INFANT WELFARE SOCIETY OF CHICAGO 3600 W. Fullerton Avenue, Chicago, IL 60647 773.782.2800 fax 773.782.5042 info@infantwelfare.org
a healthy child
This group is designed specifically for the treatment of postpartum depression. IWS, through our providers and the Healthy Steps staff, screens all pregnant women and new mothers for depression and addresses the short-term needs of those who are at risk for or who have been diagnosed with this debilitating condition. In the past, however, patients in need of long-term counseling have been exclusively referred to outside counseling sources rather than being treated at our Clinic.
With the advent of the Mother/Infant Therapy Group and the involvement of staff from Erikson Institute, some patients with postpartum depression will be able to receive their care at our Clinic. Our future Director of Child Development and Support Services, Milagros Fernandez, LCSW, notes that postpartum depression is a particular problem among our patients because of their financial circumstances, domestic violence, cultural differences and social isolation. In fact, a full 18 – 20% of our new mothers show symptoms that are suggestive of PPD within the first year postpartum period. Significantly, this figure is much higher than the national average of 10 – 15%.
The consequences when postpartum depression is not treated are alarming – and not only for the mother. Studies indicate that babies whose mothers suffer from this depressive disorder may have a higher tendency for emotional distress and find it difficult to manage their moods and form secure relationships later in life. Not surprisingly, the family as a whole suffers as well, as the mother struggles to control her depression. Guilt, too, becomes a factor for new mothers who blame themselves for the negative emotions they feel at what should be a joyous time in their lives.
Group settings like this have been found to be particularly effective in dealing with this disorder. In fact, it’s been proven to be as effective as individual psychotherapy in relieving the symptoms. It’s also been reported that women in group sessions in need of longer-term care tend to continue their treatment more reliably than those in individual settings. Notably, the model IWS will employ has been tested nationally with great success specifically for mothers who experience major depression. It’s been found to effectively address the social isolation and lack of emotional support often associated with PPD.
Through counseling and peer group sessions such as the Mother/Infant Therapy Group, mothers come to understand how their condition affects them and their relationships with others. Importantly, it helps them to understand and develop coping strategies and mechanisms that will enable them to function more effectively with their babies and to deal with their depression.
Also integral to the collaborative nature of our new Child Development and Support Services is a Circle of Security, a 20-week group treatment program that provides education using a parent-friendly graphic circle image to depict a child’s emotional needs. According to Maria Martinez, Child Development Specialist, one of the reasons family relationships can deteriorate is the frustration and loss of control parents may feel in dealing with their children. In such cases, the situation can worsen, sometimes resulting in child abuse. The Circle of Security seeks to address the problem by offering our patients tools for confronting the challenges of parenting. It shows them how to interact more effectively with their children and how to forge a close, loving relationship. The program, designed for caregivers and their children up to age five, has been identified by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services as a successful approach to child abuse treatment and prevention.
So, for the mother who suffers from postpartum depression . . . for the father who wages a daily struggle to control his frustration and anger . . . for the child acting out rather than looking within, our Child Development and Support Services offers excellent care in partnership with a nationally renowned graduate school. In collaboration with Erikson Institute, IWS continues to open doors to a brighter future for our young patients by providing them with the emotional tools they need, the quality of care they deserve and a caring, compassionate staff that makes it all possible.
English writer Graham Greene once said, “There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.” In IWS’ case, that door is both literal and figurative, for our Clinic witnesses many of those moments when doors open for our patients and point the way to a brighter future through healthy living – both mentally and physically.
With its creation of Child Development and Support Services, IWS continues its almost-century long tradition of providing care for Chicago’s children in need. This new area builds on our existing Healthy Steps and Next Steps early childhood programs and adds an exciting partnership with Erikson Institute -- a prestigious graduate school in child development and infant mental health.
According to Director of Development Denise Taylor, the collaboration with Erikson will enable the Clinic to provide a more complete continuum of care, both physical and mental, from birth to 6 years of age filling a service gap that had existed in infant mental health. An exciting outcome of our partnership is that it will allow IWS to develop an academic-community collaboration that will tap into the resources of Erikson’s distinguished faculty for program development and oversight.
According to Dr. Linda Gilkerson, a professor at Erikson Institute, the program’s prevention-based model of health care focuses on early intervention for families at risk of stress, domestic violence, depression or inadequate parenting. She describes the collaboration with IWS as “a win/win situation.” “IWS has an impressive history of providing mental health and child development services to its patients. We regard it as an ideal site for our graduate student training and internship placement as we seek to ‘grow the pool’ of early childhood/mental health professionals in a low-income, community- based setting. And for its part, IWS will benefit from our ability to offer the skills/training and staff support of our faculty and graduate students to provide onsite therapy for the Clinic’s patients, thus expanding its continuum of care.”
Infant Welfare’s association with Erikson Institute has been in its formative stages for about two years. In that time, Erikson’s professionals and graduate students have provided consultation and feedback on the design of our Next Steps program that provides guidance and support to the parents of children ages 3 - 6 and the Healthy Steps program for parents of children 0 – 3. The Institute’s professionals have also provided a monthly Fussy Baby Network class and periodic staff development.
“One of the goals of the new partnership with Erikson Institute is to provide childhood mental health treatment to address early relationship problems.
Julissa Banzon, Erikson’s Infant Specialist
Certificate Program Manager
One of the goals of the new partnership is to provide early childhood mental health treatment to address early relationship problems. An Early Childhood Mental Health (ECMH) leadership team, comprising IWS and Erikson staff, will meet monthly to determine needs, plan program implementation and provide oversight. The interaction between our providers and Erikson Institute staff is important in terms of ensuring a successful collaboration. Clinic staff will meet with the ECMH team to address topics of specific interest to the group whether that be domestic violence, destigmatizing mental health or attachment issues. Initially, two Erikson interns drawn from its Infant Mental Health Certificate Program and/or Dual Degree Program with Loyola’s Graduate School of Social Work will be assigned to one-year placements at the Clinic where they will provide hands-on care and work collaboratively with our providers.
Executive Director, Dr. John Wilhelm, sees the association with Erikson as a natural outgrowth of IWS’ longstanding recognition of the importance of emotional/behavioral support in infancy and beyond. “Our roots in child development are deep. In fact, in the 1920s we were the first health clinic in the city to include a pediatric mental health and child development component as part of primary care. And the importance we attach to child development and mental health has been borne out time and again throughout our long history. We are pleased to partner with Erikson Institute as we broaden our reach even further.”
Although mental health concerns are something many people may not associate with infancy, studies point to the efficacy of diagnosis and treatment of these issues very early in life. National studies indicate that early intervention in the social and emotional development of infants and young children with or at risk for psychological problems is critical in creating more successful patient outcomes later in life. So beginning this summer, IWS and Erikson Institute are implementing two treatment models at IWS, a Mother/Infant Therapy Group and a Circle of Security attachment program. Interestingly, IWS is piloting them for the first time in an urban setting with low income and bilingual patients. This is reminiscent of another “first” for IWS when we successfully adapted the Healthy Steps program at the Clinic. Prior to that, the model had only been tested in middle class, suburban, private practice settings. IWS looks forward to similar success with its Mother/Infant Therapy Group.
Eva Hernandez, Medical Assistant,
escorts a Healthy Steps family