Infant-Parent Training Institute

Current Offerings

The Infant-Parent Training Institute is pleased to announce the following courses being offered in the 2021-2022 school year.

Yearlong Course

Conversations and Controversies in Infant Mental Health

This yearlong course combines guest lectures and small group discussions to explore foundational topics in infant mental health and the ongoing impact of historical trauma and social, educational, and health disparities on a baby’s development, relational health and wellbeing. Concepts of vulnerability and resilience, stress, trauma, emotional regulation and attachment will frame discussions of such questions as: How does a reproductive justice framework help us better meet the needs of vulnerable families in the perinatal period? What are the strengths and limitations of attachment theory? The course includes examination of the complex intersectional effects of social and political power hierarchies, race, culture, and ethnicity on human development. Each monthly meeting presents new opportunities for learning, group exploration, and discussion—all in an environment welcoming of diverse voices in the context of a shared commitment to ongoing growth and diversification in the field.

Dates: One Friday a month September 2021- May 2022
Time: 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. EST
Tuition: $725 for the series
Location: held virtually via Zoom

Fall 2021

Reflective Supervision in Early Education and Care
Reflective supervision is an essential component of programs providing direct services to young children and families. It has become the gold standard of supervision within early education and care settings. Decades of research and practice have demonstrated that reflective supervision increases the quality of care, improves job satisfaction, and increases staff retention in early childhood programs. The reflective supervision framework creates a supervision environment that supports staff capacity-building and professional growth, leading to improvements in staff learning, decision-making, and job performance. Through a collaborative process, reflective supervisors provide staff with an opportunity to identify, explore, and reflect on their experiences in their work, increasing their capacity to problem-solve and act intentionally.

Dates: 8 Tuesdays, October 5th- November 23rd, 2021
Time: 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. EST
Tuition: $875 for the series
Location: held virtually via Zoom

IPTI Speaker Series: Expanding the Circle of Security: A Panel Presentation to Examine the Mindset Shift from Changing Behavior to Understanding What the Behavior is Communicating.
Panel speakers: Cyntia Barzelatto, Ed.M., Sami Bradley, LIMHP, Monica Contreras, MSW, Marina Rodriguez, M.Ed., and Natacha Shillingford, BS. Moderated by Peggy H. Kaufman, M.Ed., LICSW.

This IPTI Speaker Series presentation will explore the way in which Circle of Security informs our understanding of children's behavior. The COS-Parenting (COS-P) and COS-Classroom (COS-C) 8-week facilitated group models provide a paradigm shift for parents and early educators. Rather than interpreting challenging child behaviors as attention-seeking, the Circle paradigm sees them as attempts to establish connection. Informed by attachment theory, the Circle of Security video-enhanced curriculum helps caregivers understand that when a child’s underlying need is seen, valued, and met, behavior improves. This relational perspective offers parents and early educators a pathway to strengthening attachments and resilience in children and caretakers.

In this panel presentation we will hear the ways that Circle of Security groups and individualized interventions are used in child welfare systems, early education and care, family day care, parent-child psychotherapy as well as the integration of a socio-cultural lens in the work with immigrant families.

Date: Friday, November 5, 2021
Time: 11:00 - 1:00 p.m. EST
Cost: $60 without CEUs , $75 with CEUs
Location: held virtually via Zoom

Click here to register