Infant Mental Health Practice: Developmental Intervention

Catalog description

As a foundation for infant mental health practice across settings, this course reviews a range of approaches to developmental intervention with young children with social/ emotional, behavioral and developmental concerns and their families, and addresses how the child’s and family’s strengths and vulnerabilities inform the intervention process. Emphasis is placed on the Developmental Individual differences, Relationship-based model (DIR) paradigm and DIRFloortime strategies as a comprehensive approach covering developmental capacities of the child, children’s individual differences in sensory, motor, and reactivity and the relationships that support development. Participants will learn to observe functional emotional developmental levels, understand individual sensory profiles, and implement Floortime strategies in different settings. Participants will also learn to integrate behavioral strategies as needed to assist parents with their child’s development and with common behavior problems and regulatory issues such as sleeping, feeding, toileting, discipline, and coping with stress. The course is accompanied by a clinical seminar and can be credited toward some of the requirements for a DIR certificate.