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
Includes:
15 Hours of Course Material
3 Months of Access to Course