Faculty Spotlight: Shannon Blajeski

Shannon Blajeski PhD, MSW is an Assistant Professor at Portland State’s School of Social Work and specializes in topics such as relationships between marginalization, disability, and poverty for individuals with serious psychiatric/mental illness; promoting employment/education pathways for young adults with early psychosis; and qualitative and participatory research methods for mental health intervention studies.

For 16 years Blajeski has been delving into the subjects of poverty, disability, and oppression within the public mental health system; improving education pathways for disadvantaged young adults with early psychosis; university disability support; social work practice, intervention research, qualitative, mixed-methods, participatory/emancipatory, and discourse research frameworks and methods. You can learn more about her work and publications here.

Blajeski’s most recent study investigates pathways to higher education and employment for disadvantaged young adults with early psychosis and has been funded through the Portland State University Build Exito Faculty Pilot Research Award. To find out more about her current study, you can visit her most recent publication on “Family support, forming careers, and breaking the disability mindset: implications for addressing structural barriers to employment pathways in coordinated specialty care for first-episode psychosis.”

Blajeski’s research doesn’t stop there. She’s also produced multiple publications that center around mental illness for transition-age youth. Her work hones in on making sure everyone and anyone (of all ages and background) can receive the support for their mental health needs.

Blajeski spends her non-academic life chasing her toddler and Labrador Retriever, enjoying the seasons and landscapes, and finding the perfect Northwest wine for the perfect weather.