Stuck After Treatment: Real Options Parents Overlook, with Will WhiteStuck After Treatment: Real Options Parents Overlook, with Will White
Hopestream for parenting kids through drug use and addiction
Brenda Zane talks with Dr Will White about the shift from externalising behaviour to anxiety in young people, and how experiential, outdoor and trades-based programmes like The Trade can support those who feel stuck after treatment. The conversation also offers practical reassurance and guidance for parents balancing their own anxiety with the need to gently push their children forward.
53:52•30 Apr 2026
Stuck After Treatment: Hands‑On Paths and Hope for Anxious Young Adults
Episode Overview
- Today’s teens and young adults are more often struggling with internalised anxiety than overt, oppositional behaviour, even as overall drug use rates have declined.
- Increased social media use, pandemic disruption and nonstop news appear linked to higher anxiety and suicidality in young people.
- Experiential and outdoor approaches, including wilderness and activity-based programmes, can reduce anxiety and build confidence more effectively than talk-only formats for many.
- The Trade offers 18–30-year-olds a paid, 40‑hour‑per‑week apprenticeship experience in multiple trades, helping them gain practical skills, independence and self-esteem after treatment.
- Parents of anxious or substance-using young people benefit from community support, showing consistent love, gently pushing their kids toward growth, and taking daily time outdoors for their own health.
“"It's counterintuitive to a parent with an anxious child to push them to do something. And yet, they need encouragement. They need to be pushed."”
What makes a recovery story truly inspiring? For many parents, it’s hearing from people who’ve been in the trenches with teens and young adults for decades, and that’s exactly what this conversation with Dr Will White offers. Aimed squarely at parents of teens and young adults struggling with substances and mental health, this episode blends big-picture context with very practical options for that ‘stuck after treatment’ stage.
Brenda Zane chats with Will, a licensed clinical social worker who’s been practising since the 1980s, co-founded a long-running wilderness programme, and now co-leads The Trade, an apprenticeship-style programme for young adults.
You’ll hear how today’s young people look different from those of the 90s and 2000s: fewer classic “externalisers” smashing things up, more anxious, withdrawn kids who “are not having as good of emotional intelligence to express what's really going on for them.” Will connects rising anxiety to social media, pandemic fallout and 24/7 news, while also noting the surprising drop in overall adolescent drug use. A big chunk of the conversation focuses on experiential approaches.
Will contrasts traditional office-based therapy with outdoor, activity-based work, and shares how hands-on experiences build confidence in ways a weekly session often can’t. The Trade steps into the gap for 18–30-year-olds who aren’t ready for college or full independence, offering paid, 40‑hour‑a‑week exposure to trades like carpentry, auto work and landscaping. As Will puts it, young adults there learn “less talk and more doing,” building real-world competence and self-esteem along the way.
Parents also get gentle but clear guidance: anxious kids still need to be nudged forward, and anxious parents need support, community and their own time outdoors. It’s a grounded, hopeful look at what’s actually working for families right now. If your child feels stuck after treatment, could a more hands-on path be the missing piece?
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