| Description |
Effective therapy for infants and young children must reflect a synthesis of information from all the areas of human development, and an understanding of multiple environments. Dr. Brandt will review neurobiological, relational, psychodynamic, attachment, and developmental sequencing concepts in relation to human development. She will discuss the influences of intrauterine, infancy and early childhood environments on development, attachment, associations, and procedural memory. The dynamic interplay of a child’s chronological, adjusted, developmental, and functional age will be explored. Triggers within the arousal system that influence this will be described. With this foundational understanding, the concept of neurobiologically respectful and trauma informed therapy will be presented both conceptually and clinically. The global idea of “Therapy” will be explored, along with age-appropriate therapeutic approaches and the reflective steps essential to conceptualizing, reflecting on, and planning therapy.
Conference participants will be able to:
• Describe epigenetics and the potential impact of trauma and stress on the epigenome
• Summarize the neurobiological and relational differences between attachment and love
• Define the concepts of chronological, adjusted, developmental and functional age, and the impact of the stress response system on these conceptual categories
• Analyze a child’s developmental status through novel strategies and prioritize these areas for therapeutic work
• Implement developmental “Stretch Activities” and describe the concepts that underpin the approach
• Estimate a child’s “Therapeutic Capital” and the “Developmental Support Capacity” of caregivers in the child’s environment
• Explain Integrated Therapy and the steps for using this approach
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