This Way Up
This Way Up is a fantastic mental health website offering evidence-based resources that have been translated into multiple languages—making it more accessible for a wide range of families and communities.
Developed by clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, researchers, and web developers at St Vincent’s Hospital and the University of New South Wales, This Way Up provides a suite of online courses and self-help tools. The website covers key mental health topics such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, panic attacks, social anxiety, and mindfulness—just to name a few.
Many of the downloadable resources are available in different languages, beautifully designed, and packed with practical strategies. These are suitable for the whole family/whānau and draw from well-established therapeutic approaches, including solution-focused and cognitive behavioural therapy.
Here are just a few of the helpful strategies available on the site:
Five Simple Steps to Calm Your Emotions:
Describe how you feel
Take a few ‘belly’ breaths
Check on your thoughts
Resist the urge to react
Allow your emotions to pass
Five Helpful Steps for Tackling Problems:
Consider the problem
Focus on what you can control
Take action
Be kind to yourself
Stay flexible
Effective Ways to Express Yourself:
Know how to be heard
Describe how you feel
Ask for what you need
Know your boundaries—and communicate them
Be a good listener
I hope these tools and resources from This Way Up support you and your whānau in building a lifelong mental wellbeing toolkit.
Please note: Some of the content may be more suitable for mature audiences, so we recommend parental guidance when younger users explore the site.
Kelsey Clin
Kelsey is a provisionally registered member with NZAC (New Zealand Association of Counsellors).
If you wish to discuss the services the School Counsellor can provide, please talk to your child’s homeroom teacher or make contact with Kelsey directly: clink@heaton.school.nz
There is also a counselling referral form on the Heaton website here.