Infant Massage

Infant Massage is awesome!

I found these videos and wanted to share them with you.

Spread the word about the benefits of Infant Massage!

Free ‘2011 Infant Mental Health Guide’ ebook now available

The 2011 Infant Mental Health Guide is now available for you to read for free. It's a list of groups involved in Infant Mental Health in the United States.  I hope that by using the new online marketing tools we can help to connect people to Infant Mental Health and to each other.

Here's the file.  If you want to post it on your own site, or email it to your friends, please go right ahead.  The only rules are no changes, no commerce.

Happy reading and clicking. Spread the word.

Father to the Fatherless groups beginning in January 2011

On January 25 there will be two new F2F groups starting in the counseling center led by counselors Katie Comer and Caroline Marcos.  The groups will take place on Tuesday mornings (8:30-10:00 am) and evenings (5:30-7:00 pm). The group will be 13 weeks long and the basic premise and focus of the group is for:

-       Women who struggle with identity and self-worth
-       Women who did not have fathers (or other significant male figures) who were emotionally available
-       Women who have questions about their relationship patterns with men and how this might relate to their relationship with their father
-       Women who have a hard time seeing God as Father and accepting other characteristics of God
This is a therapeutic group therefore there will be a cost associated with each session which is lead by licensed counselors. The cost will be $40 per session and the book we will use will cost from $15-$16. We will have those books available for you at our first session. The morning group will meet every Tuesday starting promptly at 8:30 and ending at 10:00 am.  The evening group will meet every Tuesday starting promptly at 5:30 and ending at 7:00 from January 25 until April 19, 2011. Since we are limiting the number of people in the group we do ask that you come in for a screening interview on or before January 17, 2010.

We are very excited to be providing this group and cannot wait to get to know you more! Please let us know if you have any additional questions or concerns by e-mailing me at Katie.comer@houstonsfirst.org and if not please reserve your spot by coming in for a screening interview with either Katie Comer or Caroline Marcos. You can do so by calling the counseling center and making an appointment (713-335-6462). Please let them know you are coming in for the screening interview for the F2F group.

God Bless,

Katie Comer

Infant Mental Health in the context of Early Childhood Intervention

Here are three good questions about Infant Mental Health.

WHAT IS INFANT MENTAL HEALTH?

Babies and young children thrive when they are cared for by adults. Responsive relationships with consistent primary caregivers help build positive attachments that support healthy social-emotional development. These relationships form the foundation of mental health for infants, toddlers and preschoolers.

"Infant Mental Health" is defined as the healthy social and emotional development of a child from birth to 3 years; and a growing field of research and practice devoted to the:

* promotion of healthy social and emotional development;

* prevention of mental health problems; and

* treatment of the mental health problems of very young children in the context of their families.

WHAT ARE SOME RISK FACTORS THAT IMPACT INFANT MENTAL HEALTH?

* The impact of poverty
* Early parenthood
* Parental mental illness
* Maternal substance abuse
* Prematurity and serious medical conditions in infancy
* Exposure to violence and early childhood trauma

WHAT ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT ARE LINKED TO INFANT MENTAL HEALTH?

* Communication problems
* Autism/PDD
* Regulatory issues
* Sleep issues
* Feeding issues, failure to thrive, and obesity
* Attachment
* Posttramautic Stress
* Depression
* Aggressive behaviors

New research sheds light on early signs of autism

Though it’s baby steps in medical research, it could mean an enormous leap forward for the youngest of patients facing a lifelong diagnosis of autism.