛The Asian Mental Health Podcast is a production from Shapes and Sounds, made on the stolen lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. This show is hosted by Asami Koike and Marcus Lai and produced by Yeo Choong. This season is brought to you by Embrace Multicultural Mental Health (The Embrace Project). All thoughts and ideas you hear are independently ours and our guests.The Embrace Project is part of Mental Health Australia. For more information about the Embrace Project, visit: https://embracementalhealth.org.au/

What does it take to move to a new country at 19, navigate culture shock, come out as gay while studying psychology, work through perfectionism and shame, and eventually build your own clinical practice? In this episode, Dr. Zhi Xiang On takes us on that journey with warmth, humour, and remarkable honesty.On moved from Klang, Malaysia to Melbourne to study psychology at 19. What started as curiosity about a big city quickly became a complex navigation of identity, belonging, and self-discovery. From not understanding why everyone walked so much, to learning that "Asian Australian" was a thing, to spending two hours crying before coming out to a friend, to eventually becoming a clinical psychologist, forensic psychologist, and clinical neuropsychologist, On's story is both deeply personal and universally relatable.In this conversation with Asami, On opens up about the pressures of college party culture when you come from a conservative family, the guarded way he first approached university counselling, the moment a professor pointed out what he wasn't ready to hear about his sexual identity, and how working through his own "parts" transformed not just his studies but his entire approach to being a therapist.This episode is for anyone who's ever felt like they had to perform being okay, anyone navigating identity while far from home, and anyone wondering what it really means to "work on yourself."🎧 You'll hear about:✅ Moving from a small Malaysian town to Melbourne at 19 and experiencing culture shock✅ The loneliness crisis facing international students today✅ Coming out as gay to friends and family while studying abroad✅ University counselling: the benefits, barriers, and what students need to know✅ Understanding your "parts" and what it means to work on yourself✅ How to support peers using the HEAR framework👤 About the GuestDr. Zhi Xiang On is a clinical psychologist, forensic psychologist, clinical neuropsychologist, and the director of Back On Track Psychology, a private practice in Melbourne. Originally from Klang, Malaysia, On moved to Australia at 19 to study psychology at the University of Melbourne. His work emphasises a collaborative, safe, values-guided therapeutic relationship.🔗 Find Dr. On on the Shapes and Sounds Practitioner List HERE 🌐 Back On Track Psychology website 🛠️ Resources Mentioned: Find them in the full show notes over on our blog 🙌 Connect with Shapes and Sounds 

• ⁠Instagram⁠

• ⁠LinkedIn⁠

• ⁠Website⁠

🎁 Free Resource: Download ⁠"International Students and Mental Health" ⁠✨ If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and review the Asian Mental Health Podcast on your favourite podcast app. It really helps other international students find these conversations. Share this episode with your friends, especially if you know or are an international student, because word of mouth helps destigmatise mental health in Asian communities. 💛The Asian Mental Health Podcast is a production from Shapes and Sounds, made on the stolen lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. This show is hosted by Asami Koike and Marcus Lai and produced by Yeo Choong.

This season is brought to you by Embrace Multicultural Mental Health (The Embrace Project). All thoughts and ideas you hear are independently ours and our guests.The Embrace Project is part of Mental Health Australia. For more information about the Embrace Project, visit: https://embracementalhealth.org.au/

Why is it so hard to find help as an international student in Australia? When services exist but feel impossible to access, when information is scattered across a dozen websites, and when you're not even sure what "good therapy" looks like... where do you even start?

In this episode of the Asian Mental Health Podcast, Marcus sits down with Vinca Metta Julicia and Sania Jatin Prabhu, two international students and Student Changemakers participants, for an honest conversation about what it's really like trying to navigate mental health services in Melbourne.

Vinca, from Indonesia, has studied architecture in Taiwan and urban design in Melbourne. Sania, originally from India with time in South Africa, is pursuing her Master of AI at Monash. Together, they break down the barriers international students face: the one-month wait times for uni counseling, the confusion about costs and confidentiality, the fear that seeking help might affect your visa, and the overwhelming reality that no single place exists to guide you through it all.

But this episode isn't just about what's broken. It's also about what helps:

• ClassPass and bouldering for moving your body,
• BumbleBFF for finding community,
• The Couch for free meals and connection,
• and the small acts of resilience that keep students going when the system fails them.

