Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH)
Mecklenburg County Public Health provides comprehensive assessment and evidence-based services for children from birth to 3 years old, addressing early trauma, attachment, behavior concerns, and parenting support.
Why Focus on Early Childhood Mental Health?
Mental health in childhood involves reaching emotional and developmental milestones, building social skills, and learning to cope with challenges. Supporting young children early on promotes long-term well-being and helps prevent more serious issues as the child grows. Early intervention gives families the tools to manage stress and emotions in healthy ways.
What We Offer
We believe this program fills a gap in accessible IECMH services.
Our in-home and community-based services can help with the following:
- Feeling overwhelmed with being a new parent
- Helping build a strong relationship with their baby or toddler
- Helping support their child with regulating emotions and behavior
- Dealing with difficult events such as-loss of a loved one, frequent moves or changes in caregivers, scary events such as break-ins, car accidents, or community violence
- Ongoing significant stress due to divorce, substance use or domestic violence at home
Our licensed clinicians use the following evidence-based IECMH practice models during sessions:
- Child Parent Psychotherapy: Child-Parent Psychotherapy is an evidence-based treatment for young children who have experienced trauma or show signs of mental health, attachment, or behavioral issues, including PTSD. It supports healing and recovery for young children and their families after stressful events.
- Attachment Biobehavioral Catch-Up: Evidence-based practice model focusing on helping caregivers respond to their child’s signals and to help children to learn to regulate emotions and behaviors. This model primarily focuses on 6- to 24-month-old children (infants) OR 24- to 36-month-old children (early childhood).
Eligibility
Eligible families reside in Mecklenburg County, have young children (ages 3 years and younger), and are demonstrating concerns with any of the above issues. When you are ready to make a referral, call 980-314-9690 or complete our short online referral form. Please indicate interest in the IECMH program.
Complete the Referral Form
Events
Resources
- Zero to Three
Zero to Three’s Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Guiding Principles
- American Academy of Pediatrics
American Academy of Pediatrics – Healthy Mental & Emotional Development: 4 Key Building Blocks