Infant Mental Health: Embodied Practice In The Space Of Emergent Development

February 1, 2022, 1 – 4:15 p.m. ET
Instructor: Ken Kessel, LCSW
Live interactive webinar
Level: Intermediate
CEs: 3 CEs are available for $10 fee
Review CE accreditation and approvals for this course.

“An infant grows into the world as the world grows into the infant.” What could be more intersectional? This workshop will explore the resonant space of the infant, the world and the adult and how they emerge together. It will provide an overview of infant mental health, speaking on three sets of competencies:

Familiarity with emergent development
Familiarity with how emergent development relates to family, culture and environment
How the clinician navigates these spaces effectively

Participants will explore the concepts of resonance (the flow of the interaction between the child and the caretaker and environment) and the more knowledgeable other (which is understood as the desirable characteristics of the caretakers) that aids in a child’s emergence.

Participants will explore the dimensions of emergent development and the elements that shape, support and inhibit this. What are the factors of normative development, and how do they appear in any given culture? What are the essential supportive characteristics of the more knowledgeable other? As providers, how do we live, breathe, see and respond in this shared space?

Finally, participants will look at the rich world of play and what it teaches us. Using that as a platform, participants will explore what personal qualities make clinicians a strong partner for the child in their emergent development, as well as an effective support for families and schools. This workshop will provide an opportunity for clinicians to discover the world of preverbal development and what children require to grow.