🎧 You'll hear about:

✅ Why international students struggle to access mental health services in Australia

✅ The reality of university counseling: long wait times and mismatched support

✅ The fear that accessing mental health services might affect your visa

✅ What international students actually need: a single navigation point and welcoming spaces

✅ How to build community through movement, online platforms, and university events

👤 About the Guests

Vinca Metta Julicia is an Indonesian international student who recently completed her Master of Urban Design in Melbourne after studying architecture in Taiwan. Her journey as an international student across multiple countries has shaped her understanding of resilience, belonging, and people-centered design. Vinca is passionate about creating environments where individuals feel safe, connected, and supported, which links closely to mental wellbeing. She participated in the Student Changemakers peer leadership program in Semester 1, 2026.

Sania Jatin Prabhu is an Indian international student pursuing her Master of Artificial Intelligence at Monash University in Melbourne. She has moved countries three times: from India to South Africa at age two, back to India for high school and university, and now to Melbourne, where she's navigating student life completely alone without family nearby. Each move has felt progressively harder, and she joined Student Changemakers hoping to provide the kind of support she wished she'd had. Sania has been in Melbourne for nine months and is passionate about helping other international students find their footing.

🛠️ Resources Mentioned: Find them all linked in the full show notes here!

🙌 Connect with Shapes and Sounds

• Instagram
• ⁠⁠LinkedIn
• Website⁠ ⁠ ⁠

✨ If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and review the Asian Mental Health Podcast on your favourite podcast app. It really helps other international students find these conversations. Share this episode with your friends, especially if you know or are an international student, because word of mouth helps destigmatise mental health in Asian communities.

💛The Asian Mental Health Podcast is a production from Shapes and Sounds, made on the stolen lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. This show is hosted by Asami Koike and Marcus Lai and produced by Yeo Choong. This season is brought to you by Embrace Multicultural Mental Health (The Embrace Project). All thoughts and ideas you hear are independently ours and our guests.The Embrace Project is part of Mental Health Australia. For more information about the Embrace Project, visit here.

 ⚠️ Content Warning: This episode includes discussions of grief, self-harm, and harassment. Please listen with care. If hearing about these topics doesn't feel right for you today, please skip to another episode or return at another point in time.

What happens when you lose a parent just months after arriving in Australia as a 19-year-old international student? How do you keep going when grief, visa timelines, and financial pressure collide and there's no space to stop?

In this powerful episode of the Asian Mental Health Podcast, Asami speaks with Maneesha Singh, a registered psychologist, founder of ManAsha Psychology, and former international student from India. Maneesha shares her deeply personal story of arriving in Melbourne at 19, navigating culture shock, losing her father within her first year, and feeling the overwhelming pressure to "just keep going" through grief, study, and survival.

Now as a clinician specialising in culturally responsive trauma-informed care, Maneesha works with international students, migrants, and second-generation Asian Australians facing similar struggles. She opens up about what she sees in her practice: students arriving at crisis point, the shame and stigma around mental health in South Asian communities, self-harm as a coping mechanism, and the systemic barriers that keep international students from seeking help until it's almost too late.

This conversation offers both a mirror for those who've walked this path and a roadmap for mental health services, educators, and peers who want to better support international students navigating migration, grief, and belonging.

🎧 You'll hear about:

✅ Arriving in Australia at 19 from India: culture shock, food struggles, mixed-gender accommodation, and learning to navigate Melbourne alone

✅ Losing a parent as an international student and the pressure to return to uni within a month

✅ Why international students don't feel they have the option to pause, defer, or grieve

✅ The financial and visa pressures that drive students to keep going at all costs

✅ How grief manifests physically: panic attacks at ATMs, gut health issues, chronic headaches

✅ Common patterns Maneesha sees in her clinical practice: late-stage crisis presentations, perfectionism, disconnection, and reversed sleep cycles

✅ Stigma, shame, and the fear of being seen as "weak" or bringing shame to the family

✅ Self-harm as a coping mechanism among international students

✅ How to support a friend who's struggling without beating around the bush

✅ What mental health services are missing when working with international students

✅ The importance of language, cultural attunement, and small sustainable steps in therapy

✅ The story behind ManAsha Psychology: mind, heart, and hope

👤 About the Guest

Maneesha Singh is a registered psychologist and founder of ManAsha Psychology, a Melbourne-based practice specializing in culturally responsive and trauma-informed care. Originally from India, Maneesha moved to Australia at 19 as an international student, where she navigated culture shock, grief, and the challenges of building a life abroad. Her lived experience deeply informs her clinical work.

