By Lindsey Biggs LMSW, IMH-E® (III) and Deborah Gershune-Aidem, BS, MS, OTRL
Lindsey Biggs is currently a co-supervisor of the Infant Mental Health program at Starfish Family Services; a role she has held since 2013. She is a graduate of Michigan State University’s Human Ecology Department with a B.S. in child development, and she holds an MSW from Michigan State University’s School of Social Work. Lindsey has experience in early childhood development, infant mental health, child welfare, and working with a variety of developmental disabilities. Her direct service experience has involved providing Part C early intervention services in both Michigan and North Carolina, and, in a prior role in North Carolina working collaboratively with Youth and Family Services, conducting assessments and providing interventions with children who were at risk of abuse and neglect. She has presented to Foster Care and CPS workers regarding the importance of attachment on future development and recognizing social, emotional, and developmental red flags in young children. She has provided clinical home-based services using Michigan’s Infant Mental Health model with pregnant women, young children and their families since 2009. She is also a certified parent coach in the evidenced-based intervention, Attachment and Bio-behavioral Catch-up. Lindsey has presented workshops and posters at state, national, and international conferences on infant mental health and early intervention concepts. In her current role as a supervisor, she provides reflective supervision to infant mental health clinicians, outpatient clinicians, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists. Lindsey and her team are passionate about utilizing a multi-disciplinary approach and treating the whole child within the context of their everyday lives and routines, all while in the presence of caregivers with whom they share a healthy and secure relationship. It is through this healthy relationship that children have the foundation for all future optimal growth and development.
Deborah Gershune-Aidem is a Registered Occupational Therapist who graduated from Thomas Jefferson University with a master’s degree in Occupational Therapy. She is currently a home-based pediatric occupational therapist at Starfish Family Services with 16 years of experience. Throughout the last 16 years, Deborah has specialized in pediatrics with a focus in the following practice arenas: NICU, school-based services, pediatric outpatient clinics, and pediatric home-based services. She has rounded her experience by working in skilled nursing facilities and fall risk management and assessment. Deborah holds a certification as a Certified Kinesio Taping Practitioner. Additionally, she is an adjunct professor at Macomb Community College in the Occupational Therapy Assistant program teaching courses in productive aging, clinical kinesiology, and pediatric lab. Deborah is also a guest lecturer at Wayne State University’s Occupational Therapy Master’s degree program for treatment approaches in kinesio taping, serial casting, pediatric feeding, and NDT approach. Her accomplishments also include being a conference presenter at MI-AIMH, Starfish’s Fall Conference for Head Start, and Advocate and Educate.
The Infant Crier