Infant Mental Health by McKenna Wick

Infant Mental Health (IMH), how a child from birth to about three develops mentally (Zerotothree.org), is an ever-growing field. Many psychologists are investing time and energy into learning more about infant mental health. They are finding that if they help address mental health problems from a very young age, then the child has a better chance at living a better life as they grow up. Children are naturally resilient, and paired with this field of study, it can improve their outcome substantially. There are many things that could happen to a child that could harm their mental health. For example, say a mother is suffering from Post-Partum Depression, which has a 13% prevalence rate (Maternal Depression and Child development). This could lead to her not being as attentive to the infant’s needs, which could in turn lead to them forming an insecure attachment. Infants need to be able to trust their caregivers, and if mom is the caregiver, suffering from this depression, then it could lead the infant not developing cognitively or emotionally the way we would want them to. With the intervention of an IMH specialist, the infant and mother could both benefit. Infant Mental Health specialists not only focus on improving the mental health of infants, but of their caregivers as well. They try to stop the problem before it starts.

As stated before, this field is just beginning to blossom, and the research is relatively new. According to Clinicians who have started researching this topic, infants develop within the care given to them and their culture (McDonough, 2000; Minde, 2000; Osofsky, 1987; Zeanah, 2000). So, infants need trust in their caregivers in order to develop at the rate we would like to see. That by itself is enough to stress a parent out, add that to the fact that about 2/3 of the people who meet criteria for at least one mental health disorder are parents (Cullen, Matejkowski, Marcus, Solomon), and that creates a mix of parenting that can cause damage to an infant’s mental and physical health. When suffering from any psychiatric disorder, you can sometimes barely take care of yourself much less another human being, and babies require so much care and attention. If you have a good support system, the infant might fare better than if you are by yourself struggling to rear a child while dealing with a mental health disorder at the same time. More researchers are getting behind the idea of infant mental health. It is a field that conjoins multiple practices, and is family oriented (Perez, Peifer, Newman).

Those who are interested in IMH field are mainly those who love working with children and babies. If you have a passion for helping those who can’t really help themselves, or really love being around babies, then this might be a field to look into.

Support groups for moms can be found all over the world, from the United States all the way to the Middle East. People across the globe are realizing the mental state of the mother affects the mental state of the child. Many programs that offer infant mental health are including groups for mom. When people have others to talk to that are possibly going through the same thing, it makes it easier to cope, and to learn other ways of dealing with whatever they are dealing with. Of the 2/3 who suffer from mental health problems we discussed before, it is made up of over twice as many women than men (Atif, Krishna, Sikander, Lazarus, et all…). Moms are known for being the main caregiver for an infant, and it’s problematic that quite a few of them are suffering from mental health disorders. This makes mom support groups so important. People are more open to listening to others like them, who have possibly been through the same thing rather than a professional. The reason for this could be that sometimes professionals can be very abrupt and impersonal. Other programs that are closer to home include Tykes and Teens. They are an organization based in the Treasure Coast. Some of their programs include a suspension type program where you can send your child when they get suspended from school as a sort of intervention and further prevention. However, they also have an infant mental health program. They focus on children from ages 0-5, and they try to intervene, so a child can have a better chance at bouncing back from a traumatic event they may have experienced. Most find programs like these to be lifesavers.

In conclusion Infant Mental Health can be very good to help resilient children. Many professionals have spent their time and energy researching ways to avoid later mental health problems when these children become adults. Now, this does not mean that IMH gets rid of the risk 100%, but it can lower it. With the diathesis stress model, there is always a risk and predisposition for some to develop a psychiatric disorder. This field of study just allows for a better chance at a healthy life.

References

Atif, N., Krishna, R. N., Sikander, S., Lazarus, A., Nisar, A., Ahmad, I., . . . Rahman, A. (2017). Mother-to-mother therapy in India and Pakistan: Adaptation and feasibility evaluation of the peer-delivered Thinking Healthy Programme. BMC Psychiatry, 17(1). doi:10.1186/s12888-017-1244-z

Coates, D., Davis, E., & Campbell, L. (2016). The experiences of women who have accessed a perinatal and infant mental health service: A qualitative investigation. Advances in Mental Health, 15(1), 88-100. doi:10.1080/18387357.2016.1242374

Cullen, S. W., Matejkowski, J. C., Marcus, S. C., & Solomon, P. L. (2009). Maternal Mental Health and Pediatric Health Care Use Among a National Sample of Medicaid- and SCHIP-Insured Children. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 37(4), 443-460. doi:10.1007/s11414-009-9181-3

Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.zerotothree.org/espanol/infant-and-early-childhood-mental-health

Infant Mental Health. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.tykesandteens.org/infant-mental-health/

Vanderven, K. (n.d.). The Early Childhood Developmental Assets Framework as Intervention: Theoretical and Knowledge Base. Promoting Positive Development in Early Childhood, 107-145. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-79922-3_9

Zeanah, C. H., Boris, N. W., Heller, S. S., Hinshaw-Fuselier, S., Larrieu, J. A., Lewis, M., . . . Valliere, J. (1997). Relationship assessment in infant mental health. Infant Mental Health Journal, 18(2), 182-197. doi:10.1002/(sici)1097-0355(199722)18:23.0.co;2-r