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When children and adults have experienced trauma, mental health consultants can support families and staff. They can look for signs and symptoms and address the impact of trauma, such as challenging behaviors or more intense needs. Mental health consultants can also support children and adults impacted by secondary and vicarious trauma of others. Finally, they offer strategies in the long term, including how to set up trauma-informed programs and work with all as they develop concrete plans for moving forward in the recovery work.

Join the Office of Head Start (OHS) for a live webinar to explore the ways mental health consultants offer support by promoting positive social and emotional development. Hear from Dr. Sangeeta Parikshak, social science analyst at OHS, and Neal Horen, director of the early childhood division, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development. He also works with the National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness. They will engage in a question and answer (Q&A) session of how to hire and use the right mental health consultant for your program.

#HeadStartHeals Campaign

Find more trauma resources and strategies through OHS's #HeadStartHeals campaign. Program managers can use these resources to design quality improvements for their programs. Direct service staff can use promoted strategies to assist the children and families they serve. In the coming weeks, we will discuss:

• The intersection of substance use disorder and trauma and how Head Start programs can help
• Understanding trauma-informed care in high needs communities and in classroom settings
• Trauma and adult mental health

Additional Resources

Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation and Your Program
Infant and early childhood mental health consultation (IECMHC) is an intervention that teams a mental health professional with early care and education staff and families. This team works on ways to help promote the social and emotional development of the young children in their care. Explore these resources to learn how to support programs as they select consultants and enhance their IECMHC services.

Questions?

Send your trauma-related questions or comments to [email protected].