University of Oregon Infant Mental Health Program

 
 

The Infant Mental Health Program (IMHP) at the University of Oregon is a new, interdisciplinary basic science and translational research effort designed to (a) identify early risk processes that cause childhood psychopathology and (b) utilize translational research strategies to target malleable risk factors. Through research and intervention we strive to meet the developmental and mental health needs of Oregon infants.

The Infant Mental Health Program represents a collaboration among local (and national) scientists seeking to identify the causal processes that give rise to childhood psychopathology, with a particular interest in the earliest periods of human development. Currently funded areas of scientific activity include:

            ♦ Stress-impacted prenatal development
            ♦ Maternal sensitivity and its role in epigenesis
            ♦ Parent-infant biobehavioral co-regulation
            ♦ Early adversity and neurodevelopment
            ♦ Neurobiological plasticity

As processes and mechanisms come to light within these areas, they will sharpen our understanding of how specific forms of psychopathology take hold during childhood.


Treatment & Intervention

The IMHP is a new program for Oregon infants, toddlers and their families. The IMHP consists of ongoing clinical intervention studies in 3 primary areas:

            ♦ Colic and Fussy Baby Program
            ♦ Preparation for Parenthood Program
            ♦ Infant-parent relationship development and support

Community agencies are invited to refer families to any of our research programs.


Training

Consistent with the goals of the Clinical Psychology Program in the Department of Psychology at the University of Oregon, the IMHP trains students in evidenced based assessment and treatment practices appropriate for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and their parents. Infant and young child mental health is a discipline that targets the psychological development of children from infancy through their preschool years. It emphasizes the assessment and treatment of infants’ and young children’s capacity to experience, regulate and express emotions, to form secure interpersonal relationships, to learn and explore their environment, and to meet expected cognitive and socioemotional developmental milestones. All of this development transpires within the context of early relationships, which are almost always the primary target of early intervention.

Assessment and treatment of the socioemotional, cognitive, and behavioral health of infants and toddlers present clinicians with distinct challenges. Effective assessment and treatment presupposes an understanding of the characteristics of healthy development and the mechanisms of risk and protection. Clinical scientist and practitioners agree that best practices in early childhood mental health assessment and treatment involve sensitivity not only to the nuances of baby’s or young children’s behavior, but also to parent-child interaction patterns, family dynamics, environmental support, and cultural expectations. Concurrently, the rapidly changing nature of early development demands that expectations be anchored to age-appropriate markers that change regularly and that caregivers be supported to change their parenting strategies in a sensitive and adaptive manner.


Academic Advisors to IMHP

            Dare Baldwin, PhD
            Alice Carter, PhD
            Philip Cowan, PhD
            Carolyn Pape Cowan, PhD
            Megan Gunnar, PhD
            Helena C. Kraemer, PhD
            Joan Luby, PhD
            Helen Neville, PhD
            Joel Nigg, PhD
            Jane Squires, PhD
            Ayelet Talmi, PhD

 

Overview

Training Personnel