Student Mental Health Program


Our standard student mental health program consists of 2 in person presentations, usually delivered to Grade 11 cohorts. It provides students with practical information, strategies and resources to look after their mental health, whilst also reducing the stigma attached to mental illness and emphasising the importance of seeking help early.

Presentation 1 can be delivered and is effective as a stand alone session, although we recommend also booking in Presentation 2, since the program was designed and optimised to be delivered in 2 sessions.

In addition to the standard program (presentation 1 and presentation 2), we also offer an optional mental health presentation (presentation 3) for Grade 12 cohorts, who attended the standard program the previous year. It refreshes the students on what they learnt from the 2 presentations in Grade 11 and provides additional mental health guidance to assist them with the unique stressors and decisions of Grade 12, and the transition to post school life.

Presentation 1 (Grade 11)

Foundations


Consists of

  • 1 x 60 minute presentation

  • Physical and electronic resources for all students post presentation

  • Resources for the school to use as they see fit

Learning Outcomes

This 1st presentation teaches students the foundational strategies to look after their mental health each day. They learn 5 positive mental health habits they can implement immediately into their life post presentation  Students also learn the importance of seeking help early and the places they can access for additional mental health support.

$1450

Presentation 2 (Grade 11)

Systems


Consists of

  • 1 x 60 minute presentation

  • Physical and electronic resources for all students post presentation

  • Resources for the school to use as they see fit

Learning Outcomes

Whereas the first 1st presentation teaches student ‘what’ to do to look after their mental health, this 2nd presentation focuses on teaching students ‘how’ to build habits and create systems, so that they are able to implement the strategies from the 1st presentation consistently for long lasting positive change.

$1450

Presentation 3 (Grade 12)

Choices


Consists of

  • 1 x 60 minute presentation

  • Physical and electronic resources for all students post presentation

  • Resources for the school to use as they see fit

Learning Outcomes

This 3rd presentation refreshes students on the teachings from the first 2 presentations and provides additional mental health guidance to assist them with the unique stressors and decisions of Grade 12. They learn why looking after and prioritising one’s mental health is so important, and how to make choices that are in the best interests of their mental health going forward.

$1450

Additional Program Options


A school can also supplement the student mental health program with a number of additional programs. These include, teacher workshops, parents workshops and a mental health curriculum consisting of 6 lesson plans, which a school can implement into their PD sessions.

Our goal at breakingFree is to work with each school to cater to their specific mental health education requirements, and custom design a framework with all the requisite elements that a school requires. If you are unsure of which additional program options you think would be most suitable for your school, please fill out our enquiry form and we can arrange a phone call to discuss further.

Mental Health
Curriculum


Consists of

  • 6 lesson plans for teachers to use in PD sessions that are designed to effectively build upon the student program

  • Electronic manual outlining how to deliver the lessons

  • Copyright free access to the lesson plans for 1 year

  • Physical and electronic lesson resources for the students

Learning Outcomes

Provides students with follow up teacher led lessons and workshops to build upon the strategies they learnt during the mental health program.

$1650

Parent
Workshop


Consists of

  • 1 x 90 minute workshop

  • Physical and electronic resources for all parents post workshop

  • Resources for the school to use as they see fit

Learning Outcomes

Teaches parents practical strategies to look after their own mental health and provides advice on how to support the mental health of their children and create positive systems at home. Parents also learn the importance of seeking help early and the places they can access for additional mental health support.

$1650

Teacher
Workshop


Consists of

  • 1 x 90 minute workshop

  • Physical and electronic resources for all teachers post workshop

  • Resources for the school to use as they see fit

Learning Outcomes

Provides teachers with practical strategies to look after their own mental health, as well as advice on how to support the mental health of their students and create mentally healthy classrooms. Teachers also learn the importance of seeking help early and the places they can access for additional mental health support.

$1650

Program Effectiveness

11 years of consistent refinement and improvement has led to an innovative mental health program that empowers students with the information and strategies to make long lasting positive behavioural change.


Surveys On 3800 Past Student Attendees Revealed

96%

Reported Finding The Program Informative, Entertaining and Useful

85%

Reported Making At Least One Positive Change To Their Life Post Program

87%

Reported Being More Likely To Seek Help For Mental Health Issues Post Program

Schools Where We Deliver Programs

With a 95% rebooking rate, we pride ourselves on establishing close and enduring working relationships with each of the schools where we deliver our mental health programs. Below is a list of the schools where we deliver programs and the number of years we have worked together.


