Shawn Raphael Tan

He/him

Shawn Raphael is a second-year PhD Candidate under the supervision of Prof Ashleigh Lin, Dr Nicole T M Hill, and A/Prof Deborah Strickland at the Telethon Kids Institute as part of the Youth Mental Health Team. He is pursuing the Doctor of Philosophy (Medicine) (Public Health) program at The University of Western Australia (UWA). His PhD focuses on the risk and protective factors of mental health outcomes in international students, and how barriers to mental health support can be surmounted whilst facilitators to mental health support can be bolstered. His PhD project is entitled “Understanding the mental health needs of international students in Australian universities”. He is being supported by the UWA's International Fee Scholarship and University Postgraduate Award.

His research interests centre around improving mental health outcomes for youth and cultural minorities at risk of experiencing mental ill health. He is passionate about the maintenance and preservation of good mental health and hygiene. He is also passionate about raising awareness and understanding of mental health in the general population.

Slightly tangential from his research interests, he is personally interested in culture and language and their interplay with mental health. He speaks English, standard Mandarin, standard Japanese, Japanese Kansai dialect, and Singlish (Singaporean dialect) fluently, and Malay conversationally.

Stemming from these interests, Shawn Raphael also currently works at UWA in several roles. He is a lab demonstrator for undergraduate psychology in the School of Psychological Science and a peer supporter at The Living Room, Shenton House, providing peer-to-peer support to enrolled students.

Shawn Raphael possesses a Bachelor of Philosophy with First Class Honours in Psychology from the University of Western Australia. He completed an honours thesis entitled “Investigating the direct relationship between prospective memory and quality of life: A cross-lagged panel model approach”.