Infant and early childhood mental health certificate program

Education that Drives Your Career Forward

If you’re a post-master’s mental health practitioner who wants to take your career further and incorporate new skills into your current position, Cal State East Bay’s Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Postgraduate Certificate program will prepare you to effectively provide mental health services to children and youth ages birth to 21 and their families.

You can look forward to receiving the training you need to respond to the cultural, racial, ethnic and socio-economic diversity of the children and families in Alameda County and beyond.

Best in the West

Selected as a "Best in the West" college by The Princeton Review

Early Childhood Education Endorsement

Meet requirements for endorsement in CA with program curriculum aligned with the CA Training Guidelines and Personnel Competencies for Infant-Family and Early Childhood Mental Health.

Faculty Excellence

Taught by expert scholar-practitioners in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health.

Make an Impact on Childhood Mental Health

The field of early childhood mental health is a broad-based, interdisciplinary field of study, research, and practice that focuses on the social and emotional development and well-being of infants and young children (birth-five) within the context of their early relationships, family, community, and culture.

An early childhood mental health foundational knowledge and skill base is fundamental to mental health service delivery for children and youth of all ages - from birth to 21 and beyond into adulthood.

Why Early Childhood Mental Health?

Occupational Trends

Job Demand

Employment of mental health counselors is projected to grow 24 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations.
— QCEW Employees - Emsi

Earnings Potential

The annual median wage of mental health counselors in the San Francisco Bay Area is $52,260 with the top 10 percent earning approximately $97,093.
— QCEW Employees - Emsi

Take Your Career Further

As a mental health practitioner, earning your certificate in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health means you’ll be prepared for a variety of professional roles, including entry and mid-level mental health counselor/therapist positions in community-based and county-operated mental health programs.

Whether you’re pursuing your next career or enhancing your current one, Cal State East Bay’s Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Postgraduate Certificate program provides you with the knowledge and skills to take your abilities to the next level by expanding your reach in the Bay Area.

Program Objectives

By successfully completing the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Postgraduate Certificate program, you’ll have the skills to:

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Apply theory to every day practice with children and youth ages birth-21 and their families, including family engagement, child/youth assessment and parent-child intervention.

Respond to the cultural, racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity of the children and families in Alameda County.

Address knowledge and skills needed to work with the disability community.

Increase your understanding of family driven practice and ability to partner with parents/caregivers as an integral part of  mental health service delivery.

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The program has helped me solidify my belief in how I approach maternal and infant dyadic work or parent-child work while teaching me the nuances of working with the whole context of a baby’s life.

Angela Polk, IECMH Graduate

Program Format

The Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Postgraduate Certificate program is a two year in-class program that is composed of sequential courses. Classes are held at our Oakland Center on Saturdays for a total of five 6-hour meetings per semester.

Please note that public health circumstances may dictate a change to online classes which will necessitate a change of schedule to two Saturday meetings a month for 3 hours each.

The basic format includes lecture, discussion, reflective learning exercises, video, podcasts, readings, and reading responses.

Year one focuses on the Developmental Foundations of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health with an emphasis on theory.

Year two focuses on the Developmental Foundations of Relationship Based Clinical Work with Infants, Young Children, Families, and Caregivers with an emphasis on the application of theory to practice.

Throughout the program, you’ll learn best practices and sound research information on early development, relationship based intervention approaches, risk and resiliency factors, cultural and linguistic responsiveness, and trauma informed care. The curriculum has a strong emphasis on working with families from diverse cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. This is especially important as Alameda County is exceptionally diverse in terms of socioeconomic status, race, culture, ethnicity, and immigration experiences. The emphasis on diversity will include addressing knowledge and skills needed to work with the disability community – with children and parents with disabilities and their families.

The program will also emphasize family-driven care and partnership with parents as part of service delivery.

Certificate Requirements

To earn your Postgraduate Certificate in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, you are required to attend the full two years of the program.

Course Schedule

View the latest course schedules here.

Required Courses

Featured Faculty

Communities of learning hold deep transformative power for our world. Together we bounce ideas across the spaces between us creating them anew. We hold memory, while we defy history. We notice and nurture the call and response of babies and caregivers among us and within us.

Dr. Valerie Bellas believes that a baby and a caregiver, in the context of culture, occupy the most essential space of our experience, one of connection, reflection, and hope.

A clinical supervisor at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, Oakland, Services to Enhance Early Development (SEED), Dr. Bellas trained at the Child Witness to Violence Project and Tulane University Infant Team. She has a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Clark University and a Masters in Education from Hunter College.

Dr. Bellas is rostered in Child-Parent Psychotherapy and has completed Reflective Facilitators-in-Training (Harris).

Dr. Bellas has a special interest in the development of social justice approaches in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health.

 Swipe left or right for the next/previous instructor

Valerie BellasPhD

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to the program, you must:

• Possess a master's degree in social work, counseling, or psychology.
• Commit to complete the full two year program. A signed non-binding letter of commitment will be required.
• Provide a letter of support from a mental health agency supervisor that includes confirmation that the student is receiving supervision on a regular basis, and frequency and duration of supervision.
• Be committed to serving a culturally and linguistically diverse population, as well as serving the disability community.
• Be committed to incorporating family driven care principles and practices into theory and application of early childhood mental health.

Still have questions? Visit the support center for more information. »

At Cal State East Bay, we pride ourselves on putting students first, from the moment you inquire until you graduate. We hope you've found answers to your questions in this support center, but if not, please get in touch.

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At a Glance

Area of study: Postgraduate Certificate in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health

Ideal for: Post-master’s mental health practitioners wishing to learn foundational early childhood mental health knowledge and skills to support the provision of mental health services to children and youth of all ages.

Program format: In-class

Program length: 2 years (4 semesters)

Number of courses: 4

Tuition cost: $1,850 per course (Tuition fees are subject to change at any time.)

Questions?

Please let us know if we can answer any questions about the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health program. Many answers can also be found in our online Support Center.