December Organisational Newsletter

December: Wrapping up 2025

Hello there,

This was the first year that we launched this newsletter specifically designed to reach service providers who work with, or are interested in learning more about the Asian community in Australia.

Thank you to those who shared feedback on this newsletter, or engaged in our cultural-competency trainings, and/or who engaged us in more bespoke consulting work to support your teams this year.

We have thoroughly enjoyed working with you and providing a point of connection with our broad and diverse communities.

Here are some key points that continued to emerge throughout the year when working with you:

• We spoke extensively about the perhaps, somewhat loaded term of, "Asian parents", and helped organisations understand what may underly some of the pressures, parenting styles, communication preferences that are observed by services
• We also discussed different needs of the diaspora vs new migrants and we highlighted that the diaspora are often an overlooked population group as they have no language requirements yet require service delivery that remains cognisant of the layered cultural nuances they may be facing
• We were also excited to share with you our first publication with Monash University, "Considering Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist influences on daily emotion regulation and affect in Chinese Australian trauma survivors" and their overarching research summary which can be found on our website here.

If these insights are front of mind for you, you might be interested in our new recorded version of our Cultural-Competency Training, which is available right now for you to begin. 

For being on our newsletter, we'd like to invite you to access our launch pricing before December 31st. Please find all details HERE.

Lastly, please note that we'll be offline from Dec 19th and will return on Jan 5th.

A big Merry Christmas to those who celebrate and we look forward to seeing you in 2026! 

Cheers,
Asami

🌱 Important dates and festivals this month

Some important cultural festival and dates this month include: 

December 8: Bodhi Day. A Mahayana Buddhist observance commemorating the day that Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment while meditating under the Bodhi tree. It symbolises the goal of all Buddhist practice: to achieve understanding and freedom from suffering.

December 18: International Migrants Day. Established by the UN, this day recognizes the contributions of migrants worldwide and highlights the challenges they face and need to protect their human rights. It symbolises the global commitment to safe and orderly migration.

How will your organisation be marking these important dates this month? Feel free to reach out to us if you'd like some ideas!

🦉 Research perspectives to strengthen your culturally-responsive practice:

A study by Levy-Fenner et al. (2023) explored the mental health recovery experiences of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) individuals in Australia using digital storytelling. It aimed to understand how CALD individuals conceptualise recovery. Within their analysis, they found that participants emphasised the importance of support systems, personal growth, and community involvement in their recovery journeys

What does this mean for clinicians and the community? 

These findings support the importance of research that is led by those with lived experience. For clinicians, these findings emphasise the importance of culturally sensitive, individualised recovery approaches for CALD individuals. Understanding diverse coping strategies, the central role of family, and fostering opportunities for social engagement and self-understanding can lead to more effective and empowering mental health support.

Reflective prompt: 

What kind of supports can you implement to help CALD individuals living with mental health bolster community involvement? What are some barriers which you might encounter during this process and how do you aim to overcome these in practice? 

You're welcome to reach out to us by replying to this email, if you'd like some perspective on this.

💡Our new recorded training is live.

The new professional standards for psychologists are fast approaching this month and a core element of this shift is to embed cultural competency throughout all aspects of practice. As the leading voice for Asian mental health in Australia, we can support you to meet these requirements in regards to the largest culturally diverse community in Australia.

After supporting organisations like headspace Syndal and Elsternwick, Monash Youth Services and The Australasian Genetic Counsellors Society in 2025, we're excited to announce that we have a new recorded version of our core training for you to begin right now.

Ready to learn more? Sign up for 20% off before December 31st via this link.

🔎 Connect with our new therapists.

Our Asian Australian mental health practitioner list introduces you to private practitioners who are skilled in supporting the Asian community's mental health needs.

Our private practitioners are available for referrals. Please contact them directly via their profile HERE.

✨Thank you for reading up to this point!

We rely heavily on your generous support to provide ongoing and free mental health resources to Asian communities in Australia.

Support Shapes and Sounds HERE.

🐌 And last but not least:

Recently on Linkedin,

We shared our practitioner interview with counsellor Yi Tong Tew. Read our interview with him here.