A Youth Mental Health Crisis? Kids These Days, the Exhausted Middle, and the Divided World
Presenters: Will Dobud, PhD (Charles Sturt University) and Nevin Harper, PhD (University of Victoria, Canada)
Abstract: Amid rising concerns about a so-called youth mental health crisis, this presentation challenges simplified narratives and explores the deeper social, cultural, and relational dynamics impacting the well-being of youth. We’ll explore how systemic pressures create a divided world for young people to navigate. From labeling and overprotection to social media saturation and adult interference. Will and Nevin discuss the “exhausted middle” concept: parents, therapists, educators, and adults caught between institutional demands and the urgent needs of youth. Rather than pathologising kids, this talk invites a compassionate response that sees youth mental health not as an individual failure but a collective responsibility.
About the Presenters
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. Will is currently a Senior Lecturer of Social Work with Charles Sturt University and a friend of the Outdoor Therapy Centre for Research and Practice. 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.
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.
