Mental Health Placement in Bali
This is your chance to take classroom learning into a real world setting, to share collaboratively with local partners who specifically request cross cultural engagement and to work side-by-side with people who are passionate about mental health and wellbeing. If this sounds like your area of interest and expertise, we guarantee a hugely rewarding and inspiring global experience!
On our Mental Health Placement in Bali, you will work as part of a team to deliver psycho-social group activities at a selection of our trusted partner projects and local initiatives. Our aim is to support both individual and community mental health and wellbeing through the delivery of this professional placement.
Learn from local professionals to develop your understanding of mental health in a global context. We will focus on community wellbeing, and allocate time to working with local people to exchange ideas and promote wellbeing through local initiatives.
During the placement, you will have the incredible opportunity to live in homestay accommodation in a traditional Balinese village, work alongside our local and international staff team, and develop your understanding of the Balinese culture. We’re incredibly proud to be the only organisation that can promise such a huge amount of professional and cross-cultural experience in such a remarkably beautiful place.
- For students studying mental health, psychology and related disciplines
- 1 month professional Mental Health Placement in Bali, Indonesia
- Gain an understanding of mental health in a global context
- Collaborate with respected local professionals & contribute to community initiatives
- Cultural immersion in a traditional village. Live with a Balinese host family.
- Develop soft skills, cultural intelligence and leadership skills to boost your employability.
- Includes; pre arrival support, 24/7 in-country support, team building camp, accommodation, breakfast & dinners, food, domestic travel, training and workshops, plus cultural experiences and tours. (Flights not included)
- Fees: £1,895 / $3,545 AUD for 1-month in Bali.
- University scholarships available. Download Our Funding Guide
Project Discovery Session 
Watch a recording with our Regional Manager, to learn all about the project.
Or attend a live session with one of the team:
Biweekly on a Wednesday’s 4pm [GMT] / [11am EST] (Register Here)
Biweekly on Thursday’s 2pm [FJT ] / 12pm [AEST] (Register Here)
On a Think Pacific Mental Health Placement in Bali, this is your opportunity to:
- Experience; Gain hands on professional experience in mental health
- Challenge; Expand your comfort zone by immersing and working in a new culture
- Alignment; We match your skills to projects that seek purposeful collaboration
- Purpose: Join a project that has been carefully crafted by local mental health professionals
- Sustainable: Provide supplementary support to sustainable local initiatives
- Learn; Learn about mental health in a new context and from inspiring partners
- Skills; Grow your ‘soft skills’ such as teamwork, communication, emotional intelligence & leadership.
Respected Local Initiatives + Cross Cultural Learning + Local Empowerment = Unique Professional Mental Health Placements
“Our participants support initiatives that are appropriate to your experience and skill level, just as you would in your home country, but with the benefit of learning in a global context.“
First and foremost this is a learning experience and your chance to gain context of mental health from a Balinese perspective and learn how activities, processes and support differ to your own country. You will have the opportunity to design and deliver activity sessions under the direction and in collaboration with qualified local staff.
Before you apply, it’s important to know that we actively work to respect local communities and traditions, by dedicating time for each student to learn from local people about Balinese culture, views and approaches to supporting community initiatives.
Live, work and learn with a group of likeminded students, who are all passionate about mental health and wellbeing! Most people join entirely on their own. You’ll all start on the same day and depart with a new group of close friends and lifelong connections. Develop your communication skills as you work within different groups each week to achieve outcomes. Enjoy weekly activities and even travel together, as you explore Bali further on your weekends.
Learn from local Indonesian professionals and develop your understanding of mental health and wellbeing in a global context. In addition to this, you will work at 6 professional and community projects per week, to deliver psycho-social group activities with service users to improve mental health and wellbeing under the guidance of local professionals.
You will have the opportunity to gain facinating work experience at our trusted project partners as you collaborate with dedicated local staff teams to provide complimentary support, working with children, adults and the elderly.
