Qualifications
Overview
Resh Ramasamy is a coloured autistic cis-gay man and non-binary person. He is an emerging and unorthodox intersectional academic with 8+ years experience teaching in a myriad of disciplines ranging from counselling, psychology, education, management, leadership, public health, community services and social work. Resh has been at ACAP for almost 2 years now. He was initially appointed as a sessional staff responsible for developing educative content for the Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy and Graduate Diploma of Counselling. He is currently appointed as a Level B lecturer based within the Brisbane Campus.
As a humanitarian and egalitarian, being of service to humanity (including animals) is something Resh feels passionate about. A lot of what he does on a personal and professional level is closely informed by his lived experiences and life calling. This led him to form close affiliation with Global Forum for Teacher Educators (GFTE), the world’s first virtual forum that offers free human rights education to marginalized communities and training for educators and academics in over 60 countries. Resh is a frequent keynote speaker and collaborator. He was recently awarded with the title ‘Distinguished Honorary Professor’ by GFTE for his meritorious contribution in the field of education, philanthropy and human rights.
In conjunction with his stellar academic pursuits, Resh also works as an allied health practitioner in the scope of a senior developmental educator, specialist support coordinator and lead therapist working closely with NDIS participants and their families. He has worked in the community/human services sector for over 15+ years. Given Resh is neurodivergent and has lived experiences of anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions, he is especially passionate about emancipating and empowering those are routinely stigmatized and dehumanised.
Research
Resh is currently a PhD candidate affiliated with the College of Nursing and Health Sciences (Disability and Community Inclusion) at Flinders University in South Australia. His PhD project explores the experiences of autistic gay or pansexul men (cis or trans) and/or non-binary people through an intersectional and bioecological lens in the form of story telling. He is currently in the final stage of his doctorate. Resh was also invited by Dr. Alex Toft from the UK (now his PhD adjunct supervisor) who is highly regarded for his work in the field of gender, sexuality and disability to contribute to a book chapter. The book is titled ‘Young, Disabled and LGBT+: Voices, Identities and Intersections’ and Resh’s work resides in Chapter 10.
Resh is also simultaneously completing a 2nd Master of Leadership (coursework and research) at Deakin University in Melbourne. Resh is finalizing his dissertation which explored the involvement of disabled people within leadership with the aim to graduate in October 2022.
Despite being an early career researcher, Resh is an active peer reviewer having peer reviewed 12 manuscripts so far and a published author. Resh values the significance of research collaboration on an international scale. He is currently collaborating with scholars from Malaysia, UK and Pakistan. Recently, Resh was involved in research pertaining to the mental health among Malaysian university students amid COVID-19 lockdown. The study was funded by Universiti Teknologi MARA (spelt in Malay) in Malaysia. Resh is also contributing to three chapters for ACAP in an edited volume titled ‘Applications of self-care within the counselling practice: lessons learnt across the professional lifespan’.
Teaching and Coordination Responsibilities
Bachelor of Counselling
COUN2261 Advanced Mental Health And Wellness (Unit Coordinator and Lecturer)
MULT1025 Professions and Society (Tutor)
Graduate Diploma of Counseling
COUN5151 Cross Cultural Counselling (Unit Coordinator, Lecturer and Tutor)
Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy
COUN6071 Grief Therapy (Unit Coordinator and Lecturer)
COUN6151 Increasing Therapeutic Effectiveness (Unit Coordinator and Lecturer)
Gender and queer studies
Intersectionality
Ecological studies
Narrative research
Grief and loss studies
Disability studies
Professional registrations or accreditation
Developmental Educators Australia Incorporated (DEAI) – Full Membership (reference:219)
Professional Affiliations and Fellowships
1. World Federation Against Drugs membership
2. Global Forum for Teacher Educators lifetime membership
3. Accredited Joanna Briggs Systematic Reviewer
4. Complementary Therapist Accreditation Association
5. Golden Key International Honour Society [Lifetime membership for academic excellence]
Recognition
- Fostering Student Engagement in T322.
- Inspiring, Motivating and Guiding in T322.
- Promoting and Enhancing Learning in T322.
Profile Links
Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/resh-ramasamy
Podcast: Dialoguing with Resh Podcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VemelReshRamasamy