Who We Are
The Iowa Association for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IAIECMH) is a committed group of professionals who understand and value the role of mental health among young children and their families, and actively strive to deliver quality services to professionals who support children’s social, emotional and behavioral development.
Our Strategic Goals:
- Enhance the quality and capacity of Iowa’s early childhood professionals to meet the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of young children and their families.
- Increase public awareness and understanding of the need for high quality, nurturing relationships during infancy and early childhood.
- Promote comprehensive and integrated services and supports for those working together to help children achieve their full social and emotional potential.
Preventive and promotive efforts
Preventive and promotive efforts focused on advocacy are crucial in the context of early childhood development, due to the significant brain growth and neuroplasticity that occur from birth to age 5. During this critical period, a child’s brain is at its most malleable and responsive to the environment.
HERE’S WHY OUR EFFORTS ARE SO IMPORTANT:
OPTIMAL BRAIN DEVELOPMENT:
In the first five years, the brain develops rapidly, forming neural connections at an unprecedented rate. Advocacy for enriching environments and positive experiences during this time can significantly influence a child’s cognitive, emotional, and social development.
FOUNDATION FOR LIFELONG LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR:
The experiences and interactions a child has in these early years lay the foundation for their future learning, behavior, and health. Preventive and promotional advocacy can ensure that children are exposed to stimuli that promote healthy brain development, setting them on a path for success in later life.
EARLY INTERVENTION:
Advocacy plays a key role in identifying and addressing developmental delays or emotional challenges early. Since the brain is most adaptable during these early years, interventions can be more effective, potentially reducing the need for more intensive support later in life and these concerns resulting in mental health disorders.
SHAPING RESILIENCE:
Early experiences, both positive and negative, can shape a child's resilience. Advocacy for supportive, nurturing environments helps in building a resilient framework in the brain, enabling children to better cope with stress and adversity as they grow.
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
Advocacy for emotional and social support systems is crucial during this period as these elements are integral to a child's overall development. Healthy social and emotional development leads to better outcomes in terms of mental health and interpersonal relationships.
LONG-TERM SOCIETAL BENEFITS:
Investing in infant and early childhood mental health not only benefits individual children but also yields long-term societal benefits. It can lead to a healthier population, reducing societal costs in health care, education, and social services.
Endorsement Spotlight
Nikolyn (Niki) Kredit
Niki Kredit, RN, BSN, CLC is a Family Support Specialist at Community Health Partners working in the Healthy Families program where she has been since 2001. Niki is endorsed as an Infant Family Specialist. She has vast experience working with families and children on bonding and attachment, parent-child interaction, growth and development, maternal postpartum depression, and safe and healthy parenting all from a trauma-informed perspective.
Endorsement Spotlight
Kere Hughes-Belding
Kere Hughes-Belding, Ph.D, IMH-E® is a Professor in the Human Development and Family Studies department at Iowa State University. She is endorsed as an Infant Mental Health-Mentor-Research/Faculty. Kere conducts research in early childhood home visiting and mental health consultation. She also teaches graduate courses in infant mental health and research methods. Kere’s passion is to support those who support caregivers, whether they are family members or early childhood educators. What she loves most about the infant mental health perspective is the focus on well-being and healing processes through relationships and, most importantly, the impacts of adult healing and health on young children. Kere’s geeky side also loves to think about how we can better implement the parallel processes inherent in this approach! She says the endorsement process stretched her in ways that helped me learn more about areas she had not been trained in, and that expanded her knowledge base. Also, she has connected with so many amazing colleagues through endorsement.
Endorsement Spotlight
Stephanie McFarland
Stephanie McFarland, LISW, IMH-E®, has over 20 years of experience providing mental health treatment, focusing on developmental concerns, transition challenges, and issues in later adulthood. She earned her psychology degree from the University of Northern Iowa and her M.S.W. from the University of Iowa in 1997. Stephanie specializes in helping professionals working with children and adolescents, serving as an Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant for 5 years and as an initial board member of the Iowa Association for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health. Endorsed as an Infant Mental Health Family Specialist, she has been involved in Reflective Consultation since 2018, providing groups and training to professionals since 2023. Stephanie also conducts a pilot program with the Department of Health and Human Services on providing Reflective Consultation to child welfare caseworkers and supervisors, promoting the benefits of reflective practice. She encourages professionals to join a Reflective Consultation group, highlighting the benefits described by Zero to Three as a way to embed reflective principles in daily work.
Endorsement Spotlight
Emily Brott
As the Early Childhood Social Worker for the West Des Moines Community School District, Emily supports caregivers of children in our inclusive preschool classrooms. After completing the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant (IECMHC) Orientation Training, she felt compelled to earn my Early Childhood Family Specialist Endorsement. Through the consultation process, Emily helps caregivers reflect on the needs their children are communicating with behavior which effectively increases caregivers capacity to support their children’s emotional development. Emily is passionate about serving families during the early childhood years when interventions have optimal results. By far the most satisfying part of this work is the relationships that I have developed with families using this model!
Endorsement Spotlight
Gwen Doland
Gwen, LMHC, CADC, IMH-E® is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) with over 20 years of experience. She is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC) and is endorsed as an Infant Mental Health Mentor-Clinical. Throughout her career, Gwen has worked extensively with young children and parents in various clinical settings. She has worked in a long-term women and children’s substance abuse program, provided in-home services to families involved in the child welfare system, and served as a clinician and clinical director in an outpatient mental health setting. Gwen’s expertise extends across the lifespan, and she has a strong background in providing evidence-based therapies. She takes an integrative approach, incorporating infant mental health , adult mental health, substance abuse treatment, peer recovery support, and intimate partner violence services into her practice. Gwen’s work has given her a profound understanding of family needs , which fuels her passion in her role as Clinical Manager with Safe Babies, a program of ZERO TO THREE, in providing training and technical assistance to the child welfare sector specific to the Safe Babies approach and broader systems level work that is anchored in infant early childhood mental health.
Members
Thank you to our organization level memberships.
Interested in becoming an Organizational Member?
Contact us at promotingmentalhealthiowa@gmail.com
Upcoming Events
Using the DC: 0-5: A Comprehensive Approach to Young Children’s Mental Health.
April 10 @ 9:00 am - April 11 @ 4:00 pmJoin us for a DC:0-5 training, where we will focus on addressing young children’s menta...
Want to learn more?
Our goal is to enhance the quality and capacity of Iowa’s early childhood professionals to meet the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of young children and their families. Contact us to learn more about us, our services or how you can get involved.