Tell us how you’re feeling — stressed, sad, worried or angry — and the platform delivers a 10-minute guided journey designed to bring you from your challenge back to a regulated, present state. Where response replaces reaction.
Translating research and therapy into playful, measurable growth
Six evidence-based therapy frameworks — CBT, ACT, DBT, MBSR, CFT and DNA-V — are translated with clinicians into specific, actionable skills. Each skill becomes the action at the heart of a short guided practice activity, so you’re not learning about the technique — you’re practicing it, through play.
The games are sequenced into 10–12 minute state change journey, designed to bring the young person from their challenge state back to a regulated, present, response-ready one. The science frames the design. The clinicians shape the skills. The play delivers the practice.
Developed in partnership with:
- Built on neuroscience and clinical expertise
- Personalised for every challenge or emotion
- Privacy-first analytics that explain how skills form, consolidate, and become part of everyday life
What We’ve Seen So Far
Early findings from Evolving Play’s research-driven programs:
Improved focus
Greater self-awareness
Increased self-compassion and resilience
More confidence in facing challenges
A group of 134 students participated in our Mission Australia study. The results showed
%
Improved focus
%
Improved emotional awareness
%
improved self-compassion
%
Found it easier to trust themselves when challenged.
N=134, self-reported pre/post, Mission Australia program (blended in-person + digital). Digital-only academic evaluation now underway with A/Prof David Lim, UTS. Developed and evaluated with young and vulnerable people aged up to 23
How Evolving Play Turns Science into Skills:
Neuroscience foundation
Activities are designed around how skills are learned and retained
Pathway building
Load transition
Clinical translation
Real-world impact
Analytics show how skills are built and applied in daily life
How the Evolving Playground Works
What a Training Session looks like
Children are natural scientists who learn through experience. The Evolving Playground gives them a structured way to build the skills they need to navigate life’s difficult moments — through play.
Each journey does two jobs. It guides the young person back to a regulated, present state in the moment. And it builds the underlying skill so it’s there when real life asks for it later.
The arc shifts with the emotion. A Worried session moves through Calm → Express → See → Decide. An Angry session moves through Interrupt → Express → Cool-down. Every emotion has its own clinically sequenced path — designed from years of research, evaluation, and consultation with practitioners, educators, and young people themselves.
1 – Tell us how you’re feeling or the challenge you’re facing to create a personalised Practitioner workout.
2 – Understand the actions you can take and the skills that will help you most right now.
3 – Play a 10-12 minute game journey designed to build the clinical skills that help you most right now.
4 – Easily understand the impact of your actions on your wellbeing, your skill development progress and how you’re helping your brain build a reliable routine.
What You Get with Evolving Play
For Families & Individuals
For Practitioners & Organisations
Practitioner Feedback
Ms Zein, Teacher, New South Wales.
“It’s a great way to use technology in a positive way … I would definitely use it in my classroom.”
What People Say About US
The program is highly successful for two reasons…When talking about mental health, youths are often shut off to the idea of exploring their feelings. But when talking about pressure in your favourite sport, the boundaries are broken down.
This program provides a safe place for young people to explore stress and anxiety. The program is entirely practical as the young people engage in activities of high movement. The theory is discussed and then applied straight away … the research shows that young people are more likely to learn through play.”
Christopher Agostino, Headspace Physiologist — Bondi outreach programme, 2023
The Evolving Sport Program “provided an outlet for some of our young people struggling with their mental health to learn new skills, both mental and physical in a social, supportive and safe environment… We had very positive feedback from both attendants and their families and good engagement with the schools and University (of New South Wales).”
Sally Corry, Headspace Centre Manager – Bondi therapy engagement programme, 2024
Since participating in the Evolving Play Program, we have observed positive changes in our target students, particularly increased perseverance, and the ability to manage failure.
When surveyed, students have reported feeling more confident, more resilient, and have identified strategies that they can independently use to manage anxiety in difficult situations.
This has positively impacted their participation in a range of areas. I would definitely recommend this program.”
Rebecca Price, Speech Pathologist, Lurnea High School
“Thank for your patience & efforts with Jasper this year. The last few weeks were a real breakthrough for him confidence wise. He overcame some personal challenges and this sets a really good foundation for him mentally moving forward. The feedback for him was spot on and you did a great job coaching the group.”
Kathy, Headspace client
“The group was fantastic. I find it very hard to motivate Laura. She came home so happy and told me the best part was that she felt for the first time when doing therapy that she did not feel like a problem because it was done in a fun way, not in a room. She was really pumped and looking forward to going again.”
Jo, Headspace parent
“This was the first time Sarah said she learnt about mental health without feeling like there was something wrong with her. She really enjoyed the class and said learning through play made the training easy to apply to normal life.”
Shirley, Headspace parent
“I loved all of the class. My favourite bit was the meditation. I have been using the body anchor to help me relax when normally I feel stressed. I can’t wait to do it again. “
Jordan, Headspace participant
The Evolving Playground
Enter The Playground and discover guided practice journeys, programs and research to support your young person’s wellbeing.
Unusual Wind – by Shminkle
Gentle and Beautiful - focus on your breathing and let the world calm around...
One of our best.Education
Evolving Play’s Educational initiative offers a dynamic, play-based approach to learning, integrating physical movement, emotional intelligence, and cognitive development.
Understanding the Brain
Learn how your brain grows, connects, and adapts — and how play can strengthen memory, focus, and emotional regulation by working with your brain’s natural learning systems.
Why Childhood’s So Important
Explore how early relationships and environments shape the brain’s architecture. Understand the role of epigenetics and why the early years are a critical window for building emotional resilience and cognitive flexibility.
How Our Experiences Shape Our Brain
See how everyday experiences — from stress to connection — influence brain development. Learn how play-based learning activates neural pathways and supports long-term skill retention through repetition and emotional engagement.
The Value of Play in Skill Acquisition
Discover how play supports habit formation, executive function, and emotional regulation. Learn how games can mirror the brain’s natural learning process and help embed skills through feedback, rhythm, and challenge.
Key Skills and Why They Matter
From motivation to mindfulness, explore the essential skills that help us thrive. Understand how cognitive science informs learning design — and how playful practice helps build these skills in ways that stick.
Mental Health Challenges
Get practical, age-appropriate tools to manage anxiety, stress, sadness, and more. Learn how interactive experiences can support emotional regulation and help children articulate and navigate their mental health.
Attribution & Licensing
This content is offered under a Creative Commons CC-BY license, allowing open collaboration and adaptation with attribution. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of researchers and educators including the Centre on the Developing Child, Marc Dingman, BrainFacts.org, TED-Ed, Sprouts, and many others.
Ever Evolving, Always for You
Upcoming features:
Practitioner Playground Builder
Observe the Impact of your actions on physiology, stress levels and more
New game experiences
Guest practitioner programmes
Automatic access to updates
Expanded analytics
We keep learning
We keep learning. As new evidence, methods, and technologies emerge, Evolving Play integrates and updates—adding experiences that apply the best current knowledge. Our promise: agency first, privacy first, and practice over theory. Step by step, you’ll keep building the skills that help you navigate whatever challenge you’re facing—today and tomorrow.
Sponsor Section
Investing in Impact: Our Sponsor Partners
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with the latest mental health research and practice resources. Follow us and play. Some of our best resources are free.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
Evolving Play acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of the land where we live, learn, grow and play. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and future and recognise their continuing connection to the land, waters and communities. We acknowledge the importance of Indigenous knowledge and experiences and their essential contributions to our research, resources, and communities.
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