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Infant Welfare is the Priority

MPSI's dual-title degree in Infant Mental Health is one of only a few programs like it across the country. Graduate students in social work, psychology or nursing add coursework in Infant Mental Health. Infant mental health theory, assessment, and treatment are fully integrated into each dual-title students' major area of study. Master's and doctoral students then graduate as research-informed clinicians trained to effectively address the needs of diverse children and caregivers.

The program graduated 11 dual-title Master's in Social Work students in 2021 and 13 in 2022. Eight doctoral students are currently in the program representing psychology, social work and nursing. IMH faculty appreciate the extra time, tuition and supplies required by students electing to enter the dual-title program, so two scholarship funds were created. The Weatherston Scholarship named five winners over the past two years; the Ziegelman Scholarship awarded funds to two students.

The Infant Mental Health program is lead by director Dr. Ann Stacks, Associate Director Dr. Carolyn Dayton, and Clinical Coordinator Dr. Carla Barron.

Keeping Fathers Involved

Much of Dr. Dayton's work has focused on fathers over the past several years. She advocates for policy change to support fathers in need and lessen situations where fathers are not permitted to care for their children. She serves on the Metro Fatherhood Policy Initiative Group and is a member of the Michigan Action Plan for Father Involvement. Dr. Dayton has also worked as a consultant and evaluator for FARM (Family Assistance for Renaissance Men) whose mission is to help men become better fathers.

"I work alongside all kinds of fatherhood folks in Detroit and do my best to support them. In return I get to hear about the actual issues that fathers in Detroit are facing and then I am better positioned to help address them,"  — Dr. Carolyn Dayton

Read Dr. Dayton's "Parenting Tips for Fathers during the Pandemic."

Scholarship & Training

Dr. Stacks spent some of the past two years creating an extensive online training curriculum for Baby Court, a grant-funded effort to reduce foster home placements for children under three. This special court established close collaborations between clinicians, attorneys, parents, foster care specialists and infant mental health professionals to keep the welfare of each child at the forefront of every court decision. The new online trainings will help engage and educate more professionals in the process.

Dr. Barron developed new instructional materials for social workers on ethics and boundaries, home visits, and supervision to enhance growth. She delivered these highly-rated trainings to hundreds of attendees at several webinars.  

The Infant Mental Health trio has also been busy doing national trainings on issues related to IMH, published 23 journal articles and three book chapters, and presented their research at Infant Mental Health conferences across the country.

Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute Report 2021/2022
Editor : Cheryl Deep
Designer: Catherine Blasio