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Incorporating Infant Mental Health

Principles in "Everyday“ MIHP Practice

A Follow-up Webinar

Melissa Copenhaver, RN BSN, LMSW, IMH-E III

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Technology Logistics

Introductions: Use chat box to provide your name and affiliation.

Please put phone on mute during presentation.

Questions/Comments: Please type in questions and provide feedback using the “chat box.”

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Objectives

1. Overview of incorporating Infant Mental Health principles in “everyday" MIHPPractice

2. Explore successes and challenges

3. Identify additional strategies

4. Opportunity for questions and discussion

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Overview

IMH is a reflective relationship based approach to working with pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers.

Attachment relationships provide a secure base from which children grow physically, emotionally, cognitively and socially.

Early relationships serve as prototypes for later relationships.

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Overview (cont.)

The working relationship between parents and professionals is the instrument for therapeutic change.

Relationship based approaches can assist us with reaching those hard to reach families.

Being able to reach hard to reach families and being able to consistently provide services facilitates an efficient use of resources.

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IMH in the Context of MIHP

A three tiered approach for servicesLevel 1-All MIHP staff incorporating IMH

principles into “every day” MIHP services.Level 2-MIHP-IMH specialists working with

families identified as having high risk factors for disruption in the early attachment relationships.

Level 3-Referral to infant mental health services in the community for clients who need intensive mental health services.

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Successes

How have you incorporated IMH principles into your daily MIHP work?

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Challenges

What challenges have you or your program experienced in incorporating IMH principles in MIHP?

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Addressing Challenges

What are some possible solutions to address the challenges?

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Strategies Focus on the emotional health and

development of the infant and parent.1. Listen to the words used.

2. Use social emotional wheels with families.

3. Provide opportunities, beyond the screening process, for caregivers to bring up risks (i.e. domestic violence, substance use, history of abuse).

4. Ideas from participants…

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Strategies

Focus on parent-infant developing relationship

1. Facilitate bonding activities between caregiver and baby.

2. Address caregiver’s concerns related to feeling inadequate.

3. Help caregiver learn the baby’s cues. Give voice to the baby.

4. Provide opportunities for caregiver to give voice to the hopes and dreams they have for the baby

5. Ideas from participants…

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Strategies

o Provide a safe and nurturing context in which parent and MIHP staff may explore the care of the infant and the multiple challenges of parenthood.

1. Let them know that you are “strong enough” to hold the stress and challenges that they face.

2. Acknowledge the challenges that the caregiver faces.

3. Acknowledge grief and loss issues that may be present.

4. Know when to refer.

5. Seek out opportunities for reflective supervision.

6. Ideas from participants…

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Questions/Discussion

What questions do you have?What resources would be helpful?

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Next Step

Where are IMH principles in MIHP going from here?Social-Emotional Development: Video conference will

be provided in the early fall on the social-emotional development of infants.

Several trainings are available on the MIHP website - www.michigan.gov/mihp

See the MI-AIMH website for trainings in your area -http://www.mi-aimh.org/

Consider endorsement process for nurses and/or social workers in the program. Call MI-AIMH endorsement for related questions.

Mental Health Collaborative Work Group.