Our practice and training initiatives focus on developing and applying evidence-based interventions and training curricula for parents and service professionals to promote positive development and mental health in all children.
Practice
We have established research–practice partnerships with local, national, and international organizations to work together on community-based initiatives. For example, as part of our SPRINT project, we identify the needs of newcomer children and families in Canada by interviewing Syrian refugee caregivers and practitioners who work with those families upon resettlement. For our RAISE project, we are implementing a community-wide needs assessment in collaboration with Early Years and Child Care Services, Region of Peel. This connected approach helps us and our partners understand and address the unique needs of diverse communities while capitalizing on strengths and supports that already exist. We then integrate this community-focused knowledge into tailored interventions that meet the developmental and cultural needs of children and families, and thus provide appropriate support to nurture their mental health and potential. Our ADAPT project is linked with the Dixie Bloor Neighbourhood Centre to track the development of kindness and mental health in low-income children from infancy onwards with the goal of helping practitioners in the Early Years sector understand how and when to best promote kindness through child-focused and parenting interventions across critical stages of development.
Training
Community and Professional Training
Based on the results of our inter-disciplinary research and research–practice initiatives, we develop, implement, and evaluate training approaches for caregivers, practitioners, and service sector leaders who work with children of all backgrounds. Our training curricula focus on the promotion of children’s social-emotional development and mental health in adverse contexts of trauma and stress. We evaluate the impact of our training aproaches with cutting-edge statistical models of change and report practice and training implications to a broad scientific, community, and policy audience through peer-reviewed journal articles, conference and community presentations, and accessible mixed-media content across social media platforms. If you are interested in our community and/or professional training, please contact us here.
Student Training
The CCDMP is also an academic, professional, and leadership training ground for students of different levels and disciplines. We offer courses, workshops, and community- and laboratory-based research–practice opportunities for the next generation of child development and mental health scholars, practitioners, and policymakers. Current and prospective undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students can apply here and click here for more information.