TTAC was pleased to host the first module of the webinar series titled An Introduction to Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Concepts and Practices presented by Susan Chinitz, Psy.D. & Gilbert Foley, Ed.D., IMH-E.

Module 1 focused on:

• Principles of development and how they shape practice
• Infant/early childhood mental health concepts and practice

This series of three webinars reviews the fundamental principles of development which inform clinical reasoning and developmental thinking. An overview of Infant/Early Childhood Mental health as concept and practice is an overarching theme. Infant/early childhood mental health is characterized by the World Association of Infant Mental Health as being synonymous with healthy social-emotional development.

Consequently, this presentation is solidly set in typical climbing the developmental ladder and atypical social-emotional development and has footing in relational theory, attachment research and early brain development. Concepts such as: the centrality of relationships, supporting and promoting parents, emotion regulation, toxic stress and trauma, “Ghosts in the Nursery,” working dyadically, treating-to-the-relationship, parallel process, culturally informed and reflective supervision was presented in terms of practice strategies-“what it means you do” and how these practices are unique to infant and early childhood mental health.

The workshop addressed what sometimes goes awry in children’s primary relationships, including the contribution of children’s developmental delays and disorders, the issues that parents can bring to the relationship, as well as the risks that are sometimes imposed by children’s social context.