APS Schools

  • All Saints Anglican College (12 years)

  • Coomera Anglican College (12 years)

  • Somerset College (11 years)

  • Emmanuel College (11 years)

  • Trinity Lutheran College (9 years)

  • Saint Stephen’s College (9 years)

  • A.B Paterson College (8 years)

  • King’s Christian College (7 years)

State Schools

  • Southport SHS (12 years)

  • Benowa SHS (11 years)

  • Wellington Point SHS (11 years)

  • Robina SHS (11 years)

  • Coombabah SHS (9 years)

  • Loganlea SHS (9 years)

  • Rochedale SHS (7 years)

  • Helensvale SHS (7 years)

  • Windaroo Valley SHS (7 years)

  • Palm Beach Currumbin SHS (7 years)

  • Pacific Pines SHS (6 years)

  • Woodbridge SHS (5 years)

  • Merrimac SHS (5 years)

  • Ormeau Woods SHS (6 years)

  • Nerang SHS (4 years)

  • Bremer SHS (4 years)

  • Miami SHS (4 years)

  • Beenleigh SHS (4 years)

  • Elanora SHS (4 years)

  • Macgregor SHS (3 years)

  • Alexandra Hills SHS (3 years)

  • Shailer Park SHS (3 years)

  • Sandgate SHS (3 years)

  • Marsden SHS (2 years)

  • Keebra Park SHS (2 years)

  • Marsden SHS (2 years)

  • Corinda SHS (2 years)

  • Bundamba State College (1 year)

  • Capalaba State College (1 year)

  • Governor Stirling Senior High (1 year)

  • Thornlie SHS (1 year)

  • Springfield Central High School (1 year)

GPS Schools

  • The Southport School (9 years)

  • Gregory Terrace (8 years)

  • Nudgee College (6 years)

  • Anglican Church Grammar School (1 year)

  • Ipswich Grammar School (1 year)

QGSSSA Schools

  • St Hilda’s Girls School (12 years)

  • Ipswich Girls Grammar (12 years)

  • St Aidan’s Anglican Girls School (6 years)

  • St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School (2 years)

Independent Schools

  • Rivermount College (10 years)

  • Faith Lutheran College (10 years)

  • Varsity College (9 years)

  • Marymount College (9 years)

  • St Andrews Lutheran College (9 years)

  • Assisi Catholic College (9 years)

  • Aquinas College (8 years)

  • Hillcrest Christian College (8 years)

  • Tamborine Mountain College (6 years)

  • Lutheran Ormeau Rivers District School (4 years)

  • Silkwood School (4 years)

  • Sunshine Coast Grammar School (3 years)

  • Livingstone Christian College (2 years)

  • Trinity College (2 years)

  • Calvary Christian College (2 years)

  • Canterbury College (2 years)

  • Mount Alvernia College (2 years)

  • St James College (1 year)

  • St Francis College (1 year)

  • Arcadia College (1 year)

Testimonials

Staff and student testimonials from our 12 years delivering mental health programs

What Makes Our Programs Unique


1 - Experienced speaker

When you book with breakingFree, you know you will be having James Peterson, our incredibly experienced program facilitator and speaker, delivering the program. He is the founder and CEO of breakingFree, and has been delivering our mental health program in secondary schools full time for the last 12 years. The quality and impact of a program is only as strong as the speaker and their ability to relate, engage and connect with an audience, this is particularly true in schools.

Having delivered over 700 school mental health programs to more than 138,000 young people across 3 continents, James is one of the most experienced youth mental health speakers in the world and has dedicated his life to providing the highest quality, most practical and engaging mental health programs available to schools. This experience and time spent on stage presenting to high school students, has equipped James with a unique skillset and ability to maintain a young audiences attention and inspire change.

James has been recognised nationwide for his work delivering mental health programmes in schools, having recently been a finalist for Young Australian of the Year 2025 and winning the Westfield Local Heroes 2025 award.

2 - Focus on behavioural change

Instead of simply teaching students’ ‘what’ to do each day to look after their mental health, our program also delves into the science of behavioural change and teaches students ‘how’ to implement the strategies consistently for long term positive change. Although most people know the basics of what they need to do to look after their physical and mental health, the hardest part is actually doing it consistently, which is why a large part of our program is dedicated to teaching students the ‘how’ of habit formation.

3 - Practicality

Our programs are designed to provide practical, clear and actionable advice, that is easy for young people to follow and can be implemented immediately post presentations.

4 - Repetition

To ensure that our student program has a long term impact, it consists of 3 separate presentations, delivered on different days, spaced out over the course of 2 years, so that the ideas and strategies are revised and built upon for maximum retention and impact. Educational studies show that students are significantly more likely to remember and apply a piece of information, if they are exposed to it multiple times. This is why our full program is not a single presentation, but rather consists of 2 presentations in Year 11 and 1 presentation in Year 12.

5 - Coherence

There is a clear progression of ideas and content, that has been refined over 12 years, so that the content, its order and the accompanying resources, provide as much valuable information and insight to maximise the impact of the program on students mental health.

54 Schools, 88 Programs
Delivered In 2025

Frequently Asked Questions

Make A Booking Enquiry

Please fill in the form below to make a booking enquiry or to contact breakingFree for any other reason.