Michael Elwan recently facilitated an AASW workshop on mental health in CaLD families, giving social workers practical tools to reduce stigma, support intergenerational dialogue, and hold safer family conversations where culture, migration and silence matter.

Award-winning social worker, national advisor, and PhD researcher Michael Elwan reflects on multicultural mental health storytelling and the lessons held in silence.

I’m honoured to be joining the Black Dog Institute’s Suicide Prevention Network Community of Practice this September, where the focus is on suicide prevention in culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) communities. This theme is close to my heart. As someone who migrated from Egypt to Australia and carries lived experiences of caregiving, migration stress, and suicide bereavement, I know how deeply culture shapes the way we understand distress, healing, and belonging. C