Services
Parent Consultation
After years of providing therapy services to young children and their families, as well as having my own children, I realized that all parents and caregivers benefit from the guidance of a caring, knowledgeable early childhood professional from time to time. When problems arise, you can always head to the Google search bar or consult with your favorite parenting book, but those sources often times offer a one-size fits all approach to parenting young children.
So what happens if you and your child do not fit the mold? I am here to help with parent consultation sessions offered via Zoom and/or in person (if you are local to Colorado Springs).
Much of our early time together will involve listening and learning, not just about your young child, but about what knowledge, life experiences, and feelings you bring to your role as a parent. Once we have a solid understanding of your child, you, and the concerns you are having, we can tailor an approach that works best for you. You’ll have support in implementation and troubleshooting with ongoing consultation sessions and/or email communication.
Please note, consultation sessions are not meant to diagnose or treat mental health disorders in young children. Rather, they are helpful in supporting parents and caregivers to create a nurturing parent-child relationship that scaffolds a young child’s development. Sessions provide parents tools to navigate challenging behaviors and feel confident in their role. Should additional services and supports be recommended, I am able to link to you to them as needed.
Newborn Behavioral Observation (NBO)
While babies may not speak their first word for a year, they are born ready to communicate with a rich vocabulary of body movements, cries, and visual responses. These are all part of the complex language of infant behavior and offer caregivers insights into their child’s preferences, strengths, and vulnerabilities.
The Newborn Behavioral Observation (available for children 0-3 months) offers an opportunity for parents to recognize how their baby experiences and responds to the world around them through engagement in 18 neurobehavioral observations. We will think about your child’s capacities in such a way that you can begin to better appreciate your baby's unique competencies and vulnerabilities, as well as learn to engage with your baby in a way that meets their specific needs.
In person sessions can be scheduled for those parents in Colorado Springs. Not local? Telehealth options are now available.
Reflective Supervision/Consultation
Reflective Supervision and Consultation (RS/C) exists to provide a respectful, thoughtful, and understanding atmosphere where exchanges of information, as well as exploration of thoughts and feelings around the things that arise in one’s work, can occur. It offers opportunities for early childhood professionals to:
Transform the ways in which they view, wonder about, consider, understand, and respond to the pregnant women, infants, young children, and families whom they serve.
More effectively assess, focus, and respond to the infants, young children, and caregivers with whom they are working.
Enhance their ability to identify risks to the physical, emotional, and relational health of infants and young children and to respond appropriately.
Develop the capacity to shift perspective, address personal biases, set boundaries, and slow down, observe, and listen.
Experience feeling heard, validated, and affirmed, within the context of a RS/C relationship, for the work that they are doing with or on behalf of pregnant women, infants, young children, and families.
I currently offer group and individual reflective supervision via distance technology. If you are currently pursuing or interested in obtaining your endorsement for Infant Mental Health at any level within a state using the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health’s Endorsement for Culturally Sensitive, Relationship-Focused Practice Promoting Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health, our time together will meet those requirements.
Training
Early childhood mental health has gained attention and importance more recently. Yet early childhood professionals and educators still have limited access to quality professional development opportunities to increase their knowledge and skill in addressing behavioral challenges within the classroom dynamic or family system using relationship-based intervention techniques.
I am able to offer trainings in infant mental health, child development, relationship-based behavioral interventions, reflective supervision/consultation, and more with content tailored to your specific needs.