Incorporating Infant Mental Health Principles in "Everyday

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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 services
• Level 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.
• Listen to the words used.
• Use social emotional wheels with families.
• Provide opportunities, beyond the screening
  process, for caregivers to bring up risks (i.e.
  domestic violence, substance use, history of
  abuse).
• Ideas from participants

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Strategies

• Focus on parent-infant developing relationship
• Facilitate bonding activities between caregiver
  and baby.
• Address caregivers concerns related to feeling
  inadequate.
• Help caregiver learn the babys cues. Give voice
  to the baby.
• Provide opportunities for caregiver to give voice
  to the hopes and dreams they have for the baby
• Ideas from participants

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Strategies

• 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.
• Let them know that you are strong enough to
  hold the stress and challenges that they face.
• Acknowledge the challenges that the caregiver
  faces.
• Acknowledge grief and loss issues that may be
  present.
• Know when to refer.
• Seek out opportunities for reflective
  supervision.
• 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.