You may be asking yourself, "What is Infant Mental Health?"
"Infant mental health refers to how well a child develops socially and emotionally from birth to age three years. This includes their capacity to express and regulate their emotions, begin to form relationships, and explore their environment. When one hears the phrase ‘infant mental health,’ there may be a tendency to be concerned that is it connected with mental illness and be puzzled as to how the term mental health could be associated with the stage of infancy. Others may not realize that infants can experience very strong emotions long before they have words to express what they are feeling. In these early years, children cannot manage their feelings on their own – they need their parents and other caregivers to help them soothe, settle and manage these feelings." https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/our-health-service/making-it-better/infant-mental-health-and-why-it-is-important.html
You may be saying to yourself, "That's great and all Candace, but WHY would I need to bring my baby in?" Great question. Babies rely solely on their parent (or care providers) to survive physically, mentally, and emotionally. If there is any reason at all that one or both parents are absent in some way (absent meaning that the parent is unable or unavailable to emotionally care for their child due to conflict in marriage that pulls either parent away from reading their child's cues, physical limitations within either parent, mental health issues, etc.) then you and your baby may benefit from an infant mental health session.
If you have concerns or worries for your baby, such as your baby cries all the time and is difficult to soothe, or your baby doesn't cry to alert you of their needs, then give me a call and let's work together to help to get you and your baby on the same page.
What you can expect from an Infant Mental Health session:
We begin with a 2 hour assessment in which I gather information from you including birth history, your concerns, and information to get to know your baby. We will work together to create some goals that meet your needs and the needs of your baby. Following the assessment, I typically recommend meeting on a weekly basis with you and baby. These sessions are scheduled for 50 mins. I will provide activities to support an increase in healthy attachments and promote bonding. These activities will be determined by the established goals so each session may vary. What the session may feel like is spending time with your baby in a structured manner. Infant Mental Health is NOT me telling you HOW to be a parent-you've already got that down. Rather, infant mental health is to further nurture your relationship with your baby.