Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Program

The Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (ECMHC) program serves children, ages 0-5 years who attend preschool, their caregivers, parents/guardians, and teachers. Despite their young age, some children have already had one or more adverse experiences such as domestic violence, community violence, child abuse, neglect, poverty, discrimination, and /or separation from caregivers. Many schools and teachers feel unprepared to effectively address challenging behaviors of the children in their care and are ill-equipped to respond to an individual child’s underlying emotional concerns. ECMHC services have shown to benefit the children and caregivers.

The program’s primary goals are to:

• Promote healthy social-emotional development for young children
• Provide teachers with the necessary assistance to learn new strategies for addressing challenging behavior
• Reduce or eliminate the need for suspensions and expulsions
• Improve the quality of childcare centers
• Unite a team of mental health professionals and caregivers implementing evidence-informed, multilevel, and cohesive intervention for optimum results

Our Consultants, who specialize in early childhood development, achieve these goals by working alongside the early childhood professionals in their preschool settings, sharing strategies, modeling evidence-based intervention approaches, facilitating referrals, and cultivating a deeper understanding of the factors that shape young children’s social-emotional development. Consultants take a strengths-based approach to their work with providers, incorporating contextual and cultural factors impacting young children’s behavior.

Achieving Goals

Since 2018, the ECMHC program has expanded with the help of funders such as the United Way Suncoast and Sarasota County Government. Our specialists have provided mental health consultation in 27 preschools in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Key findings from teacher’s reports measured the program’s success over its first three years:

• Children’s behavior and social-emotional functioning improved
• The number of caregiver/child interactions increased, due to strengthened sensitivity and awareness
• Young children showed lower hyperactivity and conduct problems as well as more prosocial behavior
• Experienced lower classroom disruption, lower risk of expulsion or suspension, reduced fear of accountability, and a fewer feelings of hopelessness

When mental health problems go untreated, there is a negative impact on the quality of life of the child, adolescent, young adult, and family members, which extends into schools, workplaces, and communities.

The ECMHC program targets interventions for children as well as invests in the teachers and program directors to ensure their efforts align with trauma-informed best practices. This approach supports the experiences of teachers, thereby increasing staff retention, and supports a positive and healthy culture for students which helps them thrive and be ready for Kindergarten. By responding to mental health or behavioral problems early in life, this program helps prevent life long impacts and serious mental health crisis as the child ages.

For more information, contact Clinical Director Melissa Bradley: melissa.bradley@thefloridacenter.org or call 941-371-8820.