🔗 Find Maneesha's profile on the Shapes and Sounds Asian Mental Health Practitioner List   

🌐 ManAsha Psychology website

🙌 Connect with Shapes and Sounds

• ⁠Instagram⁠
• ⁠LinkedIn⁠
• ⁠Website⁠

🎁 Free Resource: Download ⁠"International Students and Mental Health" ⁠

✨ If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and review the Asian Mental Health Podcast on your favourite podcast app. It really helps other international students and migrants find these conversations. Share this episode with your friends, especially if you know or are an international student, because word of mouth helps destigmatise mental health in Asian communities. 💛

The Asian Mental Health Podcast is a production from Shapes and Sounds, the leading voice for Asian mental health in Australia. Thank you for listening!

⚠️ Content Warning: This episode includes discussions of mental health struggles, isolation, and burnout. Please listen with care.

What does it really look like to be an international student in Melbourne? Beyond the curated social media posts and "day in the life" videos, what are the hidden struggles that students face every day?

In this episode of the Asian Mental Health Podcast, Asami sits down with Rachel Tan Mun En and Cheng Qien Vrede, two Malaysian international students and Student Changemakers participants, for an honest conversation about loneliness, financial pressure, broken trust, and the realities of building a life from scratch in Australia.

Rachel, a double degree student in education and music working three jobs, and Vrede, a final-year psychology student, share their raw experiences of what it's really like to navigate university life as an international student - from the small daily struggles that build up over time, to the moments of breaking down, to finding unexpected sources of strength like religion, community, and vulnerability.

🎧 You'll hear about:

✅ The gap between social media expectations and the reality of international student life in Melbourne

✅ Why international students often don't feel they have "permission to struggle"

✅ The hidden financial and emotional costs of studying abroad for Malaysian students

✅ How online university courses make it harder to build consistent friendships and community

✅ The experience of loneliness even when surrounded by people on campus

✅ Why religion and faith communities matter for international student wellbeing (and why mental health services need to talk about this)

✅ Practical strategies for supporting struggling peers and building trust

✅ The importance of vulnerability and consistency in creating meaningful connections

💡 Episode Highlights:

• The reality check: life as an international student is 1% "cupcakes and rainbows" and 99% learning to cook, clean, manage money, and take care of yourself alone

• How loneliness "creeps up on you very quietly" when you can't find people who click with you

• The cycle of no rest: working three jobs while doing a double degree and barely touching your violin for three months

• Why showing weakness feels dangerous in Asian communities - and how that stops students from seeking help

• The role of Christian faith and prayer in Rachel's mental health journey (and why mental health services in Australia need to engage with religion more openly)

• How to know when a peer needs help - and why asking "are you okay?" once isn't enough

• The impact of online learning on student mental health: "You made friends in high school because you saw them every day. In uni, it's just fleeting moments"

• Why "not wanting to burden people" actually robs them of the opportunity to care for you

🛠️ Resources Mentioned:

• Free mental health guide for international students HERE
• All other resources are linked in the full show notes HERE

🙌 Connect with Shapes and Sounds

• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Our Asian Mental Health Practitioner List

✨ If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and review the Asian Mental Health Podcast on your favourite podcast app - it really helps other international students find these conversations. Share this episode with your friends, especially if you know or are an international student. Word of mouth helps destigmatise mental health in Asian communities. 💛

💡Do you work with international students? If so, you may be interested in learning more about the Student Changemakers program as well as downloading our project summary report HERE.

This season is brought to you by Embrace Multicultural Mental Health (The Embrace Project). All thoughts and ideas you hear are independently ours and our guests.The Embrace Project is part of Mental Health Australia. For more information about the Embrace Project, visit: https://embracementalhealth.org.au/

⚠️ Content Warning: Today's conversation includes mentions of suicide. Please approach this carefully. If hearing about suicide doesn't feel right for you today, please skip to another episode or return at another point in time.

Welcome back to Season 5 of the Asian Mental Health Podcast! In this season opener, hosts Asami Koike and Marcus Lai reunite in the studio for the first time since August 2025 to introduce a very special season dedicated entirely to the international student experience in Australia. They're joined by Daleney Ing, facilitation support at Shapes and Sounds and psychology honours student, to unpack what they learned from running Student Changemakers: a peer leadership program for international students in Semester 1, 2026.