You will also work to promote community wellbeing in your homestay community, through involvement in various activities and meaningful discussions.
Bali has a vibrant and beautiful culture. You and your teammates will live with a host family in a traditional Balinese village, immersing yourself into a completely different way of life. This is a unique experience and we are privileged to be welcomed into this community. We will support you with learning and workshops on Balinese culture and language learning to ensure we respect local customs and traditions
We focus on working alongside the local community, and strengthening partnerships with mental health community led initiatives and Government services.
We empower local people, providing income and support to Balinese communities. Our team includes local Balinese staff working with us to support, design and lead the placements. We ensure we are culturally aware and sensitive in our approach.
You will start with a 2-day briefing at the beginning of the placement. Here, our experienced Think Pacific local and international staff team will guide you through key briefing modules, including Balinese culture, responsible tourism and health and safety. You will learn about Balinese approaches to mental health and the support that is available to local people.
Live, work and learn with a group of likeminded students, who are all passionate about positive mental health! Most people join entirely on their own. You’ll all start on the same day and depart with a new group of close friends and lifelong connections. Develop your communication skills as you work within different groups each week to achieve outcomes. Enjoy weekly activities and even travel together, as you explore Bali further on your weekends.
Our team will be available 24/7 to support you for the duration of your placement to develop professionally and personally. Staff live in the homestay village with you and are there to ensure you gain the most possible from your experience with Think Pacific in Bali.
Making the decision to join this placement in Bali is a huge adventure. You will experience a new culture, challenge yourself, make new friends, and have memories that will last a lifetime.
You will have 2 weekends organised by Think Pacific where you will visit cultural and tourist sites, and 2 free weekends to travel and explore Bali with your teammates.
We develop sustainable programs, through collaborating with local organisations and government services. We focus on building capacity and skill sharing to ensure the longevity of mental health support services
We start each week with learning and development. Every Monday, we will have a workshop from a local Indonesian professional, who has experience or supporting mental health and wellbeing in Indonesia.
Exchanging skills and ideas with local professionals and learning more about cross cultural mental health management is central to our programme.
You will also use your time on Monday for activity support session planning. Here you will plan the delivery of your sessions for the upcoming week. Our team will support you with this, building on key feedback from project staff and service users to ensure tailored support. We encourage you to use your experience, online resources and materials to ensure an academic base to your activity planning.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are our Activity Support project days. You will visit 6 projects each week, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
As part of a small group, you will facilitate group psycho-social activities at our partner projects, including community centres, day centres, schools and institutions. You will work in a variety of projects, supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children, adults and the elderly.
We work closely with each project and receive regular feedback, to ensure your activities are aligned with the outcomes and needs of each project. You will design your activity support sessions with your teammates, however, to maintain consistency for the projects, we ask you to follow a similar structure for delivery of the activities
Our community wellbeing activities take place on Fridays. Here you will work alongside the local members of your homestay community to exchange ideas and work on local community projects and initiatives, which aim to promote wellbeing in the community, and inspire you to take action in your own home communities.
We focus on activities and discussions in three key areas of community wellbeing: environmental, social and cultural. You could be working with the village youth, adults or elderly in the Banjar (community) hall, assisting with village clean-ups, leading a group physical activity, or discussing what challenges are facing our community today and how we can take action on them.
1-Month Dates
🇮🇩🌴
27th May – 23rd June 2024
17th June – 14th July 2024
8th July – 4th August 2024
29th July – 25th August 2024
16th September – 13th October 2024
14th October – 10th November 2024
18th November – 15th December 2024
13th January – 9th February 2025
10th February – 9th March 2025
17th March – 13th April 2025
14th April – 11th May 2025
2-Month Dates🇮🇩🌴
16th September – 10th November 2024
13th January – 9th March 2025
17th March – 11th May 2025
This secures your place in the team and provides personal support from your project coordinator, access to our pre-departure portal, online preparation webinars and your Think Pacific t-shirt. Your registration fee is added to your project fees.
