Tree of Growth – FREE Children's Mental Health Week 2025 Resources for Teens and Secondary Schools

The Tree of Growth is a powerful metaphorical activity designed to support teens and pre-teens in exploring the factors that nurture their personal growth, resilience and well-being. Perfect for use in secondary schools or youth groups, this resource ties beautifully into themes of self-awareness, emotional health and development. Whether used as part of our Children’s Mental Health Week 2025 presentation or as a stand-alone activity, it’s a thoughtful and engaging way to help young people connect with themselves.

About This Resource

In this activity, the tree becomes a symbolic representation of their growth and development, guiding teens to reflect on their support systems, strengths, goals and coping strategies:

• Roots: Who or what keeps you grounded?
• Trunk: What gives you strength and stability?
• Branches: What are you working on or striving toward?
• Leaves: What brings you joy and helps you care for your emotional health?

By answering prompts in each section, teens gain deeper insight into their identity, relationships and aspirations.

Features

• Encourages personal reflection and emotional expression through a creative metaphor.
• Can be used as part of our FREE presentation for Children’s Mental Health Week or as an independent resource.
• Suitable for teens and pre-teens, adaptable for different group sizes or individual use.
• Printable, easy-to-use design.

Benefits

• Supports emotional literacy by helping teens identify their emotions, needs and sources of happiness.
• Builds self-awareness, confidence and resilience through introspection.
• Promotes positive mental health practises by encouraging teens to focus on what helps them thrive.
• Creates opportunities for meaningful discussions between teens and educators or counsellors.

How to Use the Tree of Growth

1. Preparation: Print the Tree of Growth template for each student.
2. Introduction: Explain the metaphor and walk through each part of the tree, discussing how roots, trunks, branches, and leaves symbolise different aspects of growth.
3. Reflection: Invite teens to reflect on the prompts and fill in their tree with drawings, words or colours.
4. Discussion: If comfortable, allow participants to share their trees with the group, facilitating conversations about common themes or differences.
5. Action: Encourage teens to use their tree as a reminder of what supports their growth and what they can continue to work on.

Ideas for Use

• Pair with our Who Am I Brain activity for a deeper exploration of self-awareness.
• Use during counselling sessions, mental health lessons or peer support groups.
• Incorporate into daily journaling or reflection exercises throughout the year.

The Tree of Growth is a reflective tool that helps teens explore their emotions, values and strengths through a creative and relatable metaphor. It encourages self-awareness and mindfulness while promoting discussions about mental health and personal growth.

Download the Tree of Growth today and empower your students to explore what helps them grow, who supports them and how they can take care of themselves! Perfect for Children’s Mental Health Week 2025 and beyond.