In their every-day clinical work, child mental health clinicians are confronted with infants (children under three years of age) that exhibit emotional and behavioural difficulties. In most American states there is a mandate to identify and intervene when infants have developmental or risk factors. In some states, there is movement toward mandatory mental health evaluation of infants who enter foster care (such as Florida). Child clinicians in general have very little opportunity to be exposed to training in infant mental health, and particularly on the difficult question of "what to do" - how to intervene clinically. What are appropriate methods for different disorders, infants and families? This work deals with the most common and important problems in infant psychopathology (problems with trauma, sleep, feeding, excessive crying, attachment disruptions and so on) and how to evaluate them and treat them in infancy. It has an emphasis on the practical and "real world" problems, including those of multi-problem families under a great deal of stress. The models of intervention described here start from pregnancy through infancy; attachment issues and transgenerational themes are also covered. Experts from several countries share their clinical work and discuss clinical material presented to them.
ContributorsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I: Theoretical FrameworkChapter 1. The Place for InfancyChapter 2. Attachment, Trauma, and Self-Reflection: Implications for Later PsychopathologyChapter 3. Understanding of Mental States, Mother-Infant Interaction, and the Development of the SelfPart II: Therapeutic Approaches to Relationships and Their DisturbancesChapter 4. Promoting Maternal Role Attainment and Attachment During Pregnancy: The Parent-Child Communication Coaching ProgramChapter 5. Treatment of Attachment Disorders in Infant-Parent PsychotherapyChapter 6. Multimodal Parent-Infant PsychotherapyChapter 7. The Therapeutic ConsultationChapter 8. The Transgenerational Transmission of AbandonmentChapter 9. The Challenge of Multiple CaregiversPart III: Therapeutic Approaches to Psychophysiological DisturbancesChapter 10. Excessive and Persistent Crying: Characteristics, Differential Diagnosis, and ManagementChapter 11. Sleep Disorders in Infants and Young Children Chapter 12. Evaluation and Treatment of Eating and Feeding Disturbances of InfancyPart IV: Illustrative Case ExamplesChapter 13. A 3-Year-Old "Monster" Chapter 14. Physical Abuse and Neglect in the First 6 Months of Life: A Parent-Infant Psychotherapeutic ApproachIndex
