Participants will examine the transactional role of parents and parent-child relationships in child development as well as interdisciplinary childhood mental health principles and strategies for working with parents of young children. Participants will understand special considerations of how infant mental health research informs work with parents with mental illness, chemical dependency, trauma, and cognitive delays, as well as adolescent parents, foster, adoptive and kinship parents, and parents of children with special needs. Participants will have an opportunity to explore their professional role in the interdisciplinary field of early childhood mental health and how strategies and principles will inform their professional role.

Course Learning Objectives

In addition to the learning objectives above, participants will:

• Be introduced to the concept of adult attachment, the theory of intergenerational transmission of attachment, and its application to working with parents.
• Understand elements of “psychological reorganization” and neurobiological correlates of parenting which characterize the transition to parenthood.
• Understand parenting as a developmental construct paralleling the child’s development, the needs of parents at different stages of development, and the influence of culture and environmental factors on relationships and childrearing practices.
• Know the theoretical basis and skills for holding multiple perspectives in relationship-based practice and the need to consider the unique strengths, challenges, and needs of individual families.

Next session: September 10 to November 12, 2012

Instructor Jane Ellison

Jane Ellison, MS, LAMFT, IMH-E® (IV), Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant, is licensed in Parent Education, Early Childhood Education, and Marriage and Family Therapy. She has been working with infants, toddlers, and their parents for more than 20 years. Jane has worked with families with complex needs through grant programs for Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention, Family Literacy, Early Head Start collaborations, and parents of children with special needs. Her professional focus is in Infant Mental Health.

Jane is CEED Affiliate Faculty in the area of Infant Mental Health. Jane authored and instructs the online course Working with Parents of Young Children: Considerations for Special Populations.

Instructor Michele Fallon

Michele Fallon, LICSW, IMH-E® (IV), Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant, has 35 years of experience working with young children and their families in a variety of settings. Currently she provides infant and early childhood mental health reflective consultation and training for early care and education providers, home visitors, foster parents, early childhood special education, and others working with young children and families. Michele works on the Infant Toddler Training Project at CEED and authored and instructs an online course called Working with Parents of Young Children: Considerations for Special Populations.

Cost

$450 plus required textbook (group rates available)

Register Online

Required Textbook

Please purchase this textbook:

Zeanah, C. (2009). Handbook of Infant Mental Health (3rd Edition). New York: The Guilford Press.

Upcoming Session

• Fall 2012 session: September 10 to November 12, 2012

Related Resources

• Flyer: Working with Parents

Questions?

If you have further questions or would like a sample sylllabus, please contact Karen Anderson, CEED Online Course Manager, at 612-625-6617 or ander352@umn.edu.

Top of page