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The Intersection of Leadership and Vulnerability: Making the Case for Reflective Supervision/Consultation for Policy and Systems Leaders
Introduction Reflective Supervision/Consultation (RS/C) has been widely recognized as a key component in the provision of quality infant mental health (IMH) informed services. RS/C can be described simply as a “relationship for learning” (Shahmoon-Shanok, 2006, p. 343). Just as we know that babies can only learn and grow in the context of relationships, we believe…
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Seeing What We Can Capture Together: Setting Up the Frame For Reflective Supervision/Consultation
In my work providing reflective supervision and consultation (RS/C) to groups and individuals, I consistently find parallels to my role as a mother of young children. Most recently, I sought to take a family photo — you know, one that looks joyful and warm, showing the connectedness and synchronicity my family and I feel with…
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Interoception: Opening Up a New Window to Understand Behavior
These articles, written by Ira Glovinsky, Ph.D., and Kelly Mahler, MS, OTR/L, highlight their collaboration applying interoceptive work to infants and young children. Understanding interoception, a person’s awareness of internal bodily signals, will have major implications for our work with dysregulated young children. Since the 1940s there has been a continued increase in the number…
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Sarah
Sarah was an angelic-looking, bright-eyed four-year-old girl. She had a gleaming smile, immediate approaching behavior, and exuberance, but she was exhausting to manage at home and in her preschool setting. Her parents contacted me because of her aggressive behavior and inability to control her impulses, her refusal to follow instructions and directions, and her lack…
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Interoception and Infant Mental Health: An Exquisite Fit
Interoception as a Foundation of Infant Mental health We see interoception as a foundational concept for infant mental health. Our early development of a sense of self is an “embodied” sense of self that occurs prior to the development of a “mindful” sense of self. There has been an ongoing debate since the time of…
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Preschool: The celebration of wonder and connection to home
The Michigan Association of Infant Mental Health sponsored this series of developmental articles to help us all reflect on the journey of parents and children from pregnancy through early childhood. This article explores the emerging preschooler and the wonderful, tumultuous transformation that the parent-child dyad experiences. On the shoulders of giants, this article attempts to…
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A Beautiful Mess: Early Childhood Consultation – Building Relationships in the Classroom
This article is the work of the Circle of Caring team under the clinical supervision of Vickie Novell, LMSW, IECMH-E® with the support of the consultants: Wendy Dawson, LLP, IMH-E®, Danielle Davey, LMSW, IMH-E® and Jill Vandoornik, LMSW, IMH-E®. Welcome to the delicate world of childcare. The days begin and end with separations and reunions,…
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Toddlerhood: A Transformative Time of Developmental Leaps, Relationship Redefintions and Life-Setting Experiences
INTRODUCTION From the first days of life, long before birth, the course of development runs on multiple tracks — distinct yet totally inseparable. The challenge is to recognize their unique components while simultaneously fitting them into relationship with each other. This journey is complicated enough during the first year, with rapid brain development, periods of…
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The Importance of Play in the Contexts of Relationships in Infant, Toddler, and Early Childhood Classrooms
A recent article in The Atlantic (Christakis, 2016) lamented the overemphasis on academics that characterizes much of early childhood education today, noting that the preschool and kindergarten years serve more as gatekeepers than supporters and “welcoming mats” to the elementary school years, particularly for children at risk. Indeed, the first five years of a child’s…
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The Importance of Promoting Diversity in Early Childhood Programs
Diversity and its Importance in Early Childhood The concept of diversity takes various forms and is incorporated into many aspects of our life. From religion, gender, culture, family structures, and physical abilities, we are each brought into this world made up of many differences. For years we have thought that children will automatically form positive…