Young Adult Transitions: College & Career
How to navigate life transitions when you learn differently and/or have mental health challenges
WRITTEN BY:
Natalie Tamburello
Senior Associate, CHC Community Connections
REVIEWED BY:
Nicole Ofiesh, PhD
Cognitive Behavioral Scientist
Your Questions Answered
Top questions answered by CHC experts.
Got a question for our experts?
Ask about your college or career transition and get advice from a CHC expert. If your question is chosen for display in the CHC Resource Library, you will be notified via email.
Tools, Tips & Takeaways
Engage
Listen
VIEW
connect
CHC Voices of Compassion Podcast
Our CHC podcast with expert insights, inspiration and creative conversations about mental health, education and family.
Launching: Transition Age Youth
EPISODE 28, SEASON 2 | APRIL 20, 2022
with Anne Mellenthin & Grae Mellenthin
Growing up is a process of moving toward independence, becoming your own person and meeting your own needs. “Launching” refers to the parental role in their child’s transition into adulthood. This process looks different for everyone — a bumpier or more meandering path for some than others. So how can you best prepare your child for a smooth launch? In today’s podcast episode, CHC’s Chief Psychiatrist and Medical Director, Dr. Vidya Krishnan, shares keen wisdom and practical takeaways for sup porting your child now for life on their own, while instilling the confidence that they’ll need to fly.
Executive Functioning: High School and Beyond
EPISODE 18, SEASON 2 | JANUARY 20, 2022
with Nicole Ofiesh, PhD
The last couple of years have been all about adapting to meet evolving and elusive protocols. For students with learning differences, the shifts from online learning to hybrid to in-person (and back) have made a part of their life that is already challenging exceedingly more difficult. Adaptation is a key aspect of Executive Functioning, which can be lacking in those with learner variability. In today’s podcast episode, we sat down with Dr. Nicole Ofiesh, Director of the Schwab Learning Center at CHC, about strategies students can use to build Executive Functioning skills in high school, college and beyond.
Learning Differences Across the Lifespan
EPISODE 10, SEASON 3 | APRIL 20, 2022
with Nicole Ofiesh, PhD
We often think of learning differences as challenges faced in school. But the reality is that learning differences impact people throughout their lives with implications far beyond the classroom: home, relationships, work and family to name a few. Therefore, it’s important to learn strategies and skills that apply throughout the lifespan. Join us for a conversation with Dr. Nicole Ofiesh, Director of the Schwab Learning Center at CHC, as she shares pro tips developed throughout decades of leveraging neurodiversity in settings from kindergarten to college, classroom to corporate. A must-listen episode for people with learning differences and those who support them!
Featured Articles
Read our top articles helping with the college and career transition.
Starting the Conversation: College and Your Mental Health
To help put a thoughtful plan into place should a mental health condition arise, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and The Jed Foundation have created a guide to help start the conversation. It offers both parents and students the opportunity to learn more about mental health, including what the privacy laws are and how mental health information can be shared.
The School-to-Work Transition for Young Adults With ADHD
The school-to-work transition can take longer for young adults with ADHD, who don’t mature at the same pace as their peers. Here’s how parents can nudge without pushing. The attention deficit disorder (ADHD or ADD) that made Betsy Patterson’s high school years so miserable made her early adulthood a daily disaster. “My twenties was a period of going from job to job,” she says. “I was always getting fired or screwing up.”
What Students With Mental Health Challenges Should Consider in the College Search
You’re at the end of your junior year of high school with a list of colleges that interest you. You’ve also faced some mental health challenges, and the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t help. And maybe you wonder if your preferred colleges will meet your mental health needs.
How We Help
CHC provides life-changing services for learning differences and mental health for young adults, kids and teens.
Join CHC’s Virtual Village
A community of experts, parents, kids, teens and young adults who support and celebrate neurodiversity.
Sign up for CHC’s Virtual Village email list to be the first to know about new CHC expert content, events, programs and more! We’re in this together.
Educational Evaluations
Unpack your brain.
Concerned you have a learning difference that warrants accommodations in college or in the workplace?
The Schwab Learning Center (SLC@CHC) offers educational evaluations to identify or re-evaluate learning disabilities and ADHD. Learn more about SLC Educational Evaluations.
Therapy for Young Adults
Individually designed therapy for you to take charge of your own mental health and wellbeing.
The Catherine T. Harvey Center for Clinical Services at CHC provides specialized, age-appropriate mental health services to address a variety of concerns for young adults. Learn more about our Young Adult Therapy services.
Customized 1:1 Learning Sessions
Helping college and high school students with learning differences navigate school, work and life.
The Schwab Learning Center (SLC@CHC) offers Customized 1:1 Learning Strategy sessions for teens and young adults.
Work with an SLC Learning Specialist, and create a personalized toolkit with solutions designed to maximize your potential.
Our Experts
At CHC, we have learning and mental health experts who can help you overcome barriers to learning and help you develop skills that last for a lifetime. Real people you can talk to. People who can really help.
Erin Hoolihan, PsyD
(she/her)
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Jessica Naecker, PhD
(she/her)
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Vidya Krishnan, MD
(she/her)
Chief Psychiatrist and Medical Director
Sharmila Roy, PhD
(she/her)
Special Projects CONSULTANT
Stacey Soderquist
(she/her)
Learning Specialist
Comprehensive & Integrated Services for Learning Differences & Mental Health
CHC’s Catherine T. Harvey Center for Clinical Services
CHC therapists provide specialized, individualized and age-appropriate services for you to take charge of your own mental health and wellbeing. Services in California.
The SLC@CHC empowers all types of learners to adopt tools and strategies to support their unique strengths. Students and young adults with diagnosed or suspected ADHD, dyslexia and other learning disabilities discover their gifts, strengths and potential.
Related CHC Offerings
Check out other CHC offerings for young adults transitioning to college or the workplace.
Stay Connected with CHC
Follow CHC on our social channels to stay in-the-know about our latest resources, services and events.
