My Experiences Scrapbook – World Mental Health Day 2026 – FREE

FREE My Experiences Scrapbook – World Mental Health Day 2026

A reflective activity exploring the people, memories and experiences that help shape who we are.

This scrapbook-style activity encourages young people to reflect on some of the people, memories, experiences and lessons that have contributed to their story so far.

My Experiences Scrapbook gives young people space to reflect on some of the experiences that have shaped them, while keeping the activity positive, flexible and firmly in their control.

It has been designed to complement the “Lived Experiences Heard” element of the 2026 World Mental Health Day theme and as an activity to accompany our World Mental Health Day Secondary School Presentation.

About this resource

The scrapbook includes four areas:

• People that shaped me
• Things I’ve learned from
• Memories I’m grateful for
• What I’ve learned about myself

Young people can use words, drawings, symbols or short notes to complete each section.

Experiences don't need to be dramatic or life-changing to matter, and young people should always choose what they are comfortable including.

Features

• Teen-friendly scrapbook design
• Four open-ended areas for reflection
• Can be completed using words, drawings or symbols
• Designed to avoid forced personal disclosure
• Pairs with our Secondary presentation
• Can also be used independently

Benefits

Encourages young people to:

• Reflect on their own experiences
• Recognise people and moments that have influenced them
• Consider what they have learned about themselves
• Appreciate that everyone's story looks different
• Understand the idea of lived experience in an age-appropriate way

How to incorporate it into your setting

Use individually during PSHE, pastoral time or a wellbeing session. Allow students to complete it privately and make clear that they do not have to share what they've written.

It also works as the accompanying activity within our Secondary World Mental Health Day lesson.

What is the World Mental Health Day 2026 theme?

The World Federation for Mental Health has announced the official theme for World Mental Health Day 2026 as:

“Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change.”

The theme puts the focus on listening to people with lived experience. Real experiences can give us important insight into what people need, what is working and what could be better.

For children and young people, we can explore this in an age-appropriate way: we all experience the world differently, our experiences matter, our voices matter and listening to other people's experiences can help us understand one another better.

Importantly, exploring lived experience in school doesn't mean asking children or young people to disclose personal or difficult experiences. Activities can focus on everyday experiences, preferences, ideas, needs and perspectives while always allowing pupils to choose what they share.

Bringing World Mental Health Day into your school or setting

You don't need to dedicate an entire school day to make World Mental Health Day meaningful.

Use one of these activities during registration or form time, build a full PSHE lesson around one of the presentations, create a pupil-voice display, run small-group discussions, incorporate an activity into pastoral support, or choose different resources for different year groups.

Our free World Mental Health Day resources have deliberately been designed to be mixed, matched and adapted. You can run a complete lesson using one of the presentations, pair a presentation with its accompanying activity, or simply download a free standalone worksheet for a quick World Mental Health Day activity.

The key message running throughout the collection is simple:

We don't all experience the world in the same way. When we make space for different voices and genuinely listen to them, we can understand each other better and use what we learn to make things better.