Group Programs

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A supportive group environment where connection, trust, and shared experience foster healing, belonging, and mutual support. Our groups are thoughtfully designed to meet people where they are, in ways that feel safe and culturally responsive.

What to Expect

❋ Belonging

Experience being part of a group where trust is built, relationships form, stories are shared, and you’re not alone.

❋ Cultural Care

Groups can be language- or culture-specific, or intentionally multicultural, supporting understanding, inclusion, and connection within Australian life.

❋ Your Pace

Our experienced therapists and facilitators design and guide each program, tailored around the needs of their participants.

❋ Expert Guidance

Each group encourages their participants to express and contribute, but only to the extent they are comfortable.

Find a Group for You

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Wentworthville

Garden & Arts

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Blacktown

Proactive Women Group

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Merrylands

Explore & Express Through the Arts

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Fairfield

Social Soccer Wellbeing for Men

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Join a Group
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Wentworthville

Garden & Arts

This program offers English, Persian (Dari & Farsi) speakers a structured and supportive path to new friendship and mental well-being. The program combines the arts and gardening with mental health support where participants engage in preparing soil, planting,and nurturing the plants, harvesting produce and mastering new skills, enjoying the beauty and restorative benefits of connecting with nature and their own creativity. These sessions also provide a space to share struggles areceive group support and build capacity. They are facilitated by a qualified counsellors with experience in Expressive Arts, Nature and Horticulture Therapy and language and culture helpers.

“Activities such as gardening. Getting a certificate from a gardening course I did. I am very excited about receiving a certificate – someone like me receiving a certificate!”

Women

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Tuesday 10am-12pm

Dari, Farsi, English

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Weekly in NSW School Term

Wentworthville Anglican Church
18 Prichard St E, Wentworthville, NSW

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Facilitated by:
Rebekah, ‘Shogufa’ Honke & Caroline Hochstetter

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Blacktown

Proactive Women Group

This program offers South Sudanese and other African women from refugee backgrounds a culturally safe and supportive path to connection, belonging, and mental well-being. The Proactive Woman Group brings women together through shared activities such as storytelling, singing, dancing, and conversation, creating space for relationship-building, mutual support, and healing. The program integrates gentle mental health support in ways that feel natural and accessible, alongside practical skills and encouragement for life in Australia.

  • PWG was established by South Sudanese Australian woman Aduk Dau, who models being a ‘proactive woman’ to the enthusiastic group of South Sudanese women, by being a wife, mother, nurse, interpreter, community leader, master storyteller and founder of Lost Children of Jonglei Scholarships for young refugees in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya.

     Aduk started the Proactive Woman Group in partnership with STARTTS Community engagement team, in 2018. A short while later Caroline joined Aduk and her group, along with a few other volunteers and staff from STARTTS. Aduk and Caroline continue to co-facilitate PWG and welcome other African Women into their group. They meet fortnightly in the STARTTS meeting room in Blacktown. STARTTS expanded their group programmes in  2021 for older men and women from Refugee Backgrounds establishing The Keeping in Contact Program (see below) which Proactive Woman Group was a founding group. 

“She has expanded her skills and is more proactive in expressing her desires and needs, and although still experiencing some mental health challenges, is more confident to communicate and participate with others . Now the other woman comment how much she has changed, and talk and joke with her. This beautiful woman lights up with smiles and laughs as she dances with the other women.”

Women

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Wednesday 10am-1pm

Dinka, English

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Fortnightly in NSW School Term

Blacktown STARTTS:
Level 2, 85 Flushcombe Rd, Blacktown, NSW

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Facilitated by:
Aduk Dau & Caroline Hochstetter

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Merrylands

Explore & Express through the Arts

This program offers women a structured and supportive path to increased mental well-being through guided creative expression and exploration. It combines expressive arts with mental health support, inviting participants to engage in art-making, such as bilateral drawing or expressive mark making with art materials, movement to music, trauma-sensitive breath-work, creative storytelling and imaginative play in a way that enhances trauma reparation.

Sessions provide a safe space to share experiences, receive group support, and build a sense of belonging, while strengthening resilience, confidence, and personal agency. The program is facilitated by qualified counsellors with experience in Expressive Arts Therapy and Refugee Trauma Recovery.

“Activities that help me get out of my house. Like today. I feel more happy. I had pain in my knee, but I forget my pain.”

Women

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Thursday 10:30am-12:30pm

Farsi, English

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Weekly in NSW School Term

Merrylands Baptist Church (Downstairs)
Corner of Newman St. & Memorial Avenue, Merrylands, NSW

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Facilitated by:
Caroline Hochstetter & Dr Lydia Gitau

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Join a Group
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Fairfield

Social Soccer Wellbeing for Men

This program offers men aged 18 and older a structured and supportive path to community engagement and mental well-being. The program combines physical activity with mental health support where participants engage in friendly, weekly social soccer to build strong social connections, combat isolation, and foster a genuine sense of belonging within the local community.

Sessions focus on teaching practical mental health skills to enhance emotional resilience, manage stress, and promote mental health. These sessions also provide a space to share struggles and receive group support. They are facilitated by a qualified psychologist with experience in trauma, depression, and anxiety.

“I've had the opportunity to meet Australians, which has been wonderful, and to learn more about their culture and other aspects of it. In these soccer sessions, I've been able to practice my English more through social interaction, which is very important for communication in this country."

Men

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Saturday
9:30am-12pm

English

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Weekly in NSW School Term

Fairfield Park, Lawson St,
Fairfield NSW

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Facilitated by: Rees Hopper

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(Contact Us About)

Family & Children Groups

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Parents & Children

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NA

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Restoring Garden Group

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Women & Men

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NA

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Open Studio Arts Space

Women & Men

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NA

  • "Having an Australian friend - a safe person to talk to…help me navigate new culture."

    Group Participant

  • “Help me to make new friends and also to practice my English”

    Social Soccer Participant

  • "Helps me have connections with others.”

    Proactive Women Group Participant

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