Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research February 2023 Newsletter |
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In this Issue...
- Free Online Course - Promoting Young Adult Success in Work & School
- Talking to Young Adults about Maternal Mental Health
- New Research on Young Parents Living w/a Mental Health Condition
- Tips to Improve Communication w/Youth & Young Adults
- New Episodes of our S.T.A.Y. Tuned Podcast
- Career & Technical Education Month - Resources
- Eating Disorders Awareness Week - Resources
- Creating A Family Safety Plan Tip Sheet
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Promoting Young Adult Success in School and Work
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Our first free course, "Engaging Young Adults in Work and School, " provides key information and resources related to the importance of engaging young adults in work and school endeavors, strategies for doing this important work, and an inside look into programs that are supporting young adults in transitioning. The course is free, online, and self-paced and aims to inspire and support those who work with, and care about, young adults with mental health conditions as they pursue career ambitions. This program is part of the 2019-2024 Learning & Working RRTC.
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In light of the recent family tragedy and loss of life of three young children, Dr. Nancy Byatt, researcher at our parent center, iSPARC, and Executive Director of Lifeline for Moms, and Lifeline for Families at UMass Chan Medical School, has shared her expertise on maternal mental health and postpartum depression, and a list of resources for us to share.
One in 5 women experiences a mental health or substance use disorder during their pregnancy or in the first year of postpartum. In rare cases — about 1 or 2 out of every 1,000 postpartum women – this depression can progress to psychosis, in which a woman’s brain is “hijacked by a really, really serious illness that distorts reality and prompts actions they would never take if healthy," said Dr. Nancy Byatt, during an interview with The Boston Globe.
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Parenting When Young & Living with a
Mental Health Condition
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Our research on young adults, parenthood and mental health was recently featured in the National Rehabilitation Information Center' s (NARIC) Research In Focus: A Digest of New Research from the NIDILRR Community.
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What's the difference between giving support and providing solutions? There's a big difference when your young adult is wanting only support! If you're a friend or family member of a young adult living with a mental health condition, (or any young adult), here are 3 specific tips that can help you have better conversations and better relationships.
This tip sheet was developed as a collaboration between the Family Advisory Board and Young Adult Advisory Board that work with the Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research. We use their lived experience to inform our research and improve the work we do.
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In this episode, we discuss unrealistic body expectations promoted by social media, food insecurity on college campuses, the impact of weight stigma on young adult mental health, and how the social determinants of health play a role in weight stigma.
Episode 6 features a conversation about a project on Pre-Employment Transition Services in Massachusetts, then it dives into what it's like being a young adult with mental health conditions entering the workforce and sustaining a career. (Hint: It's hard!)
In this episode, Emily and Mei get real with listeners. They discuss their struggles in creating healthy routines in a life where screens dominate their whole day and later get into the lonely reality of post-grad life. You'll hear their thoughts on what it's like making this podcast and the challenges of using social media for their job while maintaining good mental health.
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Career & Technical Education Month |
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February is Career & Technical Education (CTE) Month, a public awareness campaign hosted by the Association for Career and Technical Education to celebrate CTE, the accomplishments of CTE programs and the importance of CTE for all students of all ages. At Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research our research has found a positive impact of CTE programs for students with mental health conditions. Below we've listed some of the resources our research teams have developed through work we did in our TEST research project and others.
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Eating Disorders Awareness Week |
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Eating Disorders Awareness Week (February 27 - March 5, 2023) is an annual campaign to educate the public about the realities of eating disorders and to provide hope, support, and visibility to individuals and families affected by eating disorders.
We have 3 blog posts written by young adults at our center that are written from personal experience on this topic. We invite you to read through them and share them with your community.
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If you or someone you know is struggling with body image or eating concerns, NEDA's toll-free and confidential helpline is here to provide support, information, and treatment options. For 24/7 crisis support, text "NEDA" to 741-74 (via @CrisisTextLine).
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Before a Mental Health Crisis Hits: Creating a Family Safety Plan
Do you know what to do when a family member starts struggling with their mental health? A Family Safety Plan can help. This important tip sheet will guide you through the process so you can be prepared.
This tip sheet was created by our Family Advisory Council members.
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Additional Transition-Age Youth Resources:
Many of our downloadable tip sheets and briefs, reports, articles, posters, infographics and video were developed and reviewed with input from young adults with serious mental health conditions and given their “stamp of approval”. Check out them out for:
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Sometimes a picture can convey a feeling that is hard to articulate. Memes often do that.

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Blogging on Adulting is a blog on adulting and mental health by those with lived experience. Many include audio narration.
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Our website hosts dozens of downloadable tip-sheets, many of which were developed and reviewed, with input from young adults with serious mental health conditions and given their “stamp of approval”. |
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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.
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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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Have a Question?
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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 (formerly the University of Massachusetts 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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