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Reflected in the light of another: Discovering parallels within infant mental health & reflective supervisory relationships
Dearest reader, The following article tells the story of the relationships, discoveries, and healing processes that have unfolded within our reflective supervisory and infant mental health relationships. These examples highlight some of the reasons why Infant Mental Health (IMH) practice pays special attention to relationships and the parallel process, and why it uses reflective supervision…
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Keeping It Simple
Starting at the Beginning – Ula Rutan The families I work with continue to remind me to remember the foundation of my training and the fundamentals of helping. When I interviewed at Integro, a private behavioral health agency that provides mental health services to children and families in Jackson and Hillsdale counties, I was fresh…
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What’s Going On In There? The Developmental Work of Pregnancy
“The connection between the pregnant woman and her developing fetus is perhaps the most profound but enigmatic of all the human relationships.” (DiPietro, 2010, p. 28). INTRODUCTION: It’s a story we sometimes overlook entirely. Even when we do ask parents about it, sometimes we don’t catch the drama, the power, and the meaning of it. The…
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Pathways to Parenting: Prenatal Bonding in Mothers and Fathers
“In giving birth to our babies, we may find that we give birth to new possibilities within ourselves.” – Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn, Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting, 2014 For many parents, pregnancy represents a time of reorganization that leads to psychosocial growth and the hope of new possibilities. The coming of…
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Integrated Health Care – Starfish’s Integrated Pediatric Approach
Jung Nichols, LLPC, Integrated Health Supervisor A great need for mental health services is recognized Many years ago, Starfish Family Services’ late CEO, Ouida Cash, and Oakwood Health Care (now Beaumont Health) submitted an application to the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) to start a local Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Inkster, Michigan,…
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Enforcing Immigration Policies Frightens and Negatively Affects Children and Their Families
Parents do not uproot their children to make a long and dangerous journey to an unknown future in the U.S. unless situations in their home country are so threatening that the risks of migration pale in comparison to more certain risks at home. Parents do it because they feel they must! Zero To Three is…
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Early Identification of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Parent-Child Group Intervention Based on the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM)
Increasing access to early intervention for ASD, a national and international health priority Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) now affects approximately 1 in 59 children in the United States. Based on the knowledge of developmental science and rigorous intervention studies, we know that early intervention leads to better outcomes when started as early as possible in…
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Balancing This Wonderful Work During These Trying Times
Sharing Our Perspective It is our hope to share our perspective and acknowledge the feelings and interactions that come with home visiting during this time of uncertainty regarding today’s social and moral climate in 2018. Our hearts and our heads literally hurt for all that is happening in society now. It is a difficult task to…
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Elephant? What Elephant?
The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms tells us that “to sweep under the rug” dates from the mid-1900s and refers to that which we wish to hide, such as floor dust that has been gathered with a broom, and then — the doorbell rings announcing guests. I think the reasons for sweeping dust under a…
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Diversity-Informed Tenets For Work with Infants, Children and Families
The Diversity-Informed Tenets for Work with Infants, Children, and Families (Tenets) are guiding principles created to encourage the infant mental health (IMH) field to intentionally and mindfully engage in standards of practice that promote and strive for a just and equitable society. The Tenets present a call to action to intentionally address some of the…