Family Paths Program Spotlight: Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation

Family Paths' Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation is a program through which three Family Paths staff members work as consultants in our community. As member of the TIPS team, Suzanne Lapidus, April Netzer and Mari Barnes are consulting with preschool teachers, directors and childcare providers in various school district, Had Start and private childcare settings. Consultants help early childcare staff identify, understand and manage social, emotional and behavioral issues that arise in the early care setting. This team knows that early intervention is an important step in treating and resolving these behavioral issues.

Family Paths has been providing early childhood consultation for over six years. Some of the most important characteristics of this program are its relationship-based model and its focus on collaboration between consultant and teacher/childcare provider. Family Paths consultants work to become part of the childcare team by building trusting relationships with staff. "Through genuine respect and curiosity, flexibility and openness and a willingness to see everyone's perspectives, consultants can help to transform relationships, leading to a richer experience for young children in their childcare setting" says Nancy Morosohk, LCSW, who supervises the consultation program. Enriching young children's childcare experience is definitely an investment in our future.