CT-AIMH 2022 Virtual Spring Conference

Thursday, May 12, 2022

9:00am-3:00 pm

Title: Honoring Diversity, Identity, and Race through Infant Mental Health and Reflective Supervision 

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Keynote Presenters: 

 Karol Wilson, LMSW, IMH-E®

Karol Wilson, LMSW, IMH-E®, was one of the Program Supervisors for the Partnering with Parents Program at Starfish Family Services until she retired in June 2021. Karol has been a part of the infant mental health field for more than 25 years as a home visitor, mentor, program supervisor, trainer, and individual and group reflective supervisor/consultant. Karol has co-author of 3 published articles and recently authored a chapter in a recently published book: Therapeutic Cultural Routines to Build Family Relationships (Talk, Touch, and Listen While Combing Hair), edited by Deborah Weatherston and Marva Lewis. Karol now works parttime as a Reflective Consultant and continues to provide trainings and individual reflective supervision. She takes pride in being one of the first Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health (MI-AIMH) Diversity Fellows and is the first African American to achieve endorsement by MI-AIMH as an Infant Mental Health Mentor (Clinical).

Deborah J. Weatherston, PhD, IMH-E® 

Dr. Weatherston co-founded and directed the Graduate Certificate Program in Infant Mental Health (IMH) at Wayne State University and served as the Executive Director of the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health and the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health, Inc. She has published books and articles about Infant Mental Health principles, practices, training, and reflective supervision. She served as an elected Board Member of the World Association for Infant Mental Health (WAIMH), received the WAIMH Sonya Bemporad Award for policy, edited WAIMH Perspectives in Infant Mental Health, and is a consulting editor for the Infant Mental Health Journal.

Conference Description: Examining Infant Mental Health (IMH) and Reflective Supervision (RS) through a lens that honors diversity, identity, and race is crucial to best practice. Current events such as the pandemic, racial violence, and exposed systemic racism and disparities, test us personally and professionally. They test our knowledge and theoretical foundations as well.  Additionally, the growth of IMH practice and RS has found many practitioners and supervisors in unfamiliar territory as they strive to engage in reflective practice or supervision groups.  Remembering that IMH and RS share the belief that healthy growth and development occur within consistent, responsive, and trusting relationships, participants in this conference will have opportunities to think about their own growth, examining the challenges, anguish, joys, and beauty of work in the infant and early childhood field. Each presenter will offer what they have learned and continue to learn, as well as what is needed for continued safety and bravery.

Experience a live Reflective Supervision/Consultation fishbowl:  The opportunity to observe what it is like to be both the facilitator and the participants in a Reflective Supervision/Consultation Group.