
What Young People Need Most
From Voices of Compassion by CHC
May 20, 2026 · 39 min · Season 6 · Episode 19
About this episode
The episode discusses the importance of relationships in youth development with Ben Houltberg from Search Institute.
What if the most powerful thing an educator can do has nothing to do with curriculum? Search Institute has spent over 60 years studying what helps youth thrive – and the answer keeps coming back to one thing: relationships. In this conversation with President & CEO of Search Institute, Ben Houltberg, PhD, LMFT, we unpack the science of developmental relationships – a specific, research-backed framework that goes far beyond simply "being nice" to students. We explore how a single teacher relationship can reshape a young person's trajectory, and how to shift from a deficit mindset to a strengths-based one – even when you're running on empty. Because it turns out, the small things aren't small at all. Resources: CHC Online CHC’s Catherine T. Harvey Center for Clinical Services CHC's Resource Library Learn more about Ellis Sign up for our Virtual Village email list to receive our latest episodes and recent CHC updates. Visit Voices of Compassion online for full show notes including additional resources. Find us on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram and LinkedIn and visit our YouTube channel for videos. Subscribe and leave us a review wherever you listen! We love to hear from you…
People in this episode
Host: CHC
Guest: Ben Houltberg, PhD, LMFT
Topics covered
- youth development
- educational relationships
- strengths-based mindset
- teacher impact
- mental health
Keywords
- youth thrive
- developmental relationships
- educator impact
- strengths-based approach
- mental health
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Search Institute, CHC, Catherine T. Harvey Center for Clinical Services, Voices of Compassion
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- Burnout, Belonging, and Being Heard: Voices from Teens · April 8, 2026 · 44 min
- Screen time, Young Children, & Big Emotions · March 25, 2026 · 32 min
- Raising Kids in the Age of AI · March 11, 2026 · 36 min
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