On Everybody Looks Forward to Fridays: Because they feel appreciated, taken care of, and important

The elegant simplicity of the Early Head Start model continues to amaze me. As to "everyone looks forward to Fridays" -- that sounds like the impact our monthly 3rd Friday meeting of the Peninsulas Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Group. We "feel appreciated, taken care of, and important" when each is over. -gw

 

When the Infant Mental Health (IMH) Specialist walks into the playroom, she sees Karina and her mother Karen. Six-month-old Karina sits in her infant seat on the table and Karen sits in a chair. They both face the door. Karen reads a magazine as Karina gazes at the side of her face. The IMH Specialist softly says, “Karina, is Karen the prettiest mommy you’ve ever seen?” Karen looks up and smiles at the IMH Specialist. The IMH Specialist then says, “Did you see how lovingly Karina was looking at you?” Karen laughs and tickles Karina’s belly, saying, “You’re such a silly baby!” Karina and her mother exchange sounds and giggles as the IMH Specialist looks on. The home visitors happily chat over the complimentary breakfast that the agency provides for their meeting every Friday morning. They are also getting ready for their meeting with the Mental Health Consultant (MHC). Every Friday the MHC meets with the home visitors as a group and then holds a reflective supervision session with the home visitor supervisor.The supervisor, in turn, conducts individual supervision sessions with the home visitors. Everyone looks forward to Fridays because they feel appreciated, taken care of, and important.

 

THESE SCENARIOS ARE TYPICAL of any infant/toddler program that provides mental health services. Mental health services forpregnant women, infants and toddlers, and their families can take many forms, depending on the program and the families (e.g., consulting with staff, consulting with children and fami-lies, providing direct mental health services, etc.). Regardless of how mental health services are delivered, the understanding of mental health is the same: prevention first, promotion always,and intervention when necessary.