PhD, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health and Developmental Disorders

This program is designed for graduate students interested in further developing their aptitude in working with infants and young children with mental health and developmental challenges.

The significant advances in our understanding of infants, young children, and their families over the past 30 years has created a new foundation for research and clinical practice.  A number of disciplines have contributed to this growing body of knowledge including: psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, speech pathology, occupational and physical therapy, social work, education, and counseling.  The goal of the ICDL Graduate School is to enable students to master the insights of each of the contributing disciplines, understand the range and variations of healthy and disordered functioning in the early years of life, implement a unified developmental approach to research and clinical practice, and serve as leaders for future generations. The program will be offered through a distance learning format and be available to qualified applicants throughout the United States, as well as other countries.

The ICDL Graduate School has created an innovative combined instructional method that will allow professionals to take long distance courses and apply their concepts through integrated practicum in their area of residence. Furthermore, online courses will be supported by audiovisual material, online forums, videoconferencing, and regional group discussions to promote a learning process based on interaction and networking.

Students participate in regional seminars and periodic national conferences dictated by ICDL. Students will receive a full understanding of the nature of early infant and childhood mental health developmental disorders and the social environment, including; family dynamics, parent’s mental health, and cultural differences impacting infant and children’s development.

This is the first degree of its kind that offers students the opportunity to master an understanding of all the different aspects of early development in both their normative and disordered forms. This degree also constructs a fully comprehensive approach to assessment and intervention in the early years of life by working closely with all family members.  The curriculum is offered at the national and international level, and serves a large community of children and families in the United States and elsewhere, who require a more comprehensive and integrated approach to early development and early intervention.