And just listen.
“Because, at the end of the day, they are the ones who are the experts when it comes to their own cultures,” she said.
Ms Devoti’s official title is a bit of a mouthful: she is the Goulburn Valley Health cultural and linguistically diverse (CALD) liaison worker for the GV area mental health service.
It is a complicated title, for a complicated — but endlessly fulfilling — role.
In a nutshell, she links Shepparton’s multicultural communities with life-saving mental health services.
“The role has three parts,” she said.
“I work collaboratively with organisations working with ethnic communities.
“I also work with communities, providing educational sessions around mental health and mental illness and what the symptoms are. I support these people to navigate their way around mental health services.
“And finally, I work closely with clinics, to educate them on how to connect with CALD communities.”
For the past few years, Ms Devoti has been running mental health education sessions at the Ethnic Council of Shepparton.
Alongside community development officer Abdullah Naveed, she works with Sudanese, Congolese, Iraqi, Afghan and Syrian communities, as well as migrant groups.
Their main goals: increasing understanding of and breaking down stigma around mental health.
“A lot of people don't have an understanding of what mental health or mental illness is,” Ms Devoti said.
“In Shepparton, it can be confusing when you come from a place where these services were limited or did not exist.
“Even if people do understand mental health and the services available, there can be massive barriers of guilt and shame, which stop them from seeking help.”
She has endeavoured to break down these barriers in multiple ways.
First, changing the language.
“Instead of using words like ‘mental illness’, we often say ‘protecting your wellbeing’,” she said.
“We've also named the sessions ‘keeping well in your reality'. It's about acknowledging what is happening to the person and looking at mental health and wellbeing around that.
“Often people will talk about practical issues affecting their lives. They will say, ‘I have a worry in my life’ but they may not have made the connection around protecting their wellbeing.”
Second, Ms Devoti works closely with community leaders, spiritual leaders and community representatives, whom she refers to as “the gatekeepers of communities”.
Finally, she works to adapt sessions to meet individual needs.
“For instance, some people are not only illiterate in English but in their own language. They have learnt everything they know from stories told by their parents or grandparents,” she said.
“So I've introduced a mental health storytelling session. So if I was, for instance, talking about stigma, I'd weave that into a story, instead of just presenting on it.”
Ms Devoti said local services were working hard to address the mental health needs of Shepparton’s CALD community.
“Clinicians are doing the best they can and they have done everything with sensitivity and integrity,” she said.
Not only that — Ms Devoti claims they are beginning to see real results.
“We've received feedback that these sessions have been very beneficial and given people a chance to open up about how they are,” she said.
“We have also seen a breakdown in stigma around mental illness, with more and more people opening up to GPs about mental wellbeing. Which is just brilliant.”
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