WHAT IS THE MSPCC/MassAIMH REFLECTIVE CONSULTATION (RC) OFFERING?

The Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Partnership between the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC) and the Massachusetts Association for Infant Mental Health (MassAIMH) will continue to a 10 month Reflective Consultation opportunity comprised of web-based group reflection experience with an Endorsed®/ vetted provider. This offering is in service of our ongoing commitment to diversify and strengthen the early childhood workforce by creating equitable access to reflective consultation.

GOAL

The goal of the reflective consultation offering is two fold:

1. To support reflective consultation requirements towards MassAIMH Endorsement® requirements for applicants who have little to no access to reflective consultation, and
2. To support the needs of the workforce and build capacity of Reflective Supervisors in the field

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?

The program is designed for anyone engaged in supporting young children and families in promotion or prevention work– including, but not limited to, staff working in the following sectors:

• Community Behavioral Health Providers
• Mental Health Clinicians
• Family Partners
• Home Visiting
• Early Care and Education
• Family Child Care
• Head Start and Early Head Start
• Child Welfare
• Early Intervention
• Child Development
• Policy and Administration
• Pediatrics

No previous experience providing reflective supervision/consultation is necessary, although it is helpful to have some basic knowledge and understanding of reflective supervision/consultation. To learn more about reflective consultation click here.

PARTICIPANTS WILL:

• Experience the essential elements of reflective consultation: to build, sustain, and deepen reflective practice.
• Broaden understanding and increase confidence in supporting others through reflection.
• Integrate how to implement and sustain RS within their program, which will result in a return in investment and enhanced agency practice for years to come.
• Receive up to 30 hours of reflective consultation that meets requirements for both the Infant/Early Childhood Family Specialist and Infant/Early Childhood Family Reflective Supervisor categories + 10 hours of didactic material on infant mental health and reflective practice
• Connect with peers, broaden professional networks and learn about additional training and professional development to stay connected and continue to develop IECMH competencies and skills

WHAT DOES REFLECTIVE CONSULTATION ENTAIL?

• Each participant will receive up to 30 hours of reflective consultation by an Endorsed® provider. The meetings will be hosted using an online meeting platform.
• Eight member groups will meet twice monthly for 90 minutes each (totaling to 3 hours monthly) for a total of 10 months. 
• 10 hours of didactic learning 
• 2 hours of evaluation 
• The groups will begin meeting at the end of September 2023- June 2024
• The monthly reflective consultation hours that participants receive will meet the requirements for reflective supervision for I/ECMH-Endorsement®
• In turn, the reflective supervision/consultation hours that supervisors provide to their local staff members may prepare staff for their own I/ECMH-Endorsement® application.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Participants must be active MassAIMH Members. To learn how to become a MassAIMH member, click here
• Complete interest application
• The Reflective Consultation offering is encouraged for practitioners who have little or no access to RC at their workplace. Professionals who supervise infant/early childhood professionals and are ready to implement reflective supervision within their programs are also encouraged to apply.
• We encourage anyone interested to complete the interest application (see below) and emphasize your background, training, experience, and/or personal/professional insights that have led to your interest in participating in the RC offering.
• MassAIMH is working to promote and expand the delivery of reflective consultation by Endorsed® professionals across the state. This requirement is consistent with I/ECMH Endorsement® standards for Reflective Supervisors.
• All participants will need to complete a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) before participating in the groups.
• All participants will need to engage in an evaluation component as part of the offering.

COST:

The current reflective consultation groups are provided to participants completely free of charge. In an effort to build capacity in the state and promote access to reflective Consultation to those individuals who might not already have comprehensive access to it, MSPCC and MassAIMH, with the generosity of EOHHS, are absorbing all costs* related to the RC offering.

*except as stated in the MOU document (MassAIMH membership cost is not covered) if someone misses a session and needs to reschedule

BENEFITS TO PARTICIPANTS:

• Participation supports meeting the RC requirements towards application for Endorsement®, a “quality assurance” measure defining best practice and high quality services, accountability, and consistency.
• Support programs to provide services in ways that support healthy parent–child relationships and optimal growth and development.
• Encourages staff and family wellbeing by promoting supervisor strategies to model positive goal oriented relationships.
• Address program goals and outcomes along with family goals.
• Help reduce the secondary impacts of the work such as burnout, secondary traumatic stress and turnover of staff and maintains the quality and impact of services. *

*Russ, E., Lonne, B., & Lynch, D. (2019). Increasing child protection workforce retention through promoting a relational-reflective framework for resilience. Child Abuse & Neglect, 104245. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104245