Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC)

Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) is prevention-based service that pairs a mental health consultant with families and adults who work with infants and young children in the different settings where they learn and grow, such as child care, preschool, and their home. The aim is to build adults’ capacity to strengthen and support the healthy social and emotional development of children―early and before intervention is needed.

Both IECMHC and the Pyramid Model have a strong focus on the critical importance of positive relationships in the early years of a child’s development. Both approaches focus on building the capacity of professionals and families to support young children’s social emotional development. An IECMH consultant can support Pyramid Model implementation through consultation to the program leadership team, consultation to practitioners, and guiding the provision of supports and services to children and their families. The IEMHC might bring additional expertise to the Pyramid Model framework such as: considering trauma-informed care; curricula and/or strategies to enhance children’s positive relationship or attachment to caregivers; supporting staff and/or families experiencing depression and/or adversity, working with families with substance use problems, etc.

The Pyramid Consortium and the Alliance agree to promote their mutual commitment to workforce development across the infant-early childhood and family field through competency informed training. To do this, the two organizations partnered to develop a co-branded crosswalk across the Pyramid Model training modules and the Competency Guidelines®