Center for Youth Social Emotional Wellness (CYSEW)
Mission
The Center mobilizes Rutgers' expertise and resources to advance the mental health and wellness of New Jersey youth and young adults in ways guided by community goals, values, and needs. The Center builds partnerships across disciplines and organizations in the public, private, and civic sectors (e.g., schools, community non-profits, and groups offering mental health care), breaking down silos and improving continuity of behavioral health and wellness services, reducing barriers to access, and increasing availability of high quality holistic care.
Faculty, students, and community partners at the Center have experience serving people of all ages, with particular expertise in fostering positive mental health and wellness in adolescents and emerging adults. They focus on developing new ways to provide education, healthcare, and policies that support mental health and wellness and evaluating existing community programs. A primary goal of the Center is to promote mental health equity — meaning everyone has the right to quality mental health care, especially people who are marginalized because of their race, income, gender, sexual orientation, disability, immigration status, and where they live.
About Us
In New Jersey and nationally, mental health inequities are driven by systems and structural factors that disproportionally impact groups who are minoritized based upon socio-economic class, gender & sexuality, ability, status, and other forms of intersectionality. Structural barriers to accessing quality mental health care cannot be solved by individuals, or even by groups of individuals from any particular discipline.
CYSEW is a cross-disciplinary center that works in partnership with the Brandt Center with the goal of bringing together researchers, community and business leaders, and mental health providers from psychology, social work, education, psychiatry and other disciplines to develop holistic and comprehensive strategies to address the significant mental health inequities among young people that exist in New Jersey and nationally.
Our Work
Our faculty and staff work with youth of all ages but consistent with the Rutgers Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (RYBHI), we have particular passion and expertise for promoting positive mental health and wellness for adolescents and emerging adults. Our work focuses on breaking down silos to foster community/Rutgers partnerships that increase access to evidence-based mental health services. We strive to serve as a front door for the community, helping organizations navigate the Rutgers university system to identify expertise, collaborate, and share resources.
The Center also works to connect Rutgers faculty and students across disciplines. CYSEW faculty believe that the youth mental health crisis will only be addressed when researchers and clinicians come together across disciplines (e.g., social work, public policy, education, and psychology) and partner with the community to develop and implement innovative new systems of mental health care.
CYSEW was created based upon the vision of Dr. Francine Conway, Chancellor-Provost at Rutgers (https://newbrunswick.rutgers.edu/chancellor-provost/about-francine-conway): “By providing evidence-based, quality mental health care and support for young people—including youth in underserved and underrepresented communities—this initiative will be a national model of adolescent and young adult behavioral care.”
Our Services
● Training and workshops on school and community evidence-based prevention and treatment strategies (see Bienestar Training Institute on the Mental Health of Hispanics, Latines, and Immigrants)
● Comprehensive evaluation of school and community mental health efforts. CYSEW faculty and staff design databases and assessments to help your organization showcase the positive impact you are having.
● Integration of high-quality mental health assessment and treatment services into pediatric practices, schools, and businesses to reduce stigma and increase access to care. CYSEW can help you embed mental health graduate students and clinicians in your organization and provide training and supervision.
● Grant writing support and mentorship for Rutgers faculty and community-based organizations. CYSEW offers a faculty research mentorship program and partners with community organizations to identify sources of funding and write grants.
Leadership
Dr. Emily Graybill
Dr. Emily Graybill is the Director of the Center for Youth Social Emotional Wellness (CYSEW), an Associate Professor in the Department of School Psychology, and a Nationally Certified School Psychologist. Her research interests fall broadly under the translation of evidence-based interventions into practice in schools and community settings. She has a particular interest in understanding and shaping the drivers influencing the implementation of school-based mental health and behavior support initiatives. Dr. Graybill works with multiple school districts across states on the implementation and scale-up of integrated tiered systems of mental health supports. She has developed a set of resources to support district use of universal behavior screening. https://www.universalbehaviorscreening.com
Dr. Germán Cadenas
Dr. Germán A. Cadenas (he/his/él) is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP) at Rutgers University. He also serves as the inaugural Associate Director of the Center for Youth Social Emotional Wellness (CYSEW) and Director for Global Mental Health and Immigration Programs at GSAPP. His academic work is community-based and focused on the psychology of immigration and on critical consciousness as a tool for social justice. This includes the development and validation of strategies to support the psychological well-being, education, career/work, and health of immigrants and other underserved communities. His advocacy and research have informed the implementation of policies and programs to support undocumented students and families in higher education and in K-12 schools. His research and testimony have reached the policymaking process at institutional, state, national, and global levels.
Contact Information
For more information on our work or if you would like to partner with CYSEW to address mental health equity, please get in touch with the Center Director, Dr. Emily Graybill: emily.graybill@rutgers.edu
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