Advancing postsecondary and wellness outcomes for students with mental health conditions through supported education enhanced by CBT (set) - post-secondary students with serious mental health…

Project Grant Summary: Supported Education Enhanced by CBT for Post-Secondary Students with Mental Health Conditions

Rutgers The State University of New Jersey received a $500K Project Grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR; CFDA 93.433) effective September 1, 2025, through August 31, 2028. The project will develop and test an integrated Supported Education-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (SED-CBT) intervention delivered via telehealth for post-secondary students with serious mental health conditions. The primary deliverables include: (1) adaptation of an evidence-based, manualized CBT-SED intervention informed by stakeholder input; (2) recruitment and randomized assignment of 128 post-secondary students with mental health conditions to either the intervention or treatment-as-usual control group; and (3) comparative analysis of mental health and educational outcomes over the three-year study period. The project also will produce a validated telehealth treatment manual and empirical data on acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness in reducing symptomatology and improving academic success and educational retention.

The intervention addresses a critical gap in services for post-secondary students with serious mental health conditions, who experience diminished academic performance and elevated dropout rates relative to peers without such conditions. Rutgers will execute the study in partnership with community mental health centers, disability services offices, campus counseling centers, and vocational rehabilitation agencies. Sub-awardees include the Trustees of Boston University and the Research Foundation of the City University of New York (John Jay College), who will serve as research partners contributing clinical expertise and participant recruitment across their respective institutions. The project aims to prevent long-term disability, enhance educational attainment, and facilitate successful transition to adulthood by removing barriers to mental health care, reducing stigma, and building critical adaptive skills.

Advancing postsecondary and wellness outcomes for students with mental health conditions through supported education enhanced by CBT (set) - post-secondary students with serious mental health conditions (MHCS) have diminished academic performance and higher drop-out rates than students without MHCS, which negatively impacts their employment outcomes. Rutgers university, in partnership with community mental health centers, disability services, campus counseling centers, and vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies, proposes a randomized controlled trial examining the effectiveness of an enhanced supported education (SED) program integrated with cognitive behavioral techniques delivered through telehealth among post-secondary students with smhcs. Goal & objectives: to enhance educational attainment and employment opportunities for post-secondary students with smhcs by improving educational outcomes and reducing future disability. Objectives: (a) adapt an integrated SED-CBT intervention informed by stakeholder input that meets the needs of post-secondary students with MHCS; (B) recruit 128 post-secondary students with MHCS from partner sites; (C) randomly assign students to intervention or treatment as usual; and (D) compare mental health and educational outcomes over time. Innovation: evidence-based CBT has not been applied alongside SED. This transdiagnostic, manualized telehealth CBT-SED intervention aims to improve academic success, remove barriers to mental health care, reduce stigma, and enhance critical skills. Project outcomes and products: adaptation and preliminary testing of an integrated CBT-SED intervention for post-secondary students with smhcs to prevent long-term disability by improving mental health outcomes, academic success and educational outcomes and facilitating successful transition to adulthood. Products are a telehealth treatment manual and data on acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness in reducing symptomatology and improving post-secondary educational outcomes. Public benefits: the study addresses the GAP in postsecondary matriculation and graduation rates between students with and without smhcs.