Citation

Horen NM, Sayles J, McDermott K, Sippel-Klug K, Drake-Croft J, Long T. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024; 21(7).

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph21070870

PMID

39063447

PMCID

PMC11277513

Abstract

Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) is a multidisciplinary field of inquiry, practice, and policy concerned with enhancing the social-emotional competence of infants and young children. Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) is a system of services that supports infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. ECI providers promote a child's development in all domains, including social-emotional. The purpose of this paper is to describe how two systems, Early Childhood Intervention and Infant Early Childhood Mental Health, collaborate when serving children who have developmental delays or disabilities and their families and other caregivers. We will discuss two models used to promote social-emotional development, the Pyramid Model and IECMH Consultation, and provide three examples that demonstrate how ECI and IECMH intersect at both the family, classroom, and system levels.

Language: en

Keywords

Humans; Child, Preschool; Infant; *Mental Health; child development; Child Development; Developmental Disabilities/therapy/psychology; early childhood policy; early intervention; Early Intervention, Educational; early relational health; infant and early childhood mental health; interdisciplinary; pyramid model; system of care