Spring offers opportunities for growth and celebration, and this spring there is another cause for celebration: Dragonfly Transitions co-founder Mona Treadway has officially received her PhD in Leadership and Change with an emphasis on young adults in treatment, through Antioch University.

Throughout her research over the past several years, Mona has developed a deeper insight into the core needs of young adults and the best ways to effectively support their healthy, sustainable, and meaningful growth. Along with her PhD in Leadership and Change, Mona previously earned her Masters in Social Work from Portland State University and her BA in Human Development and Wilderness Leadership from Prescott College.

In her dissertation, Young Adults In Transition: Factors That Support And Hinder Growth And Change, Mona studied “317 critical incidents that supported or hindered young adults in a therapeutic transition program,” and combined both case studies and critical incident techniques derived from interviews and outcome questionnaires from alumni. Most significantly, her research

Mona Treadway, founder of Dragonfly Transitions, earns PhD in Leadership and Change

found that young adults in transition value and are best supported by a critical combination of “interpersonal relationships, experiential education and adventure, individualized programming, community, and culture.” Utilizing these four pillars as a foundation for her work, she further developed a Model of Change that focuses on relational cultural practice and transformational mentoring and leadership to articulate the primary components that best support young adults in transition.

What Makes Dragonfly Transitions So Special?

Dragonfly Transitions provides a unique program for young adults who benefit from having independent living skills, therapeutic support, and one-on-one academic or vocational support.

Dragonfly Transitions began after co-founders Mona Treadway and Glenn White found that as students graduated from wilderness therapy, students were missing a critical next step for integrating and applying the therapeutic tools they had learned into real world settings within a supported community environment. In a nine to twelve month program designed with a variety of living environments based on student interest and optimal support, Dragonfly offers a next step for students after wilderness therapy that includes one-on-one therapy, group therapy sessions, family workshops, conference calls, recreational opportunities and more. The residential model allows for struggling young adults ages 18-26 to live, work, and even attend school while navigating the transition into adulthood.

Dragonfly understands that progress and healing takes time, and beautiful Southern Oregon provides a nurturing and supportive environment for students to discover themselves and who they want to become as independent adults. Along with the therapeutic support students receive at all locations such as life skills groups to encourage healthy expression, teach healthy habits, and offer tools for a more meaningful future, Dragonfly has three distinct campuses offering a variety of educational and vocational options.

The Klamath Falls Town campus is located ten minutes from Oregon Tech and has an onsite coffee shop and deli, A Leap of Taste, where students can intern and develop job skills. The Homestead has a working farm with a greenhouse and animals and is designed for young men who would benefit from a softer transition into the program. And the Ashland Campus is home to a vibrant art community that includes the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Southern Oregon University.

How Does Dragonfly Transitions Help?

Our core goal is to pinpoint barriers and find healthy resolution as students learn to navigate life challenges with resilience. We act as a guide to help participants through this unique transition to independence, and we work with young adults who are struggling with:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Trauma
• Body Image Issues
• Mood Disorders
• Technology Addiction
• Struggling with Motivation
• Learning Differences
• Drug/Alcohol Abuse
• And more

At Dragonfly, our team of highly-trained individuals also provide medication and medical management, comprehensive family involvement, mentorship, and leadership through this difficult yet unique time of life. This inspiring video also offers an inside look at Dragonfly Transitions from a student, family, and programmatic perspective.