This covers the remaining costs of the placement. Many students receive bursaries from their universities to support their participation and/or fundraise for their program fees. It’s up to you whether you fundraise or not but your project fee is due 60 days before the project begins.
We pride ourselves on the delivery of a safe, structured and personally supported experience. Our philosophy is to provide a high-quality and exceptionally well-structured international project that gives you a once-in-a-lifetime experience, whilst contributing to sustainable development.
Over 1/3 of your fee supports our international charity, the Think Pacific Foundation.
| Currency | £ GBP | $AUD |
| Registration Fee | 195 | 345 |
| 1-Month Project Fee | 1700 | 3300 |
| 2-Month Project Fee | 2400 | 4650 |
Due to this placement being in professional capacity and in direct contact with service users, there are specific requirements to join the team. We explain these in more detail below but if you have any questions feel free to reach out to our team.
In addition, as per all our community based projects, it is a requirement to submit a police clearance/ DBS before your project starts.
To join the project we ask that you are currently studying (or completed) any level of higher education (undergraduate degree level) in mental health, psychology or a related discipline.
Courses we include are:
- Psychology (any field/combination)
- Mental Health
- Global Mental health
- Nursing (Mental Health/General)
- Medicine
- Counseling
- Speech & Language Therapy
- Public Health
- Health and Social Care
- Social Work
- Occupational Therapy
- Health Science
- Teaching /PGCE
- Early Years Education
- Early Childhood Studies
If you do not have (or are undertaking) a relevant degree, but you have significant experience in the field (1 year+), and a passion for mental health, this may be acceptable also so please do apply and speak to our team to discuss further.
We require all participants to be able to demonstrate that they have 3 months work experience or volunteering experience in a relevant setting (approximately 450 hours in total). You may have gained this in the form of part time work or volunteering, or a combination of different relevant experiences that make up the hours.
Settings we accept for this are:
- School or preschool
- Care home for the elderly
- General Hospital
- Mental Health Hospital
- Medical Clinic/outpatient service
- Support service for homeless people
- Refugee support service
- LGBTQ+ support service
- Befriender/Peer Support role for a mental health charity
- Respite Centre for adults with disabilities
- Phone Line metal health support service (Eg. Nightline)
- Personal experience – Eg. Carer for family member with a disability
We want to ensure all participants have a real interest in the area of mental health and wellbeing. Questions to ask yourself ahead of applying:
- Why do I want to join this placement?
- What do I hope to gain from this placement?
- Do I want to learn more about mental health in a global context?
- Do I have a desire to experience a new culture?
- What do I hope to gain by seeing different approaches in mental health?
It is important that we emphasis WHY we ask for 3 months experience to join this project, and what you can do, should you not have this yet.
We advise this requirement for two reasons:
- We have an ethical responsibility to safeguard the service users at these projects and this is in our agreement with each individual project partner who request collaboration.
- We want to ensure you have the right skills and knowledge base to take on this challenge and feel comfortable when you are delivering activities.
If you do not have the required experience as yet, but you are eager to gain this ahead of the placement, then this can also be acceptable. Please apply and reach out to our team who can discuss this with you and provide some advice.
Think Pacific works in partnership with many universities across the world to support student mobility and employability. There are scholarships and grants available for students from individual university departments and/or governments in several countries.
Students can apply for scholarships and bursaries to join our projects in Fiji. To find out if there’s funding available at your university or in your areas, please email info@thinkpacific.com.
Full inclusions list:
- Airport welcome by Think Pacific team leaders
- All accommodation including 2- day jungle briefing and cultural orientation, 2-day team building camp in a beautiful rural setting, homestay accommodation in traditional Balinese village and 2 days debrief at a hotel. (However, you can choose to travel with your teammates at the weekend to experience other areas of Bali)
- Welcome ceremony and feast on your into the arrival.
