New parents may feel overwhelmed as they adjust to parenthood. Our support groups and consultations provide assistance as parents navigate the mental health challenges that may arise while raising young children.

Through weekly in-person visits, support groups, therapeutic interventions, and parent consultations, we are with you through every step of the early parenting journey.

Free Support Groups for Parents of Infants and Pregnant Women

Our free support groups provide safe and nurturing spaces for parents with their babies to give and receive support, ask questions, and begin building a parent community.

All of our groups and services are nonsectarian and open to all parents in the community.

Sometimes a friendly face, adult conversation, a chance to tell someone that you feel overwhelmed and tired can make a world of difference.

The Lauren & Mark Rubin Visiting Moms® program is a free service that matches volunteers with new moms or dads during the first year of their baby’s life, whether it’s the first baby or a new baby in the household.

Learn more about the powerful and vital impact of these in-home visits here.

Early Connections/Conexiones Tempranas

Early Connections/Conexiones Tempranas (EC/CT) clinicians help parents and their young children find their way to stronger, healthier relationships. Read more here.

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EC/CT provides therapeutic interventions focused on supporting the relationships of young children and their parents. EC/CT clinicians are trained in perinatal and early childhood mental health and offer treatment in the home or office with a goal of fostering nurturing and resilient parent-child relationships.

EC/CT offers:

  • Parent and parent-child therapy to address postpartum depression or anxiety, perinatal mood disorders, and related stressors
  • Child-parent psychotherapy (CPP) to help families heal from traumatic stress and build resilience
  • Circle of Security parenting groups to support parents' understanding of their child's emotional needs

Referrals to EC/CT

Mothers and young children are referred to Early Connections/Conexiones Tempranas for a variety of reasons: a new mother may be confronting the challenges of an unresolved history of loss; a baby may be particularly difficult to soothe; or a couple may be coping with significant stress or overwhelming life events even as they begin their parenting journey.

Whatever the origin, the result is a parent-child relationship in distress. EC/CT’s focus on the developing parent-child relationship is supported by significant research showing that babies need safe, secure relationships to build a solid foundation for future learning and social-emotional well-being.

EC/CT services are provided free of charge or on a sliding fee scale.

To make a referral or for more information, contact Sarah Nielsen, LICSW at snielsen@jfcsboston.org or 781-860-2195. For referrals of Spanish-speaking clients, please contact Karen Garber, LICSW at kgarber@jfcsboston.org or 781-693-5048.

To reach our CERS Intake line, please call 781-693-1200 or email CERSintake@jfcsboston.org.

Project NESST® offers support for substance-exposed newborns and their families.

We work with parents, caregivers, and infants to address the impact of substance use and trauma on parents’ mental health, the early parent-child relationship, and infant development. Services are available free of charge to families of all faiths and races throughout Greater Boston who are caring for infants who were exposed to opiates, cocaine, prescription medications, or other substances that may have contributed to challenges in the infant’s postpartum course or in the parent-infant relationship. Clinicians are also available to provide technical assistance and training to interested community partners on relationship-based treatment and care for these newborns and their families.

Learn more about Project NESST here.

The Oliver, Ian, and Serenity Wolk Fragile Beginnings program is committed to improving the lives of parents of premature infants and other infants who have had a stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

In Massachusetts, one in ten babies is born prematurely and many more spend time in the NICU. We provide therapeutic support and developmental guidance, as well as a connection to other families who have also experienced the stress of a NICU stay.

Our clinicians, trained in perinatal and infant mental health, work to support the developing parent-child relationship beginning in the hospital and during and after the transition home. We have found that parents welcome the opportunity to process their experience and to begin to move forward with the support of a Fragile Beginnings clinician.

You can learn more about the therapeutic support and developmental guidance Fragile Beginnings offers here.

Fragile Beginnings Support Group

For parents whose babies have spent time in the NICU.
Thursdays, 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Register ›

Healthy Families of JF&CS is a free, voluntary, and confidential home visiting program for first-time pregnant and/or parenting moms and dads 23 years old and younger.

Weekly visits are provided in your home, virtually, or at a agreed upon location in your community, beginning during pregnancy and continuing through the first six months of your baby’s life.

Learn more about the Healthy Families program here.