Bicultural Workers in Mental Health Settings (Nov)
Description
This training aligns to Capability 3 - Working with diverse consumers, families and communities.
We are excited to invite you to a new full-day training exploring the role of bicultural mental health workers and clinicians in building more culturally safe and inclusive mental health services. Developed in partnership by Alfred Mental and Addiction Health, cohealth, Better Health Network and Federation University, the training is informed by research into the experiences and contributions of bicultural mental health workers and clinicians and has been extensively co-designed with bicultural workers, clinicians, lived experience workers and sector leaders.
About the training
Bicultural mental health workers and clinicians bring cultural knowledge, lived experience, language, community connection, and different ways of understanding mental health, wellbeing, and healing alongside their professional and clinical expertise. This training explores how mental health services can recognise, value, and make space for this expertise and diverse ways of knowing, doing, and providing support alongside clinical approaches.
Importantly, it also asks what needs to change within organisations.
Employing bicultural staff does not automatically make a service culturally safe. Organisations need to consider the systems, structures, workplace cultures, and power dynamics that enable bicultural staff to contribute their expertise safely and meaningfully — without carrying the cultural load or responsibility for making the whole organisation culturally safe.
What will we explore?
Understanding bicultural mental health roles and the expertise they bring
Cultural safety and diverse ways of knowing, understanding, and supporting mental health and wellbeing
The experiences and challenges of working biculturally within mainstream mental health services
Cultural load, power, role expectations, and organisational responsibility
The systemic and structural changes needed to better support this workforce and build culturally safe and inclusive services
This is an interactive full-day workshop with opportunities to reflect on current practice, learn from bicultural perspectives and consider what meaningful change could look like within your team or organisation.
A resource package will be sent to registered participants prior to the day which will include pre-reading materials.
The training is designed for:
Bicultural mental health workers and clinicians who bring cultural knowledge, lived experience and professional expertise to their roles.
Managers and team leaders who supervise bicultural staff and can advocate for and implement organisational change and supports.
Peers and colleagues who work alongside bicultural staff and contribute to creating culturally safe and inclusive teams.
This includes clinicians, social workers, lived and living experience workers, carer and peer workforces, community mental health workers, allied health professionals, managers, and others working across mental health services.
We particularly encourage organisations to send bicultural workers alongside their managers and/or colleagues. Cultural safety is a shared responsibility, and the training creates space to have these conversations together.
Please note, if you do register for an event and it is not clear you are part of the intended audience, your registration will be confirmed two weeks prior to the event start date, or earlier.
Acknowledgement
This training is delivered with support from the Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing through the SCALE project, supporting the sharing of learning and good practice across Victoria’s mental health and wellbeing sector. The views expressed are those of the contributors.
Facilitators
Erin Joyce - Senior Lead, Cultural Safety, Equity and Access, Alfred Mental and Addiction Health
Erin Joyce is a Social Worker and Community Development Practitioner whose career has spanned family services, humanitarian work, and public mental health in Australia and internationally. She holds a Master of Social Work, a Postgraduate Diploma in Community Development (International), and a Bachelor of Arts/International Studies. As Senior Lead, Cultural Safety, Equity and Access at Alfred Mental and Addiction Health, Erin works to strengthen culturally safe, equitable and responsive mental health and wellbeing services. Her work is driven by a commitment to human rights, mental health and psychosocial support, and ensuring services uphold human dignity while responding to the diverse strengths, needs and experiences of the communities they serve. She is a strong advocate for systems and services remaining accountable to the people who use them, and for amplifying lived and living experience in service design, delivery and improvement. A systems thinker, educator and strategic leader, Erin is passionate about creating meaningful change at both practice and system levels.
Taff Ruvaro - Advisor, Cultural Safety, Equity and Access, Alfred Mental and Addiction Health
Taff Ruvaro is a public health and mental health equity professional with more than a decade of experience in cultural safety, diversity, and inclusive practice. As Advisor for Cultural Safety, Equity and Access at Alfred Mental and Addiction Health, he contributed to research exploring the role of bicultural workers in mental health settings and advancing culturally responsive care. Taff holds a BSc (Hons) in International Relations & Global Development, an MSc in Public Health, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Health Protection. He also completed a VicHealth Practice Fellowship in Prevention and Health Promotion. His work focuses on translating research into practice, fostering inclusive services, and driving systemic change across complex health environments.
Dominic Hwang - Social Worker and Mental Health Recovery Practitioner, Better Health Network (BHN)
Dominic Hwang is a Social Worker and Mental Health Recovery Practitioner at Better Health Network (BHN), with a Master of Social Work and a Postgraduate Certificate in Mental Health. He is actively involved in BHN’s Cultural Community Engagement Project and has a strong interest in strengthening the role, recognition and contribution of bicultural workers in mental health and community services. As a Cultural Humility and Diversity trainer within BHN, he supports staff to develop culturally responsive and inclusive approaches to practice. His professional practice and training are grounded in a commitment to creating space for respectful dialogue, listening to diverse perspectives, walking alongside consumers and carers, and building genuine partnerships to promote health and wellbeing. He also has a research interest in the experiences and needs of people from culturally and socially diverse and minority communities.
Professor Michael Olasoji - Professor of Mental Health Nursing & Associate Head of Nursing Research, Federation University Australia
Professor Michael Olasoji is Professor of Mental Health Nursing and Associate Head of Nursing Research at Federation University Australia. He is a registered mental health nurse, educator, and researcher whose work focuses on advancing mental health nursing practice, education, and culturally responsive care. His research has made significant contributions to understanding the mental health experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in Australia. In particular, he has led and collaborated on studies exploring the influence of culture, spirituality, and religion on the mental health of African Australians, as well as mental health literacy and help-seeking among migrant population in Australia. Michael is committed to improving equity and access in mental health care through research, education, and community engagement. His work seeks to strengthen culturally safe mental health services, inform policy and practice, and enhance the wellbeing of diverse communities across Australia.
Jasmine Phillips - Bicultural Program Lead - cohealth
Jasmine Phillips is a community development and engagement specialist and qualified interpreter with extensive experience working alongside refugee and migrant communities. Her work is grounded in community-led, strengths-based, and intersectional practice, with a particular interest in power, decolonisation, cultural safety, and centring lived experience within mainstream systems. Since 2017, Jasmine has worked at cohealth where she developed and continues to lead the bicultural program. Through this role, Jasmine has worked in collaboration with bicultural workers from diverse refugee backgrounds to develop the Professional Standards for Bicultural Work, alongside policies, tools and training that challenge organisations to move beyond representation towards sharing power, valuing cultural and community expertise, and taking greater responsibility for cultural safety. Jasmine and her team also coordinate the Victorian Bicultural Workers Network, bringing together more than 500 Bicultural Workers across Victoria and providing opportunities for capacity building, peer support, reflective practice and collective advocacy.
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