Appointed to the ASeTTS Board: Supporting Trauma Survivors | Michael Elwan

I am deeply honoured and profoundly grateful to share my appointment to the ASeTTS Board - the Association for Services to Torture and Trauma Survivors.

This role is more than a professional achievement; it reflects a personal mission.

Coming from the Middle East, where many communities continue to experience conflict, displacement, and generational trauma, supporting those who have fled their homes feels both a calling and a responsibility.

During my Master of Social Work, I completed a Capstone project under the mentorship of Dr. Tania Pearce, conducting a scoping review on the lived experiences of asylum seekers and refugees in Australia. That research revealed the profound emotional and psychological toll of displacement. For people uprooted by violence or instability, the journey is not only about relocation; it is about reclaiming safety, dignity, connection, and a sense of home.

This appointment aligns closely with my work at Lived Experience Solutions (LEXs), which I founded to centre lived experience leadership in mental health transformation. Through LEXs, I advocate for culturally inclusive and trauma-informed services that reflect the stories, strengths, and cultural identities of the people they serve.

In this role with ASeTTS, I remain committed to ensuring that refugees and trauma survivors are not only heard, but actively involved in shaping the services that support their healing. I look forward to contributing to spaces where hope, connection, and emotional safety are not exceptions, but expectations.

Based in Perth, WA, LEXs provides telehealth counselling across Australia for individuals, couples, and NDIS participants. Services extend to Social Work supervision, Peer Work supervision, training, and keynote speaking on men’s mental health, CaLD community wellbeing, and culturally responsive suicide prevention; helping people and organisations make mental-health care more compassionate, inclusive, and effective. LEXs provides services across Australia, supporting clients in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and beyond. To learn more about our work across Australia, visit LEXs' services page.