Helping Vulnerable Children And Families

From East Tennessee State University:

December 21, 2021

JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee — Two East Tennessee State University faculty members and an ETSU doctoral student were recently published in the peer-reviewed Infant Mental Health Journal.

Dr. Diana Morelen, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology; Dr. Michele Moser, professor in Quillen College of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; and Rebecca Otwell-Dove, a psychology doctoral student, teamed up with other infant mental health leaders from Tennessee and Michigan to write a review paper that tells the story of the Association of Infant Mental Health in Tennessee (AIMHiTN) and offers a guiding framework to other states, as well as nations, on how to grow collaborative and sustainable systems that help vulnerable children and families.

“As a child clinical psychologist, I have built a career around the science and practice of ‘how do we help those impacted by mental health struggles’ and ‘how do we prevent those mental health struggles from emerging in the first place,’” Morelen said. “My clinical and research experiences quickly highlighted that children who were struggling often had parents who were struggling, and to best help prevent mental illness in childhood, we needed to take better care of parents and caregivers. The world of infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) has allowed me to engage with communities, systems and leaders who are all working to promote healthy families and healthy children.”

ZERO TO THREE, an organization that aims to ensure that babies and toddlers have a strong start in life, defines IECMH as the young child’s capacity to experience, regulate and express emotions; form close and secure relationships; and explore the environment and learn. All of these capacities are accomplished within the context of the caregiving environment that includes family, community and cultural expectations for young children. The IECMH workforce includes systems like home visiting, child care, early intervention, mental health, health care, higher education, early childhood education, child welfare and others.

AIMHiTN is a non-profit committed to systems-level work to foster healthy social and emotional development of infants and young children through: learning and collaboration among families, caregivers, providers, educators, agencies, and systems impacting the lives of infants and young children, as well as public policy engagement at the local, state and national levels that supports the healthy social and emotional development of infants, young children and their families.

This resulting publication on the subject was a collaborative effort with leaders from AIMHiTN, The Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health, ETSU Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and ETSU Clinical Psychology. The collaboration allowed researchers to capture the origin story of AIMHiTN, share data around its growth and sustainability efforts, and identify themes to help guide others’ work in this field.

Some of those themes include that “how you are is just as important as what you do,” and how this field and work emphasize relationships, reflection (being able to slow down and reflect rather than react), and inclusivity (being intentional to notice who is at the table, and how to create a welcoming space where diverse voices are included).

“Another theme identified was that ‘Endorsement for Culturally Sensitive, Relationship-Focused Practice’ was an essential foundational framework in promoting systems-level growth and sustainability in workforce development efforts essential to IECMH,” according to the authors. “And all of this work cannot be done well if we aren’t holding a lens of diversity, equity and inclusion. It’s essential to consider the past and current traumas and stressors facing families related to systemic racism, oppression and marginalization.”

Moser adds, “This review paper shares lessons learned, showcases AIMHiTN’s exceptional accomplishments, and highlights its partnerships in national efforts to have high quality services for all infants, young children, and their families. As director of the ETSU Center of Excellence for Children in State Custody, I had the privilege of being one of a small group of statewide leaders who had a vision of developing a system of care for infants, young children, and their families. I am proud to continue to serve on the AIMHiTN Board of Directors, to witness and guide the work of AIMHiTN and want to thank the co-authors for sharing AIMHiTN’s work with the world through this article.”

Otwell-Dove echoed those sentiments.

“I have been so grateful for the opportunity provided to me by my mentor, Dr. Diana Morelen, and each of the other exceptional IECMH providers who authored this paper to participate in its creation,” she said. “Through this experience, I’ve not only been able to dive further into the literature on the impact of service that prioritizes children and their families by meeting them where they are, but I’ve also been able to contribute to the AIMHiTN – an organization that has done so much to enrich the lives of families in Tennessee. As I wrap up my own doctoral training, I am so proud to be able to say I’ve achieved the milestone of my first research publication alongside a team of truly exceptional women who are trailblazing the way for work that is needed now more than ever.”

Beyond lessons shared in the study, Morelen concluded, she hopes to raise awareness that “to raise healthy kids, we have to support and empower our families and the systems that serve and support them. I also hope folks check out AIMHiTN.org as one place to connect and learn about resources to support young children and families in Northeast Tennessee and beyond.”

For more information, contact Morelen at morelen@etsu.edu.

This press release was produced by East Tennessee State University. The views expressed are the author's own.