Infant Mental Health and Neurodevelopment in Practice MED5673

  • Academic Session: 2024-25
  • School: School of Health and Wellbeing
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 2
  • Available to Visiting Students: No
  • Taught Wholly by Distance Learning: Yes
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No

Short Description

This course explores the basic principles of infant mental health and neurodevelopment in practice. Approaches to observation and classification of mental health in infancy will be discussed, and methods of support and intervention introduced.

Timetable

20 hours of asynchronous online teaching

Requirements of Entry

None

Excluded Courses

None

Assessment

1. 70% analysis and response to case study vignette recorded presentation (18-20 minutes in duration) (Aligns to ILO 1, 2, 3, 4 & 7)

2. 30% creative written output (leaflet, infographic, academic poster) presenting and critiquing early indicators of neurodivergence and evaluating appropriate support/intervention options (Aligns to ILO 5, 6 & 7)

Course Aims

Students will explore the basic principles of infant mental health and neurodevelopment in practice. The mental health journey through pregnancy and parenthood, as well as it's implications on the infant will be observed.

Students will engage with approaches to observation, classification and intervention for infant mental health.

The identification of neurodiversity in infancy and the concept of neurodivergence will be explored.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

 

1. Explain the basic principles of the foundations of infant mental health practice.

2. Identify how mental health can impact on pregnancy, parenthood and subsequent infant development.

3. Describe ways in which NICU admission may impact on the infant and suggest some possible adaptations to improve infant mental health in this environment.

4. Critically evaluate appropriate methods of infant observation for a given situation and describe the basic techniques chosen.

5. Critically reflect on common signs of possible underlying neurodivergence in an infant and reflect on ways in which neurodivergence may interact with the factors affecting infant mental health.

6. Demonstrate basic formulation skills from a set of given information and devise a basic intervention plan for a given set of infant observations and findings.

7. Critically appraise scientific literature in the area of infant mental health practice and neurodiversity.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.