Learn strategies

Maximise your students' minds by learning strategies to help them manage their feelings and emotions.

These strategies are scientific tools, and grounded in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT).

manage my students' feelings

help me manage my students' feelings of being...
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strategies that help manage my students' feelings are asking them to...

DAILY FRUITS

reflect on their daily fruits — orange (best thing), lemon (worst thing) & banana (coming up)

FAVOURITE ACTIVITIES

write a list of activities that they are good at, interested in and enjoy doing (& do them!)

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION

do mindfulness
meditation by noticing
their body, breathing & surroundings

REALISTIC SCENARIOS

write down the
worst case scenario,
best case scenario & 
most likely case scenario

MY STRENGTHS

find out their strengths
by speaking to other people to feel empowered & self-aware

TO DO & TA DA

balance their morning ’to do’ list with a nightly ‘ta da’ list to reflect on their day’s achievements

HEALTHY HABITS

write down their daily activities to maximise their healthy habits & minimise their unhealthy habits

FUTURE VISUALISATION

close their eyes, visualise
& imagine their hopes, dreams & what they want to achieve for the future

FOREST BATHING

go forest bathing in
nature & notice what
they can see, touch, smell, taste & hear

HEART HUGS

when they notice self-judgement, get them to hold their hand to their heart to give themself self-love & compassion

SMART GOALS

write down 3-5 SMART goals to determine their future hopes, dreams & desired achievements

SMILEY THINGS

list things that make them smile from surroundings, people, past memories & future hopes and dreams

MOOD BOARD

create a visual mood board of images that make them happy, think of good times and hope for the future

WELLNESS WHEEL

draw their wellness wheel
(current & future state) across multiple domains to determine ‘where to next’

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT ME

name 20 things that they love about themselves (characteristics or personality traits)

JOURNALLING

journal their thoughts
and feelings to declutter their mind & develop
greater self-awareness

IKIGAI

find their Ikigai—what they are good at, what they like doing, what the world needs & what they can get paid for

SAFETY PLAN

write a safety plan — their warning signs, reasons to live, safe space, activities & people to talk to

BEING PRESENT

be in the present moment
by noticing and reducing
their focus on the
future and past

DEEP BREATHING

breathe out for 5,
hold for 2,
breathe in for 3
(& repeat)

GRATITUDE

name 3-5 things they are grateful for (good in
their life, thankful for
& their blessings)

MOOD TRACKER

track their mood each day
to determine how they are feeling to develop greater self-awareness

CONTROL CIRCLE

write down what is inside their control inside a circle & what is outside their control outside the circle

ABC PATTERNS

notice and write down
A (antecedent),
B (belief) & 
C (consequence) patterns

ROUTINE TASKS

record their daily, weekly
& monthly tasks to structure their life in a productive & healthy way

POSITIVE EMOTIONS

for every 1 negative emotion, think of 5 positive emotions that make them happy and feel joy

SENSORY ENGAGEMENT

name 5 things they can touch, 4 things they can see, 3 things they can hear, 2 things they can smell & 1 thing they can taste

GLAD, SAD & BIN

each day, think about
what they are glad about,
sad about & what they want
to put in the bin

DAILY AFFIRMATIONS

do daily affirmations
for how they are feeling today to determine how their
day will unfold

BITE SIZE TASKS

break their overwhelming list of tasks into
1 big task, 3 medium tasks & 5 small tasks


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MaxiMinds is not an emergency mental health service. If you or someone you know are in urgent need of help, please present to the emergency department at your nearest hospital or contact the following mental health crisis teams.  

Emergency 000 | Mental Health Line 1800 011 511 | Lifeline 13 14 11