Erikson Institute Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Project

1
Erikson Institute Infant and Early Childhood
Mental Health Consultation Project

• Samantha Wulfsohn, PhD
• October 24, 2008

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History

• Partnership began 2006
• Program funded by Illinois State Board of
  Education, Irving Harris Foundation and Chicago
  Public Schools

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Mission

• The project seeks to develop and sustain a
  statewide network of qualified Early Childhood
  Mental Health (ECMH) consultants from Birth to
  Five.
• The overarching mission of the project is to
  support and increase the capacity of ISBE funded
  Prevention Initiatives (PI) and state Pre K
  programs to address the mental health needs of
  young children and their families.

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Programs Served

• Prevention Initiatives for birth to 3
• Home visiting programs using Parents as Teachers,
  Baby Talk or Healthy Families curriculum.
• Center based programs using an Early Head Start
  model.
• Preschool for All and State Pre K programs for 3
  to 5

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Project Goals

• To expand the provision of ECMH consultation to
  ISBE funded programs serving families and
  children (0-5)
• To support and increase program and staff
  capacity to address the mental health needs of
  families and young children

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Project Goals

• To collaborate with other efforts in Illinois to
  develop competencies for early childhood mental
  health consultants.
• To continue the process of developing and
  sustaining a well-trained, diverse workforce of
  early childhood mental health consultants
  statewide.

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Project Goals

• To increase early childhood programs readiness
  for ECMH consultation.

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Developing the program through collaboration

• Advisory Board
• Program Committee
• Family Voices
• Erikson Workgroup
• National Advisors

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Consultation Process

• Focus Groups
• Administrative Endorsement
• I-CARE process
• Goal Development and Contracting
• Consultation
• Review, Recontracting, Termination

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I-CARE Process

• Mindful hanging out
• Administrators voices
• Staff voices
• Family voices
• Community voices

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What the consultant does

• Using a infant mental health approach to
• Observe
• Listen
• Reflect
• Respond
• Adapted from Putting an Infant Mental Health
  Approach into Practice Four Little Words D
  Weatherston 2007

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Common Themes

• 1. Consultants ways of being
• 2. Clarifying consultant role
• 3. Work-site culture/readiness
• 4. Use of I-CARE process
• 5. Cultural diversity/community and family
  cultures
• 6. Power of peer supervision
• 7. Para-professional issues

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Workforce Development

• Identification of ECMH Consultant Competencies
• Revision and development of Consultant Self
  Assessment tool
• Development of professional development plans
• Regular individual and/or group reflective
  supervision for every consultant