Role of the IECMH Consultant

1A Distinguishes IECMHC from Other Related Endeavors

Core IECMH Consultant Skills

1A.1

Demonstrates an understanding of IECMHC as an indirect service that helps to build the reflective capacities and relational health of families; staff who work in programs or other settings serving infants, young children, and families; and others who care for or provide services to infants and young children. Grasps and can convey the difference between IECMHC and other modes of intervention that involve direct mental health treatment for infants, young children, and/or families.

1A.2

Understands and can convey the distinction between the role of the IECMH consultant and that of other professionals who support the development of early childhood staff and family capacities (e.g., professional development coaches, health service managers, healthcare consultants, home visitors, early interventionists, therapists, disability coordinators, pediatricians, foster care case workers).

1A.3

Embraces the idea that IECMHC focuses on promoting infants’ and young children’s positive social and emotional development and behavioral health and reducing racial/ethnic, gender, language, or disability-based disparities in infant and young child outcomes using a wide-ranging knowledge base that draws from numerous fields of study.

1B Exhibits an Ability to Work in Natural Settings

Core IECMH Consultant Skills

1B.1

Demonstrates an ability to work in diverse early childhood programs or other settings.

1B.2

Considers the influence of program or other setting and organizational functioning on early childhood providers, families, infants and young children, and service provision and how this may differ based on race/ethnicity, primary language, or abilities.

1B.3

Suggests and/or supports interventions that align with the particular program or other setting in which IECMHC is delivered, which may include programmatic and/or infant- or young child- and family-specific activities.

1B.4

Offers consultation that reflects and respects the philosophy and model of the program or other setting in which IECMHC is delivered and the community, cultural, and historical contexts in which that program or other setting is located and/or functions.

1C Understands and Engages in the Consultative Process

Core IECMH Consultant Skills

1C.1

Demonstrates an organized approach to the stages of the consultative process (e.g., entering the new environment, establishing mutual expectations for the work, gathering information from and considering the perspectives of all involved, facilitating the establishment of goals, supporting and assessing progress, righting the course of consultation when necessary, transitioning, ending).

1C.2

Demonstrates an ability to support the emotional well-being and relational health of infants and young children and their caregivers, and promotes a shared and accurate understanding of infant, young child, family, and provider needs. Demonstrates an understanding of how needs may vary based on families’ experiences with racial/ethnic, language, or ability inequities.

1C.3

Maintains accurate and timely records, provides professional documentation, and engages in substantive disaggregated data collection in accordance with a program’s or other setting’s requirements.

1C.4

Recognizes when additional mental health and/or other services are warranted, and is able to make culturally responsive, appropriate, and effective referrals across multiple systems.

1D Embraces the Consultative Stance and Reflective Practice

Core IECMH Consultant Skills

1D.1

Can articulate the elements of the “consultative stance,”^{Note 3} and demonstrates the demeanor and skills embodied by this stance.

1D.2

Demonstrates the ability to engage in a flexible and varied “use of self” based on the unique needs of a program or other setting, its context, and the relationships involved (i.e., in a range of situations, is able to serve as an observer, listener, facilitator, problem-solver, and/or educator).

1D.3

Understands implicit bias and systemic racism and their manifestations, and how they affect adult behavior and the experiences of infants, young children, and families from historically marginalized and oppressed communities. Explores how principles of racial equity are inextricably linked and aligned to the 10 elements of the consultative stance.

1D.4

Recognizes and maintains appropriate professional boundaries and role as defined by discipline (e.g., psychology, social work, counseling) and scope of practice.

1E Deepens Knowledge and Skills Through Active Participation in Supervision or Consultation

Core IECMH Consultant Skills

1E.1

Actively participates in clinical consultation and/or reflective supervision that includes:

• Analysis of the dynamic interactions between participants (e.g., family members, teachers, administrators, early childhood providers, consultants, institutions).
• Analysis of how race/ethnicity, primary language, culture, abilities, disposition, and life circumstances influence those interactions.
• Engagement in explorations of the possible challenges to developmentally supportive activities.

1E.2

Participates in regular administrative supervision that includes broad discussion of job-related responsibilities, work quality, documentation, disaggregated data collection, data collection, and other related issues.

1F Adheres to Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct

Core IECMH Consultant Skills

1F.1

Adheres to the ethics and standards of professional conduct (e.g., the National Association of Social Workers’ Code of Ethics), and, if licensed, adheres to the requirements for maintenance of licensure.

1F.2

Discusses confidentiality and the limits of confidentiality with program or other setting staff and families at the start of services, and, as circumstances indicate, revisits these topics during the course of consultative work.

1F.3

Carries out the mandate to report suspected child abuse and neglect, and supports others in their responsibilities as mandated reporters.

1F.4

Seeks continuing education experiences to enhance knowledge and skills, and stays apprised of new research, scholarship, and promising practices in IECMHC.

1F.5

Understands and explores how IECMHC aligns with the Diversity-Informed Tenets for Work with Infants, Children and Families.^{Note 4}

1G Collaborates Respectfully with Other Agencies

Core IECMH Consultant Skills

1G.1

Establishes and maintains partnerships with programs and agencies within the community serving infants, young children, and families (e.g., Early Head Start, Head Start, child care, family support, early intervention, mental health treatment, child welfare) to collaborate on behalf of infants, young children, and families.

1H Explicitly and Intentionally Promotes Equity, from the Individual Level to the Systemic Level

Core IECMH Consultant Skills

1H.1

Partners with staff, program, other setting, and systems leaders to build more equitable systems for infant and young children by understanding the role and importance of ongoing personal transformation; discussing explicit and implicit bias and intervening to address its behavioral manifestation; increasing positive relationships between early childhood providers, infants, young children, and families with different abilities and from different racial/ethnic and language backgrounds; continuously monitoring and using disaggregated data to identify and address disparities; and advocating for and supporting the implementation of policies that support positive and equitable experiences for all infants and young children.

Notes to the 2020 edition

1. 3. Johnston K, Brinamen C. 2006. Mental Health Consultation in Child Care: Transforming Relationships with Directors, Staff, and Families. Washington, DC: Zero to Three Press.
2. 4. Irving Harris Foundation. 2018. Diversity-Informed Tenets for Work with Infants, Children and Families. (opens in a new tab) Chicago, IL: Irving Harris Foundation.