The College of Health’s Counseling Practicum Clinic, the training clinic for the Department of Counseling Psychology, Social Psychology, and Counseling, partnered with the Delaware County Health Department and the Ross Center to host Baby and Me classes.

The graduate and doctoral students of the Department of Counseling Psychology, Social Psychology, and Counseling cofacilitating the groups alongside licensed mental health professionals. The clinic offers students the opportunity to have direct experience working with early parent-child attachment.

The program is led by Dr. Lina Burkhart, practicum clinic director and assistant clinical professor. She has experience in the field of early parent-child attachment, with her predoctoral and postdoctoral internships focusing on early parent-child attachment.

The clinic opened the first sessions in July, offering a variety of classes, including sessions in English and Spanish as well as a virtual group.

“There are some programs in the community similar to this, but most of them are in-home, one-on-one programs are offered only for particular families,” Burkhart said about the Baby and Me courses. “It also is a way for us to kind of walk the walk, we’re not just talking about doing this work in supporting the community, but really meeting the needs.”

The sessions are held in a closed group environment, meaning participants in each session are preenrolled and remain the same at each session. This allows the leaders to adapt the curriculum to each individual group. The classes include a time for mindfulness, discussion and socializing for the parents and children.

The leaders offer information and resources for early development, but the focus is on empowering the parents to trust themselves and their ability to care for their child.

“We have our expertise related to babies and parent-child relationships, but we are not the experts on their babies; the parent is the expert on their baby,” said Burkhart.

The old proverb “it takes a village to raise a child” rings true today, and the Baby and Me classes are an opportunity for parents in the Muncie community to build their village. With experts and parents to lean on in each group, the parents can find support as they experience the highs and lows of parenthood. Each session offers new insights and milestones for every family involved.

“I feel very honored to be able to support them and do the work,” said Burkhart, “that’s the real power for me, that we could potentially prevent heartache and difficulties by just supporting people early on and empowering them.”