Mental Health Micro Credential_articulate copy

Mental Health Micro-Credential

Live • On-Demand • Online • 15 PD Hours

Mental health is essential to laying the groundwork for all future development in young children. Learn more about social-emotional development and how your relationships with young children can positively impact their current and future mental health and well-being!

Mental health is essential to laying the groundwork for all future development in young children. Learn more about social-emotional development and how your relationships with young children can positively impact their current and future mental health and well-being!

Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) is widely regarded as the foundation of healthy development for all young children. This is why it is important for all adults who work with young children to understand how they can support and promote children’s mental health through safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and interactions.

In this course, learners will learn the foundations of IECMH and how to promote healthy social and emotional development. Learners will understand how toxic stress and trauma impact the development of young children and how to combat and even reverse those impacts through positive childhood experiences and resilience-building. Finally, learners will familiarize themselves with resources to support building the healthy mental health of children like the three tiers of IECMH support, IECMH consultation, and the Pyramid Model.

  • Start Date: March 2025
  • Course Level: Intermediate
  • Requirements/Prerequisites: None
  • Course Meeting Times: In addition to completing online modules, learners will be required to complete application exercises in their Head Start/Early Head Start classrooms and to attend live instruction sessions to successfully complete each course.

    Spring 2025 – TBD

    Please note that all course meeting times are subject to change based on facilitator availability.

  • Completion Timeline/Duration: 
  • Head Start Alignment: This course supports programs in meeting Head Start Program Performance Standard 1302.93 Staff health and wellness in which “a program must make mental health and wellness information available to staff regarding health issues that may affect their job performance, and must provide regularly scheduled opportunities to learn about mental health, wellness, and health education.”

Module Topics: 

Overview of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health
Social Emotional Learning Part 1: Introduction
Social Emotional Learning Part 2: Considerations
Pyramid Model
Toxic Stress and Trauma
Resilience Building: Understanding the Science of Resilience
Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Supports
Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation

Learning Objectives:

  • Participants will explain how to support the development of strong brain architecture and infant and early childhood mental health through early relational health with educators and caregivers.
  • Participants will describe potential social emotional learning delays and the role of culture in understanding these delays, particularly for historically marginalized populations.
  • Participants will demonstrate both in-classroom strategies and how to best engage external professional supports, such as Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, to address infant and early childhood mental health/developmental concerns.

Registration Rates


Member Rate:
$295

Regular Rate:
$425

Not a member? Join to save!

Includes:

Online, Self-Paced Content
Live Coaching from Facilitator
Access to a National Cohort of Peers

15 Hours of Course Material

3 Months of Access to Course

Video Content
Discussion Forums
Digital Badge
Certificate of Completion with PD Hours
24/7 Access to Transcript

Course Author

Team NHSA

Team NHSA

With nearly 50 years of experience, research, and advocacy work, The Academy Team at NHSA has used the highest standards to create this course to support the professional growth and development of Head Start and Early Head Start staff and leadership across the country.

Partner

Featured Experts

Jennifer Drake-Croft

Jennifer Drake-Croft

Jennifer Drake-Croft, MSSW, IECMH-E®, is the Project Director of the Infant and Early Childhood (IECMH) Technical Assistance Center at Georgetown University and a Faculty Director for the Georgetown Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Certificate Program. Her expertise includes Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, child trauma, child abuse prevention, and child-centered systems and policy. Jennifer’s personal and professional passion is to partner with communities and systems in advancing policies and practices that support all children to thrive.

Neal Horen

Neal Horen

Neal Horen is a Research Instructor at the Center for Child and Human Development and Director of the H.O.Y.A. clinic at the Center for Child and Human Development. He is interested in clinical and policy aspects of the emotional development of young children. He works on policy issues at the National Center on Children's Mental Health and leads efforts for social skills development and violence prevention in rural communities. He is also the leader of a State Infrastructure Grant (SIG) Project, School-Based Mental Health, Early Childhood Mental Health, Program Sustainability.

Academy_LRabinovitz

Academy_LRabinovitz

Lauren Rabinovitz, MPH, MSW, LCSW-C is an Academic Program Officer at the Georgetown Center for Child and Human Development, Early Childhood Division. Lauren is the Program Director for the SAMHSA funded Center of Excellence on Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation and Co-Director of the Certificate Program in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation with the Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies. Lauren brings a unique perspective to policy, research and technical assistance based on many years of clinical and community mental health provision. Lauren is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with specialized training and experience in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health.

Amy Hunter

Amy Hunter

Amy Hunter is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) who earned her Masters of Social Work degree at Boston University. Amy has a post graduate certificate from the University of Maryland School Of Medicine in Early Childhood Mental Health. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Child and Human Development. In her capacity at Georgetown she co-leads the post-graduate Clinical Certificate program on Infant Early Childhood Mental Health and co-directs the mental health work of the Head Start National Center on Health, Behavioral Health and Safety, a training and technical assistance center for Early Head Start and Head Start. Additionally, Amy serves as a lead on the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations, a training and technical assistance center funded by the Office of Special Education. Amy has worked in the field of infant early childhood mental health for over thirty years. She has provided training and technical assistance on infant early childhood mental health to a variety of audiences around the country.

Kisha McCray

Kisha McCray

Kisha is the vice president of community impact at the Maryland Food Bank and manager of effective practice at The National Head Start Association. In 2005, she began her journey working as an early childhood teacher and in 2007 she discovered her love for Head Start. McCray has spent years advocating for early childhood education and early intervention services through working for Early Head Start, Head Start, and other agencies that support pregnant mothers and the birth through five population and their families. Within the last few years she has completed Head Start University's Program Design and Management Credential, Yale School of Management Women’s Leadership Program and UCLA's New Director Mentor program.

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