Registration for this event opens August 31st.

Demystifying Early Childhood Mental Health and Parent-Infant Psychotherapy
Presented by Sarah Strong, LCSW, IMH-E® and Kathleen Hipke, PhD, IMH-E®

Details: October 15, 2026 (9:00am - 4:00pm, including a 60-minute lunch break)
*Lunch is not provided.
**Up to 6 CE credits will be issued to those attending this LIVE, IN-PERSON event in full. See below for details. 

Workshop Description: This training will provide an overview and clinical illustrations of core concepts in Parent-Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health and an orientation to Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP).  Core concepts will include attachment, Ghosts (and Angels) in the Nursery, parallel process, trauma frame, cultural humility, ports of entry, rupture and repair, reflective functioning and reflective practice.  Ways of being with parents, approaches for exploring and better understanding the meaning of behavior and strategies for developmentally appropriate, relationship-based, culturally sensitive and trauma-informed intervention will be addressed.  Participants will also receive an overview of Child-Parent Psychotherapy, an evidence-based practice for working with children ages birth through five years old who have experienced trauma and their parents that will highlight concepts and strategies that may be directly applied to their work.  Opportunities for further training in Parent-Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, Child Parent Psychotherapy and other evidence-based psychotherapy models will be reviewed.   

Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to...

Presenter Information: 

Sarah Strong, LCSW, IMH-E® is the Program Director of the Infant, Early Childhood and Family Mental Health Capstone Certificate Program, Wisconsin Child-Parent Psychotherapy Training Program and Newborn Behavioral Observations (NBO) System Training Site at the Department of Psychiatry in the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Sarah is also on the Executive Committee of the UW Center for Innovations in Parent-Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health that houses these and other programs.  She provides Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation in multiple service sectors and reflective consultation for mental health clinicians.  Sarah is endorsed as an Infant Mental Health Clinical Mentor by the Wisconsin Alliance for Infant Mental Health and has worked in the field of mental health for over thirty years as a psychotherapist, reflective consultant and educator specializing in parent-infant and early childhood mental health. She is on the National Roster of Child Parent Psychotherapy Providers and is a Wisconsin State Trainer for Child Parent Psychotherapy. Sarah worked with faculty of the Brazelton Institute at Boston Children’s Hospital to become endorsed as a Newborn Behavioral Observations (NBO) System Trainer and establish a training site at UW-Madison.  

Kathleen Hipke, PhD, IMH-E® is Co-Director of the Center for Innovations in Parent-Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health Department of Psychiatry. Kathleen is an Assistant Professor and licensed clinical psychologist with extensive experience and expertise in perinatal, infant, and early childhood mental health. She is the Faculty Director of the UW Infant, Early Childhood and Family Mental Health Capstone Certificate Program. She is especially interested in program development, educational and professional training opportunities that expand our Wisconsin workforce to provide high quality, therapeutic support to children and families, particularly those who have experienced trauma, in the earliest years of life. Kathleen provides clinical service and teaching via the Parent Infant Early Childhood Clinic in the Department of Psychiatry; leads an Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Team to campus Early Care and Education; co-directs state-wide training in trauma-informed Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) to licensed mental health clinicians seeking to implement empirically supported interventions for children 0-5 years of age who have experienced trauma and their caregivers; and has provided leadership, teaching and mentorship to multi-disciplinary Wisconsin professionals working with young children via the  UW Infant, Early Childhood and Family Mental Health Capstone Certificate Program since its inception. Kathleen carries the Infant Mental Health Endorsement® as a Clinical Mentor. 

Hotel Information: Please follow this link for a discounted rate at the Country Inn & Suites in Little Chute, WI. 

In-person Event Attendance: Registrants experiencing any cold, flu, or COVID-like symptoms should not attend the event. Refunds will be made available to those who cancel at least 1 week prior OR for reasons of illness (with notification provided to WAFCA).  

About our Offerings: WAFCA has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6778. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. WAFCA is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Visit the WAFCA-CE registration page for more information on fees and policies.