BetterSpace Wellbeing Clinic is putting young people at the centre of the mental health conversation with its first ever Thought Defusion Art Competition, inviting teens aged 12 to 18 to channel their creativity into a powerful message: You are not your thoughts.
Open now and closing on 29 August 2025, the competition asks entrants to explore the theme “Stepping Back from Your Thoughts – Making Conscious Choices.”
It’s a concept drawn from thought defusion, a core principle in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which teaches individuals to observe their thoughts without automatically reacting to them. The goal is to help young people better manage anxiety, stress, and negative self-talk by learning how to gently detach from unhelpful mental chatter.
The brain behind the competition is Principal Psychologist Tim Rawson.
“Art can be a really powerful tool when it comes to externalising thoughts and we’re really inviting teenagers in the Armidale area to explore and play with this theme,” he said.
“There’s a school of thought out there that if you get recurrent unhelpful thoughts that you just try not to think about them but Acceptance and Commitment Therapy really challenges that.”
“I always like to think of it like that thing where people say to you don’t think about the pink elephant – and of course now you are thinking about the pink elephant.”
“With thought defusion you’re taking a step back from the unhelpful thoughts, accepting that they’re there, observing them and then distancing yourself from them which is a real key skill in improving overall mental wellbeing.”
Entries can be submitted in any 2D format, including painting, drawing, digital art, and mixed media. The only requirement is that the work speaks to the experience of taking a step back from overwhelming or intrusive thoughts and making a conscious, empowered decision about how to respond.
In addition to raising awareness, the competition offers $200, $100, and $50 gift vouchers for the top three entries, respectively. But it’s not all about winning. Every submission will be proudly displayed in the BetterSpace Wellbeing Clinic’s waiting room, turning the space into a gallery of youth voices and perspectives on mental wellbeing.
When asked why an art contest, Mr Rawson said, “It’s a conversation starter. Helping our young people be aware that there are multiple ways to approach things and to help them manage that mental chatter that we know teens deal with.”
“A lot of the young people we see in clinic are getting a lot of mental health information off social media – I like to tell them it’s another tool but not on it’s own.”
“I myself even see things on social media sometimes and think ‘wow what a great strategy why didn’t I think of that’, and then other times I think to myself ‘I really wish someone hadn’t put that out there’.”
“Everything in life is an experiment, right? So, it’s all about finding good advice, and things that work for you as an individual.”
In an age where young people are more connected than ever—but often feel more overwhelmed—this initiative is a reminder that taking a step back, observing our thoughts, and making conscious choices can be a life-changing practice. And sometimes, the best way to begin is with a brush, a pencil, or a tablet.
To learn more about the competition, including how to enter and the blog post that inspired the theme, visit www.betterspacewellbeing.com/blog or email info@betterspacewellbeing.com
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