February 2026 Community Newsletter: Student Leadership Program!

February: Calling all international students! This one's for you.

Hello there,

Are you or do you know of, an international student currently studying in Melbourne?

If so, you might be interested in joining our Student Changemakers: Peer Leadership Program!

Student Changemakers is a small-group leadership program for international students to build peer leadership and communication skills especially in the context of wellbeing, and contribute to a student-informed podcast season amplifying international student voices.

Details:

• Tuesday afternoons; March 10th, 24th and April 7th
• 3:00–5:00pm
• Held at Study Melbourne (17 Hardware Lane, CBD)
• Food provided
• You get a $50 gift card per session
• Certificate on completion

You can learn more and express your interest via THIS LINK :)

We look forward to meeting you!

❤️ Asami

Mental health resources

📖 A research article you might be interested in: 

International students often face a lot of academic and social pressures, which can lead to suicidal behaviours. This article found that while international students may think about suicide at similar rates as domestic students, they're more likely to act on them. One key reason for this is loneliness, but the article also mentions the importance of recognising culturally-specific stressors (such as discrimination against Asians) that uniquely contribute to suicide among this population. Services that build on a person's cultural strengths, and recognise the additional difficulties which international students face are key for effective suicide prevention efforts. 

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Here you can also find fact sheets aimed to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and offer practical insights for your wellbeing. They’re all free on our website so keep an eye out!

P.S. Have a topic you'd like us to create a resource around? Email us at hello@justshapesandsounds.com! 

🔎 Searching for a therapist?

Connect with our new practitioners via the Asian Mental Health Practitioner List, or share this page with someone who may need this.   
 

🎤 Therapist spotlight.

Get to know registered psychologist, Yixuan Li, via our interview:

"It’s okay to be exactly who you are — love doesn’t have to be earned through perfection or productivity"

✨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 in social media land,

We shared some snippets from our last season of the Asian Mental Health podcast, where we invited practitioners across different fields to talk about their own mental health journey. Check out this reel here on our instagram to hear some of their reflections!