In these type of courses, students will focus on theoretical approaches to child development and brain development. Students will also examine the risk factors associated with hindering mental development as well as strategies to promote healthy mental development.
In these set of courses, students will learn about a child's biological predispositions and biological disorders and how they impact the child's development. Students will also student the contributions of temperament on development.
Courses that focus in this area will help students understand the developmental process of parenting from the prenatal period to the transition to parenting. Study will examine attachment theory in detail, learning about the theory's usefulness and limitations.
Students will also examine early interactions of a child and the resulting impact on development. In addition, students will learn how to observe parent-and-child interactions to pick up on clues regarding the relationship.
Students will examine research and learn about current theories in cognitive, motor and language development. Students will also examine psychosocial development including representations, emotional regulation and empathy, social behaviors, attachment, regulation and conscience.
In these courses, students will focus on family violence and dysfunction, the mental health of parents and the effects on the child, substance abuse, teen pregnancy and developmental disabilities. Students will learn to identify high-risk behaviors, understand prevalence of such behaviors, and the impact on infant growth and development.
Students will also take courses to learn how to conduct formal and informal assessments related to infant and child mental health, to understand the strengths and weaknesses of parents and infants, to assess parent and child relationships, stress and resources. Students will also learn how to identify developmental delays and when to make referrals and to whom.
Students will examine research on prevention and intervention strategies and learn how to apply effective techniques to elicit healthy mental development in infants and toddlers. Students will learn about strategies to develop rapport with families and how to reach out to difficult environments. Students will also participate in discussion groups about how to identify problems early, to implement intervention strategies, assess progress and evaluate intervention.