Speech-Language Pathologist; Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant TP Choate Therapy & Fam Services Chicago, Illinois, United States
Disclosure(s):
Tyler P. Choate, MS, CCC-SLP: Profectum Foundation: Financial - Consulting Fee (Ongoing), Non-Financial - Professional (Ongoing); TP Choate Therapy and Family Services: Financial - Salary (Ongoing)
Abstract: The field of Speech-Language Pathology is making space for the growing relevance of relationship-centered frameworks, especially in the service of children and families navigating communication and language disorders. In this session, we will explore foundational concepts that other disciplines have brought to bear as they approach the complexity of this work with young children and families. Namely, we will consider the idea of reflective practice from Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health—a transdisciplinary field attracting SLPs across the globe. Many developmental clinicians recognize the significance of caregiver-child relationships and how communication develops within the context of these relationships. We can expand this frame and broaden our understanding of what happens in the therapy room by thinking about what we bring with us—our own thoughts, feelings, identities, and biases: this is reflective practice.
Summary of Presentation : Summary New and evolving intervention frameworks are calling speech-language pathologists who serve young children and families to be more developmental, trauma-informed, and, generally, more relationship-focused. There is growing evidence for assessment and treatment approaches that are less behavioral and more relational. Carolyn Aldwin (2014) calls this a paradigm shift. She writes about developmental science moving away from behavioral reductionism and toward relationship-centered philosophies. We have observed this shift as our own scope of practice has made room for new theories, especially in the worlds of language and communication in infants and toddlers. Moving toward more relationship-centered approaches has set new challenges for the developmental speech-language pathologist. How are we to make sense of the relationships between parents and children? And what do those relationships do to us as clinicians? Tuning in to this level of intimacy and complexity can often feel stressful and confusing. Many SLPs do not have a framework or set of tools that can be used to answer these questions (Geller & Foley, 2009). Other disciplines, though, have been thinking about these issues since their inception.
Drawing on his own background as an SLP and Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant, the presenter will introduce the field of Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health and one of its core tenets—reflective practice. Jeree Pawl (1998), a pioneer of IECMH, would call reflective practice less of skill and more of a “way of being.” It is a way of consciously slowing down the work we do and carving out space to think critically about the thoughts, feelings, and actions that are stirred up while we work with young children and their families (WAIMH, 2017) . Developmental SLPs are not unfamiliar with the emotional response incited by a toddler’s meltdown or not knowing how to respond when a parent asks, “will my child ever learn to talk?” Each clinician will experience these scenarios, and countless others, differently. The effect of those experiences has a direct line of impact on how we serve our clients. With a reflective lens, and particularly through a tool called reflective supervision, we are able to step back from the in-session demands and process these effects.
Main Argument: Speech-Language Pathologists, like other clinicians serving young children and families, can improve their own reflective functioning which can impact both how we think and feel about our work and the practice itself. This can be achieved through the use of reflective supervision (Heffron, Reynolds, & Talbot, 2017). While this session will not serve as a guide to integrating language therapy and Infant/Early Childhood mental health, it will identify some ways in which our scope of practice could benefit from foundational principles of this innovative field.
Procedures: In this 1-hour session, the presenter will introduce the field of Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health and describe the implications for reflective practice in the treatment of communication challenges in young children. Reflective supervision will be highlighted as a port of entry for SLPs who are interested in integrating reflective practice into their work. Core components of reflective supervision will be highlighted, including: regular meetings with a trained supervisor, collaborative relationships, and a focus on relationship-based principles (Fenichel, 1992). Benefits of reflective practice will also be highlighted, including: 1) decreased feelings of burnout, 2) increased capacity for reflective functioning, 3) broadened understanding of the client, and 4) improved client outcomes. Findings from neuroscience will be used to demonstrate efficacy (Leech & Sharp, 2014). The presenter will delineate reflective supervision from more typical forms of mentorship that tend to focus more on deficits and didactic learning. Finally, attendees will reflect on how the inherent identities and biases they bring into the therapeutic relationship might affect their work with families, especially families who occupy marginalized identities.
Results: By this session’s end, attendees will have new resources for accessing and integrating reflective supervision into their work with children and families. They will be able to identify relevant and overlapping issues between the fields of Speech-Language Pathology and Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health and advocate for new and innovative ways the disciplines can support each other.
Learning Objectives:
At the completion of this activity, participants should be able to:
Upon completion, participants will be able to list the core functions of reflective practice and describe their effects on assessment and treatment of early communication challenges.
Upon completion, participants will be able to describe the benefits of reflective supervision for clinicians supporting young children and families.
Upon completion, participants will be able to locate resources for reflective supervision in their area.