for Master’s in Infant, Child, and Family Mental Health and Development 

Join Program Director, Jenene Craig, PhD, for an in-depth look at earning your Master’s in Infant, Child, and Family Mental Health and Development at Fielding. In this webinar, we’ll identify key attributes of our program and what distinguishes it from the rest. We will outline our program components, as well as discuss our educational model. Lastly, we will wrap up the webinar with a question and answer session.

The MA in Infant, Child, and Family Mental Health and Development degree is designed to support both clinically based as well as education-based professionals to better understand and work with social, emotional, and developmental demands and needs of families. This includes learning how to embed culture, diversity, equity, and inclusion in their work, all of which are central to supporting families appropriately and successfully. Healthy long-term outcomes for children and families depend on having culturally competent practitioners. While many professionals in infant mental health knew there were problems, these problems were not fully recognized in the field until the pandemic laid bare the full scale of challenges, including those related to systemic racism, equity and inclusion, lack of opportunities, and fear. As is universally accepted now, we are facing an unprecedented mental health crisis in our youngest populations through adulthood. Families in particular have borne the brunt, placing infant mental health at the forefront of working with our vulnerable populations and families. Yet, inadequate education and training is hindering the successful outcomes and adding to significant stress of professionals. 

Dr. Craig earned her undergraduate degree in Occupational Therapy from the Medical College of Georgia and her MBA from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.  She was one of the first students to earn her Ph.D. in IECD from Fielding. Dr. Craig returned to Fielding Graduate University in 2019 as Program Director over the IECD program.

Mother of six grown children, (and a relatively recent “empty-nester,”) she credits her own experience bearing and raising children for the initial spark and her longtime work within the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) world. Since 1985, she has worked with multiple hospitals and groups in leadership, and on Boards of Directors advancing NICU work in Developmentally Supportive and Trauma-Informed Neuroprotective Caregiving.

Citing the importance of self-nurturance, Dr. Craig pursues her love of music, playing and performing jazz saxophone and classical oboe.

Engage in Interprofessional Scholarship

The IECD PhD program with an emphasis in Mental Health and Developmental Disorders was originally founded in 2009 by Stanley Greenspan, MD, and Serena Weider, PhD under the Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning (ICDL), a non-profit organization.  On January 22, 2015, this nationally recognized doctoral program was acquired by Fielding Graduate University, became accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WSCUC), and currently resides within the School of Psychology (SOP). ICDL remains the official home of DIR® and DIRFloortime®, providing training courses for professionals and parents for now over 30+ years.

The IECD program is a partner with the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health (Alliance). The Alliance is a global organization of those states and countries whose infant mental health associations have licensed the use of the Competency Guidelines® and/or the Endorsement for Culturally Sensitive, Relationship-Focused Practice Promoting Infant Mental Health® (Endorsement®) under their associations’ names.

Fielding and Profectum™ – Articulation Agreement.

Two organizations offering education and advanced training, Fielding Graduate University and Profectum, have an articulation agreement to collaborate and expand the outreach of both clinical practice as well as research. Fielding’s IECD doctoral program and Profectum™ entered into this academic agreement to provide students expanded opportunities for both increased academic study and research, and certification, respectively.

Dr. Jenene Craig’s Doctoral Journey

Jenene Craig, PhD, discusses her doctoral journey. Dr. Craig is the program director for the Infant and Early Childhood and Development (IECD) program at #FieldingGraduateUniversity. IECD offers both a doctorate and master’s degree program. Find out more at Fielding.edu/IECD.

The latest news, special events, and announcements from the IECD program.