Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research August 2023 Newsletter
In this Issue...
  • Our new center director, Kathryn Sabella PhD
  • 30 Years! A remarkable milestone for iSPARC, our parent center.
  • Podcast Episode 10 - "Too sick" to work? - Breaking the narrative" w/Dr. Michelle Mullen
  • Helpful Tip Sheet: Applying for a Job, the Young Adult's Guide
  • Back to School Resource for High School & College Students
  • In Case You Missed It
WE'VE GOT A NEW DIRECTOR
Say Hello to Our New Director, Kathryn Sabella, PhD
We are excited to announce that as of July 1, 2023, Kathryn Sabella, PhD, a long-time researcher at iSPARC and UMass Chan Medical School, officially became the new director of the Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research!
Kathryn has been an integral part of our center since its early days, working closely with our previous director, Maryann Davis PhD, to establish the infrastructure and operations of the center.

Kathryn has been instrumental in our research and training initiatives and her expertise and dedication will drive our center forward as we continue to focus on improving outcomes for youth and young adults with serious mental health conditions. Learn more about Kathryn and her vision for the Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research in our interview with her.
iSPARC REACHES A SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE!
In July, iSPARC, (our parent center) was honored and thrilled to celebrate a remarkable milestone - 30 years as a Massachusetts DMH Research Center of Excellence. Since 1993, iSPARC has been at the forefront of conducting, disseminating, and supporting research in the public mental health system. The unwavering mission has been to enhance services for individuals with behavioral health conditions, promoting their recovery and improving their quality of life.

iSPARC works with populations including transition-age youth (through Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research), young adults and adults with lived experience, forensic and justice-involved populations, Deaf individuals, veterans, perinatal individuals and parents with lived experience, and children who have experienced trauma.

Our guest, Michelle Mullen PhD, CRC, CPRP, discusses her work on preventing disability and keeping young adults out of a system that can break them. She explains why the language used to describe the mental health of young adults is so key and what can be done to change the narrative of self-blame. We also get into her thoughts on what the future of mental health care should look like for young adults and how we can work towards it. 

Our S.T.A.Y. Tuned: Supporting Transition-Age Youth Podcast is a podcast for young adults, made by young adults, with mental health conditions.
BACK TO SCHOOL RESOURCES
Our Comic Series Shows How High School Students
Can Be Empowered by Leading Their IEP Meetings.
Part 1: High-school student Mateo learns what an IEP is, and how and why it's important to take an active role in his Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting.

Part 2: Mateo learns about the steps in IEP transition planning, including why it's helpful to fill out a Statement of Strengths, Preferences and Needs Worksheet. 
Part 3: Mateo practices setting future goals, fills out a "Creating SMART Goals" worksheet & gets excited about meeting some career-oriented goals before graduation.
For additional information about our research on transition planning read about our TEST project here. View our full offering of Info-Comics here.
Heading to College?
August is a busy month for students getting ready to head off to college. For students who have a mental health condition, there may be additional supports needed to succeed in college. We have several tip sheets and briefs for college students with mental health challenges that offer valuable information and tips to help them get a head start on the new year.

  1. Tools for Schools: Accommodations for College Students with Mental Health Challenges
  2. Tools for Schools II: Outside-the-box College Accommodations: Real Support for Real Students
  3. College Accommodations - A Comic Explaining it All
  4. My Mental Health Rights on Campus
  5. Emotional Support Animals: The Basics
  6. Can I Bring an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) with me to College?
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Episode 9 of our STAY Tuned podcast is about trauma -- its source, impact and how to heal. Our guest, Joan, shares her experience, including using EMDR therapy. Episode 9: Trauma is a Thief - Reclaiming Your Power.
Managing the paperwork that comes along with "Adulting" is not fun. Our Young Adult Advisory Board and Family Advisory Board set out to make that task a little easier. "My Must Have Papers - Managing the Paperwork of Adulting" Tip Sheet
This tip sheet is a good starting point for your young adult in their job search journey, covers many topics and includes some great networking resources. "Applying for a Job - The Young Adult's Guide" Tip Sheet
Our free course for providers shares key info & resources related to the importance of engaging young adults in work and school endeavors, and strategies for doing this work. Engaging Young Adults in Work & School - Training for Providers.
Our latest young adult blog How to Create & (Actually) Follow a Schedule: Learning and Working from Home with a Mental Health Condition has tips on how to prioritize tasks, use tools like the Pomodoro Technique, minimize distractions, and more.
YOUNG ADULT MEME CORNER
Sometimes a picture can convey a feeling that is hard to articulate. Memes often do that.
Check out the memes developed by the young adults in our National Youth Advisory Board (YAB). They get posted to our various social media platforms.

COULD YOU USE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE?
Technical Assistance activities are an extension of the research and training activities of Transitions ACR. Our intention is to collaborate closely with numerous stakeholders requesting technical assistance in order to produce actionable practice and policy agenda. Our TA services can range from simple resource referrals to on-site development of a formal TA plan (including fact finding, goals, responsibilities, timelines and evaluation measures). 

Please complete the form below for Technical Assistance from Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research. Please note that we do not provide clinical consultation, behavioral services, or referrals.
THINGS WE DO
RESOURCES BY TOPIC
Tip sheets, briefs, reports, articles, posters, infographics and video by topic

Employment — Education — Life Skills

Many publications are available in Spanish (en español) or Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt).
WHO WE ARE
The Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research promotes the full participation in socially valued roles of transition-age youth and young adults (ages 14-30) with serious mental health conditions. The Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research (Transitions ACR) is located within the Implementation Science and Practice Advances Research Center (iSPARC) and houses The Learning & Working During the Transition to Adulthood Rehabilitation Research & Training Center (The Learning & Working RRTC), among other projects.
The Learning & Working RRTC is a national effort that aims to improve the supports of transition-age youth and young adults (age 14-30) with serious mental health conditions successfully complete their schooling and training and move into rewarding work lives. 

Funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR).
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As a Massachusetts Department of Mental Health Research Center of Excellence located within the Department of Psychiatry at UMass Chan Medical School, iSPARC aims to improve the mental and behavioral health of all citizens of Massachusetts and beyond.
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Some of the contents of this message were developed under a grant with funding from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, United States Department of Health and Human Services (NIDILRR grant number 90RTEM0005). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this message do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, and/or HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
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