The COVID-19 pandemic is having an ongoing impact on all of our lives and many of us are feeling anxious and worried at this time. The Transcultural Mental Health Centre has put together this page of resources to help people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities (CALD) to take care of your health and mental health during the pandemic.
COVID-19 and your mental health
The impacts of the coronavirus pandemic can make us feel stressed and worried. The following resources can help you to look after your mental wellbeing and look out for those around you as we all cope with the mental health effects of COVID-19.
Translated Mental Health Expert Advice
TMHC has been involved with the production of multilingual videos available via YouTube with valuable coping tools for our CALD communities in five languages. Click on the following links to go to YouTube or watch below Chinese - Simplified; Chinese - Traditional; Greek; Italian and Vietnamese.
|
|
|
|
| Chinese - simplified |
Chinese - traditional |
Greek |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Italian |
Vietnamese |
|
Transcultural Mental Health Centre (TMHC) Resources
Although not specifically about COVID-19, TMHC has produced several resources in multiple languages about wellbeing, stress and coping with disaster that may be of assistance at this time:
- A practical guide series - Stress and stress management. Available in Arabic, Cantonese (audio), English, English (audio), Farsi, German, Greek, Italian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese.
- A practical guide series - Promoting wellbeing. Available in Arabic, Cantonese (audio), English, English (audio), Farsi, German, Greek, Italian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese.
- Help for you and your family after disasters. Available in Arabic, English, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Russian Simplified Chinese, Tamil, Thai and Traditional Chinese.
Visit the Transcultural Mental Health Centre website to download multilingual fact sheets on a wide range of mental health issues.
Look after your mental health during COVID-19
NSW Health has translated a Fact Sheet 'Look after your mental health during COVID-19' into a wide range of languages. Click on the links below to download the Fact Sheet in your language.
Arabic (العربية), Armenian (հայերեն), Assyrian (ܣܘܪܝܬ), Bangla (বাংলা), Burmese (မြန်မာစာ), Chinese-Simplified (简体中文), Chinese-Traditional (繁體中文), Croatian (Hrvatski ), Dari (دريلو), Dinka (Thuɔŋjäŋ), Farsi (فارسی), French (Français), Greek (Ελληνικά), Bahasa, Italian (Italiano), Japanese (日本語), Khmer (ភាសាខ្មែរ), Korean (한국어), Kurdish-Kurmanji (کورمانجی), Lao (ພາສາລາວ), Macedonian (Mакедонски), Mongolian (Монгол Хэл), Nepali (नेपाली), Polish (Język polski), Portuguese (Português), Punjabi (ਪੰਜਾਬੀ), Russian (Русский), Serbian (Српски), Spanish (Español), Swahili (Kiswahili), Tamil (தமிழ்), Thai (ภาษาไทย), Turkish (Türkçe), Urdu (اُردُو), Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt Nam) and English.
You can also view an accompanying video about 'Looking after your mental health during COVID-19' by clicking on the links below.
English (English), Arabic (العربية), Farsi (فارسی), Greek (Ελληνικά), Hindi (हिन्दी), Hungarian (Magyar), Italian (Italiano), Khmer (ភាសាខ្មែរ), Nepali (नेपाली), Spanish (Español), Portuguese (Português), Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt Nam), Korean (한국어), Turkish (Türkçe), Sinhalese (සිංහල), Tamil (தமிழ்), Malayalam (മലയാളം) and Bangla (বাংলা).
Australian government mental health and COVID resources
The COVID-19 pandemic and the related social and economic impacts of physical distancing and isolation measures have had a significant impact on the mental health and wellbeing of all Australians, with particular challenges faced by multicultural communities.
The Australian Government’s COVID-19 Mental Health Campaign encourages people to prioritise their mental health, learn how to know the signs of someone not coping, and provide information on the support services available. To help multicultural communities whose mental health and wellbeing is impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are asking you to please support the campaign by downloading the resources and sharing them through your communications channels (website, newsletters, social media) into your communities and networks.
Visit the Department of Health website for translated resources.
You can also find dedicated pages for culturally and linguistically diverse communities on the Australian Government's Head to Health website.
Older Persons COVID-19 Support Line 1800 171 866
The Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) delivers education, information and advocacy services for senior Australians and their families including those in residential aged care and their families in areas most affected by lockdowns. OPAN also offers a Wellbeing Check service to ensure the provision of emotional or social support available to both Home Care Package or Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) recipients.
Senior Australian COVID-19 support numbers and advocacy services
• Older Persons COVID-19 Support Line - 1800 171 866
• Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement - 1800 22 22 00
• My Aged Care Contact Centre - 1800 200 422
• Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) - 1800 700 600
A translation and interpreter service is available to access the above numbers. Senior Australians who require an interpreter can call 131 450, select the language they speak and provide one of the COVID-19 support numbers to access the information in their own language.
This Way Up Multilingual Coping Resources
This Way Up in collaboration with the Multicultural Health Communication Service has launched a suite of multilingual coping tools created to support the mental health and wellbeing of CALD communities. The tools provide easy steps to calm your emotions, express yourself and tackle problems. There are also a series of translated worksheets about controlled breathing, good sleep, what to do in case of an emergency, managing your mood, learning to notice the good things in life, progressive muscle relaxation and self-care.
