Infant & Child Mental Health Post-baccalaureate Certificate Program
Offered by the Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Women & Infants Hospital, and Brown University Office of Continuing Education
Brown University's Certificate Program in Infant and Child Mental Health provides professional training to clinicians and researchers through classroom and clinical experience, with an optional research track.
In this two-year program, students gain an in-depth understanding of the developmental, neurobehavioral, and psychological aspects of infant and early childhood mental health (through five years of age), as well as “hands on” practical experience in a variety of clinical settings.
An interdisciplinary approach welcoming practitioners from many fields
The program is open to licensed masters and doctoral level professionals or those in training for licensure.
Prospective students come from many disciplines including psychology, psychiatry, pediatrics, nursing, social work, occupational therapy, physical therapy, early intervention, and speech pathology.
Participants gain supervised “in vivo” clinical experience in a variety of hospital-based clinics that provide treatment services to families in the community.
Eligibility: Applicants must be a licensed practitioner in their field or in training for licensure.
Courses do not have prerequisites because course work will have been covered by virtue of the applicants already having a degree or being in a degree program.
The Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk—A recognized research center and provider of Infant Mental Health instruction
The Center, part of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital, is home to outstanding interdisciplinary research, education, and clinical services on the biological and social factors that determine the developmental outcome of at-risk children.
The Brown Center for Children at Risk is dedicated to:
- Advancing theories of the developmental pathways from fetal and infancy periods in at-risk children
- Enhancing synergy between research and clinical practice that advances child development research, intervention programs, and social policy
- Training scientists and practitioners in interdisciplinary methods from the field of child development.
The Center’s faculty is interdisciplinary and spans the disciplines of developmental and clinical psychology, pediatrics, psychiatry, nursing, occupational therapy, social work, substance abuse, and public health. The Center focuses on the translational work that occurs at the boundaries where disciplines intersect, leading to new science and the combination of science and clinical practice.
Two Tracks of Study for the Certificate Program: Clinical or Clinical and Research
The Clinical Track Core Curriculum consists of:
- Seminar in Infant and Child Mental Health
- Practicum in Infant and Child Mental Health
- Two Summer Workshops
The Clinical and Research Track requires a supervised research mentorship experience in addition to the Core Curriculum.
| Clinical Track | Clinical and Research Track |
|---|---|
| Course 1 - Seminar (2 Credits) |
Course 1 - Seminar (2 Credits) |
| Course 2 - Practicum (2 Credits) |
Course 2 - Practicum (2 Credits) |
| Course 3 - Research (1 Credit) |
|
| Workshop 1 (Summer) | Workshop 1 (Summer) |
| Workshop 2 (Summer) | Workshop 2 (Summer) |
Two Tracks of Study:
Clinical Track Core Curriculum
The Clinical track consists of two courses, each two years long—Seminar in Infant and Child Mental Health and the Practicum in Infant and Child Mental Health—and two, non-credit, summer workshops.
Seminar in Infant and Child Mental Health
Syllabus
The Seminar is about the science of infant mental health and includes the history, theory, research and practice in this field. Models of development include understanding the infant in context with an emphasis on parent-child relationships, family history and dynamics as well as social, economic, and cultural factors. The emerging neurobiology of infant mental health includes genetic, epigenetic and neural mechanisms. Developmental psychopathology provides a basis for understanding the role of risk and protective factors and processes that lead to maladaptive developmental trajectories. Behavioral disorders of infancy and early childhood are discussed in terms of diagnosis and classification. This leads to assessment, intervention and prevention including the evidence base for these programs. The importance of parents in their children’s lives will be explored from a developmental perspective. How to involve parents in clinical work with their children, address parental concerns, and the impact of parental and family factors on child psychological well-being will be addressed. Legal, ethical and social policy issues are also discussed. The seminar also includes two “renown” outside speakers per semester who will present a public lecture for the Brown community at large as well as presenting a lecture in the seminar.
Practicum in Infant Mental Health
Syllabus
The Practicum takes advantage of clinical services at the Brown Center for Children (BCC) and other hospital based services which address complex situations that contribute to infants being considered at-risk for mental health disorders.
During the first year, one session each week will focus on assessment and diagnosis. Students will learn the assessment tools and diagnostic criteria used in the various clinics. This will be done through faculty demonstration and observation of patients within the clinic and/or hospital services. Other sessions will be devoted to observation of the varied treatment/ interventions being provided in the individual clinics. The students will rotate through the services and have the opportunity to spend at least two sessions in each of the 12 Clinics listed below.
During the second year, students will receive individual clinical supervision in the clinics. Students will be paired with faculty, and depending on their level of training and experience, participate with the faculty in clinical sessions. Each student will have the opportunity to be supervised for four weeks in six of the clinics.
Practicum Training Clinics
| Service | Description | Type of Practicum Study |
|---|---|---|
| Behavior and Development Clinic | psychological and developmental testing and treatment of disorders of early childhood | Out-patient Services (BCC) |
| Infant Behavior, Cry and Sleep (“Colic Clinic”) | multidisciplinary approach to infant cry and sleep problems | Out-patient Services (BCC) |
| Autism Spectrum Disorders Clinic | assessment and diagnosis, child psychiatric and behavioral consultation | Out-patient Services (BCC) |
| Vulnerable Infants Program (VIP) | services to families in which prenatal substance use led to Child Protective Services involvement | Out-patient Services (BCC) |
| NICU Developmental Therapy | assessment and intervention for infants with developmental or feeding concerns | In-Patient (Women and Infants Hospital) |
| NICU Family Psychosocial Service | mental health services for parents of infants in the NICU | Out-patient (Women and Infants Hospital) |
| Neurobehavioral Consult Service | newborn neurobehavioral concerns | In-patient (Women and Infants Hospital) |
| Neonatal Follow-up Program | assessment and clinical management of high risk NICU infants | Out-patient (Women and Infants Hospital) |
| Day Hospital | mothers with mood disorders | Out-patient (Women and Infants Hospital) |
| Early Childhood Clinical Research Center | study and treatment of young children at risk for serious mental disorders and their families | Out-patient (Bradley Hospital) |
| Pediatric Partial Program | treatment of children with significant impairment in behavioral, emotional, cognitive, social, or family functioning | In-patient (Bradley Hospital) |
| Primary Care Program | behavioral concerns in context of routine health check-ups | Out-patient (Hasbro) |
Clinical and Research Track
Syllabus
In addition to the Clinical Track Core Curriculum, the Clinical and Research track offers a supervised research mentorship experience. Students in the research track will work with a faculty mentor on a project based on the mentor’s research program and the interests of the student. The student will be involved in “hands on” research and will be required to complete a research project approved by the mentor. Research skills to be acquired include: identification of the study question or hypothesis; literature search; selection of measures; collection of data; data analysis; interpretation of findings, writing a report following the format of professional journals. The student will present the completed project to the entire faculty and students at the end of their research experience.
Workshops
A Relationship-Based Approach to Developmental Support of High Risk Infants and Their Families in the NICU
NICU Family Psychosocial Mental-Health Program
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT): Training and Certification
Fetal Neurobehavioral Assessment: Use in Clinical Populations
Substance-Exposed Infants and Their Families: Evaluation and Treatment
NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS): Training and Certification
Sleep Problems: Assessment, Diagnosis, Treatment
Colic: Assessment, Diagnosis and Treatment
Behavioral Medicine Approaches to Childhood Obesity
Differential Diagnosis of Disorders of Early Childhood
Autism Spectrum Disorders: Assessment and Differential Diagnosis