The Asian Mental Health Podcast

🌟 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&#39...

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...

⚠️ 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, y...

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 curios...

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,...

 ⚠️  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 gri...

⚠️ 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, Asam...

⚠️ 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...

🎁 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 Un...

⚠️ 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?...

🎁 Free Resource:  Download your  Breaking cycles, keeping culture: A guide for the Asian community  PDF for deeper learning   →  HERE In this episode, Asami speaks with Vietnamese Australian clinical psychologist Vi Tran, founder of  The Middle Bridge Project , about parenting, identity, and the unspoken ways Asian parents show love. From the "cut fruit" metaphor to redefining what it m...

  🎁 Free Resource:  Download "AI vs Therapy: What's the difference" to deepen your learning →  HERE In this mid-season episode of the Asian Mental Health Podcast, Asami and Marcus share candid stories about therapy. From messy counselling rooms at uni to the awkwardness of "breaking up" with a therapist. Along the way, they explore how to know when therapy is working, whet...

🎁 Free Resource  Download your free Cultural considerations in chronic pain   guide →  HERE .   In this episode, Asami swaps roles to become the guest, opening up about years of living with debilitating chronic pain, the cultural values that shaped her response to it, and the surprising one-session breakthrough that changed everything. Whether you're an Asian Australian navigating your own he...

🎁  Free Resource:  Download our guide  How to Talk About Mental Health with Your Asian Parents HERE . What do you do if you can't find the right words to talk about your mental health with your parents? Vietnamese Australian psychologist  Helen Tang  shares her journey with anxiety, medication, and learning how to care for herself while staying connected to her family - offering hope for othe...

🎁 Free resource: Download your guide  Navigating Internalised Racism  HERE . ✨ How does internalised racism shape the way we see ourselves, and how can we begin to heal? In this episode, Asami speaks with Asian Australian counsellor Jackie about identity, shame, and the subtle ways racism becomes internalised within Asian Australian communities. From distancing ourselves from culture to finding...

💡Download the free therapeutic rapport guide that accompanies this episode  HERE . What makes therapy work? Is it the technique, the therapist's training, or something else? In this opening episode of Season 4, Asami and Marcus explore the underrated but essential ingredient in therapy:  therapeutic rapport.  Especially for Asian Australians seeking culturally responsive mental health support...

As promised, here is the unabridged version of the documentary that Oscar made during his travel through Japan. He dives deeper into the Eastern philosophies behind Fukumitsu’s calligraphy practice and discovers a fascinating link between art, language, nature and mental wellbeing. The transcript is available here . Help us destigmatise mental health conversations in Asian communities by downloadi...

Asami and Marcus invite their beloved teammate Stef Kam onto the show to discuss their work as an art therapist and an artist. Stef explains how creating art in art therapy plays a role in helping people to deal with feelings and emotions that words cannot express. And don't worry, our third host Oscar reunites with the group at the end to wrap up the season. The transcript is available here . Hel...

In a very special travel documentary episode, Oscar explores the intersection of work, honing a craft and mental health in Japanese craft. The team discuss the way Japanese culture, crafts and "Zen" are romanticised and appropriated by the Western gaze. The transcript is available here . Help us destigmatise mental health conversations in Asian communities by downloading this episode on...

Dom Thattil, influencer and advocate for BIPOC and queer communities, drops into the studio for a chat with Asami about balancing safety with visibility, his relationship with his family and the inner work we need to do to keep ourselves mentally healthy. The transcript is available here . Help us destigmatise mental health conversations in Asian communities by downloading this episode on your fav...

The Shapes and Sounds team share workplace survival stories, how would you deal with these situations? Asami investigates an insulting rumour, Oscar confronts his racist manager and Marcus duels his harshest critic–himself. The transcript is available here . Help us destigmatise mental health conversations in Asian communities by downloading this episode on your favourite app and sharing it with y...

Asami sits down with clinical psychologist and relationships expert Sanduni Silva. They discuss the emotional baggage we carry into the workplace and how to effectively communicate while staying true to your values. Listen to learn how to navigate workplace challenges and maintain your sense of self. The transcript is available here . Help destigmatise mental health conversations in Asian communit...

A Shapes and Sounds community member shares her inspiring story of living and working with ADHD and autism. The transcript is available here . Help destigmatise mental health conversations in Asian communities by downloading this episode on your favourite app and sharing it with your friends and family. We’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas about Asian mental health. Find us online at ⁠@justsh...

Marcus and Asami are joined by Rachel Lim, psychologist and clinical lead from Headspace Syndal. With a strong passion for youth mental health, Rachel tells us about the evolution of her own career goals and how a false start at uni actually led her to doing the work she wanted to do. The transcript is available here . Help destigmatise mental health conversations in Asian communities by downloadi...

The Asian Mental Health is back! To kick things off, Asami, Marcus and Oscar define the theme they’ve chosen for our third season and talk about the impact that work has on our mental health.  The transcript is available here . Help destigmatise mental health conversations in Asian communities by downloading this episode on your favourite app and sharing it with your friends and family. We’d love...