Understanding and supporting infant mental health

Infant mental health is a child’s capacity to experience and express emotions, develop relationships, learn from and explore their surroundings. All infants experience mental health on a continuum from healthy to unwell. An infant’s mental health can be understood within the context of a range of risk and protective factors, including their personality and temperament, their family/caregiving context, and their wider social and physical environment.Signs of infant mental health struggles vary and include psychological, emotional and social symptoms. As these struggles emerge, practitioners working with infants and/or their caregivers can play a significant role in the early identification and support of infant mental health, and can promote recovery and resilience. It is important that practitioners feel confident to have sensitive and non-stigmatising conversations with caregivers about infant mental health and wellbeing.This webinar will support practitioners to:

develop understandings of infant health and wellbeing that can underpin conversations with caregivers
identify signs that infants might be struggling
start useful conversations with caregivers around infant mental health and wellbeing.

This webinar will be of interest to professionals working with infants and/or their caregivers across early learning and care services, maternal and child health and other family support services. It will be particularly useful for practitioners who are not specialists in infant mental health.