Recommendations for the Role of Social Service/Behavioral Health Consultants:
Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (ECMHC)
ECMHC includes culturally sensitive and primarily indirect services for children birth through six in group care and early education settings. Services include capacity building for staff and family members, directly observing children and the care giving environment, and designing interventions that involve changes in the behaviors of caregivers. ECMH consultants collaborate with administrators, staff, family members, and caregivers who intervene directly with children in group care, early education, and/or home settings. ECMHC is intended to promote social and emotional development in children and transform children’s challenging behaviors. Outcomes may be measured by the impact on children, parents, staff and programs. Consultation is offered by persons with formal preparation in children’s mental health and experience working with young children and their families.
- Early childhood behavioral health refers to a comprehensive perspective on social and emotional well-being in young children and on the processes that support it, including family and caregiver functioning and the context of young child-adult relationships.
Social service/behavioral health consultants serve as a resource and support to program directors, boards of directors, staff, and families to ensure that social/emotional needs of children are met.
- To make a difference in the lives of young children and their families, behavioral health consultants should identify the children’s social and emotional disorders, delays, and risk conditions and should design and implement appropriate interventions as early as possible.
Social service/behavioral health consultants should be called upon to assess,refer, and support programs and families with children who have social/emotional needs. In most cases, these services should include the perspectives of the health and education consultants who can together provide a comprehensive approach to addressing the needs of the child.
- Behavioral health consultants should understand that stable, nurturing, and enduring relationships are basic prerequisites for mental health.
An annual review should include inquiry into these relationships and recommendations support and improvement where necessary.
- Behavioral health consultants should promote administrator and staff well-being and functioning through training and ongoing, consistent consultation.
Social service/behavioral health consultants can develop relationships with staff, directors, and families through the services they provide. Training might include understanding and recognizing mental health needs, relationship building, parent education, awareness of community services, and social-emotional development. Ideally, all consultants work in partnership with directors to build responsiveness to child and family needs.
Examples of child-centered consultation services for staff:
• Conduct individual child observations
• Design and implement program practices responsive to the identified needs of an
individual child
• Support staff with individual child behavior and classroom management
• Provide one-on-one modeling or coaching for individual child support
• Provide crisis intervention services for staff regarding a child’s behavior
• Advise and assist staff in linking to community resources and services
• Provide support for reflective practices
Examples of family-centered consultation services for families:
• Offer training on behavior management techniques
• Provide one-on-one modeling for individual child support
• Educate parents on children’s mental health issues
• Refer parents for community mental health services
• Conduct home visits
• Advocate for parents
• Support parents in helping child
Practices Associated with the Consultative Stance
• Observing
• Understanding different perspectives
• Identifying and accepting feelings
• Information gathering
• Acknowledging and valuing the experience of others
• Sharing ideas clearly
• Soliciting ideas from others
• Developing hypotheses in collaboration
• Avoiding the “expert” posture
• Encouraging reflection
• Hearing and representing all voices, including the child
• Building on relationships
• Supporting step-by-step change, enduring set-backs, and holding out hope
Practices Associated with Integration of Consultation Services
• Agreement on a shared vision of early childhood mental health and consultation
• Defined roles and responsibilities
• Availability that meets the needs and styles of the staff, families, and program
• Clear, yet flexible, procedures for obtaining consultation services
• Flexibility and responsiveness on the part of the consultant
• Administrative sanction and support for consultation services
• Space and opportunities for one-on-one time, meeting with families, and other physical
requirements for consultation services
• Regular opportunities for formal and informal staff development
• Predictable, reliable, and responsive contact
• Cultural and linguistic competence
What Consultation Isn’t— It is Not Direct Service Intervention
Examples for children:
• Conduct formal child mental health diagnostic evaluations
• Provide direct therapeutic services
• Provide therapeutic play groups
• Provide one on one, individual child support
• Provide case management
Examples for families:
• Provide crisis intervention services for families
• Conduct family support groups
• Provide direct individual or family therapy services
Examples for staff:
• Provide direct individual therapy services
• Offer employee assistance counseling related to personal issues and job performance
Sources: US Dept. of Health and Human Services
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Mental Health Consultation in Child Care
Johnson and Brinamen
Zero to Three Press, 2006
Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation
Georgetown University
National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s Mental Health
John’s Hopkins University
Women’s and Children Health Policy Center
Portland State University
Research and Training Center on Family Support
and Children’s Mental Health
Please follow the link below to access the document
Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation that contains
additional recommendations for professional practice for
social service/mental health consultants.