Infant Mental Health and Attachment: Promoting Relationships in the Lives of Families and Young Children
This post-bachelor’s degree professional development opportunity is designed to enhance professional practice and understanding of early social and emotional development. In six sessions, participants will explore relationship-based principles and practices and dig deeper into attachment and its impact on brain development, children's development across domains, school readiness, and relationships across the lifespan. The training includes 18 hours of instructor-led classwork and 10 hours of required work, for a total of 28 hours. Your fee includes all required digital reading materials.
Credentialing
This professional development training meets competencies required for the Virginia Association for Infant Mental Health Endorsement for Culturally-Sensitive, Relationship-Focused Practice Promoting Infant Mental Health. Upon successful completion of this 28-hour professional development activity, you will receive a Certificate of Completion from VCU Continuing and Professional Education and Early Childhood Mental Health Virginia Initiative (ECMHVA)* based at the VCU Partnership for People with Disabilities.
*ECMHVA is a statewide initiative focused on the development, implementation and sustainability of a comprehensive and coordinated early childhood system of care for infant and early childhood mental health serving children birth through age six and their families/caregivers and providers.
Register now for Infant Mental Health and Attachment>
Instructor
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Tracy Ellis Walters M.Ed, IMH-E, ECSE, EOLD
Infant Family Specialist, IMH-E®
Tracy Walters is a team member in the Office of Child and Family Services at the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. She currently serves as Virginia’s Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Coordinator.
Read more about Walters
Tracy has devoted 35 years of service to Early Childhood Education and Early Intervention with a focus on Mental Health for young children in the last 12 years. Tracy has served children and families in both the public and private sector throughout her career. Some of Tracy’s engagements beyond her state appointment include serving as the Board President for the Virginia Association for Infant Mental Health, serves on the Virginia Mental Health Access Project advisory Board, and an adjunct faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University. Tracy engages in Speaker appointments at both National and local conferences as an advocate for Infant and Early childhood mental health for our youngest citizens. Prior to her current engagement, she served as the Site Director for VCU Health Systems Family Care Services Unit for 28 years working with children, families and educators. Tracy’s work also encompassed studying the Reggio Emilia Schools in Italy and working for Richmond City and Chesterfield County public schools as an Early Childhood Special Educator. Tracy is truly passionate about providing information and education on the importance of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health. She views IECMH work as vital to a child’s overall health and development and believes that it serves as a leveraging tool for social justice. She resides in the City of Richmond and enjoys supporting local businesses and is a patron of the Arts.
Educational Journey:
M.ED, Special Education, Early Intervention, Virginia Commonwealth University
B.A., Interdisciplinary Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University
Notable Endorsements:
- IMH-II Leadership/Infant-Toddler Mental Health
- IMH-E Infant Toddler Mental Health Specialist
- Dementia Champion
- EOLD /End of Life Doula
Featured guest speakers
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Aradhana Bela Sood, MD, MSHA, FAACAP
Read about Aradhana
Dr. Sood is professor, psychiatry and pediatrics and senior professor of child mental health policy with the Virginia Treatment Center for Children (VTCC) at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Previously she served at the medical director of the VTCC. For the past four years, she has focused efforts on prevention in child mental health and developing an attachment clinic for the VCU Health System. This supports work that improves education in early childhood and infancy for all caregivers who interact with children and violence prevention efforts. She has edited two books on mental health policy and prevention in children’s mental health.
Dr. Sood has decades of experience in leading and working on varied task forces and committees focused on mental health. Recent activity includes an appointment by Governor Northam in 2018 to the Governor's working group on trauma-informed care to children in the commonwealth of Virginia. She was honored with the 2018 Virginia Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics Advocate of the Award in the pediatric General Assembly day. Dr. Sood completed her Doctor of Medicine (MD) from India, her residency at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, and a child psychiatry fellowship at Ohio State University. She joined VCU in 1988. She is a 2002 Fellow of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) through Drexel University. In addition, she completed a Master’s of Science in Health Administration at VCU.
