Academic Departments and Centers
We are pleased to announce the formation of the Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health (CAECMH), which will serve as a center for professional development, education, clinical services and research around the issues of autism, infant and childhood development and mental health. It will be open in September under the auspices of the College of Education and Human Services, and its academic programs will be located in the department of Early Childhood, Elementary and Literacy Education.
The Center will be led by Dr. Gerard Costa as Director. Dr. Costa is a widely respected expert on both autism and infant/early childhood mental health. Dr.Costa was the Founding Director of the YCS Institute for Infant and Preschool Mental Health, a training and consultation, clinical service and research center concerned with the optimal development in all areas of infants and young children within the context of their relationships, located in East Orange, NJ. He is a member of the Board of Directors, DIR and Graduate Faculty of the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL). He also serves as a national consultant and trainer for Coming Together Around Military Families (CTAMF), a ZERO TO THREE initiative to help staff who work with families of infants and young children affected by deployment. He is a former Head Start Director and has worked as a psychologist in Early Intervention for over 25 years. He is a recipient of many awards for his service in the areas of early intervention and childhood mental health.
The Center will be anchored in a developmental approach to meet the needs of infants, children, adolescents and their families, and will be supported by theoretical education, research-based methods and clinical application. Central to the creation of the CAECMH is the role of social-emotional/mental health development at the core of developmental and educational progress, and the fields of Infant and Early Childhood mental health and mental health consultation provide a host of strategies to incorporate mental health and "relationship-based" approaches to development and education.
To be most effective, childhood mental health issues must be integrated throughout education and human services. The Center will include academic programs, promotion, prevention and intervention services and partnerships with faculty members from related departments throughout the University. The Center’s programs and services will include: :
- Consultation
- Continuing education
- Post-baccalaureate and post-graduate certificate programs
- Research and grants
- Transdisciplinary clinical services
If you have questions, please contact Dr. Costa at caecmh@montclair.edu.
Visit us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/montclairstatecaecmh
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Contact Us: |
Montclair State University
14 Normal Avenue
Montclair, NJ 07043
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Tel: (973) 655-6685
Fax: (973) 655-5376 |
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