PORTLAND, ME – May 1, 2026 – Onward Transitions (OT), a leading mental health program serving young adults, announced the successful implementation of its trauma-informed treatment-planning focus for clients in need of primary trauma care. This new offering augments OT’s existing clinically sophisticated intensive outpatient model.
The new treatment option will be led by Art Therapist Tosh Chabot Alsagoff, LCPC, ATR, and Co-Founder, Dr. Darrell Fraize, LCPC, LADC. It includes an additional weekly structured group model facilitated by Alsagoff, art therapy, and brainspotting sessions with Dr. Fraize when recommended. Clients will continue to work with their OT primary therapist for individual and family therapy, and continue to have full access to OT’s 13 other weekly clinical, executive function, and social exposure groups.
"Tosh has crafted a model for our members (the term OT uses for clients) that I think really speaks to the need for additional care," said Fraize. "This service delivery, kept in-house here at Onward, is a real benefit for our folks as they work with us to shape new lives for themselves. Their (Alsagoff’s) training and experience in trauma-informed care and art therapy, and steady and supportive approach have already been so helpful to our members."
Alsagoff explained that the new focus is on skill-building for “post-traumatic growth,” helping members to “deconstruct…and transform their stories.” "People want to be seen, heard, and to shift into being more than just the things they have experienced, in order to flourish and thrive post-trauma," Alsagoff added.
Alsagoff will employ an eclectic approach, including narrative art therapy in group and individual formats. Dr. Fraize will use brainspotting sessions to help members access body-based coping mechanisms and to assist in identifying and addressing past experiences that need further investigation.
References:
Boon, S., Steele, K., & van der Hart, O. (2011). Coping with trauma-related dissociation: Skills training for patients and therapists. W. W. Norton & Company.
Clark, S. M. (2017). DBT-informed art therapy: Mindfulness, cognitive behavior therapy, and the creative process. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Malchiodi, C. A. (2020). Trauma and expressive arts therapy: Brain, body, and imagination in the healing process. The Guilford Press.
Mendelsohn, M., Herman, J. L., Schatzow, E., Coco, M., Kallivayalil, D., & Levitan, J. (2011). The trauma recovery group: A guide for practitioners. The Guilford Press.
About Outward Transitions:
Onward Transitions in South Portland, Maine, just two hours north of Boston, is a small, independent, owner-operated program for up to 18 bright, motivated, emerging adults learning to live independently. OT supports actual, sustainable independent living, helping emerging adults become more autonomous. Participants (members) ages 18-30 do not live with us; they live in their apartments throughout the city, selected based on personal preferences and resources. Our clinical and coaching teams (staff-to-student ratio is 1:2) support them with structure and accountability as they work towards the goals they have established using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Unlike living in program housing or living with a roommate, members experience real-life accountability.