Kids These Days: Understanding and Supporting Youth Mental Health by Will Dobud & Nevin Harper
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 said to be 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.
About the Authors:
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.
Dr. Nevin Harper is a Professor in the School of Exercise Science, Physical & Health Education at the University of Victoria, and a Registered Clinical Counsellor. His career has included stretches as a youth counsellor, outdoor skills instructor, shepherd, wilderness guide, and more recently author, researcher, and consultant. Nevin’s research examines human-environmental interactions, primarily through the practices of outdoor therapies and nature-based approaches to healing and wellbeing. He lives on Vancouver Island, Canada.
Kids These Days: Understanding and Supporting Youth Mental Health by Will Dobud & Nevin Harper will be released on September 30, 2025, published by New Society Publishers.