From Learning to Belonging: A Young Adult Voice at ATTACh

ATTACh is a Treasure Trove of Resources for Young Professionals and Young Adults with Lived Experiences: An Interview of Jessica Larsen

“When I attended my first ATTACh conference, I was in college and I expected to learn a lot that would help me as I began my own professional development. I wasn’t wrong. I learned so much and even used some of it as I was writing papers in my bachelor’s degree program,” Jessica Larsen remembers. “But what I didn’t anticipate ahead of time was how much people who have been in the field a long time also learned from me.” Jessica goes on to explain how vital it is for this intergenerational learning to occur to ensure that professionals serving individuals and families dealing with attachment and trauma challenges have the best of all worlds – evidence-based practice and life-experience-based wisdom. “Everyone realizes that young adults starting their professional career need guidance, wisdom and education from those who have been in the field a long time. But people who have been in the field a long time also need to be open to learning from the younger generation. What they learn at an ATTACh conference they can apply immediately in their practice.”

Besides finding professional networking and educational opportunities, Jessica reflects on how her engagement with ATTACh has supported her personal growth. “I always feel both safe and supported whenever I am at an ATTACh conference. I feel like I belong and the others who are there ‘get me’,” she says. The conference, the resources, and the people she has met and remains connected to have given Jessica a sense of community that is hard to find in day-to-day life. “ATTACh has helped me develop a deepened understanding of myself, and even of what ‘baby Jessica’ went through so that I can better appreciate my strengths and challenges and grow as a person.”

Meeting others with similar life stories, lived experiences and successes has been a highlight for Jessica of being part of the broader ATTACh community for the last several years. Jessica’s thoughts were also reflected in a group of young professionals ATTACh brought together in late 2025 and will continue to work with as we seek to enhance and showcase the many ways that young professionals and young adults with lived experiences can both contribute to and benefit from participation in ATTACh through membership, conference attendance and resources. Zachary Fried, who is both a young professional and an adult transracial adoptee (and a contributor to the book Healing Connections) emphasized how valuable it is to meet others who are currently walking a similar life path but who also are dealing with similar generational experiences including language, pop culture, use of social media and approach to learning. Nikki Goldwater reminded us that many young adults rare aising young children while also exploring career paths, often finding they don’t have time to build community connections. ATTACh is one place where they can find these connections in ways that fit in with their other life responsibilities. Chelsea Badeau noted that young professionals are consumers of vast amounts of information, but they prefer receiving it in short segments, making podcasts, blogs and TikTok videos a popular way to connect. ATTACh is exploring all of these strategies to deepen our engagement with young adults.  ATTACh plans to continue tapping the wisdom and expertise of these young professionals as we improve and expand our services and we would welcome hearing from you if you have suggestions or success stories to share.