CI 592 Dynamic Models of Infant/Toddler Development (3 credits)

This course provides information on typical infant/toddler mental health development and strategies for working with young children and their families within a culturally sensitive context. Content includes prenatal, perinatal and postnatal development, brain development as well as theories of development, including attachment, resiliency, and self-regulation. Course reading and handouts reflect recommended practices across disciplines when working with young children and their families. Learn to gather and document intake information from families of various ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Become a link for families to community resources.

Focus on infants, toddlers and their families, and how they cope successfully with life tasks and external stressors. Examine what happens when coping breaks down and problems emerge in families with young children. Be able to:

• Identify relevant strengths and resiliency factors for infants, toddlers, and their families
  
• Understand developmentally relevant risk factors, especially parental mental health issues, and their potential impact on infants, toddlers, and their families
  
• Gain knowledge of major forms of psychopathology within infant/toddler mental health

Develop an appreciation of the concepts of early intervention and prevention. Examine the range of interventions used in the field of infant mental health. Emphasis is on the importance of treating infants and toddlers in the context of their families and communities. Discuss intervention strategies, including those targeted at children with psychosocial/relational and developmental disturbances as well as those determined to be at risk. Review international, national, and regional programs, established and pilot, in early intervention and prevention. Improve ability to assess and critically evaluate the current science around treatment efficacy of various interventions.

Gain understanding of the family and cultural contexts in which child development occurs. Identify cultural, political, and socioeconomic biases within which mainstream research and theory have emerged. Understand and apply system-of-care concepts and values as they engage in relationship-based consultation. Content includes information about the roles and knowledge bases of specific disciplines as they apply to infant/toddler social/emotional development (e.g., child care, pediatrics, nursing, early intervention, mental health, allied health, child welfare). Learn about the roles and knowledge bases of informal family and community supports as they apply to infant/toddler social/emotional development. Gain knowledge and training related to infant/toddler key transitions from one setting to the next (e.g., from home to community child care, child care to preschool).

Focus on the roles and challenges of being an infant mental health practitioner. Understand ethical and boundary issues within the infant mental health field. Use self-reflection and dialogue with peers to understand yourself better as you interact with infants, toddlers, and their families in a professional capacity. Present, document, and analyze field observations to further understanding of typical development and its variations in infants, toddlers, and their families. Learn to promote reflective practices in others.

Gain valuable supervised experience in an infant/toddler setting. The student is expected to demonstrate increasing competence in the knowledge and practice of infant mental health. Each practicum is determined by an individually designed contract.