Center for Parent-Infant Therapy - Psychotherapy, Counseling, Guidance (Registered Association)

Emotional therapy (psychotherapy) for infants and their parents: establishing center(s) for emotional therapy (psychotherapy) for infants in relationship with their parents. The treatment provided will allow infants suffering from emotional distress and their parents to receive timely, focused emotional care that directly addresses their distress. Research shows that this type of therapeutic intervention serves as preventive treatment, enabling normal and standard infant development, preventing future psychopathology, and saving significant public resources down the road. Treatment and counseling will be provided by mental health professionals employed by the association (clinical psychologists, developmental psychologists, social workers, etc.). Emotional treatment will be provided to infants ages 0-3 (infancy) and their parents. The center(s) will operate in mixed cities and treat a mixed population of Jews and Arabs. To accommodate the needs of the patient population, the therapists at the center will be both Jewish and Arab. Community services: developing, expanding, and improving services provided in the community to infants suffering from emotional distress and their parents. This will be done in cooperation with and within early childhood institutions in the community (daycare centers, mother-and-child clinics, early childhood centers, welfare services, etc.). Diagnosis and prevention: identifying and assessing infants in distress who need therapeutic intervention, with emphasis on preventing future psychopathology. Assessment will be conducted by mental health professionals employed by the association (clinical psychologists, developmental psychologists, social workers, etc.). Supporting pregnant women and mothers postpartum: identifying, supporting, and treating pregnant women and new mothers suffering from emotional difficulties (such as postpartum depression) that impair their functioning as mothers, while involving the co-parent in the process, and assisting the couple to function as a supportive, mutual parental unit. Deepening awareness in the field of infancy: deepening awareness, professional knowledge, identification capabilities, and expertise in the clinical and developmental field of infancy among community practitioners and workers in early childhood institutions, as well as among the general public. Academy and research: developing professional, academic, clinical, and research partnerships with similar centers in Israel and worldwide for learning, mentorship, training therapeutic teams, and developing treatment methods and research in the field of infancy