The Harris Institute
Harris Infant Mental Health Certification
Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: A Dynamic, Rapidly Growing Field
Several decades of research have clearly demonstrated the importance of a child’s earliest years. Most importantly, the relationships formed with parents and caregivers during this time establish the foundation for all future development – intellectual, social, emotional, physical and behavioral.
Research has also shown that behavioral and mental health problems can emerge in infants, toddlers and preschoolers. If left undiagnosed and untreated, resulting problems can include school failure, child abuse, delinquency and mental illness.
The increased recognition of young children’s critical and unique needs has revealed a severe shortage of professionals knowledgeable in this field. As one of a handful of prestigious Harris programs in the country, and the only one in the Southwest, the Harris Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Training Institute seeks to fill this knowledge gap through two state-of-the-art training programs.
Typically, each program requires an in-person commitment of one day per month throughout the duration of the program, but during the coronavirus pandemic, all training sessions are being offered virtually. In-person sessions will resume when it is safe to return to a classroom setting.