Early Years Mental Health Conference 10th June 2021

Me, You and Us, emotional dynamics in relationship

On 10^th June I was privileged to present the Early Years Mental Health Conference hosted by Essex County Council’s Early Years and Childcare Workforce Development Team, on the theme of the role of the Key Person in the often-complex emotional dynamic in relationship with child and family.

We noted that paying attention to our own and others’ nervous systems is our first priority in every interaction. We recognised how co-regulation happens at this biological level and reminded ourselves about the conscious and unconscious behaviours that make co-regulation effective in developing the child’s self-regulation. We also considered the new PSED ELGs in this respect.

Working with the nervous system enables us to support the child at a biological level first (Universal provision) thus providing a clearer idea of a child’s individual needs to more accurately target the provision.

The day was structured around 5 themes:

One delegate said: ‘I have gained a lot of new knowledge thank you, I loved the session and look forward to delivering a training to my setting in the future’.

We included practical strategies that support psychological safety and self-regulation and worked through a case study using an observation checklist linked to the nervous system. Like all our training the handouts were designed to make it easy to disseminate in setting.

If you missed it and are interested in this topic contact me for more information.