1. Contact us at ITMH@pdx.edu
Welcome to an Overview of the Infant/Toddler Mental Health Graduate Certificate Program
Contact us at

2. We are Voices for Babies!
We are dedicated to
increasing the capacity of professionals across different fields
effectively support the emotional health and well being of infants, toddlers, and their families in diverse settings
in communities across a large geographic area

3. What is Infant Mental Health?
“ …the developing capacity of the child from birth to 3 to:
experience, regulate, and express emotions
form close and secure interpersonal relationships
and explore the environment and learn
all in the context of family, community, and cultural expectations for young children.”
- Zero to Three Infant Mental Health Task Force

4. Looking at some key assumptions

5. A Baby’s sense of … Well-being Comfort Security Competence
And Connection
Is experienced in the midst of - and through positive, loving relationships.

6. A nurturing parent-child relationship is the main protective factor for children living in environmental risk or with developmental disabilities. - Bernstein
Engaging a parent through the child (e.g. observation, p/c interaction, developmental guidance) often helps establish a purposeful and long-lasting relationship.
Consistently experiencing positive social relationships over time – promotes optimal human development.

7. Our call to action
“Our country must support young children’s emotional health through a continuum of comprehensive, individualized, culturally competent services that focus on promotion, prevention, and intervention.”
From the National Infant Mental Health Forum, Oct. 2000…

8. Infants, toddlers, and the adults who care for them need relationships that are…
Individualized
Strengths-based
Continuous and stable
Accessible

9. Systems that support early relationships are:
Child-focused and family-centered
Culturally responsive
Community based
Comprehensive, coordinated and integrated
Committed to continuous improvement and reflective supervision
- From “A commitment to Supporting the Mental Health of Our Youngest Children” by Rachel Chazan-Cohen, Judith Jerald, and Deborah Stark, Aug./Sept Zero To Three

10. Three levels of support, each is essential …
Promotion – encouraging positive mental health and social-emotional wellness.
Prevention – preventing the occurrence or escalation of mental health problems and minimizing social-emotional developmental risk. (usually family- centered)
Intervention – providing intensive services and supports to child and family.

11. Values-base of the Mental Health Perspective
All children deserve a safe, stable, caring, nurturing environment.
Consider the young child and his or her parents and caregivers as individuals, and also consider the quality of the child’s many relationships.
Families are full participants in all aspects of the design, implementation and evaluation of programs and services for their young children.
Services are responsive to the cultural, racial, and ethnic differences of the populations they serve.
Practices build upon and enhance child, family and staff strengths.
- Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, 2000

12. The field of Infant Mental Health may be defined as…
“multi-disciplinary approaches to enhancing the social and emotional competence of infants in their biological, relationship, and cultural contexts.”
- Charles Zeanah and Paula Zeanah, Aug./Sept Zero to Three

13. Who are we? As a group, as a “field”, as a professional “arena” ?
Early Intervention
Child Welfare
Healthy Start/Head Start/Early Head Start
Home Visitors
Mental Health
Social Services and Family Support
Early Childhood Care and Education
Health care

14. How The Program Came to Be
A collaboration of professionals from many fields, representing educational, training, research, and practice entities, came together with a desire to:
build infant/toddler mental health capacity across various systems of care
expand awareness and capacity outside the metropolitan area– to make training available and accessible to rural areas

15. Features of the Program
Our Program
Our Faculty
The graduate certificate in Infant/Toddler Mental Health: A Relationship-Based Approach is designed for professionals who are working with families who have children from the prenatal period to 36 months of age
20 credits
Four terms
Limited to 25 students
Cohort models supporting an online learning community
Interactive online learning environment
Aligned with the Infant Mental Health Endorsement
Completion of an ePortfolio
A multi-professional team of faculty plan and teach the curriculum content and provide mentoring support during the program.
Cultural - competence and reflection is woven into everything we do.
Values

16. Course Schedule Fall Winter Spring Summer 5 credits
CI 592 Dynamic Models of Infant Toddler Development (3 credits)
SPED 507 Professionalism in ITMH I (2 credits)
Fall
5 credits
COUN 597 Strengths, Risk Factors, and Disturbance in Infants Toddlers and Their Families (3 credits)
COUN 520 Collaborative Partners to Support Infants Toddlers and their Families I (1 credit)
SPED 507 Professionalism in ITMH II (1 credit)
Winter
SPED 594 Assessment Methods and Classification in Infant Mental Health (3 credits)
COUN 520 Collaborative Partners to Support Infants Toddlers and their Families II (2 credits)
Spring
SPED 597 Prevention and Intervention in ITMH (3 credits)
SPED 507 Professionalism in ITMH III (2 credits)
Summer

17. Current Program Annually
1-2 cohorts of up to 25 students (average is 17-20)
50 students a year connected with Home Visiting take the Intro to ITMH class with scholarship dollars
35 students enrolled in the Master of Early Childhood: Inclusive Education specialization in Infant Toddler Mental Health
Check the website for scholarship opportunities

18. Cohorts and Timelines Cohorts Timelines
Cohorts start every fall (up to 25 students)
Students meet in Cohorts for the Professional Development Series
Meet a small cadre of students in the Master of EC program in other classes
Priority Application Deadline: May 1st
Final Application deadline is July 1st
Applications are reviewed monthly
April, May, June, July
Admissions occur monthly through July

19. Optional Pathway to the Master of Early Childhood Inclusive Education Degree
Enroll in the ITMH Graduate Certificate
Complete Classes Fall & Winter Term
Apply to add the Master of EC Program to Grad Cert.
Enroll for Spring Quarter Admission
Transfer 15 credits into Masters from ITMH Cert)
Start your second year in the Program
5 core classes in Master of EC
6-9 credits of electives
Complete the Master of EC in your 2nd year

20. “ Consistent, positive social relationships over time promote optimal human development.” -Brenda Jones Harden

21. You may be wondering…
How do you provide a “relationship-based” approach in an on-line environment?

22. The Professional Development Seminar
Spans the length of the program - relationships build over time
Focuses on roles and challenges of being an infant/toddler mental health practitioner
Supports the examination of ethical and boundary issues
Promotes observation, inquiry and self- reflection
Offers a learning community – discussion groups, structured differently each term – based on focus of content, promote peer dialogue and shared learning
Two faculty – model collaboration and provide continuity throughout the program
Coordinates the programs e-Portfolio over all terms

23. Big Ideas of the ITMH Program
It’s all about relationships!
We respect diversity in colleagues, families, infants and toddlers
We acknowledges each of us have strengths to offer, as well as a thirst to learn
We reflect, cultivate self-awareness, work to understand our limits
We work in collaboration
We strive to become more culturally aware, sensitive, and responsive
We learn, gain knowledge and insights to best serve our communities

24. Challenges / Lessons Learning
Diverse professional backgrounds of curriculum committee and faculty led to lively discussions during the development phase. Some questions discussed:
“What is infant/toddler mental health?”
“Where does helping happen? And what does it look like? ”
“What role do non-clinical workers play?”

25. Challenges/Lessons Learning
Diversity of students’ professional backgrounds and experiences
makes it challenging to target the content and assignments
creates a healthy opportunity for dialogue
generates a deeper and broader multi-professional perspective.

26. For more information…
For general about the ITMH Graduate Certificate, please Tracy Williams-Murphy at
For questions about ITMH as related to the Master of Early Childhood or ITMH scholarship, please contact Ingrid Anderson, Ed.D. at