Infant-Parent Training Institute

Course Description

Substance use, misuse, and dependence impact the perinatal and early parenting period significantly. Rates of substance use disorders continue to rise in the population of women of child-bearing age. Mental health professionals, medical providers, and allied health professionals increasingly come into contact with mothers, fathers, infants, and alternate care providers who can benefit from improved practices. This course will offer a review of the latest research on the links between attachment theory, neurobiology, and addiction; opportunities to learn about the various ways of supporting families; and a forum in which conversations about complex policies, practice choices, and ethical dilemmas can be rich opportunities for growth.

Tuition

$900 
CEUs for some disciplines will be available.

Application

Download the Families Impacted by Addiction course application. For more information, email your questions to ipti@jfcsboston.org.

A mother's mental health affects her own sense of self, the well-being of her children, her close relationships, and the functioning of the family. A mother of an infant or young child who is struggling with depression, anxiety, or other emotional difficulties faces multiple challenges in coping and parenting. This course will examine the profound emotional transformation of becoming a mother, the influence of culture on maternal mental health, and the impact of mental health on the parent-child relationship. Included in the class sessions are issues of trauma, intergenerational parenting patterns, research on maternal depression, and mothering under special circumstances. Use of video and opportunities for exploring case material will be provided.

Reflective supervision is a proven model to increase job satisfaction and improve capacity for service delivery to young children and families.  Reflective supervision is a collaborative process that provides the supervisee an opportunity to identify, explore and reflect on his/her own as well as the family's experience. The emotional impact of work with vulnerable families makes reflection central to supporting providers.

This course will integrate theory and skill-building, with an emphasis on the practice of reflective supervision using real-life situations.  Using supervisory challenges from their own practice, course participants will engage in group reflective process to identify, explore and reflect on new ways to guide and support their supervisees.  This course is intended for participants from a variety of workplace settings.