2025 Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) Summit Schedule & Session Details

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Facilitator(s)

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Changing the Conditions – Nurturing the Workforce Our Communities Need by Practicing Disability Justice

Disability Justice offers us a framework to develop organizational cultures that are not just anti-racist and anti-ableist, but truly identity-affirming. When our wholeness is recognized and celebrated at work, when policies help us work sustainably, when norms encourage collective access, we not only get to love our work, but we get to experience a workplace that loves us back. Conditions change starts on the inside. We can’t nurture the world we want to see “out there” without tending to the conditions “in here”. 

Join us as we explore how Disability Justice can strengthen our equity, inclusion, and justice work. Discover the power of liberatory approaches to nurturing organizational culture. Together we can dream our way to a future that is free.

Adana Protonentis

English (Interpretation available)

Inviting Our Own Grief: Self-awareness as an Essential Tool for Service Delivery

Grief is a natural part of our lives and at times, it proves to be challenging and heavy to carry. We grieve people, animals, food, land, and feelings of safety. Our relationship with grief is constantly evolving. In our work with young children and families we are called regularly to support grief in others, which awakens our own grief. Through the use of a children’s book “Violet’s Big First Goodbye”, this workshop will explore our own relationship with grief while highlighting the importance of both, our own self-awareness as providers and the importance of also supporting the grief of the caregiver, when providing services to young children and their families. 

Adriana Cuestas

English (interpretation available)

Lactation Relationships: Community Stewardship of Intergenerational Healing 

What do you think of when you think about lactation? Maybe a feeding option, a personal choice, or something private? In this guided workshop, we will explore how lactation holds key lessons to intergenerational healing and how clinical and non-lactation providers throughout community can support families on this journey. Join us as we gain historical perspective on how framework United States systems create and perpetuate harm, and how the lessons held within a supported lactation relationship can create a foundation for lifelong resilience and social / emotional health.

Elizabeth Montez

English (interpretation available)

Haruko Watanabe

Dr. Wendy Sun

Dr. Haydeé Lavariega

Session Title

Description

Facilitator(s)

Language

Martha Aguiñiga

Rosanne Carter

This 90-minute session will weave in ways to honor the cultural roots and the stories of where children of color come from and facilitate connections with nature. 

During this highly interactive session, you will: 

• Explore how nature influences our collective culture and how culture influences our individual interaction with nature through the lenses of environmental/social justice 
• Reflect on the concept of biomimicry and more particularly that of the powerful Calabash as a ‘safety container’ and a tool to engage with children and families and honor their cultural roots  
• Gather ways to create safe, just, and diverse nature-embodied experiences with families indoor as well as outdoor.
   

Dr. Sabine Thomas

Cecilia Martinez Vasquez

Dr. Wendy Sun / 孫文慧

El reconocimiento de nuestro propio duelo como una herramienta esencial de nuestro trabajo

Adriana Cuestas

Spanish (No interpretation available)

Session Title

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Facilitator(s)

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What Encanto Teaches Us About Partnering with Parents and Healing Our Inner Child Wounds

As infant and early childhood educators, home visitors, and mental health practitioners, we understand that collaborating with caregivers is important for our children’s outcomes. However, some families just “rub us the wrong way” even when we’re eager to build rapport with them. In this workshop, you will deepen your understanding of attachment theories to include concepts like attachment adaptations and inner child wounds. These concepts will support you to “meet the families where they’re at” in trauma-informed and developmentally caring ways. Together, we’ll put “intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience” into action, specifically in our partnership with families. You’ll explore these concepts through self-reflection exercises using Encanto and large group interactive discussions. You’ll walk away with more compassion for your own and the families’ inner child wounds and concrete strategies to address them. Come curious. Come as you are.

Nat Vikitsreth

English (Interpretation available)

Stories that Heal: Celebrating Cultural Identity and Diversity through Early Childhood Storytime 

This training highlights the transformative role of storytelling in nurturing cultural identity, diversity, and emotional healing in infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children. Participants will explore how to use storytime as a dynamic platform to celebrate diverse cultural traditions, foster a sense of unity, and empower young learners with principles of self-determination. Through engaging discussions, hands-on activities, and practical strategies, educators and caregivers will learn how to select inclusive and culturally rich stories that promote social-emotional development, resilience, and pride in one's heritage. This session will equip participants to create meaningful connections between children and their communities while embracing the beauty of diversity.

Katrice Thabet-Chapin

English (interpretation available)

Art, Herbs and Somatics: Healing Practices for Collective Liberation

This moment calls us to deepen our commitment to justice and to build toward collective liberation. Together, we will engage in practices to find liberation for ourselves and the families we support with a vision of intersectional solidarity and transformative healing. We will engage in somatics the connection to healing herbs and other ancestral practices. We will have space to reflect, explore, and leave with a set of healing practices to reconnect us to our bodies and the collective wisdom we share.

Dr. Haydeé Lavariega

English (interpretation available)

Desiree Yoro Yoo

Safaa Sadik

Martha Aguiñiga

Session Title

Description

Facilitator(s)

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Healing Little Hearts: Supporting Grief and Loss in Young Children and Their Families Through a Culturally Diverse Lens

This training delves into the sensitive topic of grief and loss as experienced by infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children, their families, and the educators and care providers who support them. Participants will explore the profound impact of grief on young children’s emotional and developmental well-being, as well as the secondary effects on caregivers and educators. 

