What is Infant Mental Health?

Infant Mental Health is how well a child develops socially and emotionally from birth to three. This work is to help infants and toddlers regulate/manage their emotions, form close, safe, and secure interpersonal relationships, and master their environment. Infants and toddlers rely heavily on adults in their world to help them experience, regulate, and express emotions. They also depend on adults to provide them with a safe world where they can learn what people expect of them and what they can expect of others. As adults, we encourage infants and toddlers to actively participate in the world to promote their own learning and development. We also strive to help children develop a sense of themselves as valued individuals by sharing and communicating feelings.

As an Infant Mental Health Specialist, how can I help?

The early years of a child’s life are crucial in building a foundation for their lifelong development. I am passionate about promoting this work to help parents and children live very happy years. Through skills such as observation, listening, and reflecting, I work with families to develop bonds by giving parents the tools to build healthy attachments/relationships. Supporting the parent-child relationship, helping parents understand the typical child development and temperament, teaching positive behavior support strategies, and working to reduce family stress to promote good mental health of children and adults are just a few of the ways I can help families. Providing additional resources is also part of my work in Infant Mental Health. If I can help you or you have a family in mind that may benefit from such services described, please contact me at Goshawk Behavioral Health Services at (231) 642-4642.

Resources:

Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health http://mi-aimh.org
World Association for Infant Mental Health www.waimh.org
Zero To Three www.zerotothree.org