What is Infant Mental Health and why does an infant need therapy?
Infant mental health focuses on the relationship and connection between the infant and all caregivers. Geared for children from birth to age 5, Infant Mental Health provides parents with a combination of education on their child’s unique needs and helps parents process their own anxieties and traumas (sometimes from their own childhood,) which they bring to their relationship with their child. It starts with the premise that healthy parents are needed to provide a safe space for healthy children to grow. Young children are so interconnected to their parents that the emotional well being of the parents directly effects the well being of the child. They are a unit.
Infant Mental Health works with parents (both mom and dad) on the following topics:
- Post-partum depression and anxiety
- Learning to become a family
- Defining roles for parents
- Learning that each parent will have a different relationship with each child
- Sibling issues, especially when siblings are close in age
- Blended families, bringing in an infant or young child in a family with step-siblings
- Processing childhood traumas
- Those the parent’s experienced as a child and how that affects their relationship with their child
- Trauma’s the child experienced and how the parents are part of the healing process
- Coping with Parent illness
- Coping with Child illness
- Grief
Infant mental health is of paramount importance as it lays the foundation for a child’s lifelong emotional, social, and cognitive development. The early years of life are a critical period during which a child’s brain is rapidly developing. Their emotional well-being is also being shaped. Positive experiences and nurturing relationships during this time can have a profound impact on a child’s ability to form secure attachments, regulate their emotions, and develop essential life skills. By prioritizing the mental health of infants, we can help prevent and address early signs of emotional and behavioral difficulties, ensuring that children have a strong and healthy start in life. Investing in the mental well-being of infants not only benefits the child but also contributes to building a healthier and more emotionally resilient society in the long run, ultimately reducing the burden of mental health issues in adulthood.