You'll hear directly from students in their own words: voice memos, reflections, and raw honest moments about what it's really like to arrive in Melbourne full of hope, and navigate the gap between expectation and reality.

🎧 You'll hear about: 

✅ Why Shapes and Sounds dedicated Season 5 to international student mental health and wellbeing in Australia 

✅ The alarming research on suicide rates and mental health challenges among Asian international students 

✅ What the Student Changemakers peer leadership program was, who it was for, and how it ran in Melbourne 

✅ Real voice memo reflections from international students about their experiences navigating life in Australia 

✅ Why presence matters more than advice when supporting struggling students 

✅ What "being well" means across different cultural frameworks, including collectivist and interdependent perspectives 

✅ How financial stress, transport access, and everyday life logistics compound into serious mental health risks 

✅ The protective factors that help international students thrive in Australia

🛠️ Resources Mentioned:

• Student Changemakers - Shapes and Sounds' peer leadership program for international students in Melbourne

• Asian Mental Health Practitioner List - Find a culturally responsive therapist: https://justshapesandsounds.com/asian-mental-health-practitioner-list

• Embrace Multicultural Mental Health - This season's supporting partner

• Swinburne University (2023) study on Asian international student mental health

• Coroners Court of Victoria report on international student deaths by suicide (2021)

🙌 Connect with Shapes and Sounds 

• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Website

🎁 Free Resource: Download "International Students and Mental Health"

~

Do you work with international students? If so, you may be interested in learning more about the Student Changemakers program as well as downloading our project summary report HERE.

~

Keywords: international student mental health Australia, Asian international students Melbourne, student suicide prevention, peer leadership program, culture shock, international student loneliness, Student Changemakers, homesickness support, international student wellbeing Melbourne, culturally responsive mental health, Embrace Multicultural Mental Health, Swinburne international students

✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review the Asian Mental Health Podcast on your favourite podcast app - it really helps other people find us. And please share this episode, especially if you know or are an international student. Word of mouth helps destigmatise mental health in Asian communities. 💛

The Asian Mental Health Podcast is a production from Shapes and Sounds, made on the stolen lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. This show is hosted by Asami Koike and Marcus Lai and produced by Yeo Choong. This season is brought to you by Embrace Multicultural Mental Health (The Embrace Project). All thoughts and ideas you hear are independently ours and our guests.The Embrace Project is part of Mental Health Australia. For more information about the Embrace Project, visit: https://embracementalhealth.org.au/

🎁 Free Resource: For further growth and learning, download "Working with Invalidation in Asian Families" → HERE

What happens when love is expressed through sacrifice, but not emotional presence? In this episode of the Asian Mental Health Podcast, Asami sits down with Larissa Qiu, a first-generation Chinese international student, provisional psychologist, and PhD candidate at Monash University, to unpack the hidden impact of emotional invalidation in Asian families.

Larissa shares candidly about growing up in an emotionally restrained household, the challenges of moving to Australia at 16, and her lived experience with borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms.

This conversation offers crucial insights for Asian Australians navigating cultural expectations and mental health, especially from a research perspective too.

🎧 You'll hear about: 

✅ Why emotional invalidation is normalised in Asian families and why it still causes harm 
✅ The fine line between cultural resilience and cultural silence 
✅ Growing up as a "1.5-generation" migrant balancing Chinese and Australian identities 
✅ The stigma surrounding borderline personality disorder (BPD) in Asian communities 
✅ What healing looks like through culturally responsive therapy and supportive relationships 
✅ Practical ways to set boundaries and seek validation, even when family can't provide it

💡 Episode Highlights:

• Growing up in an emotionally restrained Chinese household and moving to Melbourne as an international student
• How "be tough" messaging impacts mental health in Asian communities
• Understanding borderline personality disorder through a cultural lens
• The unique challenges of 1.5-generation migrants navigating two cultural identities
• Why material support isn't the same as emotional validation
• Finding culturally competent psychologists who understand Asian family dynamics
• Recovery strategies and self-validation techniques for Asian Australians
• Research insights from Monash's Culture, Trauma and Mental Health Research Group

🧠 Key Takeaways from Larissa: 

"Invalidation in Asian families isn't about lack of love - it's often about survival strategies passed down through generations."

"As a 1.5-generation migrant, you're constantly translating - not just language, but emotions, expectations, and identities."

