IECMHC in Action
Who We Serve
The IECMHC Team at CERS engages in consultation services with early education and care partners throughout Greater Boston, including:
The History of IECMHC at CERS
The Center of Early Relationship Support was created in 1989 to support the relationships between mothers and babies. For the next 20 years, CERS developed expertise in supporting parents, and providing training to the professionals who work with them. In 2006 CERS formed a partnership with Horizons for Homeless Children to translate this expertise to support the relationships of professional caregivers (teachers) and the children in their care (students).
Our Impact
Currently, the Center for Early Relationship Support IECMHC team provides direct Infant/Early Childhood Consultation Services to:
- 223 Children
- 76 Teachers
- 17 Supervisory Staff
Through consultation to leadership in early education and care centers, the IECMHC team impacts systems of care serving a total of:
Sample Trainings Offered by the IECMHC Team
The CERS IECMHC team offers groups and training opportunities for teachers, staff and parents, with topics that include:
- Circle of Security Classroom (COS-C)
- Circle of Security Parenting (COS-P)
- Reflective Supervision
- Parent Mental Health
- Additional Trainings Developed and Delivered as Needed
IECMHC Training Program
The Center for Early Relationship Support (CERS) is offering a free comprehensive training program in Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) for providers of color. The goal of the IECMHC Training Program, funded by the Workforce Expansion Project, is to increase the numbers of Black, Indigenous, People of Color and bilingual providers in the IECMH consultation field, and highlight the strengths, capacities and experiences of members of underrepresented groups.
For more information about the training program, and for a link to the program application, please visit the IECMHC Training Program webpage.
COVID-19 Accommodations
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the IECMHC team has continued to offer consultation, training and support services to early education centers through teleconferencing. When children, teachers or ancillary service staff are unable to be present in classrooms, consultants stay connected and continue to support the social and emotional needs of children, their caregivers and teachers. Remote services include teacher and classroom consultation, classroom meetings, teacher support groups, teacher and staff training, and resource referrals for services including family support, basic needs and mental health.
Contact Us
To learn more about IECMHC at CERS, and explore consultation services for your early childhood education center, please contact Terri Chebot, IECMHC Coordinator, at iecmhconsultation@jfcsboston.org.
Sources
A comprehensive synthesis of research evidence for IECMH consultation from Georgetown University’s Center of Excellence for Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation.
The Center of Excellence for Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation’s accompanying annotated bibliography.