Knowledge Hub

Hints for Healing, by STARTTS, contains a suite of practical resources aimed at supporting educators and school counsellors who play an instrumental role in the recovery, resettlement and development of learners with a refugee experience . 

In particular, Hints for Healing: Supporting Students Impacted by Violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories offers valuable insights into trauma-informed approaches for educators, with resources and strategies to address the unique mental health challenges faced by students impacted by the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

Published in Australian Family Physician (AFP) Vol.44, No.3, March 2015 by The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners

'The How’s Your Haal? (HYH) Project is a youth-driven community initiative that seeks to reignite the conversation about mental health for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) youth in Western Australia (WA). The heart of this project is about creating “brave spaces” for conversation about mental health, both amongst youth in CALD communities, and between CALD Youth, Community Leaders and Service Providers.' (Australian Multicultural Foundation)

This report was produced by the Australian Multicultural Foundation How's Your Haal? Project, 2020.

The literature review outlines the key determining factors that influence the mental health and wellbeing of young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds. It identifies the enablers and barriers to implementing good practice approaches to improving mental health and wellbeing and provides an outline of the relevant frameworks that have been implemented in Australia. This literature review was written by the Centre for Multicultural Youth for Orygen as part of the Youth Enhanced Services program, National Programs.

Victorian Transcultural Mental Health (VTMH) has created four free online modules. 

• Orientation to cultural responsiveness
• Cultural diversity and assessment 
• Working with interpreters 
• LGBTIQ interest 

Enter the Learning Hub here or use one of the links below to open a specific module. You will be prompted to register or login.

International students face unique stressors, including a greater risk of depression, financial and housing stress, academic pressures, and navigating cultural and language differences far from home. These stressors, combined with barriers to seeking help, can increase their risk of suicide. 

Addressing these challenges requires, a multi-faceted, student-empowered approach across systems, services, and agencies. 

Since 2022, the International Students’ Wellbeing Taskforce, led by The Victorian Suicide Prevention and Response Office at the Victorian Department of Health, has worked to support international students’ wellbeing in Victoria. The taskforce has now concluded and has produced many valuable wellbeing and suicide prevention resources. 

This Journey mapping project aims to build a shared understanding of issues, driven by international students' lived experiences​ (funded by the Department of Health)

Cultural responsiveness is an integral component of recovery-oriented service delivery and a critical consideration in improving the quality and safety of mental health services.

By Mental Health in Multicultural Australia (MHiMA), 2014

When providing mental health services  to people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities a range of additional risk and protective factors need to be taken into consideration. The factors that are particularly important are migration and acculturation, racial discrimination and equity, language acquisition, and refugee experiences. These factors are inter-related and can exacerbate the likelihood of a mental illness or conversely protect against the development of a mental illness.

By Mental Health in Multicultural Australia (MHiMA), 2014

Mental health services and individual workers who work within them will often have very different understandings and explanations of mental illness from consumers who are from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. Culturally responsive workers must seek to understand the illness experience of CALD consumers in order to gain their trust and respect, determine shared priorities, and plan and implement sensitive and effective intervention, treatment and recovery.

By Mental Health in Multicultural Australia (MHiMA), 2014