"Being Well Isn't Just a You Thing": Real Voices From International Students in Melbourne

⚠️ 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.

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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.

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Watch the episode below or find us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts!

🎧 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

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💡 Episode Highlights:

• Marcus and Asami catch up after months apart - Marcus has graduated from honours, started his gap year, and picked up running; Asami has gone full-time at Shapes and Sounds and is rebuilding her relationship with running after two injuries
• Why international students? Marcus shares key findings from his literature review on Asian international student mental health in Australia
• Introducing Student Changemakers: A peer leadership program for international students in Semester 1, 2026, focusing on equipping students to support their peers while learning to take care of themselves first
• Voices from the cohort: You'll hear authentic reflections from students about their lived experiences
• Butcher paper discussions: Daleney and Marcus walk through what students wrote in response to three questions: What does being well look like in your community? What negatively impacts your wellbeing? What helps you thrive? Themes include the double-edged sword of masking, the Tagalog concept of Pakikisamá (wellbeing as experienced communally), and the role of food as connection and survival

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🧠 Key Takeaways:

"The statistics show that a lot of Asian international students are struggling. So this is a season where we really wanted to try to address that." - Marcus

"It's like the reality never quite matches your expectation, and then the disappointment that you feel in that gap grows." - Asami

"We really wanted to make sure we had a balance between what's difficult, but also what makes you survive here." - Asami

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👤 About the Hosts & Guest

Asami Koike is the founder of Shapes and Sounds, a mental health and wellbeing social enterprise based in Melbourne. She is the host of the Asian Mental Health Podcast and is a passionate advocate for culturally responsive mental health support.

Marcus Lai is co-host of the Asian Mental Health Podcast and a recent honours graduate based in Melbourne. He has a strong interest in research, international student wellbeing, and Asian community mental health.

Daleney Ing is a psychology honours student and facilitation support at Shapes and Sounds. She served as a key part of the Student Changemakers leadership program team, welcoming students and supporting program evaluation.

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🛠️ 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: justshapesandsounds.com/asian-australian-mental-health-practitioners
• 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"

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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. 💛

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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. All thoughts and ideas you hear are independently ours and our guests.