Teaching Counselors to Work with Infants and Young Children: Why It Matters

Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) is a culturally informed, relationally focused area of clinical expertise which addresses the social-emotional needs of very young children and their families. At this time, although counselors are often providers of this type of clinical work, very little training exists in counselor education programs. This brief explores the integration of this work into counselor education by describing a seamless integration of the IECMH concepts into already existing course work.