Counselling activity: the Identity Project
Students can often feel reduced to their grades or university outcomes. This activity reminds them – and us – that their academic journey is also about identity and self-discovery
Alyssa Degala
University counselling should not only focus on guiding students through academic decisions but should also support their emotional development and sense of identity.
I therefore developed the Identity Project: a creative, student-centred activity that combines visual reflection, storytelling and counselling strategies. This project helps students make meaning of their past, reflect on their growth and shape future goals.
The Identity Project: a deeply personal timeline
The Identity Project involves asking students to create a visual timeline that maps out key moments in their lives. They are prompted to identify events that shaped their identity, both positive and difficult, and annotate them with drawings, reflections or meaningful symbols. These can include moments of success, personal struggles, transitions, support systems or shifts in self-understanding.
The activity is flexible: students can use large pieces of paper, markers, sticky notes or digital tools such as Google Slides.
Each timeline is deeply personal, allowing students to express themselves in their own words. Sessions typically span several meetings, giving time for reflection, revision and optional sharing.
This activity is most effective when paired with strong relationship-building. I begin by creating a warm, open environment. I explain that students are in control of their story; nothing has to be shared unless they choose to.
How it works
Session 1: introduce the activity, provide materials and help students begin identifying life chapters.
Session 2: encourage deeper reflection using prompts: When did you feel proud?, What challenges helped you grow?, What support made a difference?
Session 3: Optional sharing and connection to goals or future planning.
Moreover, this technique supports many real-world scenarios. I first used this technique with a Year 12 student struggling with a personal issue. Through this project, careful reflection and my support, she recognised the strength she had after overcoming adversity.
High school students often use this activity to reflect on their goals, sense of belonging or life turning points. It’s particularly useful for students in transition, moving schools, choosing universities or navigating identity formation. One student used her project to reflect on the cultural adjustment process and how she adapted through building friendships and learning a new language. Another, dealing with academic stress, identified earlier moments of success that helped rebuild confidence and shape a new study routine. That realisation later became a core theme in her university application essay.
Working with other stakeholders
I also decided to come up with a way to inform caregivers of students’ reflections, because it is important to involve them early in the process. To facilitate a collaborative approach, I plan to offer a joint session with the student and their caregivers to discuss how their reflection connects with their aspirations.
I’ve presented this technique to others in my college counselling department and intend to share it on LinkedIn. Counsellors from different countries can adapt it for group sessions and career reflection activities. This supports broader collaboration across school systems and enhances the counsellor’s role in student development.
The Identity Project allows students to process life experiences and take ownership of their story, while providing counsellors with a meaningful, practical tool they can adapt across contexts. In a world where students often feel reduced to their grades or university outcomes, this activity reminds them – and us – that their journey is about more than just destinations. It’s about identity, resilience and self-discovery.