JFSWNY
04/06/2026
THE INSIDER TST-R: MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF THE MOMENT Story submitted by Bijoux Bahati
JFS’s TST-R, Lafayette and UB joined forces on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, to prepare students to meet the challenges of the moment. For the past five years, the TST-R program has been a cornerstone of the Structural Competency Series, in partnership with Lafayette, deepening fellows’ understanding of how social and structural factors, such as poverty, and barriers to accessing community resources shape mental health and overall wellness. Through seminars, community partnerships, and hands-on clinical experiences, child and adolescent psychiatry fellows explore how the “outside world” influences the “inside world” of the children and families they serve, while building skills to address these structural determinants in care. This year, the program was further enriched through collaboration with University at Buffalo Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) students, whose capstone projects on immigration, migration, and refugee experiences in Western New York are helping to strengthen TST-R’s skills-based group programming and advance meaningful community impact. A key takeaway from this work is the importance of meeting clients where they are, partnering with community organizations to address basic needs, and building trust as the foundation for effective care. We also extend our thanks to TST-R staff for their participation and continued commitment to this work.
1