Best Practices on Supporting the Transition and Employment Needs of Young Adults with Mental Health Conditions

Young adults with serious mental health conditions experience a unique set of challenges as they transition to adulthood and navigate school, training, and work. This three-part series will first provide audience members with a general understanding of this population, then describe how this group navigates school, training, and work, and conclude with an important consideration of how services can and should consider young adults needs from a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens. Information from these webinars can help providers and policy makers better understand how to effectively support this population.

Please click on the hyperlinks below for more information and to register for the webinar(s).

Group Registrations: Special pricing is available for groups of 10 or more – please contact elearning@transcen.org for more information or to register your group.

Certificate of completion available. Participants must complete and pass a quiz to receive CE recognition for each session

Part 1: Establishing a Developmental and Cultural Understanding of How to Support Youth and Young Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions
Tuesday, April 19, 2022 – 1:00pm – 2:30pm EST

The transition to adulthood (broadly defined as ages 16-30) is increasingly considered a unique developmental period with its own young adult culture in which mental health challenges are increasingly normalized and destigmatized. However, many traditional mental health services, policies, and supports are misaligned with the changing ideas of what it means to be a young adult in the U.S. and how young people navigate mental health challenges. This webinar will describe the unique developmental period of young adulthood, contextualize the culture of young adulthood within our society, and explore the unique ways in which young adult lives and their mental health have been influenced by the ongoing COVID pandemic. We will discuss how this information can be used to better support young adults, both individually and as a system.

Part 2: Supporting the Education, Training, and Employment Pursuits of Young Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions
Tuesday, May 3, 2022 – 1:00pm – 2:30pm EST

Young adults (ages 16-30) with serious mental health conditions (SMHC) struggle to persist in their education, training, and employment pursuits. Young adults increasingly navigate diverse pathways through post-secondary school and work, but compared to their peers, young adults with SMHC struggle to complete high school, complete post-secondary education programs, and establish strong working histories. Young adulthood is a critical period in one’s career trajectory and early delays are increasingly hard to overcome. This webinar will describe the non-linear school, training, and work activities of young adults with SMHC and the barriers and facilitators they commonly encounter when trying to continually pursue these activities. By identifying factors that influence young adults’ ability to pursue school, training, and work, service providers and families can more effectively help young adults set themselves up for success.

Part 3: One Size Does Not Fit All: A Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Framework for Supporting Young Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions
Tuesday, May 17, 2022 – 1:00pm – 2:30pm EST

Millions of young adults (ages 16-30) in the U.S. experience mental health challenges, some with and without official diagnoses. Mental health challenges in young adulthood are uniquely experienced based on a young person’s individual, familial, and community context. For example, young people from BIPOC and LGBTQ communities experience unique challenges that contribute to how they experience an SMHC, how (and if) they navigate mental health services, and if/how those services are helpful. This webinar will illustrate how mental health services for young adults need to be individualized and developed with diversity, equity, and inclusion in mind. Social disparities of health and mental health will be discussed to illustrate the importance of meeting young adults where they are at and ensuring that all young people, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual, or gender identity receive the support they need.

About the Presenter