In this Issue...

• Innovative Prevention and Treatment Strategies for Co-Occurring Mental Health and Substance Use Challenges - Recordings Available
• Over 200 Resources in our Psychiatry Info in Brief Database
• CIRC's Webinar: Enhancing Community Participation among Young Adults w/Serious Mental Health Conditions from Disadvantaged Backgrounds
• In the News
• New Podcasts for Young Adults & Their Supporters

Recordings Available from the MA DMH

Research Centers of Excellence Conference

The recordings and presentations from the 2024 Annual Massachusetts Department of Mental Health Research Centers of Excellence Conference are now posted online, and include:

-A Case Against Purity: What Can We Learn at the Intersection of Mental Health and Substance Use Challenges

-Between Silos: Connecting in the Middle as Peer Specialists and Recovery Coaches

-Who Has the Highest Risk of Co-occurring Substance Use Disorders and Suicide Risk? Results from a Nationally Representative U.S. Survey

-Turning the Spigot Off: Mobilizing Schools to Support Secondary Prevention of Substance Use and Co-Occurring Disorders

-“Signs of Safety”: A Deaf-Accessible Therapy Toolkit for Co-occurring Trauma and Addiction

Mental Health Resources

Our Psychiatry Info in Brief Database

Did you know we have a Psychiatry Information in Brief (PIB) website that shares over 200 authored documents about behavioral health. It offers a variety of resources, including products and publications that make research findings easy to understand. This information is useful for healthcare providers, consumers, families, advocacy groups, and researchers alike. PIB is created by the research faculty and staff here at the Implementation Science and Practice Advances Research Center (iSPARC) at UMass Chan Medical School. Learn more at the button below.

CIRC's Webinar is Available

The "Enhancing Community Participation among Young Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions from Disadvantaged Backgrounds" webinar presented by the CIRC Center is now available online.

Community participation across various domains — including employment, education, social relationships, and leisure activities — is essential during young adulthood yet can be challenging for those who experience a serious mental health condition and other sources of disadvantage.

During the presentation, Drs. Sabella and Thomas introduced the newly established CIRC Center which serves as a national leader in state-of-the-art research and knowledge translation activities dedicated to fostering community participation among young adults with serious mental health conditions from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

In the News

July is Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month and Mental Health America's 2024 BIPOC Mental Health Toolkit provides free, practical resources to help navigate mental health stigma, bridge generational differences, dismantle mental health myths, and encourage meaningful conversations. Download the Toolkit in English or Spanish HERE.

July is also Disability Pride Month which happens every July to mark the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was passed on July 26, 1990. Learn more about why and how to celebrate Disability Pride Month HERE.

At ViVE 2024, Malekeh Amini, CEO of Trayt Health sat down with Dr. Nancy Byatt, Professor of Psychiatry, Ob/Gyn and Population & Quantitative Health Sciences, at UMass Chan Medical School to talk about maternal mental health impacting millions of women in the United States and to discuss what can be done to better serve those in need. Research done by Dr. Byatt and her collaborators at UMass Chan Medical School has found that up to 75% of women experiencing maternal mental health conditions do not get the care they need. Read Dr. Byatt's interview.

The Center for Accelerating Practices to End Suicide (CAPES), headquartered at UMass Chan Medical School and comprised of many iSPARC faculty and researchers is a cross-system collaboration between the UMass System and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. CAPES is co-directed by Dr. Edwin Boudreaux and Dr. Catarina Kiefe and is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health as one of its Practice-Based Suicide Prevention Research Centers. Learn more about CAPES on their newly launched website!

New Products for Young Adults & Their Supporters

STAY Tuned Podcast - New Episodes!

Episode 19: ADHD Unpacked: The Impact of Being Diagnosed as a Young Adult

In this episode of STAY Tuned, Emily and Mei get real about their personal ADHD journeys, exploring what it’s like to be diagnosed later in life. From struggles throughout school and work in young adulthood, they share their highs, lows, and everything in between. Listen. Watch. 

Episode 18: Paving the way for patient-centered therapy with Scott Bryant-Comstock (Part 1)

In this episode, we speak with Scott Bryant-Comstock, an advocate in the field of mental health for over 40 years, and Founder and CEO of the Children’s Mental Health Network. Listen. Watch. 

Episode 17: Leveling Up Together: Gaming, Community, & Mental Health

There is a stereotype that gaming is a waste of time, but this episode challenges that notion head-on. Derek shares his personal journey, revealing how gaming became a lifeline to community for him while growing up in a gang-prone LA neighborhood. Listen. Watch.



View all of our podcasts and transcripts.

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