On Observations of a Behavioral Pediatrician: Facilitating children’s healthy emotional development

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What is infant mental health? A case of a hitting toddler http://t.co/Zv0Lx2wO via @BostonDotCom

about 12 hours ago

Keeping Your Child in Mind - A Book Review http://t.co/4ynY5ZIP

1 day ago

Experts debate proposed child mental health disorder diagnosis http://t.co/7VHQoedT

3 days ago

Pediatrician Claudia Gold urges parents to see world as kids do - Berkshire Eagle Online http://t.co/6yTVHfCJ via @BerkshireEagle

4 days ago

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Claudia Gold's Twitter feed, from which the four items above are drawn, is an indication of her focus. Here is a paragraph from her blog describing her new practice.
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There are two major problems with the term "infant mental health." First of all, it implies that there is such a thing as infant mental illness, which is, in my opinion, not the case. Second, when say that I am a pediatrician who treats behavior problems in children under age five, most people are puzzled. I tell them that I give parents space and time to reflect, and to be curious about the meaning of behavior, with the aim of getting development back on a healthy path. Still the blank look. I have found that the best way to explain it is through stories, as I do in my book Keeping Your Child in Mind.

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Two items of note, the first, her statement that "there is no such a thing as infant mental illness." True? Second, the very fact of her starting a specialty practice of behavioral pediatrics. Is she one-of-a-kind or are there other behavioral pediatricians whose focus is strictly on young children? And then there is this from her blog header description.
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I will show how contemporary research in child development can be applied to support parents in their efforts to facilitate their children’s healthy emotional development. I will address factors that converge to obstruct such support. These include limited access to quality mental health care, influences of a powerful health insurance industry and intensive marketing efforts by the pharmaceutical industry.

Her short list of" factors that ... obstruct" is interesting, citing, as she does, both the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries. The "medicated child" (see the previous post on this blog) is an agreed upon topic for discussion at our next meeting of the Peninsulas Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation group. -gw

On For Mom's With Postpartum Depression: Support and infant massage

By valentinapowers

 

Kellye Campbell, ARNP at KMHS, passed on this information about a service available in Seattle but which has roots in the Olympic Peninsula. -gw

 

I want announce a new referral source for moms with postpartum depression/anxiety and their babies called BabyLink. Groups will start in Seattle this fall. This is a postpartum depression support/ infant massage group developed by Marian Birch, DMH. She and her partner have been running this group in Port Angeles, WA for the past five years. Last year, I observed and evaluated this group as part of my post-doctoral fellowship at the UW Center for Infant Mental Health.

 

We are really excited to be replicating this group as there are no groups like this in Seattle right now. The program not only helps decrease depression in moms but also has many benefits for babies. Importantly, it can also help improve the relationship between moms and babies.

 

There will be two groups offered, a pro-bono group and a fee group for moms who can afford to pay. The attached flyer gives more details both groups. They will be on Capital Hill at Cooper House (http://cooperhouse.org/index.html) and led by health care providers trained in infant mental health and infant massage.

 

Recap:

What: BabyLink: A Postpartum Distress Support Group and Infant Massage.

Who: For moms with postpartum distress and their babies. Babies must not be crawling (they are hard to engage with infant massage once they start to crawl).

When: Groups will start this fall when we have enough referrals.

 

If you have any referrals please have them contact Lisa Mennet at 206-402-3099. You can also contact me if you have any questions. If you would like to have flyers sent to your office/clinic, please let me know.

 

Thank you,Michele Kulbel, DNP, ARNP

www.michelekulbel.com

On Why We Come Together: To gain a perspective that is ultimately interdisciplinary

The mission of MI-AIMH is to promote and support nurturing relationships for all infants.

MI-AIMH believes that each infant needs to be nurtured and protected by one or more consistent and stimulating caregivers who enjoy a permanent and special relationship with the baby.  This relationship is essential for optimal social, emotional and cognitive growth.

MI-AIMH also believes that the failure to provide and maintain nurturing relationships, at least one, during infancy may result in significant damage to the individual and to society.

Therefore, MI-AIMH supports the following positions:

• Early intervention is an essential social policy, important from both a fiscal and a moral point of view.
• Early intervention can be effective for the individual infant only if offered in a manner that promotes and supports the infant-caregiver relationship as both the primary source of strength and growth.
• Early intervention is effective only when a family's culture is respected and approached as a strength and support.

Support, training and advocacy for early intervention must become a cooperative venture that bridges traditional cultural, disciplinary, administrative and political boundaries.

 Action Goals

Educate birth to three and family professionals in relationship-based practice that reflects the mission of MI-AIMH.

Diversify the infant mental health community, engaging professionals who represent many different ethnic groups, cultures and communities and who work in a variety of settings with or on behalf of infants, toddlers and families.

Advocate for the social, emotional and cognitive well being of all infants and toddlers within the context of their caregiving families.

Endorse the infant and family work force, using standards that reflect competency and best practice promoting infant mental health.

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The mission statement of the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health
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The action goals as stated in this mission statement consitute a nice description of what might be the goals of our modest and informal association of professionals that meets each month here in Washington State. To educate professionals -- including ourselves -- in relationship-based practice is fundamental to our efforts. "Diversify the infant mental health community," is the calling. What makes our consultation feel so rich, so unique, is precisely our diversity. Where else can you draw on such diverse backgrounds in reflecting on a case? School psychologist, social worker, disability specialist, Early Head Start supervisor, and mental health counselor, for example -- we come together to gain a perspective that we just can't find within our own specific workplace. We work for school districts, non-profit agencies, and in private practice.  We serve military and civilian, native and non-native communities. Our focus is on education, early intervention, and behavioral health. To a man and woman, we are advocates for the well-being of young children, socially, emotionally, and cognitively. We endorse the highest standards, the greatest competencies, and the best practices of this infant and family work force of which we are a part. And there is so much work to do. -gw

On Looking for a Few Good Providers: And who take TRICARE

The program Marilyn works for is looking for "providers who are GOOD at what they do, and take TRICARE." She believes that participants in our infant and early childhood mental health consultation group either fill the bill or know of someone who would. She invites you to provide the following and anything additional about these providers that you feel would be helpful.

 

1) Name

2) Degree and credentials

3) Specialties

4) Address

5) Phone Number

6) Email

7) Fax

 

Thanks George. See you at the next gathering.

 

Marilyn Larrabee

New Parent Support Home Visitor

Fleet and Family Support Program

Naval Base Kitsap

 

marilyn.larrabee.ctr@navy.mil

On the Medicated Child: Frontline concern

Hey George,

Great consultation last week… Chris thought that I should forward this video on to you. It’s an entire hour long so we probably wouldn’t get a chance to watch it in our group but maybe you could share the link with the others… it is pretty interesting.

Hope you have a great week!

Tana

Program: FRONTLINE

Episode: The Medicated Child

Millions of U.S. children are taking psychiatric drugs, most never tested on kids. Good medicine - or an uncontrolled experiment?

Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.

An issue of concern for a lot of clinicians, certainly. -gw

On New Directions in Infant Mental Health Practice Training: Containment, reciprocity & the stress/trauma continuum

Subject: 14TH Biennial NCAST Institute - Don't miss this event in September! -gw
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http://depts.washington.edu/chdd/ncast_broadcast/14th_Biennial_NCAST_Institute.pdf

On Infant Mental Health Treatment: In bullet points

There is nothing like a powerpoint slideshow to provide a succinct overview of a topic. In this case, the topic is Infant Mental Health. The 74 slides here are from a 2007 presentation by Tomlin & Ryan. -gw