iSPARC Director Maryann Davis Co-Edited a Special Section of the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal Dedicated to Youth & Young Adult Mental Health!

Professor of Psychiatry, Director of the Implementation Science and Practice Advances Research Center, and Director of the Learning & Working Transitions ACR Maryann Davis and Professor and Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs Michelle R. Munson co-edited a special section in the American Psychological Association’s Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal. The December 2018 special section focuses on Youth and Young Adult Mental Health. Dr. Davis and Dr. Munson are internationally recognized experts in services and interventions for young people transitioning to adulthood with serious mental health conditions, which generally occurs between 16 and 30 years of age.

"What is significant about this special section,” said Dr. Munson, “is that it summarizes the current context of young adult mental health in the U.S. and provides a set of papers with some of the latest empirical data on recovery and rehabilitation for young adults with serious mental health challenges."

In their introductory editorial, Drs. Davis and Munson address the state of the research since Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal published a 2012 special issue on Young Adults with Mental Health Challenges and they provide commentary on current social policies impacting the population’s employment and education prospects, outcomes that are known to be critical for a successful launch into young adulthood.

The five papers included in the special section provide data on the efficacy of treatment models, shed light on youth and young adults’ attitudes toward help-seeking, and offer guidance for community-based providers serving this age group.

Dr. Davis and her colleagues from the Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research in the Department of Psychiatry at the UMass Chan Medical School, also contributed several papers to the section, including articles by Dr. Davis and colleagues comparing two approaches of Multi-Systemic Therapy-Emerging Adults (MST-EA); by Dr. Kathleen Biebel and colleagues on the key factors postsecondary students with serious mental illnesses believe support their educational goals; and by Dr. Rosalie Torres Stone, a Sociologist now at Clark University, and her colleagues on the meaning of work for young adults living with serious mental health conditions who are receiving employment supports.

NYU Silver is represented in the section, even beyond Dr. Munson’s role as co-editor. Among the papers is one led by NYU Silver Associate Professor Jennifer Manuel exploring the perceptions of mental health providers who work with transition-age youth regarding innovative treatment engagement techniques that are effective with the population. Another, paper examines youth and young adults’ perspectives on help-seeking and was co-authored by 2017 PhD graduates Shelly Ben-David and Andrea Cole, now at the University of British Columbia-Kelowna and New Yor