- Guest speakers and workshops from Think Pacific’s influential local partner network.
- All in-country travel, except for optional weekends travel. Breakfast and dinner from Monday – Friday across your 4-week project, lunches not provided.
- Guided activities, such as local hikes, excursions to sites of interest or attending local festivals or community events.
- Think Pacific leaders living alongside the group 24/7.
- In-country manager, Balinese-based Project Managers and UK team providing planning, risk assessment and 24-hour backup support.
- Outstanding pastoral support and daily health and wellness check ins.
- Air-conditioned private transfers to your placements each day.
- Comprehensive online portal & personal volunteer project planning resources.
The following costs are not inclusive of the programme fee. However, Think Pacific provides comprehensive and personalised support to assist:
- Flights – Budget approximately £800 – £1,000
- Insurance – Budget approximately £100- £150 Think Pacific can advise and provide details for recommended policy
- Visa – Approximately £220 – Think Pacific manages the process and advises students on their visa.
- Equipment – Budget approximately £100 Comprehensive kit list and pre-departure advice provided, including specific items of clothing, footwear and first aid resources
- Vaccinations – Budget approximately £50 (However, vaccines are free from the NHS for most students). Vaccinations include Typhoid and Hepatitis A.
- Spending Money – Budget approximately £400. For small items of personal nature and lunch and drinks during the final resort phase.
Apply for university funding to cover flights, insurance and visa.
Think Pacific team mentors guide the whole project and are available 24/7 for student support. Our biggest piece of advice for students is to not hesitate to speak to our team leaders if they have any questions about health and safety.
During orientation, students are given guidelines to ensure they stay safe in Bali. For example, students should always stay in pairs at least and should keep their accommodation address in Sinhalese or Indonesian with them at all times. The guidelines also include important day-to-day advice such as where it is safe to withdraw money from local ATM machines etc.
- Access to the Pre-departure Portal.
This portal provides the step-by-step process to prepare for Bali, including fundraising information, flight information, kit list, visa, cultural preparation. Student can watch videos with our team and download document.
- Contact our team.
You can contact our team anytime between office hours, either give us a call on 0113 335 9919 or email; info@thinkpacific.com.
- Online community/network.
You can communicate with fellow volunteers, alumni and our team through our online community, hosted on the Might Network app. Within 3 months of you departing to Bali, you shall be entered into a private group with your volunteer team.
- Live Pre Departure webinars
Our team host live sessions in the months leading up to your project. These are a great way for you to ask questions and delve deeper into planning for your project. They also add to the excitement!
All projects have been chosen by our team based on the need for international students to complement existing local initiatives. We work with organisations in an effort to bolster the pre-existing resources and provide further support. This ensures programmes do not create a reliance or interrupt long term staffing structures.
Our process for partnership with local organisations is as follows:
- Requested
- Consultation
- Planning
- Logistics
- Resources and Materials
- Delivery
- Review and Feedback
- Sustainability Measures
- Long Term Review
Think Pacific seeks advice from community members, government contacts and Mental Health specialists within Indonesia to ensure that, as an organisation, we plan with the local community needs and considerations at the heart of any projects.
We work to not negatively affect the employment structure and also availability of placements for local students by ensuring that local volunteers are always prioritised by organisations.
The utmost respect is given to local customs & traditions. We wish to inspire with our actions but resist imposing our ideals on others. Students are reminded to treat everyone they meet with the utmost humility and respect.
From an ethical standpoint, it is important that we provide sustainable resources, and support, to our projects in Bali. Whilst students support programmes for a short amount of time, it’s important to note
- The aim of the support is always intended from the outset to be supplementary and not replace local responsibilities. In this way all parties benefit and the local projects can plan strategically to utilise the additional support.
