Tools and guides, free for everyone.
Psychology shouldn't only be available in a consulting room. These resources are free for anyone who wants to take a step, whether or not therapy is the right fit right now.
Start with the interactive tools if you want something practical to try now, or browse the articles by topic below. Participants, families and Support Coordinators after NDIS-specific guides can jump straight to the NDIS section.
Please read before using these resources
The tools and guides on this page are educational resources based on evidence-based psychological frameworks (CBT, ACT, mindfulness, motivational interviewing). They are not psychological treatment, and they do not constitute professional psychological advice, diagnosis, or a therapeutic relationship. They are not a substitute for professional support.
These resources are designed to be informative and practical, but they are a starting point, not an endpoint. If you are experiencing significant, persistent, or worsening distress, please speak with your GP or a registered psychologist. In crisis? Please contact Lifeline (13 11 14) or Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636), or go to your nearest emergency department. Wiser Minds is not a crisis service.
Short, honest videos about how your mind works.
Psychology explained clearly, grounded in clinical practice, not self-help clichés.
Practical exercises to try right now
Short, guided versions of techniques used in psychological practice. Use them to learn and practise, not as a replacement for professional support.
Box Breathing
Regulate your nervous system
Box breathing is a simple, evidence-based technique that slows the nervous system and reduces acute anxiety. Follow the cycle: breathe in for 4 seconds → hold for 4 → breathe out for 4 → hold for 4. Repeat for 3 to 5 rounds whenever you need to settle.
Educational tool only. If you feel dizzy, stop and breathe normally.
5-4-3-2-1 Grounding
Bring attention back to the present
A technique used in CBT and trauma-informed practice. Anchoring attention to the senses interrupts anxious or intrusive thinking.
Look around and name 5 things visible to you right now.
What physical sensations can you notice right now?
Close your eyes briefly. What sounds are present?
What scents are present, however faint?
Notice any taste in your mouth right now.
Thought Challenge Record
CBT tool for unhelpful thinking
In CBT, we learn to notice automatic thoughts, rapid, often unconscious interpretations that drive our feelings and behaviour. This exercise helps test whether those thoughts hold up.
Good work. Challenging automatic thoughts is a skill, it gets easier and more automatic the more you practise it.
For persistent or distressing thought patterns, professional support is recommended.
Values Clarification
ACT, identify what matters most
In ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), values clarification helps identify what genuinely matters, and why certain situations create distress when those values are threatened or compromised.
Your values are a compass, not a destination.
Where these values are well-honoured in your life, you tend to feel purposeful and grounded. Where there's a gap, where you're living in ways that don't align with what matters, you tend to find the roots of distress. What one small action this week would better honour one of the values you chose?
Explore by topic
Articles are grouped by what you might be experiencing or wanting to understand. New to all of this? The Rethink Series is the best place to start.
The Rethink SeriesSTART HERE
Six ideas about mental health that deserve a second look. Each part stands alone, but they are written to be read in order, and each one ends where the next begins.
Nothing is wrong with you
Your patterns are not defects. They are old protections that outlived their job.
Procrastination is not laziness
It is about feelings, not time. That is why the planner never fixed it.
The inner critic is not your coach
You think the harsh voice keeps you sharp. The evidence says the opposite.
High-functioning is not the same as fine
Masking is hard, hidden work. And it hides your need for help, especially in women.
Burnout is not weakness
It is not weakness. It tends to hit the people who care the most.
Asking for help is not the last resort
Why "not struggling enough yet" is the most expensive belief in mental health.
Anxiety, worry and overthinking
What anxiety actually is
Anxiety is a survival mechanism, not a character flaw. Understanding the biology is the first step.
Why we worry, and when it becomes a problem
The difference between helpful and unhelpful worry, and what to do about it.
Understanding social anxiety
Why it maintains itself through avoidance, and what breaks the cycle.
Managing emotions and anger
The DBT model of emotions
One of the clearest frameworks for understanding how emotions work, and how to regulate without suppression.
Working with anger
Anger is information. DBT-based approaches to understanding what it signals and responding effectively.
What mindfulness actually means
What the evidence says, stripped of the jargon.
Low mood, grief and life changes
Depression vs. unhappiness, what is the difference?
When low mood becomes something that warrants professional support.
Grief is not a process to get through
Modern grief theory has moved beyond the stages. A more useful framework for what grief actually looks like.
Why transitions feel so destabilising
Even positive changes can be genuinely disorienting. Why adjustment takes longer than most people expect.
ADHD, autism and neurodivergence
ADHD across the lifespan
How ADHD presents differently across ages, and why many adults go undiagnosed for years.
CBT strategies for ADHD
Practical approaches for executive function and emotional dysregulation that medication alone does not address.
ASD in adults, what assessment clarifies
What a diagnosis can explain about a lifetime of experiences, and what it enables in terms of support.
Understanding how therapy works
Understanding the CBT model
How thoughts, feelings, and behaviours connect, and how changing one changes the others.
When therapy needs to be adapted
The default settings of standard therapy quietly exclude some people. What adaptation looks like, in any funding pathway.
NDIS psychology, reports and functional capacity
Plain-language guides to how NDIS-funded psychology and reporting work, written for participants, families and Support Coordinators.
What NDIS-funded psychology actually does
Capacity building in plain language. The purpose test that explains most funding decisions, and what sessions really look like.
Functional capacity reports, explained
What they contain, how to prepare, and what they can and cannot do. Evidence, not a decision.
Can the NDIS fund psychology?
When psychology may fit a plan, what functional outcomes mean and six questions to check before booking.
How to choose an NDIS psychologist
Questions about registration, disability experience, adapted sessions, reports, costs and personal fit.
What should a psychology progress report include?
Goals, functional change, therapy tried, barriers, risks and recommendations that follow the evidence.
Psychology for psychosocial disability
Functional goals, recovery-oriented practice and clear boundaries between NDIS and health services.
Psychology or positive behaviour support?
How the roles differ, when both may help and why restrictive practices require a formal pathway.
When to seek professional support
These resources are a starting point. There are situations where professional support is the right next step:
Significant or persistent distress
If you've been struggling for more than a few weeks, or daily functioning is affected, please speak with your GP or a registered psychologist.
Thoughts of self-harm or suicide
Contact Lifeline (13 11 14) or Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636), or go to your nearest emergency department.
Trauma or significant past experiences
Trauma-related presentations often need careful professional support. Self-help tools may be insufficient and in some cases may not be appropriate.
Concerns about a child or young person
If you're concerned about a child's mental health or development, a professional assessment is the appropriate first step.