The session highlights the importance of cultural identity and diversity in understanding and addressing grief, offering insights into how different cultures around the globe honor, process, and heal from loss. Through reflective discussions, practical strategies, and culturally relevant approaches, attendees will learn how to create safe and nurturing environments that support healthy grieving practices for both children and adults. 

Participants will leave equipped with tools to foster resilience, empathy, and understanding while honoring the diverse ways families and communities navigate grief and healing.

Katrice Thabet-Chapin

English (Interpretation available)

Rooted in Relationship: Decolonizing Early Childhood Mental Health for Families and Communities

This interactive workshop explores a decolonized, relational approach to infant, family, and early childhood mental health, centering the wisdom of frontline practitioners and the communities they serve. Through mindfulness, embodied practices, and collective reflection, participants will examine how colonized frameworks have shaped the field and explore ways to nurture healing-centered, culturally attuned care. Rooted in the Best Starts for Kids IECMH community-driven principles, this session will invite participants to engage in storytelling, shared dialogue, and creative expression to reconnect with their own wisdom and deepen their ability to hold families in care.

Carly Tolbert

English (interpretation available)

Nurturing the Caregivers: Love-Centered Strategies for Supporting Parents of Children with Disabilities

We can transform the parent/caregiver experience. Infancy and early childhood are an extraordinarily opportunity-rich time for little ones, developmentally speaking. It’s also an opportunity-rich time for their grownups as they come to understand their identity as parents, the needs of their little ones, and ways to find alignment between the two. For parents and caregivers of children with disabilities and developmental delays, the learning curve can feel particularly steep and the stakes can feel especially high. These parents experience the pressure of raising children with disabilities in an ableist world, juggling therapy appointments, making treatment decisions, learning to advocate for their babies, and struggling to find inclusive childcare, all without regular access to supportive, non-judgmental opportunities to pause and think about their own understanding of and relationship with disability and how that will impact their child’s sense of self. It doesn’t have to be this way. 

In this session, we’ll explore strategies, hear stories, and share our collective wisdom about how we can help parents and caregivers develop an empowered understanding of their children with disabilities. Together, we’ll explore ideas to support us in helping parents of children with disabilities find connection and care, and show up for their little ones in ways that are identity-affirming.

Adana Protonentis

English (interpretation available)

Lynne Creed

You already know how to “follow the caregivers’ lead,” “meet the child where they’re at,” and “empower the families.” But when things get rough, some of us tend to step back, hide, or people please while others might step in, dominate, and control the partnership with families. By understanding your go-to ways of using power (or power dynamics) in home visiting, you can power-with (not power-over) with families and promote child and family outcomes. 

In this 90-minute workshop, you’ll be trying out different games and theater exercises to discover your unique style of collaboration with and attunement to families. Then, you’ll apply this self-awareness to your home visiting work. So that you can effectively shift from hoarding and misusing power to sharing power with the families you serve. 

Please come curious and come as you are. Come ready to play and discover the power you already have to nurture equity and belonging in your partnership with the families. 

This workshop is for you to sharpen your: 

• Leadership skills as a home visitor 
• Political analysis of white supremacy, capitalism, colonialism, and patriarchy 
• Flexibility in exercising your power within your partnership with the families.

Nat Vikitsreth

Cecilia Martinez Vasquez

Session Title

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Facilitator(s)

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What Families of BIPOC Neurodivergent Little Ones Wish Our Providers Understood

BIPOC families of neurodivergent little ones are wise, loving, and resilient. They are also frequently under-supported and pushed to the margins. Life at the intersection of race and disability, where your family is simultaneously exposed to the harms of racism and ableism can feel precarious and unnecessarily difficult. Finding meaningful support is a challenge. Too few disability rights spaces prioritize racial justice. Too few racial justice spaces prioritize disability inclusion. Where do families go when they need both? 

In this session, we’ll learn more about the experiences of BIPOC families with neurodivergent little ones. We’ll learn about the culturally affirming practices that support them in feeling seen and heard. We’ll also learn about where our field is falling short and how racism and ableism impact these families. By learning about the experiences of BIPOC families, we can identify opportunities to make our spaces safer, more inclusive, and more joyful for neurodivergent little ones and the grownups who love them.

Adana Protonentis

English (Interpretation available)

From Theory to Practice: Strategies to Weave Equitable Practices in the Fabric of Organizations

This workshop engages participants in a discussion to identify and share what it means to take Equity from theory to practice. Together we will learn how to move from discussions about the importance, impact, and lasting effects of Equity to implementing policies, procedures, practices, and protocols that embed Equity into the fabric of an organization so that we can change outcomes for babies and their families.

Cecilia Martinez Vasquez

English (interpretation available)

The Heart of Inclusion: Examining Our Stories and Beliefs

This thought-provoking 90-minute session invites participants to explore their own beliefs, experiences, and assumptions about working with children of different abilities. Through guided reflection and collaborative dialogue, we'll examine how our personal stories shape our interactions and understanding of neurodiversity in early childhood. Together, we'll challenge narratives about 'ability' and 'disability,' explore our own comfort zones and biases, and consider how our self-awareness impacts our capacity to truly honor each child's unique way of being in the world. This session creates the possibility for professionals to ask deep questions, share insights, and reimagine what it means to embrace all children exactly as they are.

Rosanne Carter

English (interpretation available)

Elizabeth Montez

Martha Aguiñiga