The idea for the series began with a conversation between Jennifer and Dawn about the need for professional development opportunities for infant/toddler teachers and service providers in their community. As the Part C Coordinator, Dawn had received questions from administrators as well as practitioners related to the complexities of working with families in their homes. New interventionists in the field reported needing guidance and more experienced interventionists requested additional support as programs shifted to providing more home based services with an increased focus on professional-family partnerships. Based on these conversations with administrators and interventionists, there was an identified need for professional development to include competencies related to infant mental health practices. As a result, Marian was recruited to develop an 8-part professional learning series which focused on teaching infant mental health concepts and included time set aside for reflective consultation. The series was influenced by two models of professional development conducted in Arizona and Minnesota (Norman-Murch, 2005; Watson & Gatti, 2012).
As a doctoral student, Jennifer's research interests included the application of infant mental health practices in early care and education settings. As she learned more about the emerging evidence base for reflective supervision, she recognized the Relationships Count Series could be a potential unit of study. She designed a pilot study of the first year of the series which included attending the sessions and interviewing participants. At the conclusion of the series, she recruited participants to share their experiences in the professional learning series. Each volunteer participated in a 45 minute face-to-face interview. At participant request, interview questions were shared with volunteers prior to the interview. Jennifer transcribed the interviews and analyzed the text for common themes.
The participants indicated that they were highly satisfied with the series and that this type of professional learning was new to them. Reflective consultation/supervision was not included in any of their previous pre-service or in-service learning experiences. The participants expressed a desire for the series to continue and each felt that it was beneficial for new and experienced professionals. The responses indicated that this series encouraged the early interventionists to reflect on the relationship-based competencies which have been shown to lead to positive child and family outcomes and are linked to parent satisfaction of services.
Each participant shared insights about wanting to fix things for the families they serve, but how listening and building a relationship is the first step to providing effective intervention. One participant stated, “It reoriented me to remembering that sometimes I just need to be there and I need to be a very good listener. I have to shut off that switch that I have to fix it in order for everyone to feel better.” Another participant reflected, “It reminded me of the importance of listening and the importance of leaving space for them. All the good advice in the world doesn’t matter if someone isn’t in the right place. They have to feel like you are working together.” A participant said, “I need help sometimes realizing that I have to leave and that I can’t fix it for them.”
The participants discussed their own personal shifts from providing discipline specific services to family-centered services. One participant shared, "There are some on our staff who are more comfortable with that than others and some that would like to still keep their discipline really at the forefront. It is hard to change. You feel like you are losing a piece of who your identity has been forever when you give up that discipline.” She shared, "Until you can say 'I bring so much more than just my discipline to these families' it feels like you are giving up something."
The participants shared the following thoughts about the series:
"The facilitator was wonderful at bringing topics into the group so we could reflect on race and socioeconomic status and what that means to our families because we have our own middle class values that we bring to our team and we are not reflective of our families."
"The series is not about coming up with solutions, it is more more how you feel about working with a family. And you might learn questions you can ask of yourself that will help you work better with them."
"It really seems like a facilitated support group, but we were also learning about more than that at the same time. We do a lot of caring- deep caring. Not caring for, but caring about other people and this gave me a place to feel cared for too."
The common themes expressed during the interviews about how the series addressed team approaches, culturally sensitive practices, listening skills and family-focused attitudes reflect the relationship-based competencies that are necessary for effective early intervention. The participants described the series as “critical” and “valuable” and that it should be a “mandatory requirement” for early intervention professionals.
The study was limited to the exploration of the perceptions of the participants at the conclusion of the series. An area for further study would be to interview participants during the school year as well as at the end of the year. This series differs from other models of reflective consultation due to the addition of content related to infant mental health along with the case presentation. A description of how each session unfolds as told by the researcher as participant/observer could add to the knowledge base surrounding reflective consultation models. A dissertation proposal for a qualitative case study of the second year of the Relationships Count Series was submitted by Jennifer Champagne and accepted by her dissertation committee at Kent State University. This will provide the opportunity for a more in-depth exploration of what happens during reflective consultation and how reflective consultation strengthens relationship-based competencies for early intervention service providers.
Norman-Murch, T. (2005). Keeping our balance on a slippery slope: Training and supporting infant/family specialists through an organizational context. Infants and Young Children, 18(4), 308-322.
Watson, C. & Gatti, S. N. (2012). Professional development through reflective consultation in early intervention. Infants & Young Children, 25(2), 109-121.
The participants indicated that they were highly satisfied with the series and that this type of professional learning was new to them. Reflective consultation/supervision was not included in any of their previous pre-service or in-service learning experiences. The participants expressed a desire for the series to continue and each felt that it was beneficial for new and experienced professionals. The responses indicated that this series encouraged the early interventionists to reflect on the relationship-based competencies which have been shown to lead to positive child and family outcomes and are linked to parent satisfaction of services.
Each participant shared insights about wanting to fix things for the families they serve, but how listening and building a relationship is the first step to providing effective intervention. One participant stated, “It reoriented me to remembering that sometimes I just need to be there and I need to be a very good listener. I have to shut off that switch that I have to fix it in order for everyone to feel better.” Another participant reflected, “It reminded me of the importance of listening and the importance of leaving space for them. All the good advice in the world doesn’t matter if someone isn’t in the right place. They have to feel like you are working together.” A participant said, “I need help sometimes realizing that I have to leave and that I can’t fix it for them.”
The participants discussed their own personal shifts from providing discipline specific services to family-centered services. One participant shared, "There are some on our staff who are more comfortable with that than others and some that would like to still keep their discipline really at the forefront. It is hard to change. You feel like you are losing a piece of who your identity has been forever when you give up that discipline.” She shared, "Until you can say 'I bring so much more than just my discipline to these families' it feels like you are giving up something."
The participants shared the following thoughts about the series:
"The facilitator was wonderful at bringing topics into the group so we could reflect on race and socioeconomic status and what that means to our families because we have our own middle class values that we bring to our team and we are not reflective of our families."
"The series is not about coming up with solutions, it is more more how you feel about working with a family. And you might learn questions you can ask of yourself that will help you work better with them."
"It really seems like a facilitated support group, but we were also learning about more than that at the same time. We do a lot of caring- deep caring. Not caring for, but caring about other people and this gave me a place to feel cared for too."
The common themes expressed during the interviews about how the series addressed team approaches, culturally sensitive practices, listening skills and family-focused attitudes reflect the relationship-based competencies that are necessary for effective early intervention. The participants described the series as “critical” and “valuable” and that it should be a “mandatory requirement” for early intervention professionals.
The study was limited to the exploration of the perceptions of the participants at the conclusion of the series. An area for further study would be to interview participants during the school year as well as at the end of the year. This series differs from other models of reflective consultation due to the addition of content related to infant mental health along with the case presentation. A description of how each session unfolds as told by the researcher as participant/observer could add to the knowledge base surrounding reflective consultation models. A dissertation proposal for a qualitative case study of the second year of the Relationships Count Series was submitted by Jennifer Champagne and accepted by her dissertation committee at Kent State University. This will provide the opportunity for a more in-depth exploration of what happens during reflective consultation and how reflective consultation strengthens relationship-based competencies for early intervention service providers.
Norman-Murch, T. (2005). Keeping our balance on a slippery slope: Training and supporting infant/family specialists through an organizational context. Infants and Young Children, 18(4), 308-322.
Watson, C. & Gatti, S. N. (2012). Professional development through reflective consultation in early intervention. Infants & Young Children, 25(2), 109-121.