1KHO 594: How to Build Resilient Youth | Bryan Gouge, Compassion International

The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast

Ginny Yurich

Parenting, Kids & Family

4.9 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 10 October 2025

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On World Mental Health Day, youth mental health expert Bryan Gouge, PhD (Compassion International) sits down with Ginny to flip the script—from “fix the kid” to “build the village.” Bryan explains why mental health isn’t just diagnoses; it’s a practice we do together. You’ll hear the four pillars guiding Compassion’s global work—strength-based, youth-centric, trauma-informed, and locally owned—and how they translate into family life. His stories are unforgettable: teens in Nairobi’s Dandora slum turning peer groups into a youth-led NGO, and the way reframing “symptoms” (anxious kids as hyper-observant, depressed kids as deeply empathetic) unlocks hidden strengths. He ties it all to nature and presence: shared sunsets, forest walks, and the simple power of truly listening—because resilience grows where kids feel known, loved, and protected. This conversation matters now because parents feel the pressure to perform while kids drown in stress and isolation. Bryan offers concrete moves you can make this week: write a short family mission, increase the ratio of caring adults in your child’s life, choose gatherings over grind, consider how your neighborhood supports connection (even in small ways), and practice “listen before fix.” You’ll leave with a hopeful, doable vision: resilient kids are built together, not alone. Press play to rethink support, re-center community, and rediscover the healing rhythm of being outside—side by side. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the 1000 Hours Outside podcast. My name is Ginny Erich. I'm the founder of 100
0:04.0	Hours Outside. And I am so excited about today's guest. Today is World Mental Health Day.
0:09.0	Now we're not recording this on World Mental Health Day, but I'm saving it. October 10th,
0:13.0	World Mental Health Day. And here to talk about that is Brian Gouge, Ph.D. Compassion International's
0:19.9	Youth Mental Health Expert. What an honor to have you here, Brian. Thanks for being here.
0:24.8	Yeah, thanks, Ginny. I'm really, really happy to be here. Thanks for having me. Yes. This is a hugely important.
0:30.4	I don't even know if that's a word. This is a majorly, a mega important topic is youth mental health, just mental health in general. But kids are struggling.
0:41.3	And what we found is that getting them outdoors, slowing down the pace of life, different things
0:46.2	like that are really helpful for mental health, relationships, and things like that. But you are the
0:51.1	one who is going to be the expert here talking to us about what you've learned
0:55.2	and how you've learned it and just advice for parents and for family.
0:59.8	So can you give us some of your background, the Compassion International's youth mental health
1:04.1	expert?
1:04.9	How did that happen?
1:06.7	Ooh, yeah.
1:08.9	I mean, let me start up by saying.
1:11.0	I think probably like most people, particularly I would say people within the field like psychology or counseling where a lot of your work is about listening.
1:21.3	The term expert I think is I always balk a little bit at it because I think the best way to continue to learn is to be
1:31.3	curious and to listen. And just when I think I've learned something or I have something to share,
1:37.0	I think, oh, wow, there's much more than I need to learn, right? So let me start off by saying
1:41.9	probably a lot of what I'll share is based on my experience
1:45.4	and my experience is always growing, but I'm always trying to stay curious.
	...

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