Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) a prevention-based service that pairs a mental health consultant with families and adults who work with infants and young children in the different settings where they learn and grow, such as child care, preschool, and their home. The aim is to build adults’ capacity to strengthen and support the healthy social and emotional development of children―early and before intervention is needed. IECMHC has been shown to improve children’s social skills and emotional functioning, promote healthy relationships, reduce challenging behaviors, reduce the number of suspensions and expulsions, improve classroom quality, and reduce provider stress, burnout, and turnover.
Increasing Children’s Opportunities to Practice Social Skills and Emotional Competencies Everyday activities in the classroom can be planned and implemented to help children’s social and emotional development (which, as mentioned, is the same as their mental health).