At those rare times when mental health is the focus of discussion about promoting health in the nation, the population of childen age 0-5 years are not usually considered. This presentation describes the development of an infant, toddler and preschool mental health service which utilizes a multidisciplinary team approach and focus on the young children as well as their families. Our program, one of a small number of programs that focuses on young children, has four components: a developmental preschool for 3-5 year olds, an infant clniic for 0-3 year olds, a pediatric and community consultation for 0-5 year olds and a parent-child interaction therapy component. We will report on 100 infants and toddlers seen in our infant clinic. The mean age was 28.5 months, 67% were male and half were African-American. We will also describe our work with the Pediatric Rehabilitation Service where our team provides consultation to therapists (physical, occupational and speech) who work with families of young children (0-5) with a wide variety of developmental problems. The therapist provides counseling and anticipatory guidance for emotional and behavior concerns. Finally, we will describe the preschool program and the parent-child interaction therapy component with a clinical case study.
Learning Objectives: The participant will learn about the issues in developing a mental health progran for young children and their families
Keywords: Child/Adolescent Mental Health,
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.