Kids These Days: Understanding and Supporting Youth Mental Health
Discover why most attempts to fix teenagers fail and what to do about it

Anxiety, depression, self-harm, substance use disorders, and teen suicide—despite having more counselors, educators, experts, and medications than ever before, today's young people are suffering from a mental health epidemic. Exploring a range of factors contributing to this wicked problem—from social media, overprotection, and environmental toxins to the erosion of connection—Kids These Days clearly identifies what works for raising happy and healthy youth, and what does not.

This essential guide is an unflinching examination of the failings of the mental health industry, and a call to action for adults to stand up against interference, harmful interventions, and ideologies negatively impacting our children. Both therapists, parents, and researchers, Will Dobud and Nevin Harper:

  • Engage leading voices in adolescent well-being—mental health professionals, scientists, doctors, and parenting gurus—to discover why most attempts to fix teenagers fail
  • Distill the last twenty years of research and clinical practice to identify the causes and potential cures for the growing youth mental health crisis
  • Show how social connection, mastery, gratitude, and independence promote emotional and psychological resilience in the next generation.

It's time to stop labeling youth and recognize them as the heroes of their own stories. Whether as parents, guardians, therapists, educators, or other role models, we need to build trust and foster relationships while helping the young people in our lives negotiate the adventure of adolescence. Our kids are not broken. What really needs to change is the adults these days.

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Kids These Days: Understanding and Supporting Youth Mental Health
Discover why most attempts to fix teenagers fail and what to do about it

Anxiety, depression, self-harm, substance use disorders, and teen suicide—despite having more counselors, educators, experts, and medications than ever before, today's young people are suffering from a mental health epidemic. Exploring a range of factors contributing to this wicked problem—from social media, overprotection, and environmental toxins to the erosion of connection—Kids These Days clearly identifies what works for raising happy and healthy youth, and what does not.

This essential guide is an unflinching examination of the failings of the mental health industry, and a call to action for adults to stand up against interference, harmful interventions, and ideologies negatively impacting our children. Both therapists, parents, and researchers, Will Dobud and Nevin Harper:

  • Engage leading voices in adolescent well-being—mental health professionals, scientists, doctors, and parenting gurus—to discover why most attempts to fix teenagers fail
  • Distill the last twenty years of research and clinical practice to identify the causes and potential cures for the growing youth mental health crisis
  • Show how social connection, mastery, gratitude, and independence promote emotional and psychological resilience in the next generation.

It's time to stop labeling youth and recognize them as the heroes of their own stories. Whether as parents, guardians, therapists, educators, or other role models, we need to build trust and foster relationships while helping the young people in our lives negotiate the adventure of adolescence. Our kids are not broken. What really needs to change is the adults these days.

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Kids These Days: Understanding and Supporting Youth Mental Health

Kids These Days: Understanding and Supporting Youth Mental Health

Kids These Days: Understanding and Supporting Youth Mental Health

Kids These Days: Understanding and Supporting Youth Mental Health

Overview

Discover why most attempts to fix teenagers fail and what to do about it

Anxiety, depression, self-harm, substance use disorders, and teen suicide—despite having more counselors, educators, experts, and medications than ever before, today's young people are suffering from a mental health epidemic. Exploring a range of factors contributing to this wicked problem—from social media, overprotection, and environmental toxins to the erosion of connection—Kids These Days clearly identifies what works for raising happy and healthy youth, and what does not.

This essential guide is an unflinching examination of the failings of the mental health industry, and a call to action for adults to stand up against interference, harmful interventions, and ideologies negatively impacting our children. Both therapists, parents, and researchers, Will Dobud and Nevin Harper:

  • Engage leading voices in adolescent well-being—mental health professionals, scientists, doctors, and parenting gurus—to discover why most attempts to fix teenagers fail
  • Distill the last twenty years of research and clinical practice to identify the causes and potential cures for the growing youth mental health crisis
  • Show how social connection, mastery, gratitude, and independence promote emotional and psychological resilience in the next generation.

It's time to stop labeling youth and recognize them as the heroes of their own stories. Whether as parents, guardians, therapists, educators, or other role models, we need to build trust and foster relationships while helping the young people in our lives negotiate the adventure of adolescence. Our kids are not broken. What really needs to change is the adults these days.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781774060223
Publisher: New Society Publishers
Publication date: 09/30/2025
Pages: 272
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

Will Dobud, PhD, MSW has over 20 years of therapeutic experience working with youth and families from diverse backgrounds across the US, Australia, and Norway. He has developed innovative programs that integrate psychotherapy and the outdoors to improve teenagers' experience when seeking mental health treatment. A dedicated, award-winning researcher and senior social work lecturer, Will explores ways to improve the experience and effectiveness of mental health supports, and advocates for youth impacted by the United States' troubled-teen industry. He is co-host of the popular Adventure Therapy Collective Podcast and co-author of Solution-Focused Practice in Outdoor Therapy: Co-Adventuring for Change and Outdoor Therapies: An Introduction To Practices, Possibilities, and Critical Perspectives. A senior lecturer in social work at Charles Sturt University, Will lives and works between Australia and the Washington DC area.

Nevin Harper, PhD, is a Professor in the Faculty of Health at the University of Victoria, and a Registered Clinical Counsellor with over 30 years' experience leading groups and individuals through outdoor educational, therapeutic and transformative experiences.

His research in the areas of child and youth health and development examines human-environmental interactions, primarily through the practices of outdoor therapies, adventure programming, and nature-based approaches to healing and wellbeing. He has travelled and worked internationally as a consultant, trainer, speaker, and an evaluator of programs and services in related areas. Nevin is co-author of Nature-Based Therapy: A Practitioner's Guide to Working Outdoors with Children, Youth, And Families and Outdoor Therapies: An Introduction to Practices, Possibilities, and Critical Perspectives. He lives on Vancouver Island, Canada.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Wicked Problems

Part I: Interference
Chapter 1: The Kids These Days Effect
Chapter 2: Starving
Chapter 3: Gorging
Chapter 4: Lions, Tigers, and Bears

Part II: Intervention
Chapter 5: Identity Politics
Chapter 6: Teaching Zen to Five-Year-Old's
Chapter 7: The Talking Cure

Part III: Ideology
Chapter 8: Extinction of Experience
Chapter 9: The Safety Trap
Chapter 10: Simple Can Be Elegant

Epilogue: On Deviance and Uncooperative Systems
Notes

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