Six Family Solutions therapists currently provide on-site mental health consultation to the Early Head Start and Head Start programs in Guilford County through Guilford Child Development. Our therapists screen potential children (Early Head Start – ages 0-3 and Head Start – ages 3-5) with behavioral issues, and provide site visits, individual consultation/play therapy with children, families and classroom teachers. Currently, Guilford Child Development has over 1100 children enrolled in Early Head Start and Head Start.
In 2017, Family Solutions contracted with RCS Head Start and this added three more counties to our network of ECCMHC (Early Childhood Community Mental Health Consultation). These include: Randolph, Alamance, and Caswell Counties. RCS Head Start operates 27 classrooms in seven centers in these three counties and serves almost 500 pre-schoolers.
Typically, children and families are referred for individual play therapy, coaching in the classroom and parenting skills enhancement during the preschool year. Every year our mental health consultants have children referred for services with trauma-related issues.
Our work with Head Start has progressively increased our expertise in working with children under the age of 6. Providing mental health consultation through site-based settings with 3 and 4 year olds has given us exposure to many areas of early childhood development. Treatment with these children and families primarily focuses on behavioral modification.
In April 2018, Anita Faulkner with Family Solutions trained two teacher cohorts using the Incredible Years Teacher Training Model to pre-school teachers in Pittsylvania County. Anita will be providing this again in Guilford County during the 2018-19 school year.
If you would like to contact us about this project, please contact Anita at 336.899.8800 ext. 22.