About & approach

The thinking behind what we do

Why we do this, how we do it, what it's built on, and who delivers it: the four things worth knowing about how Toolbox works.

Our vision

Prevention shouldn't wait for a crisis

Mental health skills are usually only taught after something's gone wrong, once a problem already has a name.

A Toolbox facilitator leading a discussion with secondary school students

We think that's backwards. The same tools a psychologist would teach you should be available before they're needed: taught early, taught often, and in a way that actually sticks.

Early prevention

Taught before a crisis, not after

Practical tools

Taught early and often, until it sticks

Our team

Training the next generation of psychologists

Every facilitator is a psychology student: relatable for your students, real experience for theirs.

Toolbox facilitators in Toolbox hoodies chatting together before a workshop
Uni student

Studying at university

Facilitator

Delivering workshops in schools

Psychologist

Practising at Toolbox Clinic

Our approach

It takes a whole community

A Toolbox facilitator leading a discussion in front of a classroom

A single workshop can start a habit, but it can't sustain one alone. That's why we work with the adults around every student too.

Parents & staff

Mirrored workshops for the adults around every student, so the whole school community uses the same language.

A pathway to Clinic

When a student needs more than a workshop, your wellbeing team can refer directly into Toolbox Clinic.

Follow-up that lasts

Eight ready-to-run activity guides per workshop keep the skill alive well after the facilitator leaves the room.

What you actually get

More than a 50-minute workshop

Every workshop comes with a term's worth of follow-up activities, built to slot into however much time you've got, from a spare five minutes to a full lesson.

5min
Warm-Up Activities
Activity guide

Drop into the start of any class. No prep needed.

Sample activity

"Name That Feeling"

20min
Form & Tutor Time
Activity guide

Guided activities that reinforce one skill at a time.

Sample activity

"Thought Court"

45min
Full Lesson Plans
Lesson plan

Ready-to-run plans for pastoral or wellbeing periods.

Sample activity

"Building My Toolkit"

8 ready-to-run activity guides per workshop. Mix and match across the term as it suits your timetable.

Activity 1 of 8
"Name That Feeling"

Check in and name the feeling that's loudest right now.

CalmOverwhelmed
Activity 3 of 8
"Thought Court"

Weigh the evidence on a thought that's been bothering you.

For
Against
What it looks like

Short worksheets staff hand out from the guide, part of the term's 8-guide set for each workshop.

Our content

Grounded in evidence, built to be interactive

Grounded in CBT, DBT and ACT: practical, interactive and fun, not group therapy.

A Toolbox facilitator running a workshop activity with a whiteboard slide behind her

CBT

Cognitive behavioural therapy: spotting and reshaping unhelpful thought patterns.

DBT

Dialectical behaviour therapy: managing intense emotions and building distress tolerance.

ACT

Acceptance and commitment therapy: building psychological flexibility and values-driven action.

See the approach in your classroom

Book a workshop and watch the model work with your own students.

Book a workshop