Early Childhood
Mental Health
Consultation
Lessons Learned From
A Pilot Project in Arkansas
EARLY CHILDHOOD MENTAL HEALTH CONSULTATION
In the work-driven, high-pressure world of the modern family, child
care has become a reality for most families. Diligent parents search
out the best care they can find, yet even the most excellent child
care environments may be struggling with limited funding to hire
workers and provide quality educational materials. ECMH consultation
can be a resource to help support children in their care and
learning environments, and their caregivers.
The ECMH consultant is a professional with expertise in mental
health and child development who uses her knowledge and skills to
build a collaborative relationship with caregivers and child care
center directors. Her goal is to create a forum for working through
the behavioral issues that come up with young children in a group
setting. The consultant may work directly with a child or family,
but typically will also focus on the environment of the center,
supporting staff and working with them to think about new ways for
working with children with challenging behaviors. The consultant
focuses on caregiver strengths, facilitates effective problem
solving, and serves as a sounding board for frustrated staff. Her
position on the periphery allows for some objectivity and
confidentiality, yet she is close enough to join with staff as they
nurture the children and manage the stress of their jobs.
Mental health consultation in early childhood settings is a problem-solving and capacity-building intervention implemented within a collaborative relationship between a professional consultant with mental health expertise and one or more individuals, primarily child care center staff, with other areas of expertise. Early childhood mental health consultation aims to build the capacity (improve the ability) of staff, families, programs, and systems to prevent, identify, treat, and reduce the impact of mental health problems among children from birth to age 6 and their families.
From SAMHSA: Definition and Description
of Types of Mental Health Consultation
“Early childhood mental health consultation generally advises programs
in one of two approaches. One approach focuses on a particularly
challenging child or the family of that child; the other addresses a
general program issue that impacts the mental health of staff, children,
or families. Child- and family-centered consultation is the most
traditional form of mental health consultation. Staff initially seek the
assistance of a mental health consultant because they are worried,
alarmed, or frustrated by a particular child’s behavior. The primary
goal of this type of consultation is to develop a plan to address both
the factors that contribute to a child’s difficulties in functioning
well in the early childhood setting and the family’s role.
Mental health consultation to programs focuses on (1) improving the
overall quality of the program or agency and (2) assisting the program
in solving a specific issue that affects more than one child, staff
member, and family. Consultation to programs usually takes a preventive
perspective. By identifying strategies to improve the overall quality of
care, the consultation empowers staff to enhance the healthy social and
emotional development of children and the functioning of families—and of
staff members, too.
Cohen, E., and Kaufmann, R.
Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation. DHHS Pub. No. CMHS-SVP0151. Rockville, MD., Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration, 2005.
Read More Online -->
From the Center for the Study of Social Policy:
Strengthening Families Through Early Care & Education
“To most people, the image of mental health professionals working with
small, preschool children seems incongruous. Therefore, the idea of
mental health consultation being a standard component of early childhood
education may appear unnecessary. There are, however, at least two
important reasons why mental health consultants were present at the
exemplary early childhood centers studied in this project:
1) Children’s mental health is critical to their ability to get ready
for school. When there are problems, early intervention can head off
more serious, long-term
consequences.
2) Mental health consultants at these programs did a lot more to advance overall quality in the early childhood program than provide therapy to children and their families.
Center for the Study of Social Policy, February 2004