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Infant & Early Childhood
Mental Health Consultation
What Is Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation?
Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) is an evidence-based, relationship-centered approach to supporting caregivers and professionals when caring for young children feels complex, challenging, or emotionally demanding.
Consultation focuses on understanding children’s behavior within the context of relationships, environments, and systems — strengthening the adults who care for them.
Why Consultation Matters
Research supports the efficacy of consultation to improve children’s social and emotional functioning, promote healthy relationships, reduce challenging behaviors, decrease suspensions and expulsions, improve classroom quality, and reduce provider stress, burnout, and turnover.
Center of Excellence for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (2024).
How Consultation is Structured
Consultation is offered through regularly scheduled, ongoing engagement with early childhood programs and other settings working with young children.
This structure allows time for reflection, relationship-building, and support before challenges escalate, rather than only in response to crisis.
A Reflective, Ongoing Approach
This work is grounded in regularly scheduled, ongoing consultation that allows time for reflection, relationship-building, and sustained growth. Consistent consultation supports caregivers and professionals in strengthening practice, increasing confidence, and reducing burnout over time.
The Consultation Process
The consultation process may include observation, reflective practice, meetings with parents and invested professionals, goal setting, coaching, modeling, referrals, and psychoeducation. This structure allows consultation to attend to both program-level dynamics and family experience when appropriate.
"Behavior is communication. The more challenging the behavior, the more important it is to understand the meaning behind it."
-Claudia M. Gold