Charting John Kirwan's personal experiences as a father, and featuring the real voices of young people today, Stand By Me investigates issues around teenage mental health, with a focus on depression and anxiety. I'm a dad and I'm scared. When I say I'm a dad and I'm scared, I really mean: I'm a dad and I'm looking for answers – from the professionals, kids, mums, dads and other caregivers who have been there, holding each other's hands to hell and back. Stand by me. Let's take the journey together. With clinical psychologists Dr Elliot Bell and Kirsty Louden-Bell, JK confronts the big questions facing parents and teens, highlighting key messages and offering best approaches. Stand By Me also draws on the perspectives of teenagers who have been diagnosed with mental health issues and the families who have journeyed with them. In their own words, the young people reflect on their darkest days and recovery, and consider how these experiences have shaped them as they face forward into their adult lives. Intimate, enlightening and impossible to ignore, Stand By Me is a window into an all-too-real issue facing New Zealand families, and a powerful tool for anyone concerned about the wellbeing of young people in their care. Also available as an eBook

Mental depression is a serious issue in contemporary New Zealand, and it has an increasingly high profile. But during our history, depression has often been hidden under a long black cloud of denial that we have not always lived up to the Kiwi ideal of being pragmatic and have not always coped.Using historic patient records as a starting place, and informed by her own experience of depression, academic Jacqueline Leckie' s timely social history of depression in Aotearoa analyses its medical, cultural and social contexts through an historical lens. From detailing its links to melancholia and explaining its expression within Indigenous and migrant communities, this engrossing book interrogates how depression was medicalised and has been treated, and how New Zealanders have lived with it.

A child at loose ends needs help, and someone steps in--a Big Brother, a Big Sister, a mentor from the growing ranks of volunteers offering their time and guidance to more than two million American adolescents. Does it help? How effective are mentoring programs, and how do they work? Are there pitfalls, and if so, what are they? Such questions, ever more pressing as youth mentoring initiatives expand their reach at a breakneck pace, have occupied Jean Rhodes for more than a decade. In this provocative, thoroughly researched, and lucidly written book, Rhodes offers readers the benefit of the latest findings in this burgeoning field, including those from her own extensive, groundbreaking studies. Outlining a model of youth mentoring that will prove invaluable to the many administrators, caseworkers, volunteers, and researchers who seek reliable information and practical guidance, Stand by Me describes the extraordinary potential that exists in such relationships, and discloses the ways in which nonparent adults are uniquely positioned to encourage adolescent development. Yet the book also exposes a rarely acknowledged risk: unsuccessful mentoring relationships--always a danger when, in a rush to form matches, mentors are dispatched with more enthusiasm than understanding and preparation--can actually harm at-risk youth. Vulnerable children, Rhodes demonstrates, are better left alone than paired with mentors who cannot hold up their end of the relationships. Drawing on work in the fields of psychology and personal relations, Rhodes provides concrete suggestions for improving mentoring programs and creating effective, enduring mentoring relationships with youth.

‘I’ve been to hell and I’m back. If you’re in that same place, then I understand what you’re going through . . . Hang on to hope.’ All Blacks Don’t Cry is the remarkable story of hope and healing from well-known mental health campaigner and legendary All Black, Sir John Kirwan. While ‘JK’ is now famous for sharing his experiences with depression, there was a time when he suffered alone. One of the most devastating wingers New Zealand, and world, rugby had ever seen, he was a prominent and revered figure at the dawn of the professional age, who seemed to live a charmed life. But nobody knew that, behind closed doors, JK was living a life of torment. Afflicted with depression for many years – including those as a high-profile sportsman – Kirwan was able to survive by reaching out, seeking help from those closest to him. The publication of All Blacks Don’t Cry was an emphatic reminder that anyone can be afflicted with mental illness, becoming an instant bestseller. In this new edition, JK returns to the powerful story that has helped countless readers and families learn to speak up and reach out. With new messages of inspiration, personal experiences, practical advice and updated resources for a post-Covid world, it continues to be an urgent and essential guide for those battling depression and anxiety today. ‘May be the most useful book ever written by a New Zealand rugby player.’ — Philip Matthews, Weekend Press ‘An inspirational read . . . I would recommend it for GP and patient alike.’ — NZ Doctor

"When Life Sucks is an essential guide to supporting your teen's mental health. As a parent and psychiatrist, Dr Jo knows how hard it can be - especially if a teen communicates only in eye rolls and grunts! Covering everything from anxiety, depression, trauma and eating difficulties, to understanding neurodivergence and gender identity, this book is a first-aid manual for some of life's toughest challenges. It's not easy being a parent in a world of TikTok and bubblegum-flavoured vapes, but When Life Sucks gives you the practical tools to help make your life a little lighter and to support your teen towards a healthy headspace"--Publisher information.

'I love Maggie's style. Quite simply, when she talks, we should listen.' Hamish Blake 'A masterpiece ... this book is the answer we've been waiting for.' Dr Vanessa Lapointe Australia's favourite parenting expert on how to understand and help our teens so they can thrive. Adolescence has always been a time of huge transformation, but today's teens deal with challenges that parents may never have imagined. An increasingly digital world filled with social media, gaming and harmful content, along with changing cultural norms, has intensified the pressure to excel and 'fit in' - leading to heightened levels of stress, anxiety and depression. Maggie Dent, Australia's queen of common-sense parenting, believes that teens can handle these pressures with resilience and strength when they are supported by stable, loving connections with family, teachers and other caring adults. Drawing on up-to-date research, a survey of modern teens and her own experiences as a teacher, counsellor and mother, and her memories of being a teen, Maggie provides clear and compassionate 'what to do' advice for some of the most difficult, sensitive topics - such as technology use, sex, drugs and alcohol, dropped school grades, mental health and identity - and shows us how we can provide a safe and supportive environment for all our teens. Help Me Help My Teen is a reassuring, practical guide for parents to help teenagers navigate adolescence and grow into confident, capable adults.

Parenting today’s teens is not for cowards. Your teenager is facing unprecedented and confusing pressures, temptations, and challenges in today’s culture. Mark Gregston has helped teens and their parents through every struggle imaginable, and now he shares his biblical, practical insights with you in bite-size pieces. Punctuated with Scriptures, prayers, and penetrating questions, these one-page devotions will give you the wisdom and assurance you need to guide your teen through these years and reach the other side with relationships intact.