Medline Recognition for the Infant Mental Health Journal
The Infant Mental Health Journal has been selected for indexing by MEDLINE/PubMed. MEDLINE citations are indexed with the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Medical Subject Headings (MeSH®) and are directly searchable from NLM as a subset of the PubMed data base. Congratulations to Hiram E. Fitzgerald, Editor-in-Chief of the IMHJ
for the past 5 years, to the Associate Editors, and to the Consulting Editors from around the world.
Scientific Award
WAIMH is pleased to announce that the following paper was awarded a Best Scientific Paper Prize by the French-Speaking Psychiatry Association (le Prix de la Meilleure Publication du Congrès Français de Psychiatrie):
Moser DA, Aue T, Wang Z, Rusconi-Serpa S, Favez N., Peterson BS, Schechter DS (2014). Comorbid dissociation dampens limbic activation in violence-exposed mothers with PTSD who are exposed to video-clips of their child during separation. Stress. 16(5):493-502.
Daniel Schechter is a long-time WAIMH member.
Infant Observation – A Collaboration
Several papers devoted to infant observation and its applications, originally published in WAIMH’s Signal in 2002, Volume 10 (1 and 2), under Paul Barrows editorial direction, will appear, with permission from the WAIMH Central Office, in the December 2014 issue of Infant Observation, Volume 17 (3). The papers selected include: “Preventive Applications of Esther Bick’s Method of Infant Observation” by Didier Houzel (France) and “Observed Mothers’ Interviewed” by Annette Watillon (Belgium). All past issues of the Signal appear on the WAIMH website: www.waimh.org
Lullaby Circles
Rock with Me! Babies From Around the World Lead the Dance!
Suzi Tortora Ed.D., BC-DMT, CMA, LCAT, LMHC
New York
In honor of Infant Mental Health Week, I released Rock with Me! Babies From Around the World Lead the Dance! a dancing dialogue of attuned connection based on my Embodied Parenting Program. The clips were taken of students, parents and colleagues from around the world during various workshops and trainings I led as part of my Lullaby Project. Through the Embodied Parenting Program and Lullaby Project I teach parents [and caregivers] how to use play, songs, dance, movement and breathing activities to enhance their body-to-body connection, creating a dancing dialogue with their baby.
Building upon Papoušek’s Angel’s Circles concept I have created a seven-step process called Lullaby Circles ARC — Attend to baby’s nonverbal cues; Reflect on both what these cues are saying as well as what the parent’s internal reaction is: Connect back with baby through playful dancing interactions.
You and your baby dance together right from the start! Your baby tells you how she feels through the way she looks at you, the faces she makes to you, and how she moves her whole body. The very first way she talks to you is through her body, for even her coos and cries are accompanied by actively moving. Your baby first learns about the world around her through how she explores her body moving when alone and with others.
Babies’ actions are contagious! It is hard to resist those bright shining eyes and the bursting smile that spreads over your baby’s face when she sees your loving gaze. As caregivers we automatically respond to babies by exaggerating our facial expressions and raising our voices into a playful tone called motherese. These playful connections are the core building blocks of how you and your baby create a lasting attachment [bond].
It is through feeling her body moving with you that your baby first begins to feel your love. Your loving embrace can both soothe her and get her up and going as you sway and bounce your baby in your arms. Singing, dancing, and playing with your baby teaches her how to calm down when she is upset and become energized to play with you when she is alert and awake. Your body-to-body connection through movement is the first way you and your baby communicate. This vital connection between parent and baby is seen everyday, across the globe and in my latest YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgKIUpFpyno Please do check it out and enjoy!
Authors
WAIMH,
United States
