Dr. Stuart Slavin: Simple Curricular Changes That Decreased Student Depression by 85% AND Raised Board Scores

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Stuart Slavin—pediatrician, medical educator, and a true superhero in the world of educational reform. Stuart’s groundbreaking work has shown that yes, we can dramatically improve student mental health without compromising academic performance—and he has the results to prove it.

We get into why today's high schoolers are more stressed than med students, how maladaptive perfectionism is quietly damaging our youth, and what it really means to build resilience that lasts. Whether you're a parent, educator, or just someone who cares deeply about kids and learning, you don’t want to miss this conversation. Stuart's work is inspiring, actionable, and—best of all—hopeful.

Episode Highlights:

[0:00] - Introducing our new workbook, "The 7 Principles for Raising a Self-Driven Child".
[1:08] - Dr. Stuart Slavin on the surprising pressures teens face—more intense than med school.
[3:22] - Stuart’s origin story and how a curriculum role led to mental health reform.
[5:32] - How adolescent anxiety and perfectionism carry into adulthood.
[7:42] - The dangerous cost of maladaptive perfectionism and chronic stress.
[8:36] - What Stuart’s research revealed about depression, suicide risk, and medical students.
[11:41] - The 3-part intervention that changed everything at Saint Louis University.
[14:10] - Can cutting 10% of class time improve both health and test scores? (Spoiler: Yes.).
[17:54] - How a 90-minute resilience curriculum taught students to challenge toxic thoughts.
[22:01] - Why we must teach kids to recognize and reframe distorted thinking early.
[24:20] - Replacing perfectionism with a healthy pursuit of excellence.
[26:53] - Ned shares his own experience with depression and the power of having tools.
[28:26] - From frustrated parent to systemic change: Stuart’s fight for student well-being.
[30:21] - Final thoughts: to help kids thrive, we have to start upstream.

Links & Resources:

• Learn more about Dr. Stuart Slavin's work at ACGME: https://www.acgme.org/ 
• Episode 49 of The Self-Driven Child: How To Redesign Schools to Unleash Extraordinary Learning For All
• Research cited in the episode: 
  • Medical student mental health 3.0: improving student wellness through curricular changes
  • Finding the Why, Changing the How: Improving the Mental Health of Medical Students, Residents, and Physicians
  • Reflections on a Decade Leading a Medical Student Well-Being Initiative

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If you have a high school aged student and would like to talk about putting a tutoring or college plan together, reach out to Ned's company, PrepMatters at www.prepmatters.com