Welcome to our iSPARC Sept. 2019 Newsletter!
|
|
September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
This is a time to share resources, personal stories, and raise awareness. It is important to talk about suicide and suicide prevention year-round, but September allows us to focus on this important topic. See some of our research we are doing focused on suicide prevention below.
|
|
The ED-SAFE Study
While suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States; suicide attempts are much more common, with more than 1 million people per year attempting suicide. In response to this critical need, the National Institute for Mental Health funded Emergency Department Safety Assessment and Follow-up Evaluation (ED-SAFE). ED-SAFE was a large, three-phase suicide intervention trial designed to determine if an ED-initiated intervention could reduce subsequent suicidal behavior. Read more about the ED-SAFE study
HERE
.
|
|
Suicide Risk Detection and Management in Clinical Settings
Webinar Available Online
|
|
Ed Boudreaux, Ph.D., Professor of Emergency Medicine, Psychiatry & Quantitative Health Sciences, Vice Chair of Research, Dept of Emergency Medicine at UMMS recently presented a webinar that introduced the best practices for suicide prevention in clinical settings, including universal screening, engagement, treatment and transition. The webinar also discussed challenges and solutions to implementing these best practices in diverse real-world clinical settings.
View the webinar
HERE
.
|
|
Important Research on Transition Age Youth
|
In partnership with the University of Massachusetts Medical School's Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research (
Transitions ACR
), the Jed Foundation (
JED
), a leading nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect the emotional health and to prevent suicide for teens and young adults, recently released a white paper,
College to Career: Supporting Mental Health
, analyzing the challenges to emotional well-being faced by young adults during the college-to-career transition. The paper also offers strategic recommendations for colleges and employers looking to support young adults and improve outcomes during this critical transition. Read the full report
HERE
.
Want to know more about the JED Foundation? Visit their website
HERE
. Also check out our
Comeback TV
episode called
Choosing a School: The JedCampus Seal
which
talks about using the JedCampus Seal research to help you find a college that supports your success in education AND mental wellness.
|
|
New Tip Sheet: "Self-Care is Putting Your Oxygen Mask on First"
|
|
Our FABulous FAB (
Family Advisory Board
) recently completed a new Tip Sheet for us created specifically for caretakers and family members of those living with mental health conditions. Like the instructions you get when you board a plane, in case of emergency, put YOUR oxygen mask first, before helping others. Yet we often forget to apply this basic idea to regular, everyday life. It's hard to help others if you are not taking care of and replenishing your own reserve. So our FAB group of caretakers and parents created a 4 page Tip Sheet complete with reminders, suggestions and a large list of resources that can all help you do the self-care you need to take care of others.
Read the Tip Sheet
HERE
.
Read more about our Family Advisory Board and other Stakeholder Advisory Boards
HERE
.
|
|
Young Adult Corner - We've Got Comics!
|
the first Comic in the "TACR Shorts" Series. Our Topic?
The #1 Thing College Students with Mental Health Conditions Should Know...
*You Have a Right to Accommodations*
|
For more information and tips about accommodations for high school and college, check out our Tip Sheets
HERE
. Watch for more
comics
coming soon.
|
In The News
We are presenting at the SOLD OUT
MA DMH "Supporting Young Adults in Reaching Their Goals: A Best Practice Forum"
on September 20, 2019. This full-day forum is designed for providers who work with young adults to learn about a variety of best-practice models and approaches to effectively support young adults in reaching their goals. Our own
Michelle Mullen
and
Amanda Costa
will be leading the Workshop Session called
Helping Youth on the Path to Employment-HYPE: Supporting Career Development and Academic Success
at the event. Read about
HYPE
HERE
.
Marsha Ellison, Ph.D.,
our Deputy Director of
Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research
, recently partnered with the Council on State Governments and the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability at Cornell University, to secure a $4 million four-year cooperative agreement to operate a policy development center focused on youth with disabilities, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor. Learn more
HERE
.
|
|
We are a proud sponsor of the
MA DMH 6th Annual Deaf Mental Health Symposium - Mind-Body Interventions in Deaf Mental Health Care
, which will be held at the Worcester Recovery Center & Hospital on October 4th, 2019. For more information, visit the Massachusetts DMH site
HERE
.
|
|
iSPARC is a Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH) Center of Excellence for Public Mental Health Services and Implementation Research that aims to improve the mental and behavioral health of all citizens of Massachusetts and beyond. iSPARC is committed to transferring knowledge and insights gained through rigorous research to improve the lives of people with lived mental health experience.
We conduct Participatory Action Research, an all-inclusive approach that ensures that every aspect of our research incorporates the voices of those with lived mental health experience.
|
|
Subscribe & Share!
Please share our newsletter with your network. To subscribe, click
here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
‌ 
‌ 
‌ 
‌ 
‌ 
