Early childhood mental health consultation

This monograph builds upon a two-day roundtable meeting that was funded by the Special Program Development Branch, Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The meeting brought together key stakeholders from the early education and child care fields with family members, mental health practitioners and administrators, and federal, state, and community agency representatives to share their state-of-the-art thinking on promoting healthy development among infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children, in early childhood settings through mental health consultation. The monograph describes an early childhood mental health perspective, defines types of mental health consultation, and provides examples of the essential features of consultation, including challenges and strategies in the consulting process. A vignette illustrates the nuances of the process, and descriptions of programs implementing early childhood mental health consultation are included.