What is Infant Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH)? 

The New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD), has a developed an Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMHC) focus called the Social and Emotional Early Development (SEED) Initiative, which offers free IECMHC Consultation in early learning environments through pairing mental health professionals with early childhood educators. 

By collaborating with the primary people in children’s lives, the SEED Initiative will help ensure that all New Mexico families are thriving.

Early education can be rewarding for both educators and the young students they teach – but it can also be stressful. When children experience family trauma or other personal struggles, it can lead to behaviors that caregivers can find challenging. That’s why it is so important that early childhood professionals, children, and their families have access to supportive mental health professionals that can help navigate these underlying issues. 

IECMHC is a collaborative, relationship-focused approach to strengthening the caregiver’s ability to promote and enhance children’s social emotional development. In addition, IECMHC offers the ability for adults in those children’s lives to gain reflective skills and build their confidence in supporting the children in their care. IECMHC consultants develop relationships with adults and caregivers in young children’s lives and help build their capacity and skills to strengthen and support children’s social and emotional development.