Creativity is a human need,
not a talent.
A creative wellbeing method for all ages and all settings
Happy Doodles is not art therapy. Not art class. It is something new: a structured, evidence-informed approach using doodling and mark-making to help people of all ages name, express and understand their emotions. All you need is paper, something to doodle with, and permission. Everyone belongs here.
Happy Doodles in action
Real sessions, real people
What we do
How Happy Doodles works
Doodle first, talk later
Everyone arrives and immediately doodles. No instructions, no talking required. The mark-making is the entry point.
Emotion characters
Feelings are externalised through characters, giving emotions a face, a name and a story that can be explored safely.
Emotional vocabulary
Through structured prompts, participants expand the language they have for their inner world, at their own pace.
Regulation tools
Each person builds their own personal toolkit of values, strategies and strengths they can carry beyond sessions.
The method
The 6-stage Happy Doodles journey
Who it's for
Happy Doodles is for everyone
The method is designed to be adapted across settings, ages and communities. Wherever people struggle to put feelings into words, doodling opens a door.
Children in schools
A six-week PSHE-aligned programme fitting within existing school time. Suitable for primary aged children in any classroom setting.
1 in 5 children affectedHome-educated children
Low-pressure, accessible mark-making with no specialist equipment. A natural fit for home-educated children, many of whom are neurodivergent.
80,000+ home-educated in EnglandNeurodivergent people
Non-verbal first, sensory-friendly and low-pressure by design. Created by a neurodivergent founder who understands these needs from lived experience.
1 in 7 people are neurodivergentPerinatal mothers
Accessible wellbeing support for new and expectant mothers. Vital in areas like Hull, where the nearest inpatient Mother and Baby Unit is in Leeds.
1 in 4 mothers affectedAdults and young people
Adapted sessions for adults experiencing anxiety, depression or emotional dysregulation. A non-clinical complement to overstretched IAPT and CAMHS services.
1 in 4 adults each yearCommunity wellbeing groups
Pop-up sessions for food banks, community hubs, family centres and libraries. Designed to require nothing from participants but their presence.
Free and accessible to allCare homes and elderly residents
Creativity and mark-making support memory, stimulate communication and reduce isolation. Arts activity improves wellbeing across 8 key domains for older adults.
900k people living with dementiaNHS and health settings
A non-clinical creative health tool for mental health teams, occupational therapists and community health workers, complementing clinical care, not replacing it.
91 week wait for adult ADHD in Hull
Coming soon
My Doodle Book
A children's activity book designed to sit alongside the Happy Doodles programme, giving every child their own space to explore, express and understand their emotions through doodling. Low pressure, no right answers, just marks on a page.
In development 2026About the founder
Jodie Smith
Jodie is a professional illustrator, creative facilitator and founder of Happy Doodles. She built this method from lived experience as a mother who used doodling to regulate her own emotions through postpartum psychosis, bipolar disorder and neurodivergence. Happy Doodles was born at the kitchen table, side by side with her daughter. It is now being piloted in primary schools in Hull and developed as a structured, licensable wellbeing programme for all ages.
Get in touch
Let's work together
Interested in piloting Happy Doodles, partnering with us, or finding out more?