"BPD is so stigmatised, especially in Asian communities. But with the right support and cultural understanding, healing is possible."

"You can honour your culture while still needing emotional validation. Those two things aren't in conflict."

👤 About the Guest 

Larissa Qiu is a first-generation Chinese international student, provisional psychologist, and PhD candidate at Monash University specialising in culture, trauma, and mental health. Based in Melbourne, Larissa brings both lived experience and professional expertise to understanding how cultural factors impact mental health in Asian Australian communities. Her research focuses on culturally responsive approaches to supporting diverse populations.

🔗 Monash Culture, Trauma and Mental Health Research Group

🙌 Connect with Shapes and Sounds 

• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Find Asian mental health practitioners here

✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review the Asian Mental Health Podcast. It helps more Asian Australians and international students find culturally responsive mental health support. Conversations like these help destigmatise mental health in Asian communities. 💛

Keywords: emotional invalidation Asian families, borderline personality disorder, Chinese Australian mental health, provisional psychologist Melbourne, international student mental health, 1.5 generation migrants, culturally responsive therapy, Monash psychologist, Asian family dynamics, cultural trauma

⚠️ Content warning: This episode discusses suicide and sexual assault. Please listen with care and use the support services listed below if you need them.

🎁 Free mental health information for international students: Download "International students and mental health" → HERE

How do international students navigate identity, mental health, and belonging when studying abroad in Australia? In this episode, we hear from Yi Tong (Ethan) Tew, a Malaysian-born Chinese counsellor, founder of Comfy Counselling, and proud "Gaysian" living in Melbourne.

Yi Tong shares his lived experience of moving to Australia at 17, studying in Melbourne, and later becoming a practising therapist and lived experience worker. His story reflects the challenges many international students and Asian Australians face when accessing culturally competent mental health support in Australia.

Please note that we interviewed Yi Tong using his English name, "Ethan", however since recording this episode, Yi Tong prefers to be referred to by his name, Yi Tong.

💡 Episode Highlights: 

• Coming out to conservative parents and what family acceptance looks like over time
• The loneliness of studying in Melbourne as an international student without support
• Why Medicare doesn't cover most international students, and what mental health options exist instead
• Struggles with suicidality, and how therapy with a culturally competent counsellor helped him survive and reconnect
• Reframing emotions as "data points" - a culturally responsive approach to self-understanding for Asian Australians
• How cultural competency in Australian mental health services can better support international students
• His passion for healthy gaming habits as part of his counselling practice in Melbourne

✨ This episode is especially relevant for:

• International students in Melbourne seeking mental health support
• Asian Australians looking for culturally responsive therapy
• LGBTQIA+ individuals from conservative Asian backgrounds

🧠 Key Insights from Yi Tong: 

• "Emotions aren't problems to fix - they're data points telling us something important about our experience."
• "Finding a therapist who understood both my Malaysian background and my identity as a gay Asian made all the difference."
• "International students face unique mental health challenges, and the system isn't always set up to support us."

👤 About the Guest 

Yi Tong Tew is a Malaysian-born Chinese counsellor, founder of Comfy Counselling, and advocate for culturally responsive mental health care. Based in Melbourne, Yi Tong specialises in working with international students, Asian Australians, and LGBTQIA+ communities. He brings a unique approach that integrates cultural understanding with evidence-based therapy, including exploring healthy gaming habits as part of holistic wellbeing.

📱 Instagram

🔗 Website

🔗 Find Yi Tong and other Asian Australian counsellors via the Asian Mental Health Practitioners List

 🛠️ Dr K's Youtube

🙌 Connect with Shapes and Sounds

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🆘 Support Services (Australia)

• Lifeline: 13 11 14 (24/7 crisis support)
• Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636
• QLife: 1800 184 527 (3pm–midnight, LGBTQIA+ peer support)
• Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467

Please note Shapes and Sounds is not an emergency service.

If you're outside Australia, please check local crisis hotlines in your country.

💬 If you found this episode meaningful, please share it with a friend, leave us a review, and subscribe so other international students and Asian Australians can find the Asian Mental Health Podcast. Your support helps us reach those who need these conversations most. 💛

Keywords: international student mental health Melbourne, Malaysian counsellor, Asian Australian LGBTQIA+, culturally responsive therapy, international student support Australia, Melbourne counselling, Asian mental health practitioners, cultural competency, Medicare alternatives international students