Little Rollers are unique activity dice that are designed for use in lower primary school classroom to help young children recognise and build healthy habits in order to regulate their emotions. They are made out of a variety of sensory materials and are safe to use in a classroom environment. Each dice is colour coded and includes activities that specifically correspond with an emotion or feeling, such as sadness, stress or anger. When a child feels an overwhelming emotion they can approach their teacher who will prompt them to use the dice. The child will roll the dice and complete the activ ..read more

Elevate is a 6-day men’s journey targeting ages between 20-30 years. It’s aimed towards men who suffer from experiential avoidance. Elevate narrows down on issues like avoiding social situations, pushing away, suppressing negative emotions, and refusing to take risks. Attendees will work with therapists to overcome the issues they’re facing daily. The brochure is an offline marketing tool for therapists to hand out to men they think would benefit from attending. It would be displayed in information stands at a doctor’s/psychologist’s office, sporting clubs, universities, gyms, pubs and more. T ..read more

Our mission is to cultivate mentally healthy habits for students. While understanding that the pressure of achieving a healthy work-life balance between studies can often lead to stress and anxiety among students. That’s why we believe in the power of developing healthy and more importantly, consistent habits. This can be something as simple as a 10-minute walk, whether it’s incorporated into your daily routine or scheduled weekly, can make a significantly positive difference. In order for us to address these challenges, we have developed an app concept as part of our brand. This app aims to b ..read more

My Friend Mat is a school program that aims to teach children about yoga and how it can be an important tool that can help them manage their big emotions such as stress, anger and sadness. With the help of Mat and his yoga friends, we hope to build the connection between children and yoga, so they are able to remember how to practice yoga to a level that they can do it whenever and wherever they want. Through our sessions, we hope children are able to take this practice and continue implementing it into their own lives whenever they are facing hardships, as they know that their friend Mat will ..read more

The Greenspace Project stands out among conventional community gardens at the University of South Australia due to its distinct focus on mental health and community building. This rooftop community garden not only provides a sustainable and inclusive environment for students but also strives to raise awareness about the importance of student mental health. Unlike traditional gardens that primarily emphasise horticulture, the Greenspace Project offers a unique hands-on and interactive experience, fostering a sense of community and equipping students with resources to support their mental well-b ..read more

Doug is a tool used to help children who suffer from experiential avoidance. Experiential avoidance refers to the tendency to avoid or suppress unpleasant thoughts, emotions, sensations, or memories, often by engaging in behaviours that provide short-term relief but perpetuate long-term distress. Doug’s Ecosystem is a support network for parents and their children, incorporating elements of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help children accept and face their fears. The tool includes engaging books that address common bedtime fears such as fear of the dark, separation anxiety, and fea ..read more

Howdy! A few quick updates on Visualising Mental Health 2024. We are up and running again for another year which is fantastic. Student groups are currently working on projects, inspired by 4 topics. You can read the brief given to students here. Over the past week, whilst battling COVID, I was able to engage via email and Zoom with a number of student groups who have taken a keen interest in their topic, with many excellent questions. I’m looking forward to seeing some prototype ideas tomorrow when I attend the design studios. There have been a few personnel changes to the VMH team, which have ..read more

This website was created to feature the unique and interesting ideas that UniSA Communication Design students produce when given mental health topics to digest. They can be browsed from the home page. But more broadly, this site is intended to spark people’s imagination on how we can improve mental health literacy through novel product, service, campaign and event development. If you’ve not come across the term ‘mental health literacy’ before: Mental health literacy is defined as “knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management and prevention”¹. It include ..read more

It’s nice to be back and writing on the site again! Visualising Mental Health (VMH) whilst a passion project, doesn’t get as much attention in my life as I’d like. That has meant an absence of 2023 updates. But that hasn’t meant that it has stopped. We just finished putting a cohort of Communication Design students through the process! So, I thought I’d post some updates. I’ll start with the topics we gave students this year. Quick aside, if this is the first time you are encountering VMH, the process works as follows. Psychologists put together a handful of topics that are mental health rela ..read more

Emotional abuse is widespread, is often difficult to recognise, and can trigger mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, as well as the compromising of physical health. Studies demonstrate there is also an increased danger of emotionally abusive relationships becoming physically violent. Therefore, it is critical to the community that we approach building knowledge and resilience around abuse from when people are first experiencing intimate relationships, enabling them to not only identify the presence of emotional abuse early and act, but also to ac ..read more