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Jackie Robinson Brock, MSW, Infant Mental Health Mentor-Policy, IMH-E®️
Read about Brock
Jackie Robinson Brock earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) with a concentration in Social Work Administration, Planning, and Policy Practice (SWAPP). She also obtained a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at VCU. She is employed by the VCU Partnership for People with Disabilities, and is endorsed as an Infant Mental Health Mentor-Policy, IMH-E®️. At the Partnership, Jackie serves as a program specialist in early childhood and health and works on a variety of projects. Jackie is the assistant director of the Virginia Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program. She is Virginia’s workforce collaboration director-infant and early childhood mental health, and is the director for an Early Intervention Project, ECHO. Jackie currently serves as the project coordinator for the I-CAN! Accessibility Project, which is a partnership project between the VCU School of Social Work and the VCU Partnership for People with Disabilities. This project seeks to increase equal access to the courts for people with disabilities. Before working at the Partnership, Jackie worked with children and families in a transitional homeless shelter, and as a lead teacher in childcare settings. Her interest areas include disability, domestic violence and sexual assault prevention, early childhood, homelessness, and the justice of Indigenous people. Jackie primarily engages in advocacy and research to promote environmental systems change.
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Judith Martens, LCSW, IMH-E IV Clinical
Read about Martens
Judith Martens, LSCW, IMH-IV, is a licensed clinical social worker with over 25 years of experience working as a parent-child psychotherapist and reflective supervisor in early childhood mental health programs in New York and Florida before moving to Virginia where she was the director of training and professional development for family and center-based child care providers for eleven years. While in Florida, Ms. Martens spent eight years working with Head Start programs in developing a comprehensive model for mental health services. Currently, she is self-employed as a reflective supervision facilitator, consultant and trainer. She is an endorsed Infant Mental Health (IMH) Mentor and has participated in the Reflective Supervision Symposiums sponsored by the Alliance for the Advancement of IMH for the past three years.
Workshop Requirements
Participants are expected to attend all sessions, complete assigned reading and materials prior to sessions, participate in reading-based group discussions, and complete a reflection journal and group project.
Digital Learning Materials
Participants will have access to learning materials through VCU Canvas Catalog. This includes complimentary access to a digital pack containing all readings with a value of over $200.
Expectations
Through this training activity, you will:
- Read assigned articles prior to the session and be prepared to discuss in small and large groups; and
- Create a reflection journal that explores how you will integrate new knowledge into your work with young children and their families
Who Should Attend
This professional development training is designed for early childhood and other professionals working with children birth to age six in any discipline. A minimum of a bachelor’s degree is required.
Professionals appropriate for this training include early care and education teachers; home visitors; developmental specialists; occupational, speech or physical therapists; social workers; counselors; medical practitioners; early interventionists; special education teachers; university faculty; policymakers, and administrators.
If you have questions about whether this professional development training would be beneficial to you, please contact VCU Continuing and Professional Education at ocpe@vcu.edu or (804) 828-1322.
Continuing Education Units
Participants have the option to earn 2.8 CEUs for completing the 28-hour training, which includes 18 hours of instructional time, with the remaining time spent on outside readings and projects in the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS). If you would like to earn CEUs, select this option at registration. There is an additional fee of $30.
Location
Synchronous live online
Our Zoom sessions are in real-time and offer an opportunity to interact with the instructor and other participants.
Attendance and Participation
You are required to have your camera on during these sessions to allow for verified engagement. VCU expects that students limit outside distractions, remain in one location for the duration of the session (no driving/errands), and actively participate in group discussions and activities. Participants must attend the full workshop to receive a certificate of completion.
Certificate
After your facilitator confirms you satisfied the workshop requirements, VCU will send you a link for you to certify your participation and receive your electronic certificate. Your certificate will be immediately available for download and automatically emailed to you.
Cancellation and Refund Policies
You may cancel your registration up until the date listed on the registration page, and receive a full refund minus a $35 credit card processing fee. Cancellations must be received via email at ocpe@vcu.edu.
In the unlikely event that this workshop is cancelled or postponed due to insufficient enrollments or unforeseen circumstances, the university will fully refund registration fees, but cannot be held responsible for any other expenses, including change or cancellation charges to include but not limited to airlines, hotels, travel agencies, or other organizations.
Transfer Policy
Workshop registrations may be transferred to a different person if requested in writing via email at ocpe@vcu.edu by the date listed on the registration page. The participant must meet all prerequisites or qualifications required by the program.
Questions?
For registration questions, contact VCU Continuing and Professional Education at ocpe@vcu.edu or call (804)-828-1322. For questions regarding the training content, or the Virginia Endorsement for Infant Mental Health, please contact Jackie Robinson Brock, MSW at robinsonjb3@vcu.edu.
