Tutorial 5 · Partnering with Families in Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation
Element 1: Respect and Trust
Respect is a willingness to show consideration or appreciation towards another, leading to trust; a hopeful expectation of something. (Merriam-Webster, 2010). Trust is vital to building a strong partnership and is built on mutual understanding.
Activity:
Take a few minutes to think about and list some of the things you do regularly to show respect and to build trust with families.
There are many things consultants may do regularly in their practice to show respect to families. Reflect on these common practices below and rate how often you use each of them.
Common Practices to Show Respect to Families
| Practice | Always | Sometimes | Not Yet |
| Explaining your role, including your background and experience, and their role clearly to the family and encouraging questions | |||
Gaining consent prior to implementing any services |
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| Ensuring all information is held confidential Use names when referring to their child, family members and caregivers. | |||
Working with logistical constraints (e.g., work schedules, transportation) |
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| Showing up when you say you will, prepared for the visit or meeting | |||
Being an active listener |
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Keeping the family in the loop through home visits, phone calls and/or e-mails |
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Not discussing important aspects around a child's progress without the family present |
Take time to celebrate your use of respectful practices with families. For those that might not be happening regularly or not happening yet, use the list above to help remind you of practices that you want to improve on.
This website was made possible by grant number 90YD0268 from the Office of Head Start, Administration for Children, Youth and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not represent the official views or policies of the funding agency nor does publication in any way constitute an endorsement by the funding agency.