The resources have been translated into 10 different languages including Arabic, Chinese – Traditional, Chinese – Simplified, Filipino, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Korean, Spanish and Vietnamese. Click here to view and download the resources.
Beyond Blue: COVID-19 Looking after your mental health
Beyond Blue has produced a website about looking after your mental health during COVID-19, including a short animation and brochures in the following languages:
Arabic - اَلْعَرَبِيَّة, Chinese Simplified - 简化字, Punjabi - ਪੰਜਾਬੀ, Vietnamese - Tiếng Việt
You can also download a fact sheet about dealing with your mental health and where to go for help from the Beyond Blue website.
The fact sheet is available in:
Albanian - Shqip, Amharic - አማርኛ, Arabic - اَلْعَرَبِيَّة, Armenian - հայերեն, Assyrian - ܣܘܪܝܝܐܣܘܪܝܬ, Bengali - বাংলা, Bosnian - Bosanski, Burmese - မြန်မာဘာသာ, Croatian - Hrvatski, Dari - دری, Dinka - Thuɔŋjäŋ, Dutch - Nederlands, Farsi - فارسی, Filipino - Tagalog, Finnish - Suomi, French - Français, German - Deutsch, Greek - Ελληνικά, Gujarati - ગુજરાતી, Hakha Chin - Laiholh, Hazaragi - آزرگی, Hebrew - עִבְרִית, Hindi - मानकहिन्दी, Hmong - Hmoob, Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia, Italian - Italiano, Japanese - 日本語, Karen - ქართული, Khmer - ភាសាខ្មែរ, Kirundi - Ikirundi, Korean - 한국어, Kurdish - Kurdî/کوردی, Lao - ລາວ, Macedonian - Mакедонски јазик, Malayalam - മലയാളം, Maltese - Malti, Nepali - नेपाली, Pashto - پښتو, Polish - Polski, Portuguese - Português, Punjabi - پنجابی / ਪੰਜਾਬੀ, Rohingya - Ruáingga, Romanian - Limba română, Russian - Pусский язык, Samoan - Gagana faʻa Sāmoa, Serbian - Cрпски, Simplified Chinese - 简化字, Sinhalese - සිංහල, Slovak - Slovenský jazyk, Slovenian - Slovene, Somali - اَفصَومالي, Spanish - Español, Swahili - Kiswahili, Tamil - தமிழ், Thai - ภาษาไทย, Tibetan - བོད་སྐད, Tigrinya - ትግርኛ, Traditional Chinese - 正體字/繁體字, Turkish - Türkçe, Ukrainian - Yкраїнська мова, Urdu - اُردُو.
The following resources have been translated into 17 languages to support families during COVID-19.
Helping children cope with stress during Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
Using play to support children during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
Embrace Multicultural Mental Health Resources
The following fact sheets provide helpful information about anxiety and depression in a range of languages that may be useful for those feeling the mental health impacts of COVID-19:
- What is anxiety disorder? Available in Amharic, Arabic, Assyrian, Simplified Chinese, Croatian, Dari, Dinka, English, Farsi, Greek, Italian, Khmer, Korean, Krio, Macedonian, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swahili, Traditional Chinese, Turkish and Vietnamese.
- What is a depressive disorder? Available in Amharic, Arabic, Assyrian, Simplified Chinese, Croatian, Dari, Dinka, English, Farsi, Greek, Italian, Khmer, Korean, Krio, Macedonian, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swahili, Traditional Chinese, Turkish and Vietnamese.
- Dealing with difficult times in your life. Audio in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, English, Greek, Italian, Traditional Chinese, Samoan, Spanish and Vietnamese
Mental health resources in English
The following sites provide advice in English on dealing with the mental health impacts of COVID-19.
Top of page
General information about COVID-19 for CALD communities
Coronavirus Hotline Options
People who speak a language other than English can now call the National Coronavirus Hotline (ph: 1800 020 080) and choose Option 8 for the free interpreting service.
Alternatively people (who speak Arabic, Assyrian, Bosnian, Croatian, Dari, Dinka, Hazaragi, Lao, Serbian, Spanish, Tamil, or Vietnamese) can contact the Multilingual COVID-19 Telephone Support Line Monday – Friday (9:00 am - 4:00 pm) on 1800 845 198, for assistance with: vaccination bookings, information about boosters and vaccination for children, managing COVID-19 safely at home, and use of Rapid Antigen Tests.
- NSW Health has produced information in many community languages about COVID-19, including resources about symptoms of COVID-19, social distancing, getting tested, contact tracing, checking in at venues, celebrating Ramadan during COVID-19 and getting vaccinated plus much more. Visit the NSW Health website below to download the resources.
NSW Health COVID 19 multilingual resources by language
NSW Health COVID 19 multilingual resources by topic
Top of page
For mental health assistance call the NSW Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511. The Mental Health line provides telephone mental health assistance 24 hours/ 7 days a week. Interpreting services are available when using the Mental Health Line.
In case of an emergency call 000