- The programme is long term and in partnership with universities around the globe, which enhances this planning and ensures Think Pacific can guarantee student participants at set times and structure placements many months in advance
- Project feedback is one of the core ways we are able to provide continuity in the sessions provided at all projects. Students record their progress on shared documents allowing them to communicate to present and future students the efficacy of their sessions and pass on important information. This feedback ensures that the service users receive continuity of support and a variety of activities despite the change in personnel.
- We ensure all activity support sessions follow the same structure to provide consistency to the service users and projects.
We rely on consistent feedback from our projects and partners to measure the impact of our work and we release reports to explain the progress of our programs. Think Pacific has grown exponentially due to demand for our initiatives since our first project in 2009 and we continue to supplement local services in the Asia Pacific in collaborative with the needs, wishes and requirements of local stakeholders.
We partner with over 50 universities who see the value of our work and some have even count our placement as part of their students’ course requirements. This often means our programmes are used as credit towards your degree or as part of a formal placement (as required to complete your home degree programme).
Please speak to us and contact nigel@thinkpacific.com if you would like to use your programme as a formal placement or for university credit and we will be happy to discuss with your institution or confirm existing university partnerships we have in place.
Recruiting students who are experienced in the mental health sector helps us to make the best impact in the communities where we work and adds tremendously to the global learning when you are undertaking formal reflections and course work related to the placement.
Due to the project work involved with our Mental Health Placement, we do ask for a minimum level of experience to join this placement.
We want you to have a minimum of 3 months ‘hands on’ experience of volunteering or working with people with vulnerabilities or additional needs. This could be working with children or the elderly, mental health services, homeless supports, or drug and alcohol services. We understand all experiences are valuable so please let us know if you think you have some relevant experiences to join this placement.
During this internship, you have the unique opportunity to live in an authentic Balinese village. Often three or more generations live in one family complex, which means students will be surrounded by children, grandmas and grandpas in addition to their parents. You’ll share beautiful, but quite basic accommodation with your host family and fellow teammates.
Breakfast and dinner is also provided at any Think Pacific resorts, camps or hotels. Breakfast and dinner is also included each day in the village and you’ll eat with your Balinese family. You may often find many people when you eat – in Bali, the whole family lives as one. Food is very carbohydrate-heavy, so expect lots of rice and vegetables, as this makes up the bulk of a typical diet.
You’ll have the freedom to purchase your own lunches and meals at weekends – to give you the freedom to try the wonderful array of restaurants, street food and markets available. A lunch in Bali will cost no more than £5.
Life in a rural Balinese village is very different to life in a western city, which brings provides a fascinating experience but also its challenges! The comparatively basic standard of living, the communal nature, the strong religious beliefs and the traditional customs and values in the village, may take time to adjust to. It is completely normal to feel a little out of your depth in the first few days. With the support of your family, your team and our leaders, we find it doesn’t take long to adjust to day-to-day life.
The majority of Balinese adults speak some English. There may be some language barriers with pronunciation, but as long as you talk slowly and clearly in English there is little difficulty in understanding each other. Young children and some elderly members of the community may not speak any English at all and it’s great to learn a few local words as early as you can.
You can choose to stay in your accommodation at the weekend but the homestay village is located outside main tourist areas and away from attractions, which is why volunteers tend to head out on Friday afternoons to spend the weekend soaking up culture and comfort. (This is your choice)
Whether you prefer lazing on a beach or visiting cultural sites, the weekend is your oyster. We would recommend budgeting £50 per weekend for transport, activities, accommodation & all meals. We will provide you with advice on incredible things to do on the weekends.
Think Pacific in-country staff support the programme and guide daily activities.We are incredibly proud that 70% of our paid staff, in Indonesia, are local residents.
By investing in local staff we ensure that we are making as positive an impact as possible within the communities where we work by not only providing long-term employment opportunities but also ensuring that those who know the country and the culture best are managing the project and the relationships with local enterprises. Our international staff provide additional support and mentorship 24/7 and enjoy sharing their lived experience of Bali.
