The field commonly known as "infant mental health" integrates current research from developmental psychology, genetics and neuroscience to form a model of prevention, intervention and treatment well beyond infancy. This book presents the core concepts of this vibrant field and applies them to common childhood problems, from attention deficits to anxiety and sleep disorders.

Readers will find a friendly guide that distills this developmental science into key ideas and clinical scenarios that practitioners can make sense of and use in their day-to-day work. Part I offers an overview of the major areas of research and theory, providing a pragmatic knowledge base to comfortably integrate the principles of this expansive field in clinical practise. It reviews the newest science, exploring the way relationships change the brain, breakthrough attachment theory, epigenetics, the polyvagal theory of emotional development, the role of stress response systems, and many other illuminating concepts. Part II then guides the reader through the remarkable applications of these concepts in clinical work. Chapters address how to take a textured early developmental history, navigate the complexity of postpartum depression, address the impact of trauma and loss on children's emotional and behavioural problems, treat sleep problems through an infant mental health lens, and synthesise tools from the science of the developing mind in the treatment of specific problems of regulation of emotion, behaviour and attention.

Fundamental knowledge of the science of early brain development is deeply relevant to mental health care throughout a client's lifespan. In an era when new research is illuminating so much, mental health practitioners have much to gain by learning this leading-edge discipline's essential applications. This book makes those applications and their robust benefits in work with clients, readily available to any professional.

About the Author
Claudia M. Gold MD is a pediatrician and writer. She has practiced general and behavioral pediatrics for 25 years, and currently specializes in early childhood mental health. She writes regularly for Psychology Today and is the author of The Silenced Child: From Labels, Medication and Quick-Fix Solutions to Listening, Growth and Lifelong Resilience (2016) and Keeping Your Child in Mind: Overcoming Defiance, Tantrums, and other Everyday Behavior Problems by Seeing the World Through Your Child's Eyes (2011 ). Dr. Gold is on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Boston Infant-Parent Mental Health program, William James College, and the Austen Riggs Center.

Reviews
"The book's strength is its accessibility for a wide readership... Although written for practitioners, the book could also be used to increase parents' understanding of their child. Another strength is Gold's ability to comprehensively describe scientific concepts, while continually linking them to their practical application and relevancy in our work and society." -- BACP Children and Young People



Book Information
ISBN 9780393709629
Author Claudia M. Gold
Format Hardback
Page Count 304
Imprint WW Norton & Co
Publisher WW Norton & Co
Weight(grams) 523g
Dimensions(mm) 218mm * 152mm * 28mm