Infant and early childhood mental health: Connecting with children and families
On-demand recorded 31 Mar 2022
GPs play a crucial role in the mental health and wellbeing of infants and young children. Based on a case study with a focus on practice, this webinar will explore key concepts and evidence of infant and early childhood mental health, and the importance of using a child-centred and family-focused approach. The practice skills required to effectively engage and connect with young children and their families, and related practice challenges will also be discussed.
The panellists will also respond to practice challenges raised by webinar participants.
Learning outcomes
- Identify key concepts in infant and early childhood mental health including the common mental health conditions experienced by infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers.
- Describe the importance and phases of a child-centred and family-focused approach to responding to infant and child mental health concerns.
- Apply skills in engaging and connecting with young children and their families.
This event attracts 3 CPD points
This event is part of Emerging Minds webinar series. Events in this series are:
Host
Dr James Best
FRACGP and Chair RACGP Specific Interests Child and Young Person’s Health
Dr James Best is Chair of the RACGP Specific Interests Child and Young Person’s Health Network and he has been a general practitioner for over twenty years. His medical practice has a special focus on child development, child behaviour, parenting and children with disabilities. He has been widely published in medical and mainstream publications on these and other child health topics
Presenters
Dr Cathy Andronis
Chair, RACGP Specific Interests Psychological Medicine
Dr Cathy Andronis works as a GP and psychotherapist in inner Melbourne and is a qualified family therapist.
She is RACGP Specific Interests Psychological Medicine Chair, a member of the Victorian RACGP–RANZP liaison subcommittee, and is the RACGP representative for Mental Health Australia and the MHPN clinical education committee.
Cathy is an experienced facilitator of case consultation groups for the RACGP and the Australian Society for Psychological Medicine (ASPM) and a provider of clinical supervision. She is the GP lead at Deakin University Eastern Health Clinical School.
Melissa McCosker
Melissa is a busy lawyer who is also a mother of 2 young children aged 5 and 17 months, who lives in NSW. She has lived experience with a variety of services. Melissa has been selected as a member of the newly formed Emerging Minds Family Forum and is enjoying contributing.
Dr Ewa Bodnar
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
Dr Ewa Bodnar is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist working at the Queensland Centre for Perinatal and Infant Mental Health (QCPIMH) within the Zero to Four Child and Youth Mental Health Service (CYMHS). Ewa’s role is a combination of direct clinical service delivery as the clinical lead of the infant mental health team, supporting state-wide development and training of the infant mental health workforce, and advocacy for the needs of infants.