Early Childhood Mental Health Program
Our Early Childhood Mental Health Program was created in close partnership with healthcare professionals, grounded in the understanding that healthy development begins with strong physical and emotional well-being. When children’s health needs are met early, they are better equipped to grow, learn, and thrive.
We are grateful to our healthcare partners for their collaboration in shaping this program. We extend special thanks to Confluence Health for their investment in building a strong, coordinated partnership—ensuring a comprehensive approach to supporting local children and families.
The Early Childhood Mental Health Program is guided by the principles that:
Secure attachment is the foundation of mental health.
Children rely on caregivers as a secure base and safe haven.
Disruptions in caregiving (e.g., trauma, inconsistency, caregiver distress) lead to insecure or disorganized attachment patterns.
The goals of the program are:
Attachment - Strengthen secure attachments in relationships between children and their caregiver(s).
Connection - Improve caregiver attunement and responsiveness to their child’s needs.
Regulation - Enhance the child’s emotional regulation and developmental functioning.
Services Include:
Family Therapy
Group Parenting Support
All OBHC clinicians in the Early Childhood Mental Health Program are certified in DC:0–5™ (Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood). This specialized framework guides mental health evaluations, diagnosis, and treatment planning for children from birth to age five.
Using this framework, a clinician works closely with each child and their caregiver(s) to complete a comprehensive mental health evaluation. During this process, the clinician provides an initial diagnosis and treatment plan. Each treatment plan is tailored to the unique needs of the child and family and may include family therapy, group parenting support, or a combination of both.
Family Therapy
As a component of their treatment plan, most families will receive family therapy. Therapy will be provided in-person for the child and their caregiver(s).
Children and their caregiver(s) will meet in our early childhood therapy space designed to support caregiver and clinician conversation and child development.
Group Parenting Support
As a component of their treatment plan, most families will be offered enrollment in a group parenting support course. These groups will be offered virtually for caregivers to connect and receive clinical support.
Caregivers will have the option to enroll in either the Circle of Security or First Approach Skills Training - Early Childhood (FAST-E) parenting course.
(Caregivers can take both parenting support courses and/or the same course multiple times over the course of their treatment.)
Circle of Security:
Our Circle of Security Parenting (COSP) program is an eight-week parenting group that highlights how children communicate their emotional needs and how parents can best respond.
This evidence-based program offers caregivers an understanding of attachment system complexities and how they contribute to infants’ and toddlers’ sense of security, competence and lifelong learning.
Learn more and access additional Circle of Security resources here.
First Approach Skills Training - Early Childhood:
Our First Approach Skills Training - Early Childhood (FAST-E) program is an eight-week parenting group designed to support caregivers of children 1 to 4 with promoting their child’s development, strengthening positive connections, and managing challenging behaviors.
This program helps caregivers understand and bond with their children, use behavior management strategies with a developmental lens for younger children, and manage specific challenges such as tantrums or feeding concerns.
Learn more and access additional FAST resources here.
How to Enroll or Refer a Child:
There are many pathways for you to enroll your child in the Early Childhood Mental Health Program. You can:
Call the OBHC office and request to enroll in the Early Childhood Mental Health Program.
Visit the OBHC office during business hours and complete the enrollment application.
Complete the enrollment application form found on the OBHC website at: www.okbhc.org
Ask your primary care provider, case manager, or other service provider to complete the referral form found here to help our staff understand your needs.
After we receive your child’s enrollment application, we will process your request and schedule your child for a Mental Health Evaluation. During the evaluation you will receive an initial diagnosis and treatment plan.
*Please note: your child is not considered a client of OBHC until we have completed